captioning spowsored by ur productions, llc >> woodruff: good g, i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, the pandemic persists-- e a rising death toll, more states begin to reopen while protests erupt in states remaining in lockdown. then, on strike-- essential workers nationwide demand more protections as they face the >> we have to be othe front line and for a lot of us we feel like we have no choice but to be there. >> woodruff: and it's friday. mark shields and david brooks break down the latest federal response to the coronavis pandemic and the sexual assault all that and more ight'sden. pbs newshour.

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the first day of may and more of the country has been opening for business to one degree or another, but worries persist, egth the pandemic death toll now william branghams our coverage. >> brangham: on this mayioay, or internl workers day, more american workers were back on the job. customerlike those at this houston, texas shop, serving masked patrons stepping up on six-feet-spaci markers, all on their morning coffee run. but it camjust a day after texas recorded more than 50 covid-19 deaths in 24 hours,he most yet, and that left some officials uncomfortable with the push to reopen. >> brangham: in all, more than half a dozen states across the u.s. are now moving r re-open theionomies, and even more have restrictions set to expire soon. last night, though, michigan's -imocratic governor gretchen whitmer ued her stay-at- home order, after a day when

protesters, some of them armed, invaded the state capitol, and republican lawmakers refused to extend the lockdown another 28 days. today, president trump, called the protesters "very good people" and urged whitmer to" make a deal" with them. >> yesterday's scene at the capitol was disturbing, to be quite honest. swastikas, confete noose and automatic rifles do not represent who we ar as michiganders. >> reporter: more protests broke out in california. los angeles where scuffles broke out and in sack meno outsidee th state capitol where police made arrests. also today mississippi governor tate reeves said he's not reopening business as planned because of a spike in cases. >> i was ready to change thede

today but needed to take the latest health information into account. h change a large enoug to make me take a step back and want throbbing at the board, to reexamine things. >> reporter: all of this comes all of this, as state economies are under extraordinary strain, with more than 30 million americans filing for unemployment benefits in just six weeks. white house economic advisor >> brangham: but for some of the essential workers who've had to stay on the job, the balance between safety and work has reached a breaking point. employees at corporate giants like amazon, target and fedex staged one-day walkouts today over what they say are unsafe working conditions during this pandemic. at the white house this afternoon president trump and top advisors announced the food and drug administration is allowing emergency use of resume veer after studies show it cuts recuperation time in covid 19 patients. the ug manufaurer gilead

will donate 1.5 million vials. >> i spoke with dr. khan and dr. fauci, i spoke with deborah about it andeth really a very woomising situation. >> reporterers around the world workers around the world united, at a distance, for may day, too. in greece, supporters of the communist party ere rallied for workers' rights, carefully lined up six feet apart. in china, some used their holiday to visit beijing's atonic forbidden city, which opened its for the first time in months. visitor pan jinghua said it was a needed pilgrimage in a very difficult year. >> ( translated ): i've come ecause i think that 2020 has been a really tough year so s r, and the forbidden city hokind of sacred place in my eyes. i hopehat by coming here to visit i can just start a beautiful day. l, brangham: hopes of rene as the world awaits a reopening. for the pbs newshour, i'm william brangham.

>> woodruf hopes of renewal in beijing, there is a renewed confrontation between the trump white house here to drill down on that is so, nick, given whhave this watching la i, te china emically for covid 19? >> there's certainly talk of punishing china economically, judy, mostly from republan senators, some kind of reparations, even perhaps not pang u.s. debts. inistration officials i talked to dismissed the idea of reparations as totally unenforceable and totally dismissed out of hand any kind ia talk of at th -- talk of deb. instead offi tell me they're going to continue their pressure campai on china, like blocking u.s. technology from being transferred to china, blocking chinese investment in the united states. targeting chinese companies like

waw way and punishing china for crack down on muslim uighurs. that's accelerating because to have the coronavirus. dresident trump has praise xi jinping personally and hopes china lives up to the promises in the trade one phase -- phase one trade deal. he's afraud to criticize china from the podium and said prevent the pandemic.d to >> it came out of china and could have been stopp and i wish they had stopped it, so does the whole world. >> administration officials want to confront china and don't mind the bilateral tension. experts i talked to fear news one to have the worst moments for u.s.-china relations inore than half a century and they regret that the two biggeston ies in the world are doing rir confrontation than collaboration this global crisis.

>> woodruff: and, nick, what is the effect of this kind of aggressive rite rick on the part of tid prent and others inside of china? >> reporter: that's interesting. ichina experts say th emboldening the hard liners lins inside of beijing who will say i told you, so you ca tn't true trump adnistration, they're are arguing beijing shouldefore, become more protectionist and more confrontational and, of course, that means there will be more confrontation, not less during this crisis, and it's not over the world.y the way, all if invest, see that the administration is possibly taking this debt talk seriously, that will reduce confidence in the united states. >> woodruff: nick, you had eported a few weeks ago there had beena rhetorical cease fire between the u.s. and china. o is that nr with? >> reporter: yeah, that seems to be dead, anthe chinese certainly are taking some of this incoming fire by firing

back. they are criticizing especially secretary of state mike pompe. they are criticizing the u.s. for demonizing china and take a list to the official word the spokesman for the ministry of foreign affairs speaking today.s >> fe time, certain u.s. politicians have disregarded facts id ved and assaulted china in an attempt to shirk their own responsility for their incompetence in fighting this pandemic, divert people's attention, pass the buck and blame others fortheir faults. >> reporter: judy, that is the official line. the communist party controls much of the medina and we've see a very confrontational line in the media. nationalist newspaper, raisinghe the possibility the u.s. military was somehow connected to the outbreak f covid 19. during the cease fposed to stop this is from shin wa, another state media outlet uses

animation to almost mock the trump administration for not blaming china instead of owning up to the trump administration's own mistaers. remeere, judy, that the chinese government is also under pressure from its ownpele who response and, so, they, too, are instead insisting they did and everything they could and that this was some kind of natural disease that could not havbeen prevented. >> so, nick, they are pushing back on this claim by theen presthat this virus could have come from a lab inside of china. >> reporter: yeah, we did see the president suggest the possibility at he had intelligence that this virus was accidentally released from a lab. intelligence commuells meibility that it was some kind of wet market accident and that you saw from an offiial statements from the office of the director of national intelligence, a very rare statement.

ogsterday we talked to epidemts who say it is possible this was some kind of lab spillover, but the preponderance of evidence now this was o some ki accident in a wet market or something >> woodruff: nick schifrin catching us up on all of this. nick, thank you very much. yo>> reporter: than th >> woodruff: iday's other news, wall street gave up its gains for the week, after profits sank at a series of big compans. the dow jones industrial average 23,723.2 points to close at the nasdaq fell 284 points, and, the s&p 500 slipped 81. ththe white house confirme evening that it has blocked dr. anthony fauci from testifying at week.gssional hearing next rhouse subcommittee is holding

a hearing on tponse to covid-19. in a statement, the whuse said fauci and other top officials are busy dealing with the pandemic. e the presidential race, democrats' presumptive nominee, joe bin, denied today that he sexually assaulted a staffer 27 years ago, when he was a u.s. senator. tara reade has said biden assaulted her and that she filed a complaint in 1993. the former vice presidflatly rejected the claim, in an interview. >> no, it is not tru i'm saying unequivocally, it never, never happened. and it didn't. it never happened. she has a right to say whatever she wants to say, but i have a ght to say look at the facts, check it out. find out if whatever she says or bserted are true. >> woodrufen also said h does not believe an official record of any such complaint exists. wel take a closer look at this, later in the program.

president trump's former personal lawyer, michael cohen is not leaving feder prison early after all. his attorney had said he'd be released today to home confinement because of the corona-virus pandemic. but, a number reports say the an was canceled. lyhen pled guilty to tax fraud ang to congress, involving hush money payments for women who claimeal stfairs with mr. trump. the trump admition has again suspended hearings for asylum-seekers waiting mexico, citing concerns about covid-19. the new order extends through june 1. , one justice department estimame 25,000 people are in migrant shelters in mexico, waiting for u.s. asylum hearings. canada is banning the use and trade of assault-style weapons, effective immediately. prime minister justin trudeau said today his order covers more than 1,500 models and variants of firearms.

they include weapons used by a gunman who killed 22 people in nova scotia last month. >> these weapons were design for one purpose and one purpose only: to kill the largest number of people in the shortest amount of time. there is no use and no place for such weapons in canada. ty woodruff: the order grants a two-year amnor owners of woe banned weapons. there' that north korean leader kim jong un has re- weeks.ed for the first time in ree north's state media, and the south news agency yonhap, say he toured a fertilizer plant m'day. absence from public view had fueled rumors that he was in ill health. back in this country, something happened at the trump orite house that had not happenedore than a year: the press secretary held a briefing. last month.any took the job she pledged today never to lie

to rorters. still to come on the newshour: the c.e.o. of waffle house on re-opening for dine-in service andemic. essential workers nationwide demand more protecon against the risks of covid-19. joe biden denies allegations of sexual assault from a former aide. and much more. >> woodruff: the question of when and how to re-open the economy is central at this moment. amna nawaz talks to the c.e.o. of one company trying to determine what works. >> nawaz: even before more than a dozen states relaxed their stay-at-home measures today, some southern states began osening restrictions even earlier, allowing tattoo

parlors, beauty salons, and eistaurants to re-open at thscretion. iconic waffle house chain has close to 2,000 restaurants k, 25 states. this they resumed limited dine-in services in 330 of their restaurants in georgia, and 70 in tennessee. waffle house c.e.o. walt ehmer joins me now. walt ehmer, welcome to the "newshour". be with you., amna pleasure to >> reporter: you're taking steps, we should say, to fully reopen that limited dine-in service allowed in locations already open. you say you're doing so in accordance withcenters for disease control guidelines, briefly walk me through. what changes did you put into place? what's different if you walk into a waffle house now? >> well, as this whole crisis started, we realized we needed to do enhanced things we hadn't thought of before so we removed a lot of thigs from the table, condiments and stuff like that. we really stepped up our sanitation and sanitizing practices to make sue that w hit common touch points like door handles and things a liel

more frequently than the areas that we have been traditionally wiping down andleang, like table tops and things. but r alsoognize there was going to be some social frstancing requirements and, so, really the very beginning, and in some places we had to do init at the begi but we set all our restaurants up for a social distance protocol. welosed down every other booth, most of the seats at the high counter, so when people would come into our restaurants and as they have been cominein the last sl weeks, they've seen what we're trying to do, oand we provider them an environment where they can sit down and eat at a distance from others. orter: what about the the employees? requiring masks? doing temperature checks? >> we've de some very specific screening of folks at the benning of every shift, making sure we ask questions like do they have any of the symptoms, havehey been around anyone diagnosed with covid 19. in the dine-inarkets, we are

wearing masks or face covings based on the governor's orders, recommended but we're requiring that for all the folks in dine-in resta. but all the things restaurant workers are trained to do well, too, all the washing othe hands and keeping at a distance as well. so we've set the restaurants up, we've trained the folks, a i have been really pleased with how everybody been adhering to the guidelines. >> reporter: we're talking at ts agreehen the exper we're not testing enough adtionwide, we have no idea how widesphe virus is, and even president trump expressed some concernaying governor kemp was maybe reopening the economy too soon. if youa raffle house employee and you hear these concerns and are scared to come back to work, what do you have to say to that emploe today? >> well, i'll say to them here what we've said to them rsonally and, you know, in multiple ways of chiewn kateing is if somone's uncomfortable coming to work, we don't want

anyone to come if they're uncomfortable. so we have a lot of people that really want to work, a, so far, we have been able to meet the demands of what the customer has been looking for. you know, i understand our siness is way, way off from normal levels, even in the markets where we've reintroduce some dine-in service. so it's we on't require anyone to come to work. it's a voluntary thing right now. and we understand people have childcare issues, they might ve underlying health conditions, they might have people ahome they're uncomfortable to come in, and we certainly rp that. >> reporter: for people in that position, are job protected? are they guaranteed? >> we haev toldyone we're hopeful everyone will come back. that depends on the customer. a lot of our restaurants are closed because the customer demand isn't there. the restaurant industry in total has been decimated in terms of the loss od revenue ae loss of jobs, but, yes, we want all of our associates come back

when they're ready, when it's safe for their personal circumstances.but we're hopefulo open up most of our restaurrts over the c of time, but we know this is going to be a real oradual process. >> rr: experts also say this could come in stops and starts, all thi.s reopening so if there's another local outbreak, are you prepared to have to shutdown agan? >> we are -- we certainly are aware and prepared that there might be some outbreaks i certain markets, and we've told our folks, look, this is not gointo be a linear recovery. we're going to have markets that are slowly coming back that might have to slow back down again and do just carryout service. so we're anticipating that in some markets, but we think it will be more surgical than the blanket thrown over the entire countr this so we anticipate that, but we're not -- sure exactly what

to expect. >> reporter: you say yourt restaurke a lot of other restaurants down 70% during pandemic. have you applied for or receiv any kind of federal relief fuks? >> we're ling into applying for those funds. our restaurants and our people have really been harmed and hurt by this. we're really looking for anything we can do to help our people and, so, to the extent that we can receive any funds and give tse to o folks to keep them employed and to keep th working, yes, we're looking for any way we can possibly do that. >> reporter: and you, of course, were at the white house umcently meeting with vice president t and pence and other leaders talk about the economy. i'm curious, when you look at the bigger picture, are you worried we are headed for a larger, deepesr deon ahead? >> i certainly see a lot of terrible signs out the and a lot of concern amongst everybody in the community. it's amazi howhe economy is connected to one another and how the ripple effect workswa it's

through and you're seeing more and more signs of people who thout that they werin secure places are going to, you know, have their jobs in jeopardy,er and boen as we talkt the restaurants, and you think about the other things that are obvious toind of project forward, we all expect this to be a slow recovery with limits placed on group size and capacity, and that will, across the entire economy, limit the aount of jobs that are ble to come back. and, so, y, we're greatly concerned for the country and the people, primarily, that they will have work in this country, you know, in the ne term. >> reporter: we appreciate you taking the time to have talk to us today and we hope you stay safe. that is walt ehmer, the c.e.o. of waffle house. >> thank you very much. >> woodruff: some grocery store employees, gig workers and delivery people were striking on

this may day. they protested again working conditions at amazon, whole foods, instacart, and target's delivery service. theyay they need more protective gear, hazard pay and time offt e companies argue their iolicies have shifted to provide more proteas well as wages or bonuses. erere's no doubt these are essential wo group of workers wl theyour own are on their frontlines. no were part of today's strike, but they raised their own serious concerns. >> i'm david schafer. i'm a retail manager at a grocery store chain in columbus, ohio. >> my name is annette brown. mylive in baltimore city. ob is to ensure the cleanliness and the sanitation of the hospital. >> my name is andrew bencomo and i live in las cruces, new i am retired, but i am working part time at a lowe's home improvement.

>> my name is eric colts and iet transportation equipment operator. so basally a bus driver. >> on an average day i was told ight be more than 17 cov patients coming in whether they we have to be on the front line l and for a lot of us we fke we have no choice but to be there. if you don't want to work, you knknow, you can either, yo, quit or just take time off without pay and don't know where any, you know, any money is going to come from. you're taking a chance. >> the biggest thing t esthrough my mind, in all hones, is i just want to. the same way that i left home. i want to come back home. personally, i honestly, i feel completely stressed out. and with this ole situation, once it started, i've been working from the beginning of it. so when it wasn't a pandemic to the point where it's full blown pandemic now. so i haven't had an opportunity

to get a mental break from it. >> there are times when i have, you know, two employees to takti care of the half of the store that i cover, which is just impossible too. >> when you have 300 people in three or four areas, that doesn't create any distance. so there's times where i will look down an aisle and there's aisle and i will not go in there. i looked down the aisle and i stand outside or i just walk away. and i know that's not the best customer service, but i'm not going to wadinto the middle of meat. >> cusservice counter, people have to deal with these people yelling at them and swearing at them and just, you know, angry that they can't return whatever it is that they bought. o're not making a whole l money. it would be nice to be treated a little bit nicer because we have no control over any of this th's happening. >> they have bumped up pay like n hour and they have giv some bonuses.

and they did a lot of those things, but did not limit the traffic the way they needed to. i felt like it was almost like a band-aid. it was almost like, well, here's all the protective equipment, here's some extra money. but we're just going to keep allowing as ny people to come in as we want or we're gonna allow this kind of thing to >> if i get sick, ould be the last year i ever see. who's going to take care of my kids? we need essential pay. essentl pay will not only help us with our lls. it would help us food in the house, it will help us with transportation it will just give us that financial security if something was to happen to us or one of our loved ones and we have to work to take care of them. we can't do our job, the doctors, the nurses or any other kinds of staff will not be able to do their job because no onet >> knowing tm helping people get what they need in a time when, you know, it's kind of iffy, you know, is there

toilet paper, is thereot toilet paper. it's actually kind of nice to be in a job with that i enjoy it's actually helpingeople during this time. >> once you're driving a certain route on a continuous basis. you'll see those same people continue. and once you see him continually is... you become a family. so that's what still motivates me to actually come to work because i still want to be a part of that solution. and when we come out of this pandemic, i don't want to have that thought of wed i gave up n and hid while this whole thing was going on. ghstill... i want to be able to go thrhe fight. >> woodruff: former vice president and likely democratic presidential nominee, joe biden, made his first public statements

this morning since a former senate staffer alled she was sexually assaulted by biden in the 1990s. lisa dejsardins has the story. ne i'm saying unequivocally, it never happened. >> desjardins: in his interview on msnbc this morning, biden strongly denied allegations that he sexually assaulted a congressional aide in 1993, while he was a delaware senator and judiciary committee chairman. he also said he would not malign his accuser. >> wen have a right to be heard and the press should rigorously investigate claims they make. i'll always uphold that principle. but in the end, in every case, ine truth is what matters. anhis case, the truth is that the claims are false. >> desjardins: the former senate staffer, tara reade, says biden pushed her against the wall in a capitol hill office building, reached under her skirt and penetrated her with his fingers. here she is in a podcast interview with "the new york times": >> it happened at once. and

isat's what's so hard about telling tory. like, he's talking to me and his and everything's hng at once very quickly. this happened, like, ir two minutes. >> desjardins: this is different than her accountast year, when she told the "union" newspaper in nevada that biden sometimes put his hand on her shoulders and stroked her neck. she s one of eight women to report uncomfortable touching from biden. with her more recent charge of assault, two friends and her brother ve since said on the record that they remember reade sharing details of it with them at different points. >> san luis obispo, hello. >> desjardins: reade also identified her mother as an anonymous caer on the "larry king live" show in 1993, who spoke of her daughter having "problems" with a "prominent senator. >> i fought my entire life to change the whole notion of the law around the culture on sexual assault.es >>rdins: in his denial, biden cited his past work writing the landmark law on domestic violence, "the violence

against women act." >> proudest accomplishment of my career. >> desjardins: ...and the "it's on us" campaign he led while vice president, which encouraged men to be allies against sexual assault on college campuses. >> it should be investigated. >> desjardins: biden called on the senate secretary and the national archiveto try to locate any complaint against him n reade, as she claims she did. biys he does not kw of any such complaint. >> there have been no compstints made agae in terms of my senate career, in terms of my office, in terms of the way things have been r j. look, it'sust an open book, there's nothing for me thide, nothing at all. >> desjardins: but biden maintained that other records from his time in the senate, now arat the university of del library, do not contain personnel files and would remain seal. forthe pbs newshour, i'm lisa desjardins. >> woodruff: this evening, former vice presidt biden asks the secretary of the senate to look for any records of complaints from ms. reade during inat time.

he letter, he asks the conclusion of that search be made public. and that brings us to the analysis of shields and brooks. d at's syndicated columnist mark shields ew york times" columnist david brooks. hello to both of you. david, let's start with these allegations against the former vice president and his response them today. what do you make of all this? >> well, i think we should keep an open mind. on the one hand,he made them contemporaneously. she told people at te this happened, so that has some persuasive evidence to it. don the other hand, she s she told three mbers of biden's staff including his chief of staff, and they doot remeber any such conversation, and they are convinced if they had such a conversation it would be seared into their memor the second point on the biden side is that biden has many flaws for many years. cruelty is not one of them

dehumanization is not one of them. so i think for a lot of his colleagues and people who have known him, it seems uncharacteristic. but that's not to say we should close the book on him. we should see if there are other complaints and otherictims. miss reed is going to spek over the weekend. we should hear out the allegations but not take them as prima facie truth. >> woodruff: mark, what do you make othis? biden acknowledges he said in the past that women are to be believed. >> he has, judy, and that is very much the position to have the democratic party, and ceainly was in the kavanaugh hearings in the supreme court last fall. i would say this, first of all, it was categoric. it wasn't to the best of my t collection answer by joe biden,s a categorical, unequivocal denial tha this ever happened, and there was no attempt to trash the accusing or anything of this sort.

i thought he confronted it well. he had to. he didn't have any option in it. i wou add this, judy, washington is a pretty small town and, on capitol hill, where we spent arlot of time o the st 45 years, you get the word that circulates pretty quickly about wh who's senator grabby ad who's congressman leery or lustful,hat women reporters orme staff members ought not to be in the same elevator with or stay away from. i ha never, andi don't know anyone else, who's heard about joe biden in those tms. that is not -- that is characteristically not joe bide and he was somebody who went home every night on the train to wilmington. he wasn't a night life guy, wasn't an on the town fella, so it ds sound, on its face, it's a hard sl. but i agree with david, that we

listen to miss reedt and whe i really think, at some point, joe biden will have to deputize some group to look at the pages are -- theaw university of delaware zone to see if there are references to it, whether it's historic. karen tumulty suggested "the washington post" column and i think it made a lot of sense. >> woodruff: you do think those records will have to be opened up. david, in terms of what voters weigh, and given the multiple allegations against president trump, how are voters to make sense of this? >> well, the fact that trump made a statement about this at all and attacked joe biden is wins the chuzpah of the year award. but i don't think this is up to voters, i think this is up t democrats and democratic delegates. they are going to ato decide if this is true and if they can

nominate this person. so far, as nancy pelosi says, th're feeling very comfortable with i and others are sticking by joe so far, mala harris, so i think it's up to the delegates ufre than the voters. >> wood mark, you agree? i do, judy. i think it will be, if there's a confntation, it will be in the democratic party. that will be it. i think that joe biden comes into it with considerable credibility, and that's it. but i do think he has to be altally forth coming on this. i do. >> woodruff: let's turn to the pandemic. the "newshour" spent a lot of time tonight and last nht and before that looking, david, at the effect this has h on people's livelihoods.we now some states are opening up, but other states it's not

fast enough for people. we're seeing the protests in california, in michigan yesterday where people carried a gun into the state sete chamber. the president has somehow encouraged them. he called today in a tweet, called some of them good people. how he governors dle this under the circumstances? >> well, this is, from what i can tell, radical fringe elements. they completely do not represtht country. the country is relatively united. we are used to aed divid country. america is still divided about trump. america is not divid about much els 89% of republicans and democrats like the federalid package. 85% of americans are supporting the social distancing, so america is united here, and the governors just need to do what th need to do for the economy, but listening to fringe elements

whstorm them with guns and confederate flags doesn't seem to be aensible thing to do. >> woodruff: mark, how are this time when people really are hurting and many of them sincerely s ink their state wrong to extend these shutdown orderers? >> no, you're right, judy. but just point to a recent national survey of 22,000 people ly all 50 states, and by overwhelmiamericans support and back the handling of the coronavirus by their governor.66 of americans say that their governor is doing -- is they approve of the work ther governor is doing. only 44% of the americans approve of the job the president is doing in handling the coronavirus. so ihik that the goffs have enormous credibility in the --

in the state of michigan mi the governor was at 6 and donald trump at 36 approval. so i think the president makes a serious mistake that he should haver lned from charlottesville, when he starts endorsing asood people folks who are carrying hy heil whitmer signed and assault weapons andin brandiweapons in the state theirol with a mask over group and i think you'reringe eliciting, ifou're donald trump, not only personal hurt and pasp but also nsibility for same. >> woodruff: david, as we think about helping the folks who are on the front lines who are putting their -- frankly, ineir les, theiealth at

risk, it's bec the next big debate in the congress, and that's over help for state and local governments. that includes first responders. and others. some e.m.s. democrats say this is crucial. derepublicans like lr mitch mcconnell and the senator saying some of these states have not spent their money wisely, why should we bail them out? o where are yo this debate at is stage? >>e're going to need to do more. i think 77% of the americans think so, i certainly think so.n someon the order of $400 billion just even in the small business loans. so i think it's not stupid to take a pause for a week or two. i don't think we know -- i want to make sure we spend it well.go we'van lot of money out the door. but pausing to see what's working and not seems to be the better part of wiz tom here. i'm focusing especially on young people.

fall, a leople ne of young adults will be without school and without jobs and this strikes meas the perfect moment , do an emergency national service progr employ a lot of younpeople, maybe to help with the effects of the pandemic, the track and trace. but these are the kind of screaming needs that are out there in the country right now, and i think it's time right now to do something, t figuring out exactly what can wait a week or two, but i do think definitely more will be needed. >> woodruff: and more federal money, mark, whether it' for national service as david is describing or more aid for these state govertsnmlocal governments that are really pinched. >> mitch my opinion talks about the blue state bailout. if we want to be blunt abt it, the giver and the getter states, the states that get money from washington, mitch mcconnell's kentucky is right at the top, $146 billion over the past four

years by the rockefeller institute. at the same time that those blue states, thosterrible blue states like new york sent $116 billionore to washington they've never goen back. massachusetts sent lion new jersey 71 billion. connecticut, all the blue states send more money. if much mitc wants us to be every person for himself, then let's let those states keep their money. they would be in perfect shape if new york had extra $116 billion. when we have ane earthqu this country, when we have a tidal wave or a hurricane, we aid the states, we com together, and that's what's happened. i mean, the states bear an enormous burden in our public country and our system, andn our they've got -- the congress has to step up and provide the money. this is a republican senate, let it be noted, that put a

$135 billion tax cut in, bailout and families for the top 1%. in order to qual had to at least make $10,000 a week. now, if that's somehow okay, but not helping schools and he'll systems and first responders, i don't see the value. >> woodruff: well, we'll find out more next week. the tonate is coming back session. the house is not on the advice of the house congressional physician. but the senate is cong back, and maybe we'll learn a little more. mark shields, david brooks, thank you both. please stay safe. >> thank you, judy. >> woodruff: what be on the calendar in new orleans this week: "jazz fest," one of the liveliest annual musical celebrations. t stead, new orleans remains in lockdown, a hots the

covid-19 pandemic, with close to 6500 cases and over 400 deaths to date. jeffrey brown spoke with one of the city's musical ambassadors oout the toll the pandemic is taking for ongoing arts and culture series, canvas. >> brown: in tipitina's, o of new orleans most celebrated jazz clubs, a performance by troy andrews, known to the world as trombone shorty. but it's a performance without an audience. the song, "big ief," played just for us. troy, you were supposed to be playing at tipitina's this week. how does it feel now? >> it's different. i'm excited to be here because there's something of a normal feeling, and it's really sad at the same time because i can't

actually really play a show. >> brown: three years ago he'd shown us the musical street life i his city... even creating romtu" second line" parade outside th"" candlelight lounge", a legendary club in the treme neighborhood where he'd grow up. the street outside the club.g in in early april its bel omner, leona grandison, died he coronavirus. leurners had to resort to what they ca "driveby funeral." >> it feels like we're preparing for a storm. the thing that's really weird and eerie to me is that this is a city that thrives on music all day. some saxophone player on st. charles avenue playing or someone tap dancing in the french quarter, our brass band

marching up the street-- you can hear none of that. and that's the most strangest thing for me in a city that that heartbeat is mus. >> brown: andrews is a homegrown star of that culture, a performer since he was a little boy, thus the horty" nickname. and he's played around the world everince, for the past 11 years with his band, "orleans avenue." we'd been with him in his rehearsal and recording studio, and he spoke with us from there what is it you miss the most right now? >> i really missg y band and bele to put smes on world every day.ll over the and so that's been a bit difficult for me mentally to ial with. but onet into the studio annsstart to play, my emotio, as if i'm playing for those people, come out and i'm just by it's amazing what the music can do for you l and i get loally, i ayn't realize that i'm here g by myself for five and six hours.

and then i walk outside and then reality hits again. >> brown: the large city park and fairgroundllare empty. usrowdy bourbon street now .eatures signs declaring "we will survive" the only singing: from birds. it's mostly quiet in the french quarter, though this couple seemed to hear their own music. a partularly painful hit right now: cancellation of the "new orleans jazz and heritage festival", known as "jazz fest", which turned 50 last year. among this year's anticipated headlinersad been the great singer-songwriter john prine. in early april he dicovid- 19 at age 73. trombone shorty would have been another headliner. in recent years he's held the place of highest honor: closing the festival. >> i felt sad and everything, but i also undstand how serious the situation is and, edmewhat to myself, i felt that

it would be cancecause the situation hasn't gotten any dtter. and 't have any answers. >> brown: this is going to be a very hard time for a lotf musicians you know. >> i've been fortunate enough to play all year rod for many, many years now. and some of my friends here in new orleans, i actually know a few of them that the last gig they played before we went into qusantine and lockdown, tha all they had. and that could have been anywhere between 75 to $200. and it's just ve difficult. >> brownandrews wants to help through his trombone shorty foundation, which in norma ftmes runs an after-school music program for young musicians around the city. for now the foundation that ru jazz fest has set up a rief fund. new orleans has experience dealing with disasters, of course. of one will forget the destructioatrina, but also how the city came back. >> what katrina did for us is

let me know that if anything was going to take us down, it would have definitely be katrina. it took time and it took energy and it took telling people that we were going to come back and just leading by example. and that's just in us. i think it just passed down generation to generation, just one of those, part of the fabric of the city that the people are so strong here. >> brown: part of the sadness is new orleans send-off to loveder ones lost to the pandemic, including another of the city's musical legends, ellis marsalis: h zz pianist, educator and patria the renowned family that includes sons wynton and branford. what's left: a hoped-for return of jazz fest this time next year. >> we might even break down and cry tears of joy because it's actually happening. but to me, i think it's gonna be bigger. i think it's going to better. and i'm looking forward to that. i wish that they can give me

e re, more, more slotso play. if i could play ole festival, every day, i would. that how excited i am to be able to get back to it. >> brown: all right, let us hope and pray. >> let us hope and pray. >> brown: until then, let trombone shorty play for us. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ for the pbs wshour, i'm jeffrey brown. ♪ ♪ >> woodruff: we again want to take a moment tonight to recognize a few of the thousands co americans from all corners of thtry and walks of life who we have lost to covid-19. new york city's wynn handman leaves behind two legacies on american theatre. he was an influential acting students as gentle by his encouraging.

as an artistic director, he welcomed new diverse playwrights in his "american place theatre." wynn discovered his love for acting while performing for his coast guard shipmates during the second world war. he and his wife bobbie were creative and political powuse. they leave two daughters laura and liza. omnn was 97. 84-year-old mary overcame childhood polio win some 350 track and field medals, including at the senior ympics. when she wasn't on the track, she was the sidines, cheering on her five boys in the same sport. roman was a local celebrity in norwalk, connecticut, not just for her athleticism but for her dedes-long career as a city cler emdo bazzarelli perfected each n his namesake restaurant's menu-- from butchering his own meats to

preparing his homemade marinara sauce. raised in southern italy, he was a born entrepreneur. he ran a barber shop as a child before immigrating to the united states in 1968. in his nearly 50 years running "bazzarelli's," he never fired an employee. foe 73-year-old is remembered his big heart, especially when it came to his five grandchildren. april dunn of baton rouge, louisiana was a driven advocate for those with disabilities. denied a high school diploma of r own, april helped state lawmakers pass a bill that tilowed students with disabi to receive their degrees and went on to work closely with the governor. kind, outgoing, sociable- april was a great source of pride for her family. she was 33. sean boynes, once a captain in the u.s. air force, was a

pharmacist dedicated to serving his maryland clients. sean received three degrees fr howard university, where he played football, mentod pharmacy students, and married his bride nico on caus. funny and joyful, it was sean's smile that caught nicole's heart. for sierra and gabrielle, their father was theiromforter and cheerleader. he was 46. before we go, a note our "now read this" book club. jeffrey brown recently spoke with author julia phillips about our april selection, the novel "disappearing earth." you can find the whole conversation online. here now is a brief excerpt, in which she speaks of the novel's setting in the remote kamchatka province of russia. ka i have been thinking a lot abouhatka during this covid-19 time during this arronavirus era. folks therunder a shelter-

in-place order right now and staying at home and i've been thinking about how connected arery part of the world is that there's noof the globe that is untouched by the disease or bfear or by the desire to take care of each other by doing what we can and to help our communities. d i've been thinking a l about a lot of the characters in my book are in quite claustrophobic settings dealing with the cllenges of loving the people there with up close because they're kept very,ery close. but i've been thinking jealously of also homuch open space they have around th. i'm talking to you from a apartment building thais quite densely packed around other apartment buildings and fantasizing about somef the open terrain of the kamchatka peninsula right now. that would be very nice to go d be six feet away from her people at least. >> woodruff: you can watch julia

phillips' full conversation on our website and on our facook group, now read this book club. you can also hear about our may book club selection, "the street" by ann petry, which was published in 1946. contemporary novelist tayari jones will join us to discuss its enduring relevance. and that's the newshour for tonight. i'haudy woodruff. a great weekend. thank you, please stay safe, and good night. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by:

>> the william and flora hewlett foundation. for more than 50 years, advancing ideas and supporting institutions to prombetter world. at www.hewlett.org. >> supporting social entrepreneurs and their solutions to the worldng most pressiroblems-- skollfoundation.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by wg media access group a access.wgbh.org

♪ hello, everyone, and welcome to "amanpour and comny." here's what's coming up. missing in action. why the world can't expect trump's america to lead the cavalry against covid. margaret sullivan of "the washington post" and fenton o'toole from "the irish times" on leadership and accountability. then -- >> it would be awkward if something happened to us. >> no onwould have to know. e rybody's talking about "normal people," and i speak to the stars of the hit new series, daisy edgar jones and paul meal about this beautiful y stf love, intimacy and coming of ag plus -- >> if new york had moved about ten days faster to shu wthings down, ld have soon 50 to 80%

fewer fatalities in new york.