captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening. i'm judy w tdruff. on newshour tonight: the united states approaches 60,000 deaths, as the economy contracts at its steepest rate 2008. the financial collapse of then, how secure is the food supply? a look athe meatpacking industry, and the cracks that are beginning to show in american agricture. plus, medicines for covid. what to make of potentially hopeful signs of a tnt, while questions remain about the accuracy of tests for antibodieso neutralize the virus. and, the added challenges of serving students with special needs-- when the classroom becomes the home.

all that and more, on tonit's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ moving our enomy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that coects us. >> fidelity investments. >> fidelity investments.ll

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oodruff: a medicine to treat it is making headlines tonight.m that development comes as u.s. deaths from covid-19 have reached 60,000, exceeding the 58,000 killed in the vietnamno war, and ec growth has suffered in this country its sharpest collapse in a dozen years. stephanie sy hrt our lead re >> reporter: the glimmerings of hopeful news today ithe battle to contain covid-19. there were positive results frot the experi drug remdesivir, made by the biotech firm gilead, in a inrnational study run by the u.s. national institutes of health. voiced hope, at the house.auci >> the data shows that remdesivir has a clear-cut, significant, positive effect in diminishing time to recovery. >> reporter: the study, amg hospitalized covid-19 patients, showed those who took the drug

has a 31% faster recovery time. the food and drug administratioi said i permit emergency use of remdesivir. bupe on the economic front, was harder to find. the pandemic has now officially stopped the u.s. economy's longest expansion on record. the nation's output of goods and seices shrank at an annual rate of 4.8% in the first quarter. and, as white house economic acknowledged, that's just the beginning. >> the next quarter is going to be much wors but, you know, you close the onomy down for two months- plus, and you know, we've donee everythingn to provide liquidity and cash assistance and protect workers. >> reporter: a new pbs newshour/npr/marist poll finds that 50% of americans have been did off, or have a househ member who has either lost a job or had their hours cut. just today, boeing announced it will cut 10% of its workforce.

in another bid to shore things up, the federal reserve announced it will keep a key interest rate near zero for the foreseeable future. jerome powell the fed's chairman. >> what i'm trying to assuha, really, isthe market is working. the market is assessing the risks. lenders are lendg, borrowers are borrowing. >> reporter: the nation's food supply chain is also under new scrutiny. president trump last night signed an executive order telling meatpacking plants to remain open to avoid shortages. at least 17 plants have closed temporarily in recent weeks due to outbreaks of the coronavirus among workers, and unions quickly criticized the president's order. but in the oval office today, president trump pushed back, epclaiming workers will be safe. >> they're going to be very careful as to who's goto the plant, and the quarantine is going to be very strong, and we're going to make pele better when they have a problemp >>ter: more states are pushing to reopen as well,

allowing retailers andto restaurantpen, and trying to reassure potential customers. y welcome to the cleburne! sit down and enjr meal like you did in the old days. >> reporter: this ntuston restaus providing hand sanitizer and taking customers' temperatures. but in areas that were hot spots, officials like new york governor andw cuomo againca counseleion. >> make the decisions on the facts, make the decisions on the numbers. you can reopen if you don't increase hospitalizations, and if you don't increase infection rate >> reporter: ieurope, covid-19's spread across the continent has led to a slow start to a usually by tourism season. in hard-hit italy, a beachfront near naples is deserted as hotels and beaches remain closed. and, greece's corfu island is bracing for the worst. >> we don't know if our hotelsn will open, wll they open, so we are right now in the brink

of very hard times. >> reporter: in germany today, officials extended a travel warning until mid-june, despite protests from industry groups. and in japan, prime minister shinzo abe warned that they- alreadpostponed tokyo summer olympics may not be held next year, either, unless there is a covid-19 vaccine by then. for the pbs newshour, i' stephanie sy.uf >> woo wall street surged today on hopes for a major medical advance in the pandemic. rae dow jones industrial a gained 532 points to close at 24sd63. the rose 307 points-- 3.5% and the s&p 500 was up 76. now, the latest information on treating covid-19, and finding ways to tell w's been infected. as plans grow to re-open the economy, one key pre-requisiteg will be testr antibodies,

to see who has already been exposed and theoretically is safe from further infection. there is now a flood of new tests on the market, but, not without controversy. we're going to look at that, as well as something else-- an anti-viral drug that was just today approved for emergency use. our science correspondent miles o'brien is here to help us sort things out. it is part of our regular look at "the leadinedge" of science and research. so miles, first, let's talk about this drug that seems to be promise in slowing the march of covid-19. what have scientists learned? called remdesivir. drug is the first documented covid-19 patient in the united states in january in the seattle area was infused with the antiviral. and that patient, who wasin fafast and showing signs of pneumonia, had a very abrupt turn-about for the good, and was released from the hospital only a few days later.

now, the details of the study announced today bear tt. it suggests that covid-19 patien who are infused with remdesivir can be released, as soon as four days earlier. the doctor who treated him, and dr. george diaz of the providence regional medicaln centererett, washington, told us, this is making us more optimistic that we are headed down the right path with remdesivir. >> woodruff: but miles, this is not the final story, is it?st the studies arl underway, after all. >> yes, it's a global study conducted at multiple sites all around the world. so, now that there's news that the drug can in fact block the progress of the virus, the trial rules can be changed-- no more patients receiving the place. in other words, everyone will get the drug, to see if there's

some effect. we still don't know if patients on remdezivir are less likelto die. that is still under review. there was a study in china earlier on that involved that particular issue, but it didn't it was flawed.e lusion. it's a muddied stu. and researchers were only able to test about half on the 450 subjects they hoped to study. >> woodruff: let'surn the corner and talk abt something else. what are antibody tests? how do they differ from the testing us to identify the virus itself? >> yeah, it's sort of a question of tense. if you want to know if someone in the moment has the coronavirus in the system, t best way to do that is with a nasal swab and a test inds the genetic fingerprint of the germ. but, if you want to know if someone had it in the past, they

way to go is witan antibody test. antibodies are the foot soldiers of our immune system. they are proteins created by white blood cells that are spifically tailored to identify and help attack invaders. most of us have all kinds of antibodies in our system to help ward off a whole host of infections. of course, the problem with this novel coronavirus is, it gets free reign: no antibodies to stop it. but, when our immune systems figures out what the threat looks like, our white blood cells get busy, producing new anti-virus foot soldiers. antibodies to the rescue. they are tailor-made, like puzzle pieces, to attach to the w invader and hopefully protect from it. in essence, a test puts a piece of thvirus in contact with some blood. if the blood contains the antibodies designed to fight the novel coronavirus, they will be

acevated, causing a detecta chemical reaction. >> woodruff: and miles, how do they know they're testing for the right antibo? this inew. and with so many tests coming accurate and what'know what's >> you're right, judy, having a test that can pick out t right type of antibody in a sea of antibodies is the key. scientists at the university of ndcalifornia-san franciscot u.c. berkeley have started testing all these antibody tests which are appearing on the market like mushrooms. none of the 12 tests their collaboration has tested so far make the grade. i repeat, none of the tests. all kinds of false positives ana e negatives. >> woodruff: that's discouraging to hear, because miles, we know, havi an antibody test would very important for a lot of reasons.

not the least of which islp g people understand if they have immunity. we're going to have to know aut lot more aho's been exposed and who's contagious. >> tests like these are really helpful, as epidemiologists really understand how widespread the virus is. ideally, antibody tests wouldll s who beat an infection and may be able to go back to work. but that's a much bigger challenge, because scientists can't be certain that the antibodies that they identify in these tests-- assuming they're accurate-- are in fact protective, so, it gets even more complicated. so, for now there is no way to determine if anyone has immunity to ss-cov-2. immunologist alex marson is on that u.c.s.f. and u.c.-berkeley team. >> having a test that will tell us easily who's protected from reinfection, it's all of our hopes. there's a lot of work ahead to be done. but one message i want to get out there very, very clear. none of these tests should

currently give anyone a feeling that they're safe from reinfection and modify their behavior to take on more risk. we are just not there yet. >> so those are really important words from a scientist. we hope everyone takes those to heart. you know, scientists say the experience they've had with other viruses, including other coronavirus like the common cold, makes them feel encourageh that humanhave antibodies to this novel coronavirus and will have somemmunity for some period o ttime. no onks it will be different this time-- but it is t proven. >> woodruff: miles o'brien, bringing us up to date. miles, thank you. >> you're welcome.

>> woodruff: in the day's other news, the u.s. small business administration reserved eight hours-- unl midnight-- for small banks to submit coronavirus relief loans for their customers. it's part of the paycheck protection program. there has been intense criticism that community lenders, an their small business clients, have been pushed aside in the process. the u.s. navy today widened its investigation of the covid-19 outbreak aboard the aircraft carrier "theodore roosevelt." in a statement, the acting navy secretary, james mcpherson, cited unanswered questions that he said need a deeper review. the announcement delays any re-instatement of brett crozier as the carrier's captain. he was fired after pleading for his crew to be evacuated. in the presidential race, the prive democratic nominee joe biden has won ohio's primary. tuesday's vote had been was delayed by the covid-19t pandemic.

most of the voting was done by mail.an the governing body for college sports, the n.c.a.a., is moving ahead wita plan to let athletes earn money endorsements and the like.ti the organi's board of governors backed the rule change today. that paves the way for member schools to vote wxt january. l discuss the implications later in the program. still to come on the newshour: the american meat industryn a moment of cris, as covid-19 hits the processing plants. the vulnerability of scial needs students, as millions of children are forced to learn from home. plus, much more.

>> woodruff: we're going to focus now on the questions around meat processing plants, worker safety and the food supply. while president trump has signed an executive order to keep the plants open, a number closed.essing facilities remain in minnesota, a pork plant did re-open toy, briefly-- not to resume processing hogs, but to euthanize a growing surplus of animals.es special condent fred de sam lazaro begins our look with a report on how this is playing out for farmers. >> reporter: it's spring planting time in southern nnesota. soon, these vast prairies will destined for markets around the world. but the largest number of consumers they will feed are not human, and not far away. minnesota and neighboring iowa are among the largest pork- producing regions in the world. mike patterson's famy habeen

doing thultiple generations. they are part of an elorate food chain, that ends, in this case, at the smithfield plant 200 miles away, in sioux falls, south dakota. like more than two dozen meatpacking facilities that have seen closure across the country, this one has been shuttered since april 11 after a covid-19 outbreak. so has another nearby pork plant, j.b.s., in worthington, minnesota. patterson says he's looking at staggering losses. a >> if we werene to harvest any of the hogs on our farm,we e looking at probably $450,000. and then we're, we're not a big operation. >> reporter: this barn is one of three on patterson farm, it holds 1,000 hogs, and it's here that you get a sense of the s enormole of the industry that the pattersons are part ofh smithfield plant in south dakota, where these animals would normally go, takes in

,000 pigs every day! >> you know, i probably knew it, but i don't think i appreciated the ficiency of the whole system. and when one piece of that system goes down, you know, i don't think i apd it.idn't. >> reporter: while plant workers continue to receive 80% of their wages during the shutdown, it's hundreds of hog farmers like patterson who say ey stand to lose the most. animals are brought to these so-called "finishing barns" from over 16 to 20 weekto a nearly-ed exact weight required by slaughter and cking houses like smithfield.re as they'oved out, a new batch of young animals are ready to take their place. >> well, if we haven't been able to sell any hogs, obviously, those rns aren't empty. so where do those pigs go? >> reporter: so you have some ugly options. >> in the industry, there's been talk of euthanasia of swine, orn depopulaf harvest-ready hogs.

that's something that we ass farmst absolutely don't want to happen. >> reporter: a couple of hours ay, the much smaller sobocinski farm has just about 300 pigs, whose owner says they're really thriving. >> we're raising them in a natural system without antibiotics, and usiep bedding. >>ter: paul sobocinski decided two decades ago to scale back from what he callsdu the rialized system that now produces much of the nation's meat. has it been the right decision financiall >> financially, this isn't perfect. but overall, it's been a good decision. >> reporte his animals are processed at a small nearby slaughterhouse, which has not reported any covid cases. no one has tested positive for covid-19. the meat is sold through national network of independent producers caed niman's ranch. sobocinski has long been an activist against a system that he says has concentrated power and profit in a few corporate hands, athexpense of both laborers and farmers. >> meat prices he went down substantially because of the

coronavirus. who's grabbed all that money? has food come down in the grocery store? no, it hasn't. >> i think it's important that we retool what we're doing out here and start creating moreit opport more processing plants. so, more that's done here in the community. >> reporter: for patterson, however, it boils down to keeping pork prices as low as possible. >> i understand that local piece of it, and i appreciate that. t how do we feed the masses and do it cheaply? llyou can't do that on a s scale. you need this. you need the efficiencies of size and scale to be able to get that don >> reporter: the debate is a not new, may well return, post-covid-19. just how much are american consumers willing to pay for their food, and has the pandemie changed attitu but more immediately, patterson and hundreds of fellow hog iofarms are watching anxly for word on when the two mega factories can re-open, tweaking the diet of their animals to slowheir weight gain. >> we've maybe bought a week to

ten days, maybe two so we're trying everything we can to slow them down. reporter: when plants do reopen, however, workers could be farther apartn the production line to prevent the spread of covid-19. that would slow down the lin which would mean fewer animals at the plant-- and more,pa erson says, in his barns, with nowhere to go. ifor the pbs newshour, th fred de sam lazaro, in kenyon, minnesota. >> woodruff: fred's reporting is a partnership with the undertold stories project at the university of . thomas, in minnesota. william brangham explores a number of the quesons surrounding the executive order and what could change at the plants. >> brangham: and for that, i am joined by amy mayer of iowa public radio and harvest public media. amy, thanks for being on the "newshour" again. president trump said meat packing plants and meat processing plants are part of the country's critical what does his executive order

mean? what do we know? >>t means tha these plants are expected to stay open. it means they fall into a category of employer that hasrt n responsibilities but also certain privileges for staying open.e there ome unknowns. the plants obviously have to prioritize worker safety, and their employees' health and well being, but it does give them the obligation but also the opportunity to stay en and have, you know, the force of the federal government behem in that decision. >> reporter: but it's not totally clear if the gvernment could, if, say, one plant or one ngmpany was resistant to doi so, it's not clear if the federal government has the authority to force them to do so. >> it's the reopening that seems unclea there are se plants that are currently closed because of outbreaks of covid 19. most of those companies would prefer to be open.

they've either closed because to have the sheer numr of cas or, in some cases, pressurfrom local and state governments. with this federal order, certainly the local and sta governments would not be able to essure them to close because they would have this federal mandate to be open. what remai little bit unclear now is for the ones that are currently in closure, woulde they ho speed up their reopenings becseauo have the order. >> reporter: we know tyson foods, one of the major memaat facturers in the country, warned there might be millions and millions of pounds of meat that basically drops out of that supply chain. do you have a sense of the impact this might have on consumers? theoretically, that's what the president is acting on behalf of, toeea steady supply of food in stores. >> that's right. i've hea some conflicting ings abwhat the impact on we hear largembers from the meat plants. i don't think consumerseally ve a sense of how much meat

goes out in a day anyway, so what might be lost is sort of a difficult nuer to process. we do know, for example, thater are millions of pounds of meat in cold storage. eth not the types of meat we're perhaps accustomed to buying at the grocery store. it might be more prcessed met or cuts that are sent to export markets, but the'that. there was also a large already in the supply chain because it's no longer going to restaurants and institutional settings. lot of that government i buying to send to food banks and people in need. some of that could get divted to the retail sector. there could be shortages and, in some comes, people at the grocery store have already seen meat cas eesmptying more quickly than usual. part of that is shopper behavior, going to the store less often and buying more as they go. >> reporter: thousands ofer woat different plants have gotten sick and, if they're forced to reopen, there's tk of can this work be done where

there's more socialistancing gear.orkers can wear pro do you know where that's possible? can you run a modern meat processing facility and protect workers from a virus like this? >> it's recoming incingly clear to me that you cannot run your plant at yor usual full capacity and meet the social distancing and oher requirements to prevent virus spread. for example, i heard aorker describe today being on a break line in a beef plant.er that's lily where workers are taking halves of cattle and thent cutting tem into smaller piecesnd then they get moved along to be made into the sorts of cuts we recognize. he said, in that environment workers are typically one and a half to two feet away from each other, working hard, phyy,sica constantly all day at chilled room temperatures. so they're sweating becaue theyrking hard, but they're breathing into theseds face shihey have been given which caus fogging so they can't see, so it's notac cal to work in that p.p.e.

you can see the domino effecthe . but to change your operation so that those workers could be sixe animals than you would expect toprocess. so these are decisions the plants are going to have to evaluate. but if they can't shut down to rearrange their work structures, i don't seeow they could implement the dramatic changes in the worlace situation. on the other hand, there are lines from companies have been able to put up plexiglass shields between workers. that can helecp esplly when workers are side by side that that cou provide protection. >> reporter: may may, public radio and harvest public media. thank you so much for your time. >> thanks for having me. >> woodruff: in the u.s., roughly 14% of students enlled in public school receive special

education services. as families across the nation are grappling with how to teh their students from home, we wanted to look at thparticular challenges parents of these students are facing. w heret we heard. >> my name is erin croyle. i live in ithaca, new york. i havehree children. i have a nine-year-old who has down syndrome and adhd, and some other medical complexities that make it really, really difficult right now. my son, my oldest, requires a team of anywhere between threeat to ten peopl time to help him learn. he's refusing to work. he's refusing to do any of the materials. >> my name is trishia bermudez,n i live in auburn, new york, which is on the rockaway peninsula. and my son is matthe he is seven, and he was born with a rare chromosome deletion

so, that pm under a unique ecbrella in the special education world,se he has, one of his diagnoses is learning disability and gtabal developmdelay. r me, it's more about his regression and what that looks like, and how much more work he will need once we come out of this pandemic. >> my name is angela franco. i live in rockville,aryland. my son is matthew ulick. he's 11 yes old. he has attended a special education program since he was five years old. i'm doing my best to keep it at home. you know, obviously it's not the same. being at the school, with a schedule, you know, withha somebodyis not necessarily their parent, that he's an outsider, that can be more objective. >> my name is corinne ressler. i live in san carlos, california, and i teach second, third, fourth and fifth graders with mild to moderate disabilities.

the assignments are relatively similar to what we were doing in little bit.om, but dialed back a we've been told that we don't have to be teaching anything 'mnew. >>avid perry. i live in short, minnesota, the twin cities.just north of and my son is 13. he's one of two kids. he's-- my daughter's 10. he has down syndrome and is autistic. he is, i guess what the professionals call functiolly nonverba we try to do the assignments that we can do we look for the ones that are well adapted, and that seem to make sse. and we let a lot of things go, a and letting a lot of things slide. >> i try to do a schedule and i try to get something to happen every day, and every day, i feel like a failure. and i get emotional because i care so deeply aut his education. but it's not possible. >> for physical therapy, h literally, i'maving to hold

his arms to make sure he extends them, or, you know, kind of coaching him on the other end of some things, to kind of go on. but he's distracted, you know, because we're at home. >> they're doing things online, but i put together, like, ani aker in my house. so, he has the tools. he has the glue. he has a screwdriver. one day, he came out with a trash picker that he made with a shoe box and a piece of wood. so, he got it and he put it on top of the shoe box. and i think it looked amazing. i was like, wow, i'm impressed with my son. >> he often requires af highly specific and intensive supports. dam not a trained special teacher. i'm not trained in providing him those supports. if whai did all day was just sit with him and work on education, i think we could

really accomplish a lo but i'm not able to do that because i'm work ig from home. ell them every day that if they ever want to talk to me, that they can message mem n the classrd then we can have a one-on-one conversation. and i have donthat with the student who was feeling very anxious and worried. and we talked about hoshe was feeling. and she was very sad that we >> this is much bigger than just saying, let's open schools. what does that game plan look like for our kids? and the plan that comes out of th children aggressively. >> we've been home for a month, and i think maybe i have sat him down and gotten him to engage, maybe three times. and it's a little bit heartbreaking, but it also is, i just chalk it up to a win, because you got to take what you can get, and hoping that will lead to more success.

>> woodruff: heartwarming and also hard to hear. we want to dig deeper at the challenges facing families with special need students right now she is the legal director for the council of parent attorneys and advocates, a non-profit that aims to protect the legal and civil rights of children wit disabilities. selene almazan, thank you very much.oi you have been this work for, what, more than 30 years. and you were telling us that one of the hardest things aboatut going on right now is what these children are losing ssroom.being in the cla >> yes, it's heartbreaking to listen to those families tryo do what schools do every day with students with disabilities. so it really is heartbreaking, and i don't know what i wouldg do, be theirituation. students with disabilities are losingut on an enormous amount demic,now during this pan and it is difficult to hear

truggles. >> woodruff: you pay a lot of attention to what school districts, what schools are required to do. tell us just in general, what ine schools required to do working with these children, and then how is it different, now at these children are out of the class? >> well, schools are required to provid free appropriate public education to children so they can make progress in their academic educational environment. they're supposed to address their -- the needs that th disabilities present, whether that's through academic, reading, writing, math, other, students' neeeech therapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and se students need more than what public schools can offer them and requirepl privatement at public expense, and those ae special education schools. so schools throughoutthe country pre-pandemic are

providing ma children with an appropriate education. the concern that we have had since the beginning to have e schooll cosures was what our schools are going to do to address the needs of children with disabilit: s. >> woodrud realistically, how much of what these children were getng in the classroom -- we heard one mother say her son requians here from three to ten people to work with him. how much of that can parents be realistically expected to do? >> well, i think it's hard o because parents are alying to work from home, if they remain employed, so that's a plus that they're still employed. but it is difficu for families. schools need to start where the i.e.p. is, the individual education program, which is the road map that schools have to follow in order to educate a child. many schools have implementeds the ance learning plans. those distance learning plans need to look at the goals on the i.e.p. and continue to work on

some of those goals in the distance learning plan.a so ihild has needs in reading, if a child has nee in math, they should continue to distance learningn. through the if the child has speech language needs and needs speech and language therapy, then that needto be addressed. i think one of the mothers said that her child was receiving physical therapy electronically, but it rquires her to manipulate his arms in order to participate in the physical therapy. and it is a lot for families. >> woodruff: we heard one of the mothers say she feels like a failure. what is your advice to parents who are watching this, listening to this andeeling that this is more than they are capable of doing? >> well, from the outset, copa has encouraged people to work together with their school

districts. we're sort of all in this together, but also we've avised families to look at where a child was the day before school to do then academically withe their speechr th physical therapy, what was the child able to do, and then keep track either thgh video, either through data collection, either through oking at the assignments the child was able to complete pre-closure, what the child is able to complete dung the closure instruction, and document that so that when schools resume, they can come to the school and y y, mchild has regressed or my child has lost the skills, and this is where my child is now. we need to look at where he is now and start to program for him going forward eitr by revising the i.e.p., by looking at new evaluations to see where a child is presently when they come bac to school. it's hard when you're a parent of a child with a disability, i

know that from myw on experience, and what i do tell families is you just have to look at where you are on that day, and tomorrow is another day. p whents of children with disabilities, know what we know as parents of children that have needs is that every day is a ne day, and we alnow that we have to work really hard at documenting for schools so that schools will ow exactly t a child is going to need. parents are a child's biggest vocate. you know your child the best. the only thing you can do between now and when school starts is continue to document, document, document what a childo is doingw, what they were able to do before, so that on

school re-- so that, when school information to the school. >> woodruff: good advice, i am sure, for all these parents. we all need to give them as much support as we possibly can. selene almazan joining us from maryland. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> woodruff: college athletics may be suspended right now, t when sports resume to a more basketball remain siness, and with billions of dollars at stake. there has long been a debate over whether athletes should be compensated in some right, or better able to access money made through these sports. the n.c.a.a. opened the door to a significant change on that front today. amna nawaz is here with more. >> nawaz: judy, the n.c.a.a.'s board of governors will finally allow college athletes to earn money from endorsements, and toi

caon business made from their names, image and likeness. but, schools and athletic conferences won't be a part of it, and there will be no pay-me for-play arran. i'm joined now by len elmore, former college and n.b.a. sketball player. he is also a member of the knight commission on intercollegiate athletics, which supports the educational missioe of colports. "newshour". welcome to the thanks for being with us, and let's just start with the decision today. what was your reactio to the latest steps from the ncaa. >> well, i was very pleased to see that the ncaa is uhering in a new era for college sports, i mean, in anra where soon athletes will be treated fairly, thor will have an opnity to be able to capitalize on their name, image and lika ess which istural right, something that can't be aggregated by any administrative body and, certainly, if they want to give i an opportunity, they should be compensated. it's different from place to place. >> reporter: help us understand the details because

even the ncaa said this is uncharted territory. if a player, say, wants to don autograph signing for money or get a brand deal on instagram, but does this mean nike can now sponsor a college athlete or a local business in a college town can pay to put yun a billboard? >> i'm not sure those details have been exprely flushed out, but essentially that's the idea, to be able to capitalize on who you are ol a lege athlete which was here t heretofore for. there are some rules that hep keep athletes from being exploited and making sure there are no under-tablepe payments made. institutions can't generate an athlete.ent deal for a student however, again, student athletes, in some instances, ey can't represent sponsors that are already sponsoring the institution, and, you know,

that's why we have state laws that have beennconsistent on that front. >> reporter: so institutions can't get in on the deal bu, for example, say there's, you know, a college athlete who has already influence from an agent. we know there's corruption at every level, agents getting involved, even at the high school and certainly at the college level. are you worried this opens the door for more exploitation for many influences that are already a part of the stem? >> i think allowing agents involved is something the nca is still discussing in the board of governors. i don't believe it's an good idea for that reason. they allow marketing tooghts generate opportunities for student athletes, but say you n't be involved in pursuing professional opportunities. well, good luck with that because once the agents are involved, they're going after the most lucrave opportunities there are and that would be essentially from a pro

portunity situation, and agent -->> reporter: and when na rule were put to place to prioritize education, a lot of them are one and don they use college to propel them into the pros. they're making millions off these kids. what's te rest argument we have for just not compensating them. >> playing college sports is a privilege, n a right, an there are many choices out there, if the intention iso make money for playing basketball, and the increased interest in itieral sports, as well as playing in the n.b.a.'s g league, provides more options for young people t who college simply to become eligible for the draft. and i think taat it's fair tradeoff. once you sign on the dotted line to play college sports, you areu now sayingre going to play within the regulations that are provided, and if you don't want to do that, now you have an

opportunity to make a choice tom go seplace else. and, honestly, i think it's fair. >> that is len elmore, the knight commission on intercollegiate athletics. thank you so much for joining us. >> my pleasure. o >> woodrufour "bookshelf" tonight, battling loneliness, and how we can come out of this ctglobal pandemic more con to each other. >> yang: judy, the socialng distane are being asked to practice to try to slow the spread of the virus is also resulting in feelings of social isolation and loneliness for here's some of whaers told us about their experiences. >> i c't work from home, ban my coworkersand do, so at any given time, i'm the only person at work. there are entire days when i don't speak, becnese there's noo talk to.

i really miss ving m coworkers around and being able to ask them questions or talk reak or sitting down towe all have lunch with them. ed a it's pretty lonely wheit's just you at your desk. i understand why it's necessary to socl distance. and i completely support that, because the science behi it says that it helps. and i am a scientist, so i definitely understand that. but, it's been rough. >> i'm an introvert. i enjoy being alone and things like that. however, this being isoled from the real world, being able to go and visit friends and family in social settings, go into a restaurant, share a meal or a movie, has affected me more actually.ought it would, that bng said, i miss the personal interaction. you get more-- you have an interaction with people when you see them, you know, face to

face so, not being able to seeir someone's or smile or if their eyebrows are furrowed or things like that, you just don't get the same connection.ve n though i get to talk to people virtually more at times, i really feel emptier than before. >> i really didnch realize how ust a simple interaction with the caser or running into a neighbor at a store, or even going to grab the same item off of a shelf at the me time, really gave you that kinof peripheral sense of community and togetherness that really >> yang: so, it isaps, an opportune time for a new book about relationships and community. it's called "together: the healing power of human connection in a sometis lonely world." the author is dr. vivek murthy, who was u.s. surgeon gener from 2014 to 2017.

he joins us from miami. dr. mu for joining us.o much when you write in the book that you game surgeon general, you expected to be talking a lot about the opioid addiction, about obesity, about the importance ofun immations, but then you went on a listening tour around the country, and yo hearot about loneliness. >> that's right, john. llwas reataught about people i met all across america and really across the world abut how behind so many of the stories of addiction and violence and chronic illness th exists in society, and there are deep threads of loneliness i was finding. this is true when i was talking to youngor old people, talking to members of congress or d iters in the midwest, struck me, it reminded me of my own experience as a chil struggling with loneliness, it reminded me as my experience as a doctor caring for so many patients who came into the with theten at the time ofody

death, and what i came to realize is loneliness is very common, with more than 20% of adults in the united states struggling with loneliness, but it was also very conse for our health that people with loneliness have increased risk of he disease, dementia, depression, anxiety and even pre-mature death. >> reporter: there's a correlation between loneliness and those conditions, but is there a more direct link? >> that's a good question. the research on loneliness is evolving but we have rean to believe loneliness may in fact have a direct impact on our health. one has to do with the physiologic impact that loneness has on the body. it places the body in a stres state. in a short term that can be okay because feeling lonely in a short term may nudge you to call a frend or drop by and visit family and, in that sense, it can be helspful a aignal like hunger or thirst. the problem is whe that stress

state persist force a long period of time and lik many other forms of stress, it can lead to inflammation in or body that can increase the risk of heart disease and other chronic. illnes >> reporter: we heard from our viewer some real emotion about what's going on now. on the one hand, you were the top public health officer of the united states, and i assume you agree that we needst t apart to try to fight this virus and slow its sprtead, b, on the other hand, you're saying that there is a problem -- that there are problems that come from isolation and loca and loneline. how do you balance and reconcile the two. >> this is an extraordinarily difficult moment for so manyop whose lives have been turned upside down and one of the most painful parts of it is not being able to see people, not just our family or frends, but also strangers in our lives.

being able to sit next to a strangers offee shop, appreciate people who might be walking down the coffee shop with you. we evaluate these now p more than ever before. when there are impacts on our health from loneliness, it isan impoto protect ourselves during covid 19 in thist pandemic, e shouldn't assume that since we have to be physically separated that we have to be socially distant. the way we can preserve our social conntions in this time have to do with very simple steps we catake. we can, number oneur, enswe're spending at least 15 minutes a day reaching out to people we love via video conference or phone. we can make sure that thef quality ime we have with people is high, and we can do that by reducing the diavtractin wewhen we talk to them, ertting our phone away and oth technology. we can also reach out to people with an intention to serve. i learned when writing this booe that one of most powerful

anecdotes to loneliness service. when we look around us, we recognize many of us are struggling, and service can be checking on a neighbor to makey, sure they're oalling a nd to see how they're doing, having good delivered to work colleague who may be struggling while hem schooling their kids, there's a possible this experience with covid 19 could lead to a depening of our loneliness and a social recession, but i believe we can take this as anpportunity to create a social revival, to refocus on our relationshi, to recommit to the people in our lives, and if we do that, then i ink we can come out of this pandemic stronger and more connected to each other, more healthier than ever before. >> reporter: the book is "together," the author dr. vivek murthy. doctor, thank you so much. >> thank you very much. good to be with you.

>> woodruff: one thing-- among many-- that covid has taught us is how we need re-calibrate our expectations and our imaginations. tonight, author kelly corrigan shares her "humb opinion," and projects what it will be like when a corner is turned. >> sometimes, when i feel outmatched by the thing in front of me, i do a little mental exercise. i tell myself the story of what happened, as if it's over and i nailed it. this morning, i waited for 54inutes to check out from the safeway.e man behind me, whose make-up was perfect, had seven bottles of martini and rossi. nothing else. had a full-face doront of her ventilator gas mask. i felt outmatched by the thing in front of er. so, right i told myself the story of the 2020 pandemic edd how, ithend, we na it. my success fantasy went like

this: at first, it was awful. nothing but bad news. but, then, we rose up. we made stews and soups for old people, and dropped them off so they felt included and secure and nourished. we read books to children over the internet. the end of the day, and banged pots and pans and clapped so that each of us knew we were not alone. in sent pizzas and chinese food to e.r.s, to susoth our hospitals and our restaurants. we called old friends and told each other things we had forgotten to say: "i miss you." "i think of you." "remember that time...?" all of us turned up in o screens to keep businesses afloat, and in so doing, discovered the tender sides of our colleagues. pets and children were, to our mutual benefit, now "in the frame." people figured out they don't need fancy equipment to excise.

we stopped flying around and jumping in cars for no reason. p everyonented things they could eat. we played cards with our families. we had long conversations. we discovered what kind of learning can be delivered online. we discovered that teaching is the most complex, high-impact profession known to man and we started compenting our educators properly for their irreplaceable work. v everyoed, after coronavirus. kids who lived through the virus valued science above all, became researchers and doctors, kicking off the greatest period of world positive discovery and innovation the planet has ever seen. we came, finally and forever, to appreciate the profound fact of our shared humanity, and relish the full force of our love for one another.

>> woodruff: thank you. wouldn't that be wonderful. and that is the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruf for all of us at the pbs newshour, ank you, pleasetay sa, and we'll see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by:me >> consucellular offers no-contract wireless plans that are designed to help you do more of the things you en apether you're a talker, texter, browser, photogrr, or a bit of everything, our u.s.-based customer service team is here to to learn more, go its you. consumercellular.tv >> life isn't a straight line, and sometimes you can find yourself headi in a new direction. fidelity is here to help you work through the unexpected,in withcial planning and advice for today, and tomorrow. >> bnsf railway. >> financial services firm raymond james. >> the ford foundation. working with visionariesn the frontlines of social changee.

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hello, everyone, and welcome to manpour & co." here's what's coming up. health and theeconomy. on follows the other. we check the pulse with tim phillips, head of america's most powerful conservative political group. >> good evening. i'm dr. anthony fauci. >> superstar doctor. how anthony fauci became the trusted face of public health hiswhat we can learn from journey there. plus -- >> if we change the public education, we change the messages, and if we can detect this silently occurring low oxygen level, we can do so mucse better for tatients. >> straight from the front li r. dr.hard leviton tells us that covid-19 patients should be going to hospitalsso er. and