captioning sponsored by , newshour productionsc >> woodruff: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight: an uncertain future. re-openings continue, despite an expected spike in infections, as the president oscillates on dissolving the whiteouse coronavirus task force. then, empty skies. the airline industry implements safety measures to increase travel by the summer, but qioue remain. i talk with the head of southwest airlines. plus, hesitant to seek help. an increasing number of ericans are choosing to forego medical care, even criticaloc predures, to avoid exposure to covid-19 at hospitals. >> maybe we've underestited the kind of fear that now is pervading society, that's a

keeping peoplet home, that are making them think that hospitals aren't safe places to be. >> woodruff: all that and more,w on tonight's pshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ moving our ecomy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> fidelity investments.

>>onsumer cellular. >> financial services firm raymond james.ia >>supporting s entrepreneurs and their solutions to the world's most pressing problems-- skollfoundation.org. >> t committed to improving lives through invention, in the u.s. and developing countries. on the web at lemelson.org. >> supported by the john d. and catherine t. macarthurda foon. committed to building a more just, verdant and peeful world. more information a amacfound.org with the ongoing support of these institutions: >> this ogram was made possible by the corporation for blic broadcasting. and by contributionsur pbs station from viewers like you.

thank you. >> woodruff: covid-19 lockdowns are loosening in more countries tonight. but, others are seeing new spikes of infections, with more than 260,000 deaths worldwide, including nearly 73,000 in the u.s. stephanie sy begins our coverage >> reporter: it's an unprecedented sign of the times. new york city's normally round- the-clock subway service ground to a halt in the early morning hours so crews could disinfect the trains and stations. >> we're trying out antimicrobial treatments to keep surfaces virus-free, longer. we are looking at ultraviolet light technology that can immediately eradicate the viruses. >> reporter: the country's now be suspended from 1:00 a.m.a until 5:. daily forni

cls. more than 80 employees, including at least 50 who worked m the subway, have died f the coronavirus. elsewhere, restrictions are progressively easing meanwhile, president trump reversed course, one day after saying the white house coronavirus task force will wind down. mr. trump gned a proclamation for national nurses day, and said he ll name new members to the task for by monday. >> i thought we could wind it down sooner. but, i had no id how popular the task force is until, actually, yesterday, when i started talking about winding it down. i'd get calls from very respected peoplesaying, "i think it would be better to keep it going, it's done such a good job." >> reporter: but the white house faced news accounts that response efforts, coordinated by jared kushner, the president's son-in-law, have been marred by inexperienced volunteersaking supply problems worse. the devastation of the nation'sy airline induas also a prime topic at a u.s. sena commerce committee hearing this

>> passenger volumes have fallen over 95%. more than 3,000 airplanes haveut been p istorage. that's 50% of the united states' active fleet. we're avaging 17 passengers htr domestic flight and 29 per international fl >> reporter: across the country, the pandemic continues to inflict a toll on the nation's food supply. with meat production plants closed in several states, and customers panic-buying over fears of a meat shortage, local butcher shops eling the pinch. ken stoysich is head of stoysich houssae of s in omaha, nebraska. >> it's getting a little bit harder every week. but this week is a little bit more of a challenge than it w lawa week, but we seem to alys come up with a little bit of meat to sell. >> reporter: theconomic fallout is also worsening in europe. the european union today projected a "receion of historic proportions" this yeari the pandemic cutting output by 7%. and, while some countries are

re-opening for business, others are battling new waves of infection. in india, a large outbreak was reported in the southern city of chennai. about a thousand cases are linked to a single market that remained open during the country's lockdown. health officials in africa report the number of confirmed covid-19 cases on the continent has risen 42% in just the last week. and in brazil, sao luis, the capital of one of the country's poorest states, maranhao, became the first major city there to impose a lockdown by local decree. flavio dino is the state's governor. >> ( translated ): we have a tional challenge, where the federal government has an attitude of sabotage related to efforts to face this national crisis. >> reporter: brazilian president jair bolsonaro has downplayedd the pandemic, id only the elderly and high risk populations should stay home. for the pbs newshour, i'm stephanie sy. >> woodruff: in the day's other

news, the u.s. supreme court is agn considerligious objections to contraceptive coverage under obamacare. the justices today heard arguments onhe trump administration's attempt to let more employers opt out of covera for religious or moral rationales. we will get the details, after the news sumry. a black family in georgia pressed today for authorities to act after the shooting death of their son. ahmaud arbery was killed after two men, white men chased him. now, video of the incident has emerged. yamiche alcindor has our report. >> alcindor: a graphic video. a shocking shooting. and many unanswered questions. this cell phone footage is belihmeved to showd arbery jogging in a south georgia neighborhood before coming t up men in a truck. the 25-year old tries to get around them. and then... >> alcindor: the video, released

yesterday, has broug national attention to the incident, which took place back on february 23. some believe this is yet another example of an unarmed black person shot and killed unfairly. charges were not initially brought against the two men, gregory mcmichael and his son travis. but, after theideo's release, georgia prosecutor announced he plans to call a goand jury. >> he was a happucky person. he loved his family. arbery's mother.da cooper is in an interview yesterday, she said the process has taken too long. >> aot of time has passed, a i'm ready to get these people who are responsible, you know, in jail. >> alcindor: gregory mcmichael toldolice he thought arbery looked like a suspect in a near burglary. he said he and his son followed arbery and told him to stop. then, mcchael said arbery" began to violently attack" them. mcmichael had bn an investigator in the district attorney's office, and a police office and, according to the "new york times," one of the original edosecutors on the case ar there was "insufficient probable cause to arrest" the two men. but, he later asd d to be

remoom the case, because his son "worked in the mcmichael."s office with gregory today, the local president of the n.a.a.c.p. called for immediate action. >> right now, we're calling for a law system that operates in integrity, and we believe that begins with the dismissal of the police chief that was in charg at the point of this incident. courts remain closed until atia least june 13, due to the covid- 19 obrk. an attorney for arbery's family tells newshour the grand jury process would likely begin sometime after courts open back up. for the pbs newshour, i'm yamiche alcind t. >> woodruf georgia bureau of investigation said today that it has now opened its own probe of the shooting. the u.s. department of education released final rules today with in sexual assault cases oncused college campus. the overhaul narrows the and it requires lipusharassment,

hearings and cross-examinations. we wl return to this, later the program. the supreme court of israel has ruled that prime minister benjamin netanyahu may go ahead with forming a new coalition governme. that is despite the fact that he is facing trial on corruption charges. netanyahu says that he is hoping to swear in e new government next week. there is word that the coronavirupandemic is doing serious damage in north korea. lawmakers south korea were briefed today on new telligence. they said that the costs of food soared in the north, after china closed its border to stop the spread of covid-19. >> ( translated ): due to the anxiety over unstable prices of goods, north koreans have been panic-buying daily necessities. north korea's cabinet and security department haveim emented various measures to stabilize prices, such as cracking down on market cornering. >> woodruff: the south koreans say the pandemic is also why north korean leader kim jong-un

has stayed largely out of public view. the north maintains t has ard no infections. today marked 75 since nazi germany surrendered to the allies in world war ii. the news touched off mass celebrations in london in 1945, after britain had endured nearly six years of fighting.ur the war ine formally ended the next day. back in this coury, president trump has vetoed a congressional resolution that would bar him from using military force against iran. in his veto message, he called it "very insulti," and harmful to the national defense. the resolution passed ter qassem soleimani, a top irania commander, was killed in a u. air strike. and on wall street, cession fears weighed down much of the market. the dow jones industrial average lost 218 points to close at 23,664.

the nasdaq did gain 45 points, but the s&p 500 slipped 20 points. still to come on the newshour: the supreme court continues to hear cases of consequence, from a distance. republican senator john thune discusses the federal government's latest corus response. an increasing number of americans fore critical care, r fear of entering hospitals. the c.e.o. of southwest airlines on the industry's plans to reopen travel. and, much more. >> woodruff: a closely divided supreme court considered two cases today. rte first was on the future of exceptions to a mandate in the affordable care t. the second, a challenge to a

federal law banning robocalls. john yang walks us through the arguments on both side and the challenges that can come with ing them remotely. >> reporter: day three of socially distance supreme court arguments brought a big dispute over whether the trump administration may allow some employers to limit women's access to febirth control under the affordable care act. an order called little sisters of the poor is joining the administration to defendederal rules expanding the religious exemption. this exchange between justice ruth bader ginsburg speaking from a baltimore hospital room where she's being treated for a gallbladder condition and solicitor joel noel francisco got to the core of the issue. >> you have just tossed entirely to the wind what congress thought was essential, that is that women provided these

services wi ntho hassle, no cost to them. stead, you are shifting the employers' religious beliefs and cost of that on to the employees who do not share those religious belief >> yes, respectfully, your honor, i think i would disagree with the premise of your question because there's nothing in the aca that requires contraceptive coverage, rather thedelegated to the agencie discretion to decide whether or not to cover its in the first place, and we think that that also includes the discretion to require that most employers provide it but not the small number who have sincere conscientious objections. >> marcia coyle of the "national law journal." >> i don't think anyone questions the genuineness of the religious nonprofits, and they want very much to be completely frof any kind of role in

providing contraceptive health insurance. the estimate of women -- number of women who would lohat coverage is betwe 75,000 and 125,000, which is a substantial impact. >> reporter: this is the third time this issue has come before the jus atices. today during the argument, there was a certain amount of frustration, i think, expressed by self-of the hstices. thef justice himself said at one point that he felt thatne her side wants to make the accommodations that have been isting in the law for some time work. >> reporter: for nearly three hours, the nine justices heard arguments on this case and another on whe ftheral restrictions on robo calls to amendment.s violate the first ke millions of americans, the justices are adjusting to

working remely. justice stephen breyer had some phone trouble during the robot. call argum >> thank you. i'm sorry. e hotheptl sednnertda i don't think it was a robo call. we(laughter) anot it straightened out. >> justice sotomayor. more than once earer this week, justice sotomayor had troublenmuting. >> justice sotomayor. i am sorry, chief. did ita agin. um reporter: for lawyer lisa blatt, her argts to the justices were unlike any other. instead of the courtroom, she was at home. among her spectators, two dogs. >> i think i spent about two up to look like as much as i could the courtroom to have a podium and where the briefs would sit and ere my co-council would sit and my time keeper my daughter would sit. my husband also s boncer so he was in charge of making sure everyone in the neighborhood was cleared away.

>> reporter: one surprise fromne th format, frequent questions from justice clarence thomas who at time has gone years witht speaking. >> in 40 arguments i've never gotten a question from justice thomas. so to have one from justice thomas to come in 2020 was a so that's the only perk was getting to hear him and he'sly absolun fire in every argument. >> repter: for pennsylvania deputy attorney general michael fischer, on the other hand, court argumener. first supreme >> i was worried, you know, that in the lead op it wouldn't quits feel tme because i wouldn't be going to the supreme court but that didn't happen at all and i felt, you know, more conversational in some ways. >> repuster: when theces dial in for oral arguments next week, they'll hear the politically charged dispute over subpoenas for president trump's financial records. for the "pbs newshour," i'm john yang.

>> woodruff: as congress eyes the next coronavirus relief bill, lawmakers are divided over whether it should includend g for cities and states that are reeling from the economic impact of coronavirus. democrats and some republicans cite governors and mayors who say that aid is needed to stave off thousands of additional layoffs. but othersincluding majority leader mitch mcconnell, say that such funding would amount to "blue state bailouts." the newshour spoke with a number of state and municipal workers, many of whom are on the front lines of battling this pandemic. >> my name is bob phillips, fire chief for mccomb township, michigan. we're about 20 miles north of detroit. we're located within mccomb county, whh in michigan is one of the hot spots. we've all taken an oath to help the public to do whates to be done for those that we don't know. and this pandemic is no different.

our job is to help anyone in their time of need. >> my name is desha johnson- hargrove, and i am a resident of detroit, michigan, andy husband is jason hargrove, the detroit bus driver who contracted the covid-19 virus, and it took his life. jason was a dedicated, hardworking transit worker for transportation. ltment of and ed his job. i would hope that, you know, jason'death is not in vain. no deaths-- no deaths should be, you know, in vain at this point. do what you need to do to help prect all of our heroes out here, because that's truly what they are. >>y name's jared rosenberg i work for the town of greenburgh police department, in new york. we've been working real hard to just find and get adequate supplies.

we're looking at about a $7 million shortfall for the whole entire town. so, of course, that's always going to lead to the possibility of-- of job layoffs. >> my name is bill jones. i'm a corrections officer. i've been there for 30 years and i live in lancaster, pennsylvania. we have approximately ten officers that have it. we had 15 inmates that had. and we have approximatel24 people out on quarantine leave. i know coworkers who have confided with me, and they, like, just broke down crying because they're so stressed out, just taking it he to their elderly parents or to their children themselves, and they're stressed out about it. and then we comeo work and we don't have enough equipment to, nothing-- not enough gowns or masks for us. >> my name is chrissy myers. center in pennsylvania, whichg consists of taking care of individuals with intellectual disabilities. i have a sister who works at the

unemployment office, a brother in law that works at the what,ub the wealthc welfare office.tw they hav boys. i am very concerned for all of us, because we're all going to e wory day. >> my name is shirley thomas. i worked at duval county schools for 19 years. and i waa custodian. i was called into a meeting, and i watold i'll be laid off. it kind of scareme for a while, because i didn't know how i have diabetes as well as high blood pressure, and i d to cancel one of my procedures. i applied for unemployment. it's been almost a month now and i'm still waiting. >> i'm worried about the pensions, obviously, as i'm getting older, and i'm ready to retire pretty soon. >> i would hope that congress and those in washington, d.c. would understand that this isn't a red or a blue issue. it's a pandemic that we're all facing.>> voted for donald trump in

2016. and, if i had an opportunity to speak to him, i would first off say that "you're a new yorker and new york state hasn't gotten what it needs." there's going to be financial and i think it's real important that there's some type of state and federal aid to help preventh , because it would be just horrible to think thatre these the essential workers that help u through. and then, when it's all done, >> woodruff: for a rowem. look at the tough decisions congress is making, on this and other issues, we're coined by the -highest ranking republican in the senate, majority whip john thune of south dakota. senator thune, thank you very much r talking .with us there is so much on the plate of you and othermembers of the senate, but i want to ask you quickly about timing. if this aid for small

businesses, so called paycheck protection program, were to run out of mngney in coays, would the congress be able act to do something about it? >> i think so, jud i think that there's broad support on both side,bl reans and democrats, for that program. it's been very successfuand, obviously, heavily subscribed to the tune of over, now, 650 billion or more dollars. our decision, i guess, now, will be whether, now, we can a plus-up thcount or whether perhaps we'll need to extend the time perod for thoseans because we'll probably burn through the eight weeks prty st. if the economy isn't up and running, there will be hard questions about what to doext. right now, we're in the process of evaluating exactly how fasty the mohat's going out the door is being used up and then conclusions about what to do next and whether or not there ought to be another infusion of funding into the op.p. prgram,

which, as i said, has been, by all accounts, veryuccessful. >> woodruff: right. well, one of the main debates, as we have just been hearing and we've referred to, is over help for state and local governments. as you know very well, these are folks who are on thent lines of fighting this pandemic, they are firefighters, they are police.we just heard from a parc supervisor in the town of greenberg, new york. he said he voted for president trump, but he said, right now, we'resituation where we may have to lay people off. governors, mayorsre saying they're in urgent need of help.j senate mity leader mcconnell, though, has saidinget this sng that he doesn't see as a priority, and other republicans disagree with him. where do you come down? >> i think there are a couple of things about that. first off, there's $150 billion made available to state and local governments. some are arguing, obviously, that that's not enough. but i think most of us are of

the view that, of those dollars, and when they were allocated they had to be used for something specifically vid-related, costs related only to the virus. the definition has been broadened of what that is. the firefighters, police, peoplu mployment insurance, even housing assistance now could qualifunder the treasury's definition. so the dollars that are out there are beg opened up. i thinmost of our members would rather give states and local governments flexibility on how the current dollars are used before adding another trillion dollars to that, which is something some of the democrats are advocating. we want to see what's working, what's not working, what the need is and how the mo already appropriated is being used and whether or not it's being effective. >> woodruff: sunds like you're saying there may be a limit or what more can be done. do you seeli lia protection for businesses ending up as part of some kind of compromise there? that's something leader

mcconnell has also talked about. >> it i and i think there is an argument to be made because we're already seeing reporting about lawyers lining up and filing lawsuits and there's tremendous amount of vulnerability out ere. u've got healthcare providers, grocers, people who are in some of these critical industries who could be subject to lawsuits. as wstart to climb out ofs thi and the recovery gets going, we want to make sure that we don't step on that recovery by having this cycle of endless litigation that makes it almost impossible for businesses to come up with the -- keep up with the costs and having to declare bankruptcy. we don't want t see that outcome. so some sort of liability protection. if people are following the c.d.c. protocols, doing this, the right waey shouldn't be subject to all these frivolous lawsuits and i thinkt that kind of protection maes sense. >> woodruff: let me ask you about your state of south dakota aere the governor has not issued stay-at-home order.

right now, businesses, publi fa sills starting to reopen and, yet, we are learning that the coronavirus, while it may bete flng the curve in urban parts to have the country, is continuing torow in rural parts of the country. how concerned areou that you may have a sleeper problem in south dakota? >> well, wary and concerned, obviously, because we expect at some point that this is going to rural areas.o somof the re it's been confined, as you pointed out, so far, at lest, to some to have the more populated areas of the country and even south dakota, sioux falls, has beewhere 75%, 80% of the cases ha been so far. but as that breaks out into smaller communities and other communities in our state, i think it's something we have to keep an eye on, and we have to make sure that the social distancing practices, the guidelines continue to be adhered to. things arpening up a little

bit but, again, i think with a lot of those types of safeguards being put in place. and i think every state, governor, every community, they're going to have to be working together, looking at the data, listening to the healt m experts anking sure they're doing everything they can to protect life as ty start to open up a little bit and get the economy back on track. >> reporter: >> woodruff: finally, senator, do you think it's sr the senate to be in session? as you know, the congressional physician advised the house not to come back. right now the d.c. area is considered a place where covid 19 is still -- we'till members of the senate and staff, back to washington.had to travel how do you see this? >> by the way, i think the house is coming in next week, but, you know, weisten very carefully to the -- you know, the doctor

for the -- the attending physician for the senate as well as those who are responsibleor governing this place and there have been a lot of precautions that have pleen put into ace. we are social distancing. when we vote in the senate, we've extendedta time for the vote, we've asked people tto cas their vote and not congregate in the well like we tically do. i was in a congress committee hearing yesterday afternoon on covid imact on the avi industry and everybody is seated six feet apart, but the guidelin are being prngs we ne to be doing. we are an essential industry for the american people and they pect us to take care and do everything we can to get them through this crisis. >> woodruff: senator john thune, thank you very much. >> thanks, judy. good to be with you. >> woodruff: some of the most

highly dated and awaited rules around sexual assault and harassment on campus were released by the trump administrati today. the rules, issued by educati secretary betsy devos, lay out how schools-- both in higher education and in lower gras-- should deal with and investigate those allegations by students. as amna nawaz lls us, the new title ix guidance replaces obama-era rules on how campuses should respond. >> nawaz: judy, the new rules are a new blueprint for studentn to file allegawherever they attend school. but, they also increase protections for students and faculty accused of sexual assault on campus. t as part of tha government is requiring colleges and universities to hold hearings and cross-examinatio involving both the accuser and the accused. erica green has long been covering this for the "new york times." she joins me now. erica, welcome to the "newshour". les jump in to explain t

people exactly what is different. it up to scools to navigateleft how, when andmof they ve forward to proceedings. how do the rules change the old guidance? >> the most significant is these rules are law. the previous rules issued under the obama administration were in the form of guidance, so that's akin to recommendations. we advice you to do this in order toe compliant. these rules are the law now, they lay out concretely what schools must do in order to fulfill their obligations under title ix and avoid investigations. they are obligated to hold live hearings in the college context, not in k-12. they are required to allow cross-examination. students cannot question each other, but advisorsn attorneys, if they choose, may do so. they have to allow a p.o., they

have to allow both the accuser and accused to have access to virtually every piece of evidence, every piece of paperwork. >> reporter: over the years, c high profises in which colleges and universities were under fire for not doing enough to respond to allegations of campuses.sault or rape on fact one of the highest profile cases, chanel miller, how do the cases play out?us. parties something school is responsible for, office campus parties? >> it clarified that plan which was a huge sticking poi for both due process advocates and victims riepghts advocates. the department initially proposed that schools would not have any control over, you know, houses, buildings, any aa that wasn't within their campus setting or that they, frankly, wouldn't know or have any control over what happened in that particular context. the signifant change and the

final goal is that schools now have to -- do haveo be responsible for any activities that happen off campus in building or location that it controls o patrols, any activities that it has som of substantial control over, kild trip or,e ndie academic conference.oing to an >> reporter: reminding people, one-third of all american women experience some kind of sexual violence in their lifetimes. charges. actually ever press those who have studied trends and looking at these new rules, what kind of impact do ey think these new rules will have on people's willingness to come forward with allegations in the future? >> victims rights vocates, women's groups who study this, researchers, academics, truly do believe that it ll absolutely have an impact and a chilling effect to some e number of reports that colleges are going to see. just like in the law enforcement context, alleged victims not t

going to subjeemselves to being cross examined and going through the legal process.b if you thinkut how many women and men, victims who want avoidoing to th police so they can avoid court, many people are anticipating th students will want to avoid any courtroom-like or legalistic process. that could be retraumatizing foo them, orwork in their favor, which could also be a deterrent. eporter: such an important topic. thank you so much for being with us to explain it all. erica green of the niemsz. -- of the "new york times." >> woodruff: i noen i introduced this story i meant ta title ix but i said title x. my apologies. >> woodruff: americans have gotten the message: stay away from emergency rooms and

hospitals, if you can. but, there are reports all around the country that say the message may be working too well. some patients who probably should go to the hospital for an urgent health problem are not. miles o'brien has the story, as parmet of our regular segnts onh "leading edge." >> reporter: a historic pandemib may be ragin at theth evergreen heospital in kirkland washington, the emergency department is quiet... eerily quiet. registered nurse holly nelson is the manager. >> right now, our volumes are low, about 50% of what we normally see. and this ia very uncomfortable feeling, having it like this,ed because we're o just anything come through thdoors, and even the first weeks of covid, being hit hard and not kning what to expect. >> reporter: 25 miles to the north, at the providence regional medical center in everett, the story is the same. empty waiting rooms.

empty halls. physician ryan keay is medical director. >> we normally see 240 to 250 patients a day. now, we might see 140 to 180 patients a day. so very, very different volumes. >> reporter: did that surprise you? >> it di yeah, i've been on phone calls with medical directors from all over the region, and all over the country, and some places report 25% decrease in volume in the emergency department. some places report 40% decrease. >> reporter: it's a gbal trend. in the u.s., the numbers are dramatically down hospitals nationwide, not just in covid-19 hotspots. jeff tomlin is c.e.o. at evergreen health.so >> there ithing going on. people are choosing to stay away. we even founthat for strokee and even s our heart attacks, there are less cases coming in now, we ch doesn't malot of sense, because you would think that they'll be the numbers that we've gott used to over the yes.

>> reporter: it's a mystery healthcare professionals can't solve denitively at the moment, but they fear the root of this massive drop in volume may be fear itself. sardiologist harlan krumholz a professor at the yale univchtyerofggooes sic a minede. behavioral pattern, one in which people are toughing it out. it's highly likely that this is because people are experiencing fear and are afraid to come to the hospital. >> reporter: it's kind of stunning to me that someone, when they assess their own personal risk, would try to ride out a heart attack at home when the concern is, you might pick emergency room.by going to the >> yeah. i felt that way too. and yet i think maybe we've underestimated the kind of feari that nows probating society, that's keeping people at home, that are making them think that the hospitals ar't safe places to be. >> reporter:t's easy to see what kindledhat fe. >> almost everybody is on oxygen and almost everybody is a covid patient.

eporter: scenes like thi of overrun hospitals all over the world, staffed with healthcare providers facing critical shortages of personal protective equipment. but all the mitigation, social distancing and stayige home has chd that picture dramatically.und w wa to make tr facilities safer. this engineer is testing to ensure air is not flowing out from rooms occupied by covid patients. the rm of art is "negati airflow." he is part of the am that sprung into action when the crisis first hit aevergreen. almost overnight, they modified the h.v.a.c. system to prevent the spread of airborne pathogens throughout the hospital. dr. francis riedo is the medical director of infection control and prevention. >> it turned out that the engineers here, who are unsung heroes in this process, could turn the entire critical care

unit, which was built in 1976, into a negative flow unit. we have, at this point, been able to convert almost a third of our hospital beds in the negative flow by engineering modificatins. >> reporter: but the question that bothers health care professionals most is: who choose to stay home, despite symptoms of a serious illness?ho dr. kr believes they represent a sizable proportion of "excess" deaths outside hospitals that epidemiologist are tracking in the midst of the pandemic. >> my hunch is that it may be a osod third of the toll of people dying out of thetal. maybe because of preventable illnesses that are not the direct results of the virus, bur actually it result of ople being fearful about getting care. >> reporter: the lingering impa of the pandemic and the fear have profound consequences for the u.s. healthcare system.

hospitals cancelled elective proceduresn orr to create greater capacity for a surge in covid-19 pients. with the disease curve flattening in ny locations, executives like jeff tomlin are drafting plans to resume this part of their business. after all, pcedures are how hospitals make their money. just in march, 43,000 u.s. healthcare workers lost their jobs. >> we have almost zero procedural revenue. that will be a challenge for, not just us, but healthcare organizations across the country, because you increasing your expenses and then you almost have zero revenue stream in terms of how compensate. i think this is going to be a fine dance with the community, busies, because we're going to have to prove that we can come back in.or people as they we he to get back to work. >> reporter: for now, thenc emerrooms are largely

quiet, except for patients with. covid- and hospitals now wonder, once they open their doors w wider, wl be willing to come in? it's a quebuion many other nesses will face as well. for the pbs newshour, les o'brien in kirkland, washington. >> woodruff: today, thu.s. announced that it would be providing additional humanitarian aidhrough the world food program to yemen including areas controlled by houthi rebels. the houthis have been fighting a u.s.- and saudi-backed government-in-exile for years. but, as the coronavirus crisis hits the war-torn nation, even deeper desperation has set in. as it has in another nation mired in conflict, libya, where nick schifrin begins this

report. ( gunfire ) >> schifrin: on the frontline in libya, the war never stopped. .so, there are now two wa ( gunfire ) the spraying of bullets between ternationally-recognized government, and fighters loyal and the spraying of disinfectant and social distancing measures, for more than a year, u.n.-ed baresident faysal al- sarraj, of the government of national accord, and forder military land u.s. citizen khalifa haftar, have beenor fightingontrol of libya. the fighting has driven hundreds of thousands of peoplempnto refugee and now that the frontline has moved to presdpont sraj's wer base in the capital tripoli, civilians are caught in the middle. rothis bedroom was hit by et that crashed through abdel moneim al sharif's roof. >> ( translated ): wt happened today was shelling in our area. and this is my mother'sinate, apartment. >> schifrin: haftais also attacking the front lines of the fight against thbycoronaviru

has 63 confirmed cases. dr. fawzi abdalla stands outside a tripoli hospital, where a rocket attack left cars full of shrapnel, and a hole in the side of a medical building. >> it is time to put armed conflict on lockdown and focus together on the ue fight of our lives. >> schifrin: that call has gone unheeded, and if anything, the battle over libya's future intensified. last week, haftar supporters declared him libya's rightful leader, and he rejected a u.n.- backed political deal in place today. >> ( translated ): dear free libyans, we have monitored youre onse to our call to you by announcing the dropping of the suspected political agreementtr that ded the country. >> schifrin: president sarraj has control of major port cities in the north, but little else,ho sayss hill, a libya expert at the u.s. institute of peace. >> even though they are nominally the head of the libyan gove their power does not extend much beyond tripoli. >> schifrin:nd the fighting is fueled by foreign forces on >> you have italy n the side of the government of

thtional accord, the u.s. on the sidelines, and oother side you see the french, the emirati, hethe egyptians, sometimes saudis, thrussians, sometimes the jordanians, all backing general hifter in his libya arab armed forces. >> schifrin: in other intractable conflict to the east, yemen is also ill-equipped for a pandemic. for five years, a civil wahas raged between iran-backed houthi rebels, and the saudi-backed government of mansur hadi, in exile. in late march, the houthis launched ballistic missiles in saudi arabia. and the saudis struck houthi targets in the capital, naa. in april, saudi arabia announced a unilateral cease-fire, releasing this statement, "the chance is still there for concerted efforts to reach a comprehensive and permanent cease-fire." the houthis rejected it. >> ( translated ): the saudi declaration is not a declaration of ceasefire. it is continuation of the war. >> schifrin: the u.s. had cut

humanirian funding in houthi- controlledreas, fearing rebels diverted the aid. the funding will resume. means it's badly needed. a hospital in houthi-nt lled sanaa, beds don't have mattresses, and most of t 20 ventilators are in disrepair civilil over the country who've fletheir homes and now liven camps, feel forsaken >> ( translated ): neither the state nor the organizations are helping us. they're telling us to sta inside the camp. how are we to just sit inside when no one is helping u >> schifrin: yemen's humanitarian crisis is one of the worlevd's moste: 1.3 million cases of cholera16 since widespread flooding that destroyed vitainfrastructure. a coronavirus outbreak could be disastrous, says world health organization representative altaf musani. >> millions of yemen depend on huanitarian assistance every month, and so the virus, such as covid-19, coming to yes srin:orh yen libya, where resources and patience were alrey thin,

this is e worst time for another war. for the pbs newshour, i'm nick schifrin. >> woodruff: with flights largely empty of passengers, airlines are taking a bath financially, losing tens of billions of dollars combined. but they also are receiving billions in aid from the federal government. as part of that deal, they cannot lay off their employeesct beforeer. there are big questions about what happens in the months ahead.ut est airlines is the largest domestic carrier in the u.s. gary kelly is its c.e.o and chairman. chairmannenned and joins us now. welcome to the "newshour". so your bookings are way down, you're taking precautions with

most of them still afraid to fly. what do you say to them? well, great to be with you, judy, and thank u for having us. it's a really tough time for the world, quite frankly, and people are very concerned about the pandemic, they're concerned about their health. even if people want to travel and have the means to travel right now, in a lot of ways, there's nowhere to go, if you know what i mean, because, you know, the country's been on lockdown. so it's incumbent upon us, first of al, keep air transportation available. we are essential, accordingoto the federaernment. we take that seriously. that's also a commitment out of the cares act is that we continue to fly. so then we need to offer a very safe prduct, and that's what we're determined to. do we've encraged the t.s.a. to begin temperaturecans, as

an examiner. we're doing deep cleaning in the airport, on the airspace. we're doing physical ditapsing at the -- distancing at the airports, also on the airspace. we're doing, happ go intongs more detail, ba we want to mke the environment as safe as possible not only for our customers t also for our own employees. >> woodruf of the images of what southwest is doing and, yet, people think about flying and they think about walking down the a they think about how close passengers are to one another. you said you won't do away with middle ses, for example. how do you truly make an airplane, which is an enclosed space where people are going to be close together, feel safe right now? >> well, we'll use a multi-layered approach. the first thing is we're requiring all of own own employees to wear masks, we're also requiring our customers to wear masks. we are not going to reove

middle seats, but we won't book so many reservations so that all the middle seats could be unoccupied, if that's what customers choose to do. we deep clean the airplanes between flights and also at night. i think, interestingly, we're using an electrostatic miter, ial mist an antimicr in it which will adhere to surfaces and then kill th virus upon contact for up to 30 days. we've got hostal grade eh pea air filters that keep the air fresh on the plane. so there are a number of things we do and we feel confident out it being a safe environment. >> woodruff: but nota mtewhor nw disinfected the passengers get on and brng whatever thy bring with them. i think that's what has people concerned about flying.

is that a fear that you think can go awuntil there's a vaccine, which may be a year and a half or two years from now? >> i think that remains to be seen. i don't think that il take quite that long for people too become more confident to get out and go about their daily lives, but i think all ofshouldhat. have an expectation that travel will return gradually, and that will be, i think, one deterrent. i do think this, too, shll pass. i do think that things will get back to nort l. u're right, i think we have to be confident wit wh testinth therapeutics, ultimately a vaccine.e we're in aession right now. business travel will certainly be depressed and probably fo years, and i think we're in a low-fare environment. southwest is a low-cost, low-fare airline, and it really

fits our business model well. so w here to serve. we're an essential part of not just the u.s. onomy but worldwide economy and we're going to do the best we can to take care of our people and serve our customers. woodruff: is the airline industry going to survive? is every airline company, in your view, going to make it? >> this is the worst economi environment i've er witnessed, and i have been in business a long time. i think it's the worst thing that's happened since the greatn depresso it's hard to imagine that you won't see businesses shheutir doors well beyond just the ai industry. so i think all that remains to be seen. we've got a duty atth soust to protect our company and protect our people's jobs, and we're determined to do that as best we can, do that with great service, viouslyr fares low and o offer a very safe product. that's our mission and i feel

likeur folks are much up to the task. >> woodruff: how hard is it to do that, though, gary kelly, without, frankly, ending up laying people off? you've made a cmmitment it won't happen till the fall, but how can you -- i mean, looking at the picture realistically, d it?o you av >> well, judy, it's -- right now,t's way too early to know. i certainly recognize that there is a challenge. right now, we're experiencin15 to 20% load factors, which is well we low what bak-even cash flow is, so we certainly have our work cut outf us. the good news is we're seeing each week improve. thengottoas early april. may looks like it will be a better month. hopefully june better still. thek booings out in july look more encouraging. it's going to be a gradual process,ut it's too early to

make the call. if things don't imrove clarly, we're going to have to radically restructure. have to commit to at this point. n you sayff: and at this point how much more you need from the federal government from the tapayers? >> well, first of all, we cam in to this year very strong. we have the strongest balance sheet in the u.s. industry by far. we've got an investment-grade credit rating. our leverage was 24% in terms of the debt to total capital. we've raised a significant amount of money and have or $15 billion in the bank as we speak. so we've got ample resources to see ourselves through a reasonable time horizon to get through thiens cha. you know, the money that we got from the government so far was

entirely dedicated to paying our emoyees, and it oly covers 60% to 65% of the total payroll. we did apply for a government-secured loan program d have access to that, if we choose, through september the 30th. it's $2.8 billion. it's just a staggering amount of money that's required not just for southwest but for th who country to get through this crisis. but in the end, i dowht know exactlt it's going to take, but i do feel like, based on a reasonable outlook, a rasonably optimistic outlook for the next 12 months that we've gt what we need to see our way through. >> woodruff: gary kelly, c.e.o. of southwest airlines, we certainly wish the best for you and all of your employees. thank you very much. >> thank you, judy.

>> woodruff: and that is the i'm judy woodruff.ht. join us online, and again here for all of us at t pbs newshour, thank you,se pleatay safe, and we'll see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs wshour has been provided by: >> when it comes to wireless, consumer cellular giits customers the choice.pl our no-contracs give you as much-- or as little-- talk, text and data as you want, and our u.s.-based customer service team is to hand to help. earn more, go to consumercellular.tv >> le isn't a straight line, and sometimes you can find yourself heading in a new direction. fidelity is here to help you work through the unexpected, with financial planning and advice for today, and tomorrow. >> bnsf railway. >> financial services firm raymond james. io the ford foundation. working with visnaries on the frontlines of social changerl ide.

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nawaz: the oceans are swimming in it. rivers are chod with it. coastles are collecting it. ndfills are clogged with it. our trash bags are fied with it. and it's even floating in the air we breathe. geyer: imagine seadi out 9 enbillion metric tons ev, we could cover an area the size of argentina or cafornia six times over. nawaz: it's plastic: the material we can't seem to liso without, that asts longer than a lifetime. plastic can take hundredsof yean and even then only into micro particles. it's hurting animals, it's in our food chain, plastic is everywhere. (theme music plays)