captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight: as the u.s. approaches 100,000 deaths from covid-19, we talk to dr. anthony fauci and the speaker of the house of representatives nancy pelosi about the ongoing response, on both the health front and the economy. then, a call for change. despite the pandemic, large protests erupt in minnesota following the police-involved death of george floyd. plus, the question of child care. as states around the country begin reopening, how to handle our youngest citizens. >> child care around the united states prior to the pandemic was already challenged

and really fractured. now that we're in the context of the pandemic, it is really breaking. >> woodruff: all that and more, on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us.

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station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: the coronavirus pandemic is reaching a fearsome new number tonight: 100,000 lives lost in the united states. it is more than all the american dead in the korean and vietnam wars, combined. lisa desjardins begins our coverage of this day's events. >> desjardins: the u.s. death toll has now reached staggering highs, but every day, more communities are moving to reopen for business. in orange, california, stacy hewett is getting ready to reopen her son and spa, with a new check-in for customers. >> their temperature will be taken. they will be handed a handout on our protocols that will be implemented in the salon. their hands will be sanitized and they'll be escorted back to their seat. >> desjardins: in neighboring nevada, casinos will be back up and running june 4, after a ten-week shutdown. florida's tourism industry is

hopeful about july, after disney announced plans to reopen some of its orlando theme parks july 11, with requirements for face masks, temperature checks and social distance. and in washington, d.c., mayor muriel bowser announced she'll lift the district's stay-at-home order friday. >> so as we begin reopening, it cannot be said enough that every single one of us has a role to play in protecting ourselves and each other. >> desjardins: but it wasn't business as usual on capitol hill today. the house of representatives allowed proxy voting for the first time in its 231-year history-- lawmakers could ask another member to cast their vote for them. house republicans have filed a lawsuit arguing, the procedure is unconstitutional. house republican conference chairwoman liz cheney. >> so, instead of going down the path of saying "how can we do this together," the democrats have adopted a completely partisan scheme, and they have done it in a way that absolutely

infringes on the rights of the minority and infringes on the constitution. >> desjains: while the u.s. looks to reopen, covid-19 cases are spiking around the world, including in previous hot spots. south korea reported its highest number of new cases in weeks. many of the infections were linked to an outeak at an e-commerce warehouse. >> ( translated ): we are very nervous about community infections, and we are keeping a close eye on the situation. we are doing our best to prevent the further spread of infection through fast contact tracing and testing. >> desjardins: india logged a new record number of daily infections as well, as its overall caseload topped 150,000. and, with coronavirus cases surging across latin america, hospitals in brazil, mexico, and chile are struggling to keep up with the huge influx in patients. meanwhile, hospitals in france will no longer use the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine to treat covid-19. the country banned it after a study found it wasn't effective

and posed serious health risks. this, as the european union unveiled an $825 billion fund to help its 27 member states rebuild their struggling economies. >> ( translated ): tomorrow, the cost of inaction in this crisis will be much more expensive. this is about laying the foundations for our future together. and athe same time, to react appropriately to a clearly defined, extraordinary crisis situation, through no fault of our own. >> desjardins: they're not alone. japan, the world's third largest economy, injected $1 trillion more dollars into its economy to help bounce back from its recession. the move effectively doubles the country's stimulus spending. for the pbs newshour, i'm lisa desjardins. >> woodruff: as we said, the u.s. has just passed a grim milestone in the number of deaths. i had a chance to talk about this devastating loss, and where we stand in the battle against

covid, and how to re-open safely, with dr. anthony fauci. he is one of the leading public health voices in the country, and a key member of the president's pandemic task force. dr. tony fauci, thank you for joining us. we welcome you. as the united states today nears 100,000 deaths, that terrible toll, what are your thoughts about that? >> well, obviously, we've been put through a very terrible ordeal, in many respects, that's historic, judy. but i look forward about the kinds of things that we can do you know, to contain this, both from a public health standpoint and marshaling all of the resources of science that we have. so, we're in a situation. we've been through a lot. things will, i believe, improve as we start to see the diminution in cases in many areas. although disturbingly, there are still some areas in which cases are going up. i think if we continue to pull tother as a nation, doing the kinds of things to mitigate the spread, as well as, at the same

time, as we try to gradually and prudently, try to reopen the country to a littlbit more normality... we've taken a terrible hit. 100,000 people is just really historic in the public health impact it's had on us. but, you know, it's a challenge. and-- and this country, as i've say often, has been through some-- some really challenging, terrible times. you know, world wars, depressions, 9/11. this falls in that category. you know, we've got to pull together as a nation to get over this. >> woodruff: you mentioned opening up, and parts of the country are opening up fast. i mean, the state of georgia opened, what, over three weeks ago? other states opening up all over the country. is it necessarily the case that we are going to see outbreaks where there have been moves to open up quickly? >> well-- well, first of all, there's a wide range of-- of how individual states, cities and

counties have opened up. for those who have opened up in a way that has been strictly according to the guidelines of the gateway to phase one, the phase two-- even at that approach, there are going to be cases that you're going to see blips. that's inevitable, and people should not be surprised at that. the real critical issue, judy, is how you respond to that? how you can have the resources in place to be able to identify, isolate, contact, trace, so a blip doesn't become a surge. for those who have actually gone and leaped over a couple of the-- of the benchmarks that they needed to pass-- i mean, obviously, i've said, and i continue to say, that we need to be prudent and careful and not to, in this sense, go prematurely into an area where we should wait a little bit more. but for those that have already done it, and we've seen it on television, you know, my-- my

advice is, there are certain fundamental, basic things that, no matter what stage you're at, you need to do it. and that's things like wearing masks, staying physically-- just avoiding crowds, washing hands. those are things you should do no matter what. >> woodruff: and my question is, in those places that have opened up, is it going to be enough to wash hands, wear the mask, keep socially distanced? because we also are hearing if there is not testing available-- you mentioned contact tracing, but testing. the administration this week said it's up to the states, and as you know, dr. fauci, a number of experts say that's not enough. we need more of a national strategy. >> yeah. well, judy, what's happening right now, and we were just at a meeting down at the white house yesterday, one of our meetings where we went over with several of the governors, the kinds of things that are in place-- the testing is getting better and better and better. i mean, i have always been, you know, publicly skeptical about that. but right now, what i'm seeing is that the kinds of testing, availability, is getting better

and better. and as the weeks go by, i believe strongly that we're going to be able to address that. but you make a very good point. when i see some of those pictures of how people are congregating, at a time when there are still infections around, that's not prudent. and people need to really take a step back and look at that. i mean, everybody wants to see us get back to some sort of normality. everybody wants to open up the country, including an economic rebound. but we need to be really careful that we don't dot in a way that is, in some respects, stepping over the prudent steps. so that's the thing i keep advising, and i keep urging people to be reay prudent about that. >> woodruff: so you're saying it can be done, even though we're not going to have a vaccine until the end of this year at the earliest? i mean, even you have said it's possible. but you're saying, in the meantime, it is going to be safe for states to open up, as long as they do it carefully? >> i do think so.

and i think what will happen, and i keep saying that we do not necessarily have to have a major rebound or, as people say, a second wave, in the fall and in the winter. it will happen if we don't address it in an appropriate way, because we are going to see blips of cases coming up as we try to tiptoe towards normality. my feeling is that if we put all our efforts into that, we can prevent these blips from becoming a resurgence or a second wave. >> woodruff: and just to clarify on testing, ministration is saying 300,000 tests a day is enough. and you're saying that's going to-- that's going to work? >> no, no, i'm not, judy. what i'm saying is that the tests that are going to be available are going to go well beyond that. i mean, even though one says it's going to be enough, if you look at the reality, the way the testing that is going on right now, and the partnering with the

industry, is that as we get into the next several weeks to months, we're going to have many more tests than that limit that you're talking about. we're going to go over that. >> woodruff: vaccine. i want to come back to that very quickly. you said you think it's possible by the end of 2020. do you think that's the most likely scenario? >> you know, i'm cautiously optimistic about that, judy, because, you know, we've been-- right now, as i told you-- we got-- we jumped into the development of vaccine within days, from the time that the sequence was put on the public database. we're well into a phase one with one candidate. but there's more than one candidates. i mean, i s just on the phone literally 15 minutes ago with the pharmaceutical companies that are involved, that group of four or five that are going to be going into trials at various stages, some right now or already in others will be going in in the next couple of months. we hope to start and i think we're going to do it, judy.

duty to start a phase three start a phase three trial, at least with a couple of candidates by early july. if we do that and we get enough efficacy signals over the summer and into the fall, it is not only conceivable, but i'm cautiously optimistic that we would have a vaccine towards the end of this year and the beginning of next year. >> woodruff: so your best estimate right now, dr. fauci, abt what life looks like this fall is, what? in terms of school, in terms of back to work? >> right, well, again, it's very difficult to estimate when you have a moving target like an outbreak. but what i would hope happens is that as we get into the summer, we'll continue to see that leveling off and coming down. because if you look at the curves for the united states, even though there are some states that are still going up and not plateauing, for the most part, as a nation, we're starting to come down. if that decline continues and we get to the point in the summer where we're really very, very low-- which is a good baseline to be at-- what i see in the fall, in the winter, is that as

people start to get congregating indoors and when winter comes, respiratory diseases tend to flourish. we can have the complication of influenza coming back. i believe at if we have in place the ability to do that kind of identification, isolation and contact tracing as we see these blips, it is not inevitable that we will have a second wave. so my cautious hope and optimism is that as we get into the fall, we'll be able to control the inevitable return of infection. anybody that thinks it's not going to come back in the fall is not being realistic. it's how you handle it that determines whether or not you have a second wave. >> woodruff: dr. fauci, we always appreciate talking to you. >> gooto be with you, judy, thank you for having me.

>> woodruff: here in washinton, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle agree that another economic relief package is needed to lp struggling americans deal with the economic fallout caused by the pandemic. but, republican and democratic leaders in congress are divided over who should receive that help, and how much the government should spend. joining us now, the speaker of the house of representatives, nancy pelosi.

all of the bills we had passed had been bipartisan but they didn't all start out that way and again we've made our proposal as they their proposals in the past and we negotiate it. i'm quite certain that we will have a bill and it will be a big bill. anything less will cost more in the future in terms of lives, livelihood and the life of our democracy. >> woodruff: with regard to unemoyment benefits for example, the republicans are saying language that's in there now that they say it creates a disintentative for workers. right now, it's assistance of $600 a week for workers up to four months. republicans are saying that's a reason for people not to want to go back to work. do you see a compromise on this? >> well, again, i'm not going to negotiate, as much as i love this show and as much as i'm happy to be with you, i'm not going to be negotiating here. however, i will say this -- the

$600 really, at a very difficult time in the lives of american families losing their jobs, concerned about their health, losing lives and their families, $600 is a small price to pay. as we go forward, hopefully we'll see. hopefully the economy will improve, but it won't improve unless we test, test, test, so that we can open up the economy. so all of this is connected. you just can't take one piece. but they had no trouble getting tax cuts in their bill, cares one. they had a $120 billion tax break to high rollers, hedge funds, to high rollers, that was retroactive, had vry little to do with the coronavirus. but when it comes to poor people, they have a reluctance to help out. but the best thing we can do in terms of it being a stimulus to the economy is to put money in fox of the american people with direct payments, with unemployment insurance, with

food stamps. they are opposed to food stamps when people are hungry in our country. we have some differences of opinion, and that's what we'll negotiate. but i would hopet that the great movement in our country on food insecurity, to feed the hungry will catch fire in the senate, too, as it has in the country. >> woodruff: i do want to ask you about something in that cares act that you mentioned. we learned in a study done by the kaiser family foundation that some $72 billion in that legislation that went to hospitals, most of it or, i should say, twice as mch went to hospitals that are well endowed, sitting on a lot of cash, money that they have raised, as opposed to the hospitals that serve more of the public. so my question is, is this the kind of thing that congress can look at? we you made aware of this and is there some wayo fix it? >> we were made aware of it when

they dispense the money, and that means in the next bill we are doing now, we have prescribed more carefully how it should go out, because they came up with a formula that was very strange that would go the medicare-favored hospitals as opposed to medicaid, it was a strange formula, and, now, we have to be more prescriptive in how we put out the money. in the first cares act, they did that. the second act which was the interim bill on more p.p.e. that we put the money in for testing and hospitals, $175 billion for hospitals, 25 billion for testing, $100 billion for healthcare, we were more prescriptive as to where this money should go and, of course, now, in the heroes act, we've learned more about how careful we have to be and not just leave it up to them to make those decisions because it really, frankly, had no logic and really wasn't immediate meeting the needs of northwestern people, which is what we're supposed to be doing.

but we'll work together to come togeer on that. we didn't like what the administration did, but we will, in congress, correct that. >> woodruff: several more things to ask you about, madam speaker. one, you mentioned coronavirus testing. the administration put out a proposal they're laving it up to the states. this is what the administration isoing. in the meantime, is there something congress can do to help the states come up with the testing materials they need? >> well, that's what our second pillar of our bill is, honor our heros with state and local to help them with the cost to have the coronavirus in terms of outlay and in terms of revenue lost by the states, counties, communities, cities and municipalities. the second pillar is testing, testing, testing. what the administration put out this weekend was an insult to the intelligence of the american people and a disservice to this

challenge that we're facing with the coronavirus. i don't know -- it doesn't even rise to the level, the notion, much less an idea or a plan. but in our bill, we have a plan with a strategy, as i mentioned, a strategy, a timetable, benchmark, milestone, and, again, the cultural compatibility that we have among the people who will do the tracing that dr. fauci said was so necessary, if we do it right with the second wave. if we had done it right with the first wave, we would not be observing 100 people dying in our country from the coronavirus this very day. it took about 100 days to get here. hopefully, we can slow that pace as we go forward. testing, tracing, treatment, isolation, if necessary. but identifying it culturally in terms of the disparity, so many in nursing homes, breaks your heart to think of the high

percentage who have died in nursing homes, but in terms of the communities of color, far higher percentage of incidents of the coronavirus than in the rest of the population. we have to identify that. we have to fight that. we have to stave those lives. we can't save lives if we don't identify them with testing. >> woodruff: two other things i want to ask you about, madam speaker, one is the foreign intelligence surveillance act, f.i.s.a., this is something the house is due to vote on. president trump has again said, just in the last few minutes, i'm told, that he'll veto it if the house passes it. why does this matter to the american people? >> when we take the oath of office, we raise our right hand and vow, take an oath to protect and defend the american people, the constitution of the united states and, in doing so, we recognize that our strength is measured in many ways -- the health, education and well being of our children and our families, our military might so

essential, but also the intelligence that protects our fourth protection, for those who would go risk their lives in the initiation of hostility, to predict what would happen to protect once they're there. when i started in intelligence 25 years ago, it was forced protection. now there is so much technology, it's a whole new world, and the f.i.s.a. is about how we -- we have to pass a nica bill in order to protect and defend the american people. we have to have a bill. there are those who say i don't like this bill or that bill, you have to have a bill. the bill we're taking up today is a bill that 48 of the 53 republicans in the senate voted for. it passed with 80 votes in the senate just recently, and now they sent it over to the house. there are some who say i don't like this, i don't like that, and if they don't want to vote for a bill, we'll just send back our house bill, which isn't as good as the senate bill.

the senate bill was very courageous, broke new ground, very progressive in terms of protecting the balance between security, privacy, security and civil rights. that's the constant balance that we have to have, and this bill does it very well. so i would hope people would vote for it. if they don't, we'll send back our original house bill. the senate bill is better. 48 republicans voted for it in the senate. the house bill, we had two-third republicans vo for the house bill, two-thirds of the democrats voting for it, so i's bipartisan and veto-proof, but, as i say, the senate bill is better. so i would hope that we can pass the senate bill in the house today, send it to the president. if not, we'll just send back our house bill, which would be okay, but it's better if we could pass the senate bill. but these republicans in the house and voting against the senate, imagine, they voted against their own vote. they're countering their own

vote in support of having a check on the f.i.s.a. system just because the president told them to. how do you protect and defend except if he says not to. >> woodruff: final yes or no question. should the democrats go ahead with an in-person convention in this august in milwaukee? >> you know there's no yes or no. at the moment, i would say not yet because we want -- people's health is the most important part of all of it, but let's ju see. god willing, we have a therapy, a vaccine, whatever, but, from this vantage point, i think all options are on the table. i don't know, i'mt not central to that decision-making, but i think that, until we know that we can do it safely, we shouldn't go down that path. but we'll see. we're in good hands with tom perez, the chairman of the

democratic national coittee, proud of our nominee joe biden. i'm sure their teams, working together, will do what is right for our country to nominate the next president of the united states, joe biden. >> woodruff: speaker of the house, nancy pelosi, thank you very much. >> good to be with you, judy, always. thank you. >> woodruff: in the day's other news, the mayor of minneapis called for criminal charges against a white policeman, after a black man died in custody. george floyd pleaded he coul not breathe when the officer pressed a knee to his neck. four officers ve been fired, but there were new protests overnight. we will get much more, after the news summary. in hong kong, thousands of people protested today against curtailing civil liberties. police fired pepper pellets and arrested 360 demonstrators, who condemned efforts toutlaw disrespector china's national anthem.

meanwhile, u.s. secretary of state mike pompeo declared hong kong may no longer qualify for special trade benefits. we will return to this story as well, later in the program. president trump is bashing social media after twitter slapped fact-check warnings on two of his posts. he had alleged, without proof, that mail-in voting is "rife with fraud." today, he accused big tech companies of anti-conservative bias, and warned, "we will strongly regulate or close them down!" any such action would likely require congressional approval. democratic presidential candidate joe biden has stepped up criticism of the president for refusing to wear a mask in public. the former vice president had called him a "fool" last night. today, he renewed the attack during an event with pennsylvania governor tom wolf. >> wearing one of these masks when youe outside is not a partisan issue. secret service outside my house,

they all have a mask on. we don't talk-- we don't talk unless i wk out with a mask. it is a matter of protecting other people. not just yourself but other people. that's what this is about. >> woodruff: on monday, biden wore a face mask during a memorial day event, and the president retweeted a post that appeared to mock him for it. nasa today had to scrub the first launch of astronauts from u.s. soil in nearly a decade. storms kept two astronauts and their spacex rocket stalled at kennedy space center in florida. they will try again on saturday to reach the international space station. americans have been hitching rides on russian spaceships since the last space shuttle flight in 2011. meanwhile, boeing announced today that it is cutting more than 12,000 jobs from a workforce of 160,000. sales of the company's jetliners have plummeted during the pandemic. boeing ao said that it has

resumed low-level production of the 737 max jet, after two fatal crashes grounded the planes last year. a tropical storm made landfall near charlseton, south carolina today with almost no warning. bertha came ashore just after forming, and caused minor flooding. it is the second named storm before hurricane season officially starts on june 1. on wall street, stocks surged again, on hopes for economic revival. the dow jones industrial average gained 553 points to close at 25,548. the nasdaq rose 72 points, and the s&p 500 added 44. and, playwright and pioneering aids activist larry kramer has died in new york, of pneumonia. he fought for bold action against h.i.v., and for gay rights, in the 1980s and '90s. jeffrey brown looks at his life.

>> brown: in "the normal heart"" his 1985 play, and later an hbo film, larry kramer wrote of love, agony, and anger in the early years of aids. it was the subject of much of his work as writer and activist. he was a founder of the gay men's health crisis, and later, the group act-up, whose public confrontations demanded attention and urgent action to address the growing aids crisis. >> plague! 40 million infected people is a ( bleep ) plague! we are in the worst shape we have ever been in. >> brown: he was passionate, often loud, but he was heard, including when he took on then-prominent aids researcher . anthony fauci. kramer labeled fauci an "incompetent idiot." the two would come to mutual respect, and even friendship. today, fauci, one of the leaders of the white house coronavirus

task force, spoke to judy about kramer: >> i'm very sad that we've lost him. he's just an extraordinary man. he changed-- totally, by his extraordinary iconoclastic and theatrical ways of doing things-- he changed the relationship between the afflicted community with a given disease, and the scientific and regulatory community that has such a great impact on them. he said, "you can't be separate. you got to keep us in the tent. we've got to be in there with you." >> brown: kramer dealt with illness for much of his adult life: he was infected with h.i.v. and, separately, liver disease. a novelist and non-fiction writer as well, at his death, he was working on a new play centered on the current pandemic. larry kramer was 84 years old. >> woodruff: still to come on the newshour: protests erupt in minnesota following the police-involved death of an unarmed black man.

hong kong reacts to the chinese government's attempt to exert greater control. and, the challenges of child care in the time of covid. >> woodruff: it was a painful night in minneapolis, and a day of difficult questions about the death of george floyd, his treatment by the police, and the department's relationship with citizens of color. all of this captured tragically on video when floyd told the police, "i can't breathe." amna nawaz explores those questions. but first, yamiche alcindor has this report. >> alcindor: in minneapolis, outrage over the death of george floyd. >> prosecute the police! >> alcindor: yesterday, hundreds

gathered to protest his death in police custody on monday. by nighttime, police used tear gas on crowds, as they were demanding justice in the case. as tensions rose, smoke billowed over a precinct. some of the unrest took place at this intersection, where-- only a day earlier-- the struggle between floyd and the officers unfolded. a video, captured by a bystander, shows floyd being pinned to the ground, as a white police officer kneels on his neck. >> please, please, i can't breathe. >> alcindor: gasping for air, he pleaded, "i can't breathe," until he appears to lose consciousness. he was later pronounced dead at a hospital. the initial police report of the incident did n detail what the cell phone video-- which has now gone viral-- laid bare. instead, police id they were responding to a call of forgery, and that floyd physically resisted arrest. but a surveillance video of the moments leading up to the arrest shows floyd seemed to comply. state officials and the f.b.i. are investigating the case.

all the four officers at the scene were quickly fired late tuesday. today, minneapolis mayor jacob frey said he would be requesting that the county attorney file charges against the officer who knelt on floyd. >> why is the man who killed george floyd not in jail? if you had done it or i had done it, we would be behind bars right now. >> alcindor: floyd's family called for the four officers to be charged with murder. >> essentially, they executed him in front of us, and we watched his life leaving his body. >> alcindor: floyd's brother rodney said the late 46-year- old, who was a bouncer at a local restaurant, was deeply loved. >> a great people person, everyone loves him. if you got a chance to know him. he gives out plenty of good energy, good vibes, he's happy, he's smiling all the time. >> alcindor: and floyd's cousin, shareeduh tate, said the officers had failed to see the humanity in him. >> he held no value to them

whatsoever. they didn't care one way or another if he lived or died, and it was clear because as he was sitting there, begging, begging repeatedly for somebody to hear him say "i cannot breathe," they just chose to turn and look the other way. >> i think any juror looking at evidence is overwhelming evidence has to say, at some point, when they ignored his pleas, the intent forms. >> alcindor: with echoes of the 2014 eric garner case in new york, floyd's death has drawn condemnation across the country. for the pbs newshour, i'm yamiche alcindor. >> nawaz: let's get the view of a leading voice from the community. city councilwoman andrea jenkins is the vice president of the council. she represents the area where george floyd was arrested.

she joins us now. councilwoman jenkins, welcome to the "newshour" and thank you for being with us. i want to begin with what you just heard from mayor fry. he was unequivocal. earlier today he said the officer needs to be charged. do you agree with him? >> amna, yes, i absolutely agree with mayor fry in his call for charges to be filed against the officer involved, and i am calling for all of the officers involved to be investigated. you know, as th the mayor said,f you or i had stood by in the commission of a crime, then we would be charged as accomplices. so it was clear to me what we witnessed in that video was a crime, and it was not only a crime against george floyd, although he suffered the most

deep injustice, but, in my mind, i felt like -- it was a symbol for a knee on the neck of black america. you know, the president has loosened the restrictions on the e.p.a., which we know is creating an issue in black and brown communities all around this country, inhibiting our ability to breathe, the pandemic is impacting black and brown communities disproportionately in regards to access to health care and testing, in regards to employment, in regards to who is dying from this pandemic. 60% of all the deaths have beenblock and brown people. so -- black and brown people. so seems like that was a symbol

for america having its knee on the necks of black and brown people in this country. >> reporter: councilwoman, you were at the protests last night, there are protests again tonight in minneapolis. if there are no charges in the days and weeks ahead, what do you think the reaction will be? >> well, certainly there were protests last night, and there have been protests all day today, and i have been to two of them, already. i believe that we will no get to a place of beginning to think about healing until we have charges against those officers. that is the only -- that's what i'm hearing from my constituents, as your question asks, and that is the sentiment that myself and many of my colleagues, including mayor fry,

have been calling for, and i believe that we will continue to see unrest, though i am calling for all of my beloved community members to be safe, to understand that we are still in the midst of a pandemic. nothing has changed. there is no vaccine. there is no treatment. so gathering in groups of 8- and 10,000 people is just creating more unnecessary harm to our community members than we have to. i understand that people are upset, rightfully so. i support our right to democratic, peaceful protests. however, this is a situation -- it's unprecedented, as the common phrase has been used to refer to this, and we can't have

the same kinds of protesting that we have had in past years. >> reporter: councilwoman, let me ask you, we just had a tweet from the president saying the f.b.i. and the department of justice are now investigating george floyd's death. it's worth pointing out, there have been policy changes in minimummials in the past, the reason the officers were fired is because they didn't intervene when they saw their colleague using excessive force. we only have a minute left, and i apologize, but what else do you think needs to happen now? >> so i'm glad to hear the president has called on the f.b.i. and the department of justice to investigate this. the police chief here has called on the f.b.i. to get involved. this is about human rights, the violation of human rights. so wh i think needs to be done

is we need a -- to declare an emergency on the other virus that is killing black america, and that is racism. and, so, i hope that the president will condemn the racism that is inherent in our institutions and our systems, particularly our law enforcement and law enforcement communities and call for a cease of killing of black, unarmed people in the united states of america. >> reporter: councilwoman andrea jenkins, vice president of the minneapolis city council with us tonight. thank you so much for your time, councilwoman. >> thank you, amna, appreciate the opportunity to speak to you tonight. >> woodruff: we turn now to a

different protest, this time in asia, where the calls for freedom and justice are just as fierce. in hong kong, demonstrators have grown increasingly violent as the threats from china mount. last week, beijing said it would make anti-chinese behavior illegal, a move that is prompting the trump administration to take action. how far will the u.s. go, and what does it all mean? our nick schifrin is here to explain. so, nick, hello. what did the administration declare today, and how significant is it? >> schifrin: judy, make no mistake: the fate of hong kong as a global financial center is in the balance. as you know, for 30 years, the u.s. has given hong kong special status. you and i can fly there without visas, goods can flow back and forth without tariffs, and trade

deals can be made independent of beijing. that hped the city become asia's business hub, with 1,300 american companies. all of those freedoms were granted by congress before the 1997 handover from the united kingdom to beijing. but, in order to continue those freedoms, the law required the president to certify that hong kong was sufficiently independent from beijing. and, secretary of state mike pompeo wrote today, "i certified to congress today that hong kong does not continue to warrant treatment under united states laws in the same manner as u.s. laws were applied to hong kong before 1997. no reasonable person can assert today that hong kong maintains a high degree of autonomy from china, given facts on the ground." now what are those facts? as you mentioned, pro-democracy advocates in hong kong say beijing has been systematically eroding hong kong independence,

and they launched hong kong's most significant protests in decades. beijing said those protests exposed a "weak link in chinese national security" and a way f"" foreign forces"-- the u.s.-- to threaten beijing's interests. and so, beijing has responded with a new national security law for hong kong, expected to be passed tomorrow, that would ba"" acts of secession, subverting state power and organizing and carrying out terrorist activities," and bans" interference in hong kong's internal affairs by external forces." that is very vague language that pro-democracy advocates say could be used to restrict the freedoms hong kong has enjoyed. and so, in addition to another bill being debated in hong kong, that pushed hong kong residents back into the streets today. hong kong police arrested more than 300 during today's protests, that demonstrators vow to continue. >> so, nick, given all this, what are the trump administration's options from

this point on? >> yeah, so th declaration today doesn't trigger anything automatic. so senior administration officials say there is a robust debate inside the administration on how far to go, and those who are affects for an aggressive response say this, that there needs to be sanctions of senior government officials, communist party initials known as the c.c.p. and their families and also to end hong kong's special economic and travel treatment, that would include imposing tariffs, visa restrictions and could leau.s. bids businesses to leave the city and could impact xi jinping and put pressure on him and hurt beijing because beijing benefits from the international capital that goes through hong kong. take a listen to blumenthal. >> you have to put a lot of pressure on xi jinping and his

his people because there's an internal backlash against him in the c.c.p. because of his various mishaps, not least least of which is covid 19 reaction and approach, so you have to create enough of a backlash that, inside china, the president tends to reverse course, and i think that's doable. >> reporter: and that, critics say, is ineffective and self-defeating. they say tariffs and sanctions don't work, would hurt those u.s. businesses in hong kong and any visa restrictions would actually hurt the pro democracy advocates who have been affecting for beijing to allow hong kong to maintain its freems, judy, so senior state department officials are hinting in a conference call just about an hour ago that their response and executive order by the president will be targeted, will try to support those democracy advocates but, also, at the same time, punishsenior chinese

government officia, but the decision, judy, is on the president's desk rht now. >> woodruff: finally, just quickly, nick, today, meanwhile, on capitol hill, the house passing legislation that has to do with the treatment of the uighur minority. how significant is that in the midst of all this? >> yeah, this is the most significant attempt to punish china for a widespread program that has detained more than a million muslim uighurs in china. it calls for the president to sanction senior officials in the communist party as well as the companies that created the camps that are holding these muslim uighurs and the companies that created the surveillance state inside the town. these are authorities the president had but they do put public pressure on him to punish beijing for this, judy. >> woodruff: nick schifrin, following it all for us. we thank you, nick.

>> reporter: thank you. >> woodruff: as states begin reopening, one issue looms large for working families: who will care for their children? special correspondent cat wise reports on the situation in oregon. >> reporter: her kids were all smiles in recent mother's day photos, but the past few months have been rough for single- mother lydia verschuren. she's a home health care provider in salem, oregon, and like many essential workers around the country, she had to keep working even after her children's schools closed down in mid-march. >> i was getting pretty stressed, to be honest. >> reporter: then she learned about a new, emergency child care program for first responders and healthcare workers in the salem area. it's free and run by the local public school district. >> i jumped from joy. i was like, i need to get in on that. i got accepted, and they could start right away after a weekend

or monday. so it was just like that. >> reporter: now, most mornings around 7:30, verschuren brings her four-year-old son and six- year-old daughter to the east salem community center, where the program is run. during drop-offs, every child's temperature is taken, and families are asked a series of health questions to screen for possible infections. so far, none of the 64 enrolled children have tested positive for the coronavirus. oregon is one of a small number of states where school districts have stepped in to provide child care for essential workers during the outbreak. the salem-keizer school district was one of the first in the state to comply in mid-march after an order from governor kate brown. >> we hadn't practiced for providing emergency care for first responders. that was something we didn't have a manual for. >> reporter: stephanie whetzel is the district's early childhood coordinator. >> we're happy that we're able to help parents provide a service that was much needed. i know how stressful this is for

parents. we're doing everything we can possibly do to keep kids safe, staff safe, families safe, our own families at home safe. >> reporter: some of those safety measures include rigorous sanitizing, a nurse on site, and twice-a-day temperature checks of students and staff. children, who range in age from one to 11, are kept in separate small groups with dedicated staff to reduce the risk of spreading the virus, if a case does occur. the program is funded by the district, state, and federal government. salem is just one of the many communities in oregon, and around the country, grappling with workforce impacts from the sudden lack of child care. before the pandemic, every county in oregon was considered a "childcare desert," where there are three or more children for every licensed child care slot. today, the situation is more grim. according to the stateabout 40% of licensed child care providers are closed. others applied early on for emergency child care licenses

from the state to remain open, but in some cases, providers have had unfilled slots because families have chosen to keep their children home out of safety or other concerns, like finances. >> child care around the united states prior to the pandemic was already challenged and rlly fractured. now that we're in the context of the pandemic, it is really breaking. >> reporter: lynette fraga is the executive director of child care aware of america, a nonprofit focused on improving access to quality, affordable child care. the organization has been advocating for more federal money, around $50 billion, to keep the child care industry from crumbling during the pandemic. >> as we're moving through reopening, because it's going to be more expensive to provide child care because of the cost of supplies and equipment and group sizes and so forth, what we are going to see is that

parents are going to have to bear the price burden, potentially. they might be having to make decisions not to go back to work because they can't find childcare for their children that's safe and reliable. >> reporter: in oregon, economic recovery will depend in part on child care providers like shannon aden, who has run a home-based program in portland for more than 30 years. over the last several months, she's been providing care for children of essential workers, but due to state regulations, she had to cut her enrollment from 16 to 10 children. aden estimates she's spent about $1,200 more on extra cleaning supplies and higher food costs. she's kept her staff paid, but that's meant she's not had any income since the end of february. >> i think that this pandemic has shown the country that without care providers, the country can't run very well. we're not in the hospitals and we're not putting out the fires and transporting the patients, but we're taking care of the most precious thing we have. and that's our children, so their parents can go and do those important jobs. >> reporter: back in salem,

lydia verschuren and many other families are trying to fige out child care plans for the coming months. the salem-keizer school district recently announced the emergency child care program will end on june 9, when schools in the area close for the summer, but they are trying to connect families with some of the local child care providers that will be open. for the pbs newshour, i'm cat wise, reporting from portland, oregon. >> woodruff: such an important issue. and that is the newshour for tonight. join us online, and again here i'm judy woodruff. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you, please stay safe, and we'll see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> consumer cellular offers no-contract wireless plans that are designed to help you do more of the things you enjoy. whether you're a talker, texter, browser, photographer, or a bit

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