captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc oo >>uff: 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 white house coronavirus task force. then, empty skies. the airline industry implements safety measures to increase travel by the summer, but questions remain. i talk with the head of southwest airlines. an increasing number ofhelp. americans are choosing to forego medical care, even critical procedures, to avoid exposure to covid-19 at hospitals. w >> mayve underestimated the kind of fear that now is keeping people at me, that are making them think that hospitals

aren't safe places to be.>> oodruff: all that and more, on tonight's pbs newr. ng >> major fundi for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> fidelity investments. >> consumer cellular.

>> financial services firm raymond james. >>supporting social entrepreneurs and their solutions to the world's most pressingroblems-- skollfoundation.org. >> the lelson foundation. committed to improving lives through invention, in the u.s. and developing countries. on the web at lemelson.org.up >>rted by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. committed tojuuilding a more , verdant and peaceful world. more information at ma wound.org >> ah the ongoing support these institutions: >> this program was made possle by the corporation fo public broadcasting. and by contributions to your 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 of this day. >> 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 earning hours so crews could disinfect the trains and stations. >> wre trying out antimicrobial treatments to keep surfaces virus-free, longer. we are looking at ultraviolet light technology that can immediately ericate the viruses. >> reporter: the country'st largss transit system will now be suspended from 1:00 a.m. until 5:00 a.m. daily fors. cleani

more than 80 employees, including at least 50 who worked in t subway, have died from the coronavirus. elsewhere, restrictions are progressively easing. meanwhile, president trump reveed course, one day after saying the white house coronavirus task force will wind down. mr. trump signed proclamation for national nurses day, and said he will name new members to the task force by monday. >> i thought we could wind it down sooner. but, i had no idea how popular the task force is until, actually, yesterday, when i started talking about winding it wn. i'd get calls from very respected people, saying, "i think it would be better to keep it going, it's done such a good job.">> reporter: but the e faced news accounts that response efforts, coted by jared kushner, the president's son-in-law, have been marred by inexperienced volunteers making supply problems worse. the devastation of the nation's airline industry was also a commerce committee hearing this afternoon. >> passenger volumes have fallen over 95%.

more than 3,000 airplanes havest been put in orage. that's 50% of the united states' active fleet. per domestic fligh29 perngers international flight. >> reporter: across the countrya themic continues to inflict a toll on the nation's food supply. with meat production planteds n several states, and fears of a meat shortage, local butcher shops are feeling the pinch. i ken stoysihead of stoysich house of sausage in omaha, negeaska. >> it'ing a little bit harder every week. a but this week ittle bit more of a challenge than it was lastyseek, but we seem to alwa come up with a little bit of meat to sell. >> reporter: the economic fallout is also worsin europe. the european union today projected a "recession historic proportions" this yeare with tandemic 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 thatri remained open the country's lockdown. health officials in africa reported the number of confirmed covi19 cases on the continen 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 aon na challenge, where the federal government has an attitude of sabotage related to efforts to face this national crisis. >> reporter: brazilian presidenb jasonaro has downplayed the pandemic, and said only the eldey and high risk pulations should stay home. for the pbs newshour, i'm wephanie sy. druff: in the day's other news, the u.s. supreme court is again considering res

objections to contraceptive coverage under obamacare. the justices today heard arguments on the tmp administration's attempt to let more employers opt out of coverage for religious or moral rationales. we will get the details, after the news summary. 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 emerge yamiche alcindor has our report. >> alcindor: a graphic video. a shocking shooting. and many unanswered questions. this cell phone footage is beliareved to show ahmaury jogging in a south georgia neighborhood before comingen upon twon a truck. the 25-year old tries to get around them. and then... >> alcindor: the video, released yesterday, has brought national attention to the incident,h

whok 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 the videoor release, a a prosecutor announced he plans to call a grand jury. >> he was a happy-go-l person. he loved his family. >> alcindor: wanda cooper is arbery's mother. said the process hen tooy, she long. >> a lot of time has passed, and pli'm ready to get these p who are responsible, you know, in jail. >> alcindor: gregory mcmichael told poliche thought arbery looked like a suspect in a nearby burary. he said he and his son followed arbery and told him to stop. then, mcmichaesaid arbery" began to violently attack" them. mcmichael had been anve igator in the district attorney's office, and a police officer. and, according to the "new york times," one of the original prosecutors on the case argued there was "insufficient probable cause to arrest" the two men. but, he later asked to te removed fr case, because his son "worked in the

prosecutor's office with gregory mcmichael." 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 charge at the point of this incident. >> alcindor: meanwhile, georgia courts remain closed until at least june 13, due to the covid- 19 outbrea an attorney for arbery's family tells newshour the grand jury process would likely beginme me after courts open back up. for the pbs newshour, i'm yamiche alcindor. >> woodruff: the georgia bureau th investigation said toda it has now opened its own probe of the shooting. the u.s. departmrt of education leased final rules today with new protectionsinor the accused exual assault cases on college campus. the overhaul narrows the definition of sexual harassment, sand it requires live cam hearings and cross-examinations. we will return to this, later in

the program.e the suprurt of israel has ruled that primeinister benjamin netanyahu may go ahead with forming a new coalition government. that is despite the fact that he is facing trial on corruption charges. netanyahu says that he is hoping to swear in the negovernment next week. there is word that the coronavirus pandriic is doing s damage in north korea. lawmakers in south korea were briefed today on new intelligence. 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 haveem implted various measures to stabilize prices, such as cracking down on market cornering. ea>> woodruff: the south k say the pandemic is also why north korean leader kim jong-un ayed largely out of publ view.

he north maintainthat i had no infections. today marked 75 years nazi germany surrendered to the allies in world war ii. o the news touch mass celebrations in london in 1945, after britain had endured nearly six years of fighting.e the war in eurrmally ended the next day. back in this countrypresident trump has vetoed a congressional resolution that would bar him from using military force against iran.et in hismessage, he called it "very insulting," and harmful to the national defense. the resolution passed after qassem soleimani, a top iranian commander, was killed in a u.s. air strike. and on wall street, recession fears weighed down much of the market. the dow jones industrial average lost 218 points to clo 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 coronavirus response.nu an increasiner of americans forego critical care, for fear of entering hospitals. the c.e.o. of southwest airlinet on industry's plans to and, much more. >> woodruff: a closely divided supreme court considered two cases today. the first was on the future of exceptions to a birth mandate in the affordable care act. the second, a challenge to a federal law banning robocalls.

john yang walks us through the arguments on both sides, a the challenges that can come with dointhem remotely. >> reporter: day three of socially distance supreme court arguments brought a big dispute administration may allow some employers to limit women's access to free birth control under the aordable care act. an order called little sisters of the poor is joining the ministration to defend federal rules expanding the religious exemption.this exchange betweene ruth bader ginsburg speaking from aaltimore hospital room where she's being treated for a gallbladder condition and solicitor joel noel francisco got to the core of th issue. >> you have just tossed entirely to the wind what congress thought was essential, that is that women be provided these services with n hassle, no cost

to them.ea in you are shifting the emplners' religious beliefs cost of that on to the employees who do not share those religious beliefs. >> yes, respectfully, your honor, i think i would disagree with the premise of your question because there's nothing in the aca that reires contraceptive coverage, rather it delegated to the agencies the discretion to decide whether or not to cov its in e first place, and we think that that also includes the discretion to require that most employers provide it but not the smallmb who have sincere conscientious objections. >> mcia coyle of the "national law journal." >> i don't think anyone questions the genuineness of the religious beliefs of the religious nonprofits, and they want very much to be completely providing contraceptive health

insurance. the estimate of women -- number of women who would lose that coverage is between 75,000 and 125,000, which is a substantial impact. >> reporter: this is the third time this issue has come before the justi ts. >> andday during the argument, there was a certain amount of frustration, i think, expressed self-of the justices. the chief justice himself said at one point that he felt thathe neside wants to make the accommodations that have beenis ng in the law for some time work. >> reporter: for nearly three hours, the nine justices heards arguments on tse and another on whether federal restrictions on robo calls to cell phones violate the first amendment. like millions of americans, the justices are adjusting to working remotely. justice stephen breyer had somer

phonble during the robo call argument. >> thank you. i'm sorry. e telephone started to ring, and it cut me off the call, and i don't think it was a ro call. (laughter) and we got it straightened out. >> justice sotomayor. more than once earli this week, justice sotomayor had trouble unmuting. >> justice sotomayor. i am sorry, chief. d it again. >> reporter: for lawyer lisa blatt, her arguments to the justices were unlike any other. instead of the courtroom, she was at hom among her spectators, two dogs. >> i think i spent about two days getting the dining room set up to look like as much ast i coule courtroom to have a podium a t whee briefs would sit and where my co-council would sit and my time keeper my daughter would sit. my husband also was bouncer so he was i charge of making sure everyone in the neighborhood was cleared away. >> reporter: one surprise from the new format, frequent

questions from justice clarence thomas who at time has gone years without peaking. >> in 40 arguments i've never gotten a question from justice thomas. so to have one from justice thomas to comen 2020 wa a career highlight. so that's the only perk was getting to hear him and he'sn absolutelyre in every argument. >> reporte for pennsylvania deputy attorney general michael fischer, on the other hand, today marked his first supre court argument evr. >> i was worried, you know, that in the leaop it wouldn't quite feel the same because i wouldn't be going to the supreme court but that didn't happen at all and i felt, you know,nvore sational in some ways. >> reporter: when the justices dial in for oral arguments next week, thr y'll heathe 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 incle funding for cities and states that are reeling fro economic impact of coronavirus. democrats and some republicans ote governors and mayors say that aid is needed to stave off thousas of additional layoffs. but others, including majority leader mitch mcconnell, say that such funding would amount to "blue state bailou." the newshour spoke with a number of state and municipal workers, many of whom a on the front lines of battling th 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, which in michigan is one of the hot spots. we've all taken an oath to help the public to do whatever has 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, and my husband is jason hargrove, the detroit bus driver who contracted the covid-19 virus, jason was a dedicated, hardworking transit worker for transportation.edtment of and he lis job. i would hope that,s ou know, jasoath 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 protecall of our heroes out here, because that's truly what they are. >> my me'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 possibilit- f 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.ap we havoximately ten officers that have it. we had 15 inmates that had. and we have approximately 24 people out on quarantine leave. i know coworkers who have confided with me, and they, like, justroke down crying because they're so stressed out, just taking it home to their elderly parents or to their children themselves, and they're stressed out about it. and then we come to work and we don't have enough equipment to, nothing-- not enough gowns or masks for us. >> my name is chrissy myers. i am employed at the ebensburg center in pennsylvania, which consists of taking care of disabilities. sh intellectual i haveter who works at the unemployment office, a brother l that works at the what,

the wealth public welfare office they have twin boys. i am very concerned for all ofe us, because well going to work every day. >> my name is shwoley thomas. ed at duval county schools for 19 years. and i was a custodian. i wacalled into a meeting, a i was told i'll be laid off.d it kind of sca for a while, because i didn't know how i was going to make it. i have diabetes as well as high blood pressure, and i had to cancel one of my procedures. i applied for unemployment's een 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.ot >> i for donald trump in 2016. and, if i had an opportunity to

speak to him, i would first off and new yorktate hasn't gotten what it needs." there's going be financial restraints on the government. and i think it's real important at there's some type of state and federal aid to help prevente thisuse it would be just horrible to think that these are the essential workers that helph get yough. and then, when it's all done, there's nothing for them. >> woodruff: for a front row look at the tough decisions ngress is making, on this and other issues, we're joined by the second-highest ranking republic in the senate, majority whip john thune of south dakota. senator thune, thank you very much for talking with us. there is so much on the plate of you and other membs of the senate, but i want to ask you if this aid for small businesses, so called paychec

protection program, were to run out of money in coming days, would the congress be able act to do something about it? >> i think so, judy.th nk that there's broad support on both side,s republicd democrats, for that program. it's been very successful and, obviously, heavily subscribed to the tune of over, now, 65billion or more dollars. so our decision, i guess, now, will be whether, now, we can plus-up that account or whether perhaps we'll need to extd the time period fo those lons because we'll probably burn through the eight weeks pretty. fa if the economy isn't up and running, there will be hard questions about what to do next. right now, we're in the process of evaluating exactly how fast the money that's going out the door is being usd up an then trying to come to some conclusions about what to do w next ather or not there ought to be another infusion of funding into the p.p.p. program, which, as i said, has been, by

all accounts, veryu sccessful. >> woodruff: right. well, one of the main debates, as we have just beeheang and we've referred to, is over help for state and local governments. as you know very well, these are folks who are on the front lines of fighting this pamin they are firefighters, they are police. we just heard from paramedic supervisor in the town of greenberg, new york. he said he voted for president trump, but he said, tght now, we're in a uation where we may have to lay people off. governors, mayors areaying they're in urgent need of help. senate majority leader mcconnell, though, ha saiding this something 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 local governments.state and 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,th had to be used for something specificvially related, costs related only to the virus. the definition has been broadened of what that fi. thfighters, police, people on unemployment insurance, even housing assistance now could qualify unr the treasury's definition. so the dollars that are out there are beingpened up. i think most of our members would rather give states and local governments flexibility on how the current dollars are used before ding another trillion dollarto 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 money already appropriated is being used and whether or not it's >> woodruff: so like you're saying there may be a limit or what more can be done. do you see p liabiliotection for businesses ending up as part of some kind of compromise there? that's something leader mcconnell has also talked about. >> it is.

and i think there is an argument seeing reporting about lawyersdy lining up an filing lawsuits and there's tremendouamount of vulnerability out there. you've got healthcare providers, grocers, people who are in some of these critical industries who could be subject to lawsuits. as we start to climb out of this and the recovery gets going, we want to make sure that we don't step on that recovery by having this cycle of endless ligation 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 to se that outcome. so some sort of liabiliprty ection. if people are following the eyd.c. protocols, doing things the right way, shouldn't be subject to all these frivolous lawsuits and i thinkt that kind of protection makes sense. >> woodruff: let me ask you about your ate of sou dakota where the governor has not issued a stay-at-home order. right now, businesses, public fa

sills starting to reopen and, yet, we are learng that the coronavirus, while it may beng flattehe curve in urban parts to have the country, is continuing tow in rural parts of the country. how concerned are yo that you may have a sleeper problem in south dakota? >> well, wary and conobcerned, ously, because we expect at some point that this is going to come out into some of the more ral areas. it's been confined, as you pointed out, so far, at least, to some to have the more populated areas of the country and even soth dakota, sioux falls, has been where 75%, 80% of the casehave been so far but as that breaks t 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. thpegs are ning 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 tho data, listeninhe health experts and making sure they're doing evething they can to protect life as they start to open up a little bit and get the economy back on track. >> reporter: >> woodruff: finally, senator, rdo you think it's safe 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're still seeing more cases. 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, we lten very carefully to the -- you knw,he doctor for the -- the attending

physician for the senate as well as those who are responsible fr governing this place and there have been a lot of precautions that have bea put into plce. we are social distancing. when we vote in the senat we've extendedta time for the vote, we've asked people toast their vote and not congregate in the well like we typically do. i was in a congress committee n aring yesterday aftern covid imact on the aviation industry and everybody is seated six feet apart, buhe guidelines are being practiced here and there are things we need t be doing. we are an essential industry for the american people and they exper us to take cae 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 yo. >> oodruff: some of the most highly debated and awaited rules

around sexual assault and harassme on campus were released by the trump administration today. the rules, issued by education secretary betsy devos, lay out how schools-- oth in higher education and in lower grades-- gaould deal with and inves those allegations by students. as amna nawaz tells 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 students to file allegations wherever they attend school. but, they also increase protections for students and faculty accused of sexual assault on campus. as part of that, the government is requiring colleges andiv sities to hold hearings and cross-examinations involving both the accuser and the accused. covering this for the "new york times." n she joins . erica, welcome to the "newshour". let's jump in to explain to people exactly what is different. d guidance basically left

it up to schools to navigate how, when and if they move foard to proceedings. how do the rules change the oldn gu? >> the most sinificant is these rules are law. the previous rules issobd under tha administration were in the form of guidance, so that's we advice you to do this in order to be compliant. these rules are theawow, 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, they are required to allow cross-examination. students cannot qestion each other, but advisors and attorneys, if they cose, may do so. they have tollow a p.o., they have to allow both the accer

and accused to have access to virtually every piece of evidence, every piece of paperwork. >> reporter: over the years, vegh profile cases in which colleges and unities were under fire for not doing enough to respond to allegations of sexual asslt or rape on campuses. in fact one of the highest profile cases, chanel miller, sexuly assaulted on campus. how do these cases play out? parties something school is responsible for, office campus >> it clarified than which was a huge sticking point for both due prvocess aocates and victims riepghts advocates. proposed that schools would not have any control over, you know, houses, buildings, any area that wasn't within their campus setting orat they, frankly, wouldn't know or have anyl contver what happened in that particular context. the significant change and the final goal is that schools now

have to -- do have to be responsible for any activities that happen off campus in a building or location that it controls or patrols, any activities that it has some kind of substantial control over, whether it be a field trip or, you knw, students going to an academic conference. >> reporter: reminding people, one-third of all american men experience some nd of sexual violen in their lifetimes. very f actually evess charges. for those who have studied trends and looking at these new rules, what kind of impact do they think these new rules will have oe' peowillingness to come forward with allegations in the futur >> victims rights advocates, women's groups who study thiars, reers, academics, truly do believe that it will absolutely have an impactnd a chilling effect to some extent on the number of reports that colleges argoing to see. just like in the law enforcement context, alleged victims not going to subject themselves to

being cross examined and going through the legal process. if you think ab how many women and men, victims who want to poid going to theolice so they can avoid court, many people are anticipating that students willn t to avoid any courtroom-like or legalisc process. that could be retraumatizing for them, or not work in their favor, whiccould also be a deterrent. >> reporter: such an important topic. us to explain it all.eing with -- of then of the niemsz. "new york times." >> thank you. woodruff: i note when i introduced this ory i meant to say 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. 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.mi s o'brien has the story, as pars t of our regular segmentona the ng edge." >> reporter: a historic pandemic may be raging, but at the evergreen health hospital in kirkland washington, the emergency department is quiet... eerily quiet. registered nurse holly nelson is >> right now, our volumes are low, about 50% of what we normally see. and this is a ve uncomfortable feeling, having it like this, because we're used t anything ce through the doors, and even the first weeks of covid, being hit hard and not knowing what to expect. >> reporter: 25 miles to the north, at the providence regional medical center in everett, the story is the same. empty iting rooms. empty halls. physician ryan keay is medical director

>> we normally see 240 to 250 patients a day.ht now, we mi see 140 to 180 patients a day. so very, very different volumes. >> reporter: did that surprise you? >> it did. 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% decreas >>leporter: it's glo trend. the u.s., the numbers are dramatically down at hospitals tionwide, not just in covid-19 hotspots. jeff tomlin is c.e.o. at inergreen health. >> there is somegoing on. people are choosing to stay away. ur en found that for stroke and even some ofeart attacks, there are less cases coming in now, which doesn't mae a lot of sense, because you would think that they'll be the same numbers that we've gotten used over the years. >> reporter: it's a mystery healthcare professionals can't

solve definitily at the moment, but they fear the root of this massive drop in volume may be fear itself. a professor at the yalemholz is university school of medic >> i think it suggests a 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 up coronavirus by going to the emergency room. >> yeah. i felt that way too. and yet i think maybe we've underestimated the kind of fearb that now iating society, that's keeping people at home, that are making them think that e placesitals aren't s to be. >> reporter: it's easyo see what kindled that fear. >> almost everybody is on oxygen and almost everybody is a covid patient. >> reporter: scenes like this, of overrun hospitals all over

healthcare providers facing critical shortages of personalip protective ent. but all the mitigation, social distancing and staying hthe has changeat picture dramatically. meanwhile, hospitals hav found new ways to make their facilities safer. thisngineer is testing to ensure air is not flowing out from rooms occupied by covid paents. the term of art is "negative airflow." he is part of the team tt sprungnto action when the crisis first hit at evergreen. almost overnight, they modified the h.v.a.c. system to prevent the spread of airborhogens 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 modifications.ep >>ter: but the question that bothers health care professionals most is: who choose to stay home, despite symptoms of a serious illness? b dr. krumhoieves they represent a sizable proportion of "excess" deaths outside hospitals that epideists are tracking in the midst of the pandemic. >> my hunch is thaodit may be a hird of the toll of people dying out of the hospital. maybe because of preventable illnesses that are not the direct results of the virus, bu actually indirsult of pele being fearful about getting care. ng>> reporter: the lingeri impact of e pandemic and the fear have profound consequences for the u.s. healthcare system. hospitals cancelled elective procures in order create

greater capacity for a surge i covid-19 patients. with the disease curve flattening in many locations, executives like jeff tomlin are drafting plans to resume this part of their business. after all, procedures are how hospitals make their money. healthcare workers lost their jobs. >> we have almost zero procedural revenue. that wilbe a challenge for, not just us, but healthcare organizations across the country, because you're increasing your expenses and then you almoshave zero revee stream in terms of how to compensate. i think this is going to be a fine dance with the community, with government, with businesses, because we're going to have to prove that we can safely care for people as they me back in. we have to get back to work. >> reporter: for now, thero emergencs are largely quiet, except for patients with covid-19.

and hospitals now wonder, once they open theirrs wider, who will be willing to come in? it's a questionemany other bues will face as well. r the pbs newshour, i'm o'brien in kirkland, washington. >> woodruff: today, the u. announced that it would be providing additional humanitarian aid through the world food program to yemenng 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,he war never stopped. so, there are now two wars. ( gunfire ) the spraying of bullets betweene the ationally-recognized government, and fighters loyal to an insurgent commander; and the spraying of disinfectant and social distancing measures, to combat coronavirus. for more than a year, u.n.-si backed pnt faysal al- sarraj, of the government of d tional accord, and former military leader s. citizen khalifa haftar, have beentr fighting for c of libya. the fighting has driven hundreds of thousands of people into refugee camps. and now that the frontline has moved to presdient sarraj's power base in the capital tripoli, civilians are caught in the middle. thet bedroom was hit by a ro that crashed through abdel moneim al sharif's roof. > ( translated ): what happened today was shelling in our area. the shells werindiscriminate, d this is my mother's apartment. >> schifrin: haftar islso attacking the front lines of the ght against the coronavirus. libya 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 trueight of our lives. >> schifrin: that call has gone unheeded, and if anything, the battle over libya's futurete ified. last week, haftar supporterscl ed him libya's rightful leader, and he rejected a u.n.- backed political deal in place today. >> ( translated ): dear free libyans, we have monitored your response to our call to you by announcing the dropping of the suspected political agreement that destroyed the country. >> schifrin: president sarraj h oas contrmajor port cities in the north, but little else,s saysholl, a libya expert at the u.s. institute of peace. >> even though they arell nomithe head of the libyan government and libyan state, their per does not extend much beyond tripoli >> schifrin: and the fighting is fueled by foreign forces on opposing sides. >> you have italy more on the side of the governme of national accord, the u.s. on the sidelines, and on the other side

you sethe french, the emirati, the egyptians, sometimes the saudis, the russians, sometimes the jordanians, all backing general hifter in his libya arab armed forces. >> schifrin: in another intractable confli to the east, yemen is also ill-equipped for a pandemic. for five years, a civil war has raged between iran-backed houthi rebels, and the saudi-backed government of mansur hadi, in exile. in late march, the houthis launched ballistic missiles into saudi arabia. and the saudis struck houthi targets in the capital, sanaa. 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 humanitari funding in houthi- controlled areas, fearing rebels

diverted the aid. the funding will resume. means it's badly needed. at a hospital in houthi-ll cont sanaa, beds don't have mattresses, and most of thn 20lators are in disrepair. civilians all over the country who've fled their homes and now live in camps, feel forsaken. >> ( translated ): neither the state nor the organizations are helping us. they're telling us to stay inside the camp. how are we to just sit inside when no one is helping us? >> schifrin: yemen's humanitarian crisis of the world's most severe: 1.3 milliocases of cholera since 2016. widespreadlooding that destroyed vital infrastructure. a coronavirus outbreak could be disastrous, says world health organization representative altaf musani. >> millions of yemenis depend on humanitarian assistance every month, and so the virus, such as covid-19, coming to yemen, is catastrophic. >> schifrin: for both yemen and libya, where resources and patience were already th, this is the wot 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 ao are receiving billions in aid fr the federal government. as part ofhat deal, they cannotay off their employees before october. there are big questions aboutpe what h in the months ahead. southwest 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

your planes and ye americans, most of them still afraid to fl what do you say to them? well, great to be with you, judy, and thank you r 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 the health. even if people want to travel and have the means to travel right now, in a lot of ways, there's nowhere go, if you know what i mean, because, you know, thcountry's been on lockdown. so it's incumbent upon us, first of all k, ep air transportation available. we are essential, according to the federal goernment. 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 product, and that's what we're determined to. do we've encouraged the t.s.a. to begin temperature scans, as an examiner.

we're doing deep cleaning in the airport, on the airspace. we're doing physical dispsing at the -- distancing at the airports, also on the air there are a number of things we're doing, happy to go ito more detail, but we want to make the environment as safe a possible not only for our customers but also or our own employees. >> woodruff: and we see some of the images of what southwest d, doing et, people thinkd about flying aey think about walking down the aisle, they think about how clse passengers are to one another. you said you won't do away with middle seats, eorample. how do you truly make an airplane, which is an enclod space where people are going to be close together, feel safe right now? >> well, we'll use a multi-layered aproach. the first thing is we're requiring all of own own employees to wear masks, we're so requiring our customers to wear masks. we are not going to remove kiddle seats, but we won't boo

so many reservations so that all the middle seats could be unoccupied, if that's what customers choose to do.we eep clean the airplanes tween flights and also at night. i think, interestingly, we're using an electrostatic mister, which as an antimicrobia in it which will adhere to surfaces and then kill the virus upon contact for up to 30 days. we've got hospitagrade eh pea air filters that keep the air fresh on the plane. so there are a numbehings we do and we feel confident about it being a safe environment. >> woodruff: but no matter how clean you make the plane, how disinfected the passengers get on and bring whatever they bring with them. i think that's what has people concerned about flying. is that a fear that you think cago awatil there's a

vaccine, which may be a year and oa half or two years m now? >> i think that remains toe seen. i don't think that it will take quite that long for people too become more confident to get out and go about their daily lives, travel being a part of that. but i think all of usshould have an expectation that travel will return gradual, and that will be, i think, one deterrent. i do think this, too, shall pass. i do think thailt things l get back to normal. but you're right, i think we have to be confident with testing, wth therapeutics, ultimately a vaccine. we're in a reession right now. business travel will certainly be depressed and probably for 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 we're here to serve.

we'rti an ess part of not just the u.s. economy but worldwide economy and we're going to do the beswe 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 ishe worst economic environment i've ever witnessede and i havein business a long time. i think it's the worst thing that's happened since the greato depressiont's hard to imagine that you won't see businesses shut their doors well beyond just the airline industry. so i think all that remains to be seen. we've got a duty atst southo protect our company and protect our people's jobs, and we're determined to do that as best we can, do that with grat service, keep our fares low and obviously offer a very safe produ. at's our mission and i feel like our folks are very much up

to th >> woodruff: how hard is it to do that, thoug garelly, without, frankly, ending up laying people off? mu've made a cotment it won't happen till the fall, but how can you -- i mengan, loo at the picture realistically, >> well, judy, it's -- right now, it's way too early to know. i certainly recognize that there is a challge. right now, we're experiencing 15 to 20% load factors, which is well we low what break-even cash flow is, so we certainly have our work cut out forus. the good news is we're seeing each week improve. the bottoming was earlypril may looks like it will be a better month.y hopefune better still. the bookings out in july lok more encouraging. it's going to be a gradual process, but i's too early to make the call.

if things don't improve clearly, we're going to have to radically restructure. but that's not mething that we have to commit to at this point. >> woodruff: and can you say at this point how much more you need from th federal government from the taxpayers? >> well, first of all, we came in tois year very strong. we have the sger balance sheet in the u.s. industry by far. we've got anvestment-grade credit rating. our leverage was 24% in rms of the debt to total capital. we've raised a significant amount of money and have over $15 billion in the bank as we speak. so we've got ample resources to see ourselves through a reasonable ti horizon to get through this challenge you know, the money that we got from the government so far was

entirely dedicated to payin our employees, and it only covers% 60% to 6 the total payroll. we did apply for a government-secured loan program and hato access hat, if we choose, through september the 30th. it's $2.8 billion. it's just a t aggering amo money that's required not just for southwest but for the whole country to get through this crisis. but in the end, i don't know exactly what it's going to take, but i doeel like, based on a reasonable outlook, a resonably optimistic outlook for the next 12 months that we've got wht w need to see our way through. >> wodruff: gary kelly, certainly wish the best for youe and all of your employees. thank you very much. >> thank you, judy.

>> woodruff: and that is the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. join us online, and again here tomorrow evening. pbs newshour, thank you,ta please ssafe, and we'll see you soon. >> major funding for the pbsws ur has been provided by: >> when it comes to wireless, itconsumer cellular gives our no-contract plve you as much-- or as little-- talk, text and data as you want, and our u.s.-based customer service team is on hand to help. to learn more, go consercellular.tv >> life ist a straight line, and sometimes yocan find yourself heading in a new direction. fidelity is here to help you work through the unexpected, with financial planng and advice for today, and tomorr. >> bnsf railway. >> financial services firm raymond james. >> the ford foundation. working with visiona on the frontlines of social changei worle.

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♪ happy birthday, dear hubert... ♪ ♪♪ friends and family calle hubert or just "chef." i grew up in france, alsace to be exact, in ribeauville, a beautiful medieval town with less th 5,000 p. we lived on the top floor of my parents' patisserie. can you imagine what i ate as a child? i love cars, bikes of any kind and muc, t my first love, besides my wife chantal, will always be cooking. ♪♪ this love i have followed to many