ho newsur productions, llc d >> woodruff: gening, i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, another grim milestone. the u.s. surpasses 5deaths giom covid-19, as georgia to re-open despite warnings from public health officials. then, to the sprawling navajo nation, where alth is already precarious, and residents can't wait any longer for the u.s. government to help. >> it's taken too long. here in indian country, wee always, it seems to me we're always at the bottom of the list when it comes to federal resources. >> woodruff: and it's friday. mark shields and david brooks analyze the latest political dangerous advice.ident trump's all that and more on tonight's

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america is closing out another n.ek, as parts of the country try to reo that process began on a day when d lo, pm,0entsan of whthenis p e >> good morning, how's everyone doing? >> yan in georgia today, businesses opened their doors for the first time in more than a month. gornor brian kemp lifted restrictions on such non- essential operationss bowling alleys and hair salons. while many small busins owners ravaged by the pandemic's economic hit welcomed the move, others were still on edge. >> nervous, anxiety, all that too. but you know, we all want to come bk to work. >> yang: with infections and deaths still rising, georgia has not yet met white house benchmarks for beginning to re- open. despite that, the associated press reported today tha esident trump had originally told kemp he supported the move. later, though, mr. trump told reporters he was unhappy with the decision, and on twitter

today, he said businesses shou"" take a little slower path" to reopen. in an interview with cleveland's wtam radio today, vice president mike pen was optimistic about how much longer the virus would at i think honestly if you look he trends today, i think by memorial day weekend we will largely have this coroicvirus epidehind us. >> yang: georgia is one of only a handful of states poised to relax stay-at-home orders. in madison, wisconsin, dozens of protesters demanded that their governor do the same. michigan governor gretchen ayitmer, facing the same pressure, said the would beginning easing restrictions. >> the new executive order will now allow someorkers to perform lower risk activities to go back on the job. we will consider this the preliminary stage of economic

re-engagement. >> yang: but, she extended her stay-at-home order, set to expire at the end of the month, through may 15. meanwhile, the makers of lysol and other disinfectants warned people against improper use of their products. it comes after president trump seemed to suggest that researchers look into using disinfectants and ultraviolet light inside the bodies of those infected with the virus. criticized him today forsi rejecting science. >> clearly and sadly, this medical experts and i don't know which ones he is listening to if any. as i said to my colleagues last america should ignore the lies and start listening to science another respected anessionals. >> and after signing the latest economic rescue package n to law, the president said he didn't m. ti i was asking sarcastically, in a very sarcquestion to

the reporters in theabout disinfectants on the inside. but it does kill it. and it would kill it on the hands and th would make things much better. that w done in the form of a sarcastic question to reporters. >> yang: overseas, as the virus continues to spread, medical workers strugg to secure scarce medical equipment. that includes countries in africa, which this week w infections surge by more than 40%. meanwhile, muslims across the world began ramadan under strict lockdowns. leavg many to observe the holy month fromneutef p and community. for the pbs newshour, i'm john yang. h>>d wooomdruff:ig as jo rhn o the white house today spent some time addressing concerns about the president's seeminlict with his medical advisors. yamiche alcindor reports now, its not the first time the president and his own team of medical experts did not appear

to be on the same page. >> alcindor: yesterday, when he said this:ised ebrows >> i see the disinfeant that knocks it out in a minute, one d nute. there a way we can do something like that by injection inside, or almost a cleaning? because you see it gets inside tremendous number on the lungs, so it would be interesting to check that. >> alcindor: today the white house says he was joking but president trump has repeatedly contradicted health officials during the coronavirus pandemic. pust a day earlier, the presidened back on a story in the "washington post" that included a warning from the director of the centers for disease contro fall could be even moren the difficult to handle. >> he was totally misquoted the media on a statement about the fall seasoand the virus. >> i'm accurately quoted in the "washington post" as" diffict." >> alcindor: and for weeks,

president trump has repeatedly pushed for wider use of drugs used to fighmalaria. though, those drugs have not been fully tested in their effectiveness against covid-19. they say, 'take it.'to lose? i'm not looking at it one way or the other, but we want to get out of this. if it does work, it would be a shame if we didn't do it early. >> alcindor: despite president trump's public support, the science behind hydroxychloroquine as a coronavirus treatment is unproven. a national institutes of health study found an increased death rate in vid-19 patients treated only with that drug. the n.i.h. said there is "insuffi recommend using it.to just today, the food and drug administration agreed and said the drug "can cause abnormal heart rhythms." afe trump administration also faced questionr a leading vaccine expert was removed from ers job at the department of health and humances. dr. rick bright plans to file a whistleblow complaint. he alleges he was fired for pushing back on president

trp's promotion of hydroxychloroquine, saying in a "sidelining me in the middle of this pandemic and placing politics and cronyism s ahead of science puts li risk." questioned about dr. bright's said he doesn't kn man. trump for the pbs newshour, i'm yamiche alcindor. >> woodruff: amna nawaz has more on these concerns around the president's statements and how public health experts see the risks ahead. >> nawaz: judy, we're going to ask one of the leading voices on infectious disease about all of this. dr. michael osterholm is the director of the center for infectious disease research and policy at the university of oinnesota. he us now. welcome back to the "newshour". >> thank you very much. >> reporter: i want tobe rday that'ssaid yeste gotten a lotf reaction today. gh floated the idea of using ultraviolet and disinfectants to possibly combat covid 19. he said today hwaseing sarcastic, but what did you

think when you first heard the remarks? >> well, i stopped listening to the daily briefings. i think i'm onean of in our business that has. i only heard it secondhand, but my ten yrl grandson wondered what that was all about. >> reporter: what do you mean >> i think it was obvious these are not realistic or potentially safe approaches, and, so, in undetanding the commnts, one had to just take them for thic non-scientasis upon which they were stated. >> reporter: can i ask you, though, because he's not t first time that the president has made statements that either aren't bacd up by sciece or contradict science, and they do have some effect. we heard today from t office of the maryland governor where they said they got over 100 calls from people calling to the emergency hotline a asking if they could use disinfectant or either ingest ie or it it to combat the virus.

do you worry about the effect of that kind of continued messaging coming from the white house? >> fhest of all, are two aspects of this issue about messaging. number one is, in fa, yes, w don't want to do harm and throwing out a comment without having vetted them with experts. but i think equally challinenge, forward, is we are in for really rough days coming yet, ipd that's where credibility and leaderill be important. you have to trust the individual who is telling you how bad things are, how bad they will get, and where is the we are going to need f.d.r.-like fireside chats through the course of the nextyear, 16, 18 innths, and these kind of events don'ill any kind of confidence those will hpen. >> reporter: dr. osterholm, as americans plan for the future, o u said when it comese virus, we're in the second

inning of a nine-inng game. when you look at some of the other comments about experts, it americans should prepare for ahead? >> at this point, we don't know how itill play out, and what i mean by that is that we are going to find a virus moving forward to infect 60 to 70% of it. that's how much infection will have to occur in a population before it will start to shut down that transmission. ri just remind eyone that if you look back on the influenza virus model of the pandemic flu, what we saw were waves. the last influenza pandemi nhrough the past 250 years, they emerged two he winter, two and three in the fall.e summer about six months after the initial wave hit, we saw a much

larger peak, a bigger ve, that hit. and i think here we don't know if that'tos goindo this. it's acting like the flu virus, and people have to be awar of this and understand that whatever we're going to do to try to controlit ver the upcoming month is not going to be easy anit may take multiple different efforts to do that, but it's not over with by a lonh . >> reporter: given how many more americans you think will become sick, do you think it'sto early for states to be talking about reopening? that whether we open up now or not is going to dictate what i think we're going to see in some of the states an acceleration and amplification of the cases that are occurrinin now by openup. but i think, in the end, two months from now, we could see a very quiet country, with regard to this virus, and everyfeone ing, oh, we're fine now, only to come back withr a ma blast in the summer or fall. fo i think that's what we have

to be miul of is that these starts and stops of coming out of lockdown are likely going to be many. >> reporter: you've previously estimated that the death toll of dthe virus coul top 800,000. when you look at all the steps that have en taken up until right now, do you still believe it could gohat high? >> think about it, there's 320 millionricans. half of that, 160 million, are very likely to get infeed and those are numbers we can decide to change, but that surely is a solid number. of those, about 80% are going to have very mild to moderate illness, not seeking medical care and, in some cases, not even know they were infected. really major medical care,t need possibly doctors' offices visits. the remaining 10% will likely be

hospitalized, and 5% of the total will ed intensive care hospitalization, and about 1.5 to 1% of the total will die. you can change the nweumbers r you like, put them in, just make sure you explain how yogot what you did. if you look at .5 to 1% of 160 million, that'00s 80to 1.6 million people. you can see we have a lot left to go befooire we're to see nhis virus end, even with a vaccine codown the pike. >> reporter: dr. michael osterholm of the center for infectious disease research e d policy at niversity of minnesota. thanks for being with us. >> thank you very much. >> woodruff: in the day's other news, e congressional budget office warned of a tidal wave of red ink triggered by the pandemic. it said economic damage and relief bills will drivfithe

federal t to $3.7 trillion. despite that news, wall street maged a rally. the dow jones industrial average gained 260oints to close at 23,775. the nasdaq rose 139 points, and, the s&p 500 adde39. the u.s. navy is recommending that brett crozier be re- rastated as captain of the ai carrier "theodore roosevelt." the newshour has confirmedhe recommendaon was made today. crozier was fired after he cpealed to evacuate the ship when tonavirus broke out. the man who fired him, acting navy secretary thomas modly, udi abiaoday extended aism and unilateral ceasefire for one month. it said the pause will help to contain the covid-19 pandemic. rebels backed by iran have refused to accept a cease-fire, and both sides blame the other

for continued attacks. meanwhile, the taliban has rejected the afghan government's call for a cease-fire during the mislim holy month of ramadan. thtants said there can be no truce until a peace process is fully under way. scand, the hubble space tee today mark its 30th year in abit. it was launched pace shuttle, in 1990, and began sending back stunning . one of the newest shows two vast clouds of space dust and gas 16000 light years away. still to come on the newshour: on the front les with an i.c.u. nurse who has seen more death in the past month than many see in their lives. minnesota senator amy klobuchar on the latest response to covid- 19. the pandemic's devastating effect on the uniquely vulnerable people of the navajo nation. mark shields and david brooks analyze the end of another historic week.

plus much more. em woodruff: since this pa began, we've been trying to capture the experiences of people working on thtlines of this epidemic. william brangham spoke today with a young nurse who's been at the very center of this outbreak, and struggling with his own role in it. >> brangham: thabes right. we'v hearing a lot of stories from doctors and nurses and administrators who a caring for the sickest patients in this epidemic. striking things i'd so farost has been what k.p. mendoza wrote 4 cently on facebook. he's a 2ar old i.c.u. nurse in new york city. this is just a sample of what he wrote."

i thought i was preparsee death. i had seen enough of it within myirst year in the i.c.u. yet in the last two weeks i have seen more people die than most people see in their entire lives. now, i am not so sure if death omething i am prepared t dee anymore. h is different now. death could pick me. the writer of those words, k.p. mendoza, is with me now. thank you very much for talking with us. >> thank you for having me, william. i appreciate it. >> brangham: just as i said, this dispatch that you wrote felt like just a sudden outpouring of what had been pent up for a long time. toat was it that prompted you write this in the first place? >> yeah. it was the end of a particularly difficult week. half since i've only been seeing covid patients in the i.c.u. where i work.

and that week had been difficult pocause i had had three patients again at that. and i was just kind of really cred of not feeling competent enough to tae of three patients because the typical one nurse.io is two patients to so having three patients who are gially sick just makes you feel like you're neveng enough and giving enough adequate care. i wajust like let me just write down how i feel. and i don't want to forget how i feeln this moment. and that's kind of what prompted me to write all that. >> brangham: we've heard a lot, obviously, about theages of protective gear for people like yourself and you. you've said it's gotten so bad at times for you that you even considered writing a will, wch is not something most 24 year olds do. i mean, is it still like that? >> it's funny. i think a part-- like a part of myself to the fact that either i currently have it, i have had it

or wl have it. and then there's this innate fear that if i do get tested for it, for the tibodies, say-- that if i test negative. will, that fear resume or will that panic come back? and i think that's what bugs me. ay it wavers waivers, because somei go in fearless and some days i come out like a coward. and it just it it's a it's a way. it's a strange wavering between fenfidence and a fear for my that was one reason that i felt the need to write it. and it was mostly for that. i didn't have the heart to tell you know, i don't o tell them that i think about time. the last thing i want to do is put them uhrough that. imately, i knew that they were going to see it, but i did have to say that to them over thphone or over facetime. i don't think i could do it. >> brangham: you also pote about yoents, about how you said when you were in tllege, you felt like you didn't have enoue to call them and check in with them. but now that you in e i.c.u., you start to see their faces metaphorically in some of the

people you're carrying for. >> yeah, i think i think if e if they can be called a silver lining, i think one of the few silver linings in this pandemic is that for me and hopefully and i really hope for a lot of people that, we reale how important it is to reach out to the people we love. and i think that's the one. like i said, beautiful part of this is that it's going to make people feel connected. and that's what i hope for. and it's one that i think we should never forget. and i hope more than anything that it changes things, whether it be for health care or for access to health, mary better care providers, or just i hope it makes the world better because of how much we suffered. healthcare workers like yourself being celebrated as heroes yus-- you said many times in your piece that you don't feel like a hero and you also said, don't mistake yr career choice for me wanting to be a ma i have a future. you wrote that. i want to live out.

i want to grow to be an old man, basically. >> yeah, i'm not gonna lie. you know, we should wanto grow d. we should want to live full long lives and hopefully oneshat are full of opportunity and happiness. and i've seeso many people, people have said, oh, like a you're a nurse, you should be used to death or be like you should be, you should be accustomed to putting your life on the line. and i'm like, this isn that's not health care, you know. and i can only say i speak f myself. but ultimately, i hope other health care workers agree with this, in that, i signed up to do good work and to come to work and to help people and i want to go home. i want to go home, i want to see k future ahead of myself and want to go b work the next day. motivated to do good work. >> brangham: as i'm sure you're aware, there's tgoing debate in the country about the stay at home restrictions too much, should we starto loosen them up? should we get the economy going again?

you have a perspective on this pandemic that's unique to almost anyone else in the country. from your perspective, what do you think of that debate? >> i think i thi the main ing that bothers me is i just i'm scared for the people who are going to die who didn't have to die. and i speak on this because as a nurse, i'm still getting, i'm very lucky to have a job. like, i don't want people to think that i'm not aware of teis. i'm very fortuecause i get to have a job. and i will never say i understand because don't i don't understand what's life for struggling families who are living paycheck to paycheck, whlye stimulus checks are ba enough to cover three or four days worth of food and other things that they might need to r.ovide but i'm for us opening the economy in a w that's safe. if we could bring cameras in and we could show people what's happening. i don't think pele would be as you know, they want to diminish it as a hoax. they wouldn't be so blatantly than a flu. over as nothing more and i just wish that i had an

tswer, but i can. all i can say t from my perspective as a nurse, i just don't want to see any more people die. >> brangham: all right. g p. mendoza, i.c.u. nurse work new york city. k you very, very much fo your time and thank you for what you're doing. >> thank you for having me. i appreciate it. >> woodruff: you can read an open letter mendoza wrote about his experience, and what he hopes we keep in mind when this is all over on our website pbs.org/newshour. nd>> woodruff: republicans democrats in congress continue to debate whether or not the federal government should financially help struggling and local governments wh have seen their budgets balloon during this pandemic. earlier today i spoke with atic senator amy klobuch of minnesota about congress's

role in all of this. amy klobuchar, thank you so much for joining us. your home state of minnesota,at took a loot, compared to neighboring wisconsin, you've got about the same population, but minnesota has only aut half the number of covid 19 cases. how do you explain that? >> well, i think it's a combination of things. our governor and ou elected officials have tried as much to speak as one voice, and we have been very clear about the governor has about people staying at home. we've also looked at things like hunting and fishingnd keeping that open, as well as some of our home repairs, things like that. i think that has helped in trying to figure out, and no one is going to figure out the right formula, no ane's seenthing like this before, but we're trying to do our best. the other thinge've do

recently as i've worked hard to tot mayo's theorem test approved in washi and now we've reached an agreement, the governor has, with mayo an university of minnesota, so the plan is to test up to 20,000 a day, which for a state of our size is pretty significantin and the one i would add, though, judy, is what we've seen in our state, like you've seen all over the country in georgia and other places, the highest per capita is sometimes rurals, arot the highest gross number of cases but the highest per capita and i am really concerned that we're not prepared for rural america.v of course, we more seniors, we have less hospitals andnt ators and the like and, so, we really start have to focusing on that. >> woouff: that's a story that needs to be told. senator klobuchar, now that congress has moved on, passed the fourth package of aid for small businesses, for people who

are out of work, questions have been raised about money that went to people, organizations, businesses that it shouldn't v. how do you know in t next go aund that it's not going to happin? >> a lot of this will be enforcement and oversight. i actually just brouht bunch of senators together on a letter of unjust enrichment to figt e at's happening here because there's no doubt when you have to have heavy duty oversight and enforcement. sign one was when the president fired the inspectorr geneal who had vast experience both in the department of defense and the justice department r major oversight of the money going out. that has to be watched. >> woodruff: with the debate beginning wer the next round know democrats are pushing for billions for state and local governments. the senate majority leader mitch mcconnell is saying he wants to puts the brake that. a report today from the congressionacoheressional budge,

deficit this year, how do you make the case, senator mcconnell talk abou having states declare case that money should go toe state and local government? >> well, let's start back. the first thing i could have do before we had this pandemic is not pass that republican tax bill. i know that seems like old news, edt that was a trillion dollars and democrats vo uniformly against that bill. ha there are inequities in our system after this pandemic we must prepare that would help us greatly with this deficit.se the segmennd thing, right now, we are in a national emergency, and the state and local governments need help. a lot of them have limited budgets. they're not able to sically put more money out like the federal government, and that's why we're fo.sed on this the third thing is, just now, we were the ones that had to push for the testing money,

$25 billion. and if the president had epared for this earlier and gotten the testing out, we would have been in better shape with our economy. >> reporter: one other thing -- two other things i want to ask you about veryuickly, senator, one is the bush by you and other democrats for money in the states and e mail-in andly voting. senator mcconnell, majority leader is saying this c't happen, you can't do it. senate with the majority.he negotiating tactic but maybe he should talk to the people in wisconsin who std in line in parbage bags and homemade masks while thsident of the united states was able to vote from the comfort of his home by sending in a mail-in ballot from florida. democrats and republicans want to see more mail-in ballots. governors in new hampshire, ohio, other states have called

for gog to all mail-in ballots. we have to have the polls open for 20 days. we were able to get over $400 million in the first bill and need to do more. that's why senator widen and i are leading the effort for the bill to make sure we've got reforms in place as well as more funding. the is not a democratic is. issue.a united states of ameri >> woodruff: speaking of the elections, vice president biden said h will choose a woman as his running mate. when both senator elizabeth rgiaen and the former g lieutenant governor stacey abrams were asked about this they said they were definitely inidrested you t's a hypothetical, but it is a decision he's going to be making. why not just come out an say one way tore the other whether au're interested? >> becausefocused right now on the people of this country and my state in this pandemic, and vei do belit's a hypothetical, because he's going to be making his own decision about who to ask, and

no one knows better than joe biden. he was a great vice president with president obama. he was a great vice president wen it came to -- druff: but it's clear that you're on the short list. >> -- accountability. well, we take each step at a time and, ght now, i'm doing my job and i'm helping joe biden across the country. i think that's very important, and i'm glad he's been getting out there and people are seeing him on tv ande the l because thople have to understand that e is an alternative to a that just yesterdas on tvtates to the nation and makes a joke, that you can drink disinfectant or bleach, and that going to help you. so i just think we need a leaderand that is what i am focused on, helping joe biden that's going to be able to bring confidence and empathy to the white house, and we don't have

that right now. >> woodruff: senator amy klobuchar of minnesota. us.nk you so much for joining >>ight, thank you, judy. >> woodruff: coronavirus infections and deaths are ripping througthe navajo nation. located on three diffent states, with an already- vulnerable population, coordinating care and information is not easy. as newshour's stephanie sy reports the community has taken on the challenge of caring for their own people. >> reporter: in navajo country, revid 19 found its grip at a gious revival event in early-march, in the upper western reaches of the reservation. >> we have clan families that come all over the navajoation to partipate in these events. t.d boy, it just took off like wildfire after t >> reporter: after the so-called superspreader event in chilchenbeeto, preside jonathan nez put increasingly

strict orders for social distancing in place, including weekend curfews. >> i haven't been able to hug my grandmother. >> wait by the door, drop off all the stuff, i just wave at her, that's it." >> reporter: at least 52 people who live on navajo nation have died from covid e , including 18-year old welder trevor tacheene's relatives. >> one person on the other side of my family has got it and has i'm very concerned it because i have family members that are young and are susceptible to it. and it's scaring my mother and my father every time we go out. >> reporter: getting the message out about social distancing on llthe reservation was init difficult. nez broadcasts updates daily on facebook, but many households lack quality internet access. it's also not practical for many on the reservaon to follow stay at home orders. sprawling across three states

with a population ofore than 173,000, wide swaths of the navajo nation are energy, food, and healthcare deserts. and actual desert, with limited water. >> we tell them to wash their hands, but 30% of the homes on navajo nation don't have running water. >> you know, we're a vulnerable population. >> reporter: one in fiive americans has diabetes and there's a high prevalence of obesity, both underlying conditions that can make covid 19 particularly dangerous. even the younger people on navajo nation have worse hlth outcomes >> we are seeing some patients that are not oveco60 that are ng in with severe covid illness because they almost allm havebid conditions. >> reporter: dr. diana hu has a been workithe tuba city regional health care center for , re than 30 years. the pediatric waere she normally works, has been turned into a respiratory clinic as has much of the hospital, since

vid 19 struck. >> it was actually almost like a tsunami when this first started in the middle ofarch where we had, you know, nine or 10 people getting sick and a day that had to be flown oufor tertiary care we get maybe one or two a day, and it's real oious when they're sick, unfortunately. >> reporter: many native american hospitals are not equipped for multiple severe ventilator cases. for now, patients are airlifted to facilities in phoenix and flagstaff. but dr. hu and her colleags are bracing for an overwhelming surge. e' if you know any nurses, love to have them. >> reporter: this week, the universi of california san francisco sent 14 nurses and seven physicians to navajo nation t phelp. the mossing shortage has been personnel. and this thing has not peaked on the navajo nation. >> we're not sure. if you look at our statistics,r which are pita, it's outrageous. the biggest issue i think that have with the federal government structure is at the coordinaon is pitting tiny

places like us against states,ag nst other hospitals. and the coordination is being left up to the states, which is very diffi something like the navajo nation. >> reporter: navajo nation has one of the highest ratesn the country of covid 19 on a per capita bas, behind only new york and new jersey. in arizona, about 20% of deaths from covid 19 have been native americans, when they make up only 5% of the state's pulation. the cares act granted $8 billion to stalize tribal communities, but the more than 500 sovereign tribes had collectively asked for closer to $20 billion. h the navae been the worst affected but other tribes are facing the same threat. n mexico, multiple native pueblo communities are seeing infection rates of coronavirus higher than big cities. minnesota declared medical in martial law several weeks ago, containing their sprd to one person. back on navajo lands in arizona, president nez described the

frustrating process accessing federal funds. >> it's taken too long. here in indian country, it seems to me we're always at the bottoi of the list whcomes to federal resources. >> reporter: the health disparities laid bare by covid 19 have reverberated across the navajo nation since the time of european colonization. in 2009, the h1n1 flu was four times as deadly in native population.ngas in the general duhe spanish flu pandemic of 1918, a similar sry.n' >> we change history. we should just hopefully learn from it. >> reporter: in recent days, vital resources have been rapid test kits thsident nez says can give results in less than an hnar. the arizononal guard has brought in supplies,tsnitially fromwn stockpile of masks and other protective gear. and people are stepping up to fill the needs of their

neighbors, sewing insks for fronworkers. >> i delivered some kayenta health center and they've been wanting more masks as well. >> we definitely see the need to make food and supplies like toilet paper and soap available during this time. >> we came across the an elderly who lives alone and he has no food so we are giving him-- we packed extra so that we are able give in case we run into this type of situation. >> reporter: and navajo coming together in shared struggle. >> we're encouraging our elders to share their stories, maybe stories of fort sumter in the long war. the stories of our culture, our tradition and our lang so remember this time as a scary ment. this is in a way, what we've been praying forto eunite families, to reunite couples, to hand down our

language, our culture tradition to the next generati >> reporter: it may be an optimistic way of looking at a the navajo tell the helpedries them endure. for the pbs newshour, i'm ephanie sy in phoenix. >> woodruff: now wturn to the analysis of shields and brooks. that's syndicated columnist mark shields and "new york times" columnist david brooks. so all three of us are at r homes. it's great to see both you, mark, and you sdaviying safe. let's start with president trump's decision to turn over to the governors the decision about whetd when to open up. mark, we've seen the state of georgia, other states moving quickly to reverse the

stay-at-home orders. there are questions being raised about whether it's too early. the president himself at poin backing down on his support for. this how do you read all this? >> you havto watch it closely, judy. i mean, just lasweekend, the president was in bold typeee ng out liberate minnesota, liberate michliganerate virginia, to put pressure on democratic governors there to lift the bans and lift the quarantine. so kemp, the governor of georgia, who i theast in the country to impose stay-at-home rules, wants to be the first to lift them andhought he had a , but the presidente president, doesn't forget thee fact tssha ,i while he is a loyal supporter of mr. kemp, it's an off and on thing because kemp, if you'll

recall, just at a petty political point, instead of appointing johnny icicsson's vacancy in the united states senate, dougollins, the congressman from georgia who has been so close to the president, he appointed kelly loefl, and donald trump was told, according to reports from cnn, by anthonyc dr. anthony fauci that he could not support and would not defend the lifting of the quarantine in georgia, so he backed off. it appears to be aca cyni political ploy with the following formula, foanything that improves the economy, the increase in the pandemic, inny incidents of disease and death, at ha has been the decision of the governor. >> woodruff: so, david, i mean, the president, by doing this, is passing on responsibility to the governors,

for better or worse. >> yeah, and i'm hapy about it. i don't want life or death decisions made by a guy who thinks thi can be solved by drinng disinfectant. so we're getting it into safer upand better hand there's a division of poers here. federal government is there tole ut money and organize testing and things like that. so far it's done a reasonably good j at doling out a lot of money. but the states are there to make desions about their own states. if you had people in wyomingha thinkingwashington was going to determine their life or death, they'd rebel against washington. if you had a lot of progressive areas thinking donald trump was going to determinlife or death decisions, they'd rebel against donald trump. so i think it's much better to do this on the local levee the nal thing i will say, i think we're overstating how much conflict there is in america. americans are amazingly united noem 90% ofcrats and 82% of

distancing. support the social 90% of americans, complete bipartisan consensus, beleve if we loosen too much there will be a second wave. 76% of americans say even if their governor did loosen, they would gotten out. to me the big story is we're o sohanging together through this. >> woouff: evidently so, if you believe those polls. but, mark, going back to wha david mentioned a moment ago and that is the president's statement yesterday about injecting ultraviolet light or disinfectant into ourselves. today, the white house was oksaying that was just a they didn't mean it, but there have been other statements he's made abendorsing thisma anria drug that the experts are saying can't be relied on. what are the american people keo f all this? >> judy, i think the most unreported story of the week is piers morgan, the prichett

television joualist who is a friend of the president, one of the 47 people on twitter thet presidhas access, to has given three interviews to british television, is morgan, and piersn wento piers public and said what an awful lot of trump supporicrs and crhave been saying and that is, mr. president, you're really hurting yourself in these television daily conferences, self-aggrandizing, across as self-interested, as really not a leader, you're concerned more about your own reelection than the health and well being of thw peop elected you. i really think that that crystallized the criticism, a number of republicans haved followed, i think you will see the president backing off. yesterday's performance was the worst. i mean to say lysol was a possibility for inhalation

sarcastically -- he's not wil rogers, her's not jery seinfeld, he's not a man known for his sense of humor. it wasn scasm, it was donald trump being reckless and irresponsible, and i think you've seen numbers drop and i think the daily press conference has been a principal contributing factor to it.oo >>ruff: and, david, just in the last hour, the white thate has let it be know they are now going to be cutting short these daily briefings, some of which have gone on for two hours and longer. so, i mean, how much in the endt does it what the president is saying at a time like this? the american people, how much do they need to hear from their political leader and how much de they need to from medical experts? >> they need medical experts. it's tough on morale, it's a drain on all of us. even supporters feel drained about his foolery. but i don't think it's damaged

the way people act. the funny thing, i noticed in my aycal grocery store, about a month ago 5% of the people were wearing masks, then 30%, then suddenly flipped and was a 70 starting o weeks ago, even before the came down,ask people spoke to you and said you need to go get a mask. that shows to me a community settg new norms, moral standards, having expectations of how to protect one another. when i see a community acting as one like in the grocery store and we all see it, then we see a community where people understand the obligat have to each other and that was not automatic going intthis. most plagues, that's not how people behave. i think it hurts our morale what trump does but i wouldn't say it destroyed it. >> woodruff: interestingch you say people at the grocery stor we're seeing much of the same thing. doffed, mark -- david, mark, i

wantto come what congress was able to do, passing legislation to prot de more suppr small businesses, some for hospitals and others. how much difference is this aid? going to mak how much more will be needed? we're seeing worry about the size of the deficit,he debt that the country is going to owe when it's all over. where does the argument land there? >> i don't know how much difference it wants gomag to . i'll say this, judy, the immortal dante, as f.d.re rred to them, ways and sins of the cold-hearted and the sins of the warm-hearted on a different scale. in other words, thiis reaching out to people who had been left ou of t first aid to minorities, to women, to small businesses, not publicly-traded companies, which hundreds of millions of dollars of small business aident to, to hospitals, the people who are on

the front line and dealing with and, you know, to me, it showed, an awareness and an understanding. i don't think anybody understands theravity economically. it's going to be -- it is enormous. it will be enormous. but right now, what we've seen is sort ofa bait and switch on the part of republicans who said, oh,you can do the aid to local cities and states, and the next one, said kevin mccarthy, the republican house leader and mitch mcconnell, republican leader, says there will be no next one. >> woodruff: so david, in a few words, how much is the rry about the debt, the deficit going to be part of this going rward as people are hurting? >> yeah, i don't think it should be. in wartim even fiscal conservatives believe in spending. they've done a good thin this paycheck protection act for small businesses, it's

impressive how much money they've gotten out the door. there's some people in the small business administration that are working 18-hour days to get that much money. i'm impressed at how much money they've en gotten out the the door. they've spent hundreds of millions of dollars and passed a difficult piece of legislation on a bipartisan basis, members of congress, even when it's lap, they're just so used to bickering. >> woodruff: in 45 seconds we have left, i want to ask each of you how you're doing staying at home all the time or almost all the time. mark, how is it going? >> i'm rereading tolsy r the third time -- no, i'm not.a i ranged my sock drawer and i'm doing fine. i've had the same oneor half a century and a am finding nd wonderful things about her every day. >> woodruff: pretty good roommate, we know anne shields. david, how are you holding up?

how e you doing? >> i'm blessed. i have a fine group of peop in my family and i'm playing my son in ping-pong ferciously and hoping to develop a bahand by the end of this. amid the great worry we're going through. ethere are many blessingn in these days with family. >> woodruff: i feel the same way, so much more to be grateful for than the other way around. we're grateful for the two of you. david brooks, mark shields, thank you and please sta sye. >> thank you, judy. >> woodruf again on this friday night, we remember a few of the tens of tusands of americans who have passed away from the virus, part oour continuing effort to honor the public servants and community leaders we have lost.

bin hardy became a pastor when she was 25 years old and served as vice president of her church in baton rouge, louisiana. her children remember a unifier, both in church and as the founder of a mentorship program for girls, where they say she reached more than 1,000 women, and did so in style. hardy was 56 years old. pediatric neurosurgeon dr. james goodrich of new york's montefiore medical center garnered international acclaim for successfully separating 10 twins conjoined at the head, and advising dozens of other such surgeries. outside the operating room, the- 73-yd was a bonsai tree enthusiast.ra o had a l of rare, and was an avid playthe australian aboriginal instrument

the didgeridoo. his friends dubbed him "the most inresting man in the world vitalina williams loved gardeninand cooking with her husband in salem, massachusetts, jobs at the local grocery store and walmart. bold and principled, williams was known as the "c.e.o. and c.f.o." of her family. she came to the united states from guatemala in the 1990's, and spoke to her family there on the pho every day. she was 56 years old. 61-year-old quinsey simpson, a correctional officer at new york's rikers island, was known for his calm demeanor, great sense of humor, and hard work ethic. when he contracted covid-19, quinsey called in sick for only the second time in his 18 years on the job. he was a mentor to the basketball players he coached, neighborhood school kids, and

his six-year-old son, ayden. karen ketcher dedicated her career to serving native american tribes in oklahoma and ross the country. karen loved to sew, including memorable prom and wedding dresses, and spent all of her free time with her family, hergr grandkids ant grandkids. she was known as ee's"e nation, granny kar" for loving everyone in the community like she was 70 years o and on the newshour online righh now, messages e and appreciation are appearing on sidewalks around the country. we talked to artists, both ateur and professional, how they're connecting with others through chalk art. that's on our web site,

pbs.org/newshour. and that's the newshour for toght. i'm judy woodruff. have a great weekend. thank you, please stay safe, and good night. f >> major fundi the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> life isn't a straight line, and sometimes you can find yourself heading in a ne direction. fidelity is here to help you work through the unexpected, with financial planning and advice for today, and tomorrow. >> the william and flora hewlett foundation. for more than 50 years, advancing ideas anitsupporting inions to promote a better world. at www.hewlett.org. >> supporting social entrepreneurs and their w solutions to tld's most pressing problems-- skollfoundation.org.

>> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and friends of the nshour. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for publ broadcasting. and by contributions to yo pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. po captioning snsored by newshour productions, llc captioned byce media group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

tonight on kqed newsroom, president trump signs into law another round of coronavirus relief offending. plus in the first study of its kind in the naon, ucsf searchers are testing everyone they can in two loitl comms to uncover how the virus spread and as protesters call on the governor to open shuttered businesses, we zero in on one california county that is to pushing reopen right now. and we nnect with a best- selling local artist who is inspiring kids around the world to pick up d their sketchpad drop with her. >> hello and welcome to kqed newsroom