captioning sponsored by newshour proctions, llc >> woodruff: good evening, i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, equal rights for all-- the supreme court rules employers can no longer discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.in then, onoutrage-- another officer-involved killing in the questions about po use ofmore force. plus, investing in community-- minneapolis bemes a testing ground for a nationwide push to reallocate law enforcement budgets in the wake ofeorge floyd's death. and, challenge trials-- why thousands of young people around the world are volunteering to be deliberately infected with covid 19, hoping to accelerate the development of a vaccine.

>> there is a real benefit to be able to take one step that'sul usr potentially useful and i think that helps with coping with this really terrible disease and terrible situation 're in right now. >> woodruff: all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by:

>> the william and flora hewlett foundation. for more than 50 years, advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world. at www.hewlett.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions:d dividuals. >> this program was made possible by the corporfor public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: we have three major

killing continues lother police protests for justice and racial equality. covid-19 cases are back on the rise as the country tries to open up. from the u.s. suprurt ruling today, outlawing job discrimination on the basis ofti sexual orien or transgender identity. john yang breaksown what the justices said and what it means. >> yang: the court's decision declaring that a six-decade old civirights law ptects gay and transgendered workers fromim employment disation was stated clearly and simply:" an employer who fires an individual for being homosexual or transgender fires tt person for traits or actions it wouldno have questioned in members of a different sex.se plays a necessary and undisguisable role in the decision, exactly what [the law] forbids."

justice neil gorsuch, a member of the court's conservative faction, wrote the opinion and was joined by chief justice john roberts and the four liberal justices in the 6-to-3 majority. the ruling is a milestone for gay rights and comes at a time when minorities across the country are speaking out for justice. e want? do >> justice! >> when do we want it? >> now! >> yang: as in this joint "black lives matter" and l.g.b.t.q. rights march yesterday in los angeles. before today's decision, it was legal in 28 states t someone, refuse them a promotion or not protect them from workplace sexual harassment simply because they were gay or transgender. c marcle is chief washington correspondent for the national law journal. could it is fair to call it a lan mark decision, one is because it has been a long time coming, long fought by the lgbtq community. we don't know yet all the imications of the decision. and some of the questions that

were raised in the opinion, justice gorsuch said will be saved for other day. but it clearly is going to make employers acrosse thited states think about their employments policies towards their workers as well as job applicants. >> yg: gorsuch brushed asi the trump administration's argument that the civiofrights ac964 was not written with gay and transgender people in mind. in dissent, justice samuel alito, writing for himself and justice clarence thomas, was just as blunt. "there is only one word urr what the cot has done today: legislation." it washe supreme court's first gay rights decision not written by retired justicekenthony nnedy, who stepped down in 2018. gorsuch, a trump appointee, clerked for kennedy, as did the third dissenting justice, brett kavanaugh, whom president ump nominated to replace kennedy.

kavanaugh wrote that the court rights law, a powe" the civil ...belongs to congress and the president in the legislative t process, nthis court." g such he can't telegraph where he was going during the and at that pnt he talkedtober. about the text of title 7, the words that employershall n discriminate because of sex. i th perhaps his most in depth appflicationtect alism and how he reads >> yang: the justices ruled in three cases, two involving men who sued aft they said they re fired for being gay. sky-diving instructor don zarda was fired in 2010 after telling a female client who was about to strapped to him for a jump, that he was gay.

after zarda died in a 2014 accident, his case was pressed by his partner, william moore, and by melissa zarda, his younger sister. >> it was a double standard if he would have, you know, casually mention hiswhile he was on a skydive. nothing would have happened. and he felt like he mentionedan his husbanhe got fired for it. not only was it really painful for him, but that he never nted anybody else to go through anything like this. >> yang:he other case involved gerald bostock, who was fired from a county job in georgia after he joid a gay softball team. i did nothing wrong. and now i hve some validatio in that, by the opinion that was given today.ra >> thegender rights case > yang: the transgender rights case was brought by aimee stephens, who was dismigsed from a mi funeral home after she told her boss she would begin living as a woman. the company said she failed to follow the dress code. stephens died kidney failure last month after seeing her case argued before the justices in october. today her wife, donna, issued a

two-word statement: "we won." transgender rights will likely remain an issue in feral courts for a little while. administration eliminated protection for transgenderpa ents against discrimination by doctors, hospitals and insurance companies under te affordable care act. the lawsuits against that havead albeen announced. judy? >> woodruff: a lot to pour through, to dig through today. hn, so as the court comes toward, closer to the end of this ter they are already beginning to set the agenda for next term. and what were you able to learn about that today? >> well, we lerned three hot-button issuesthat they will not be taking up. which only means that there were four justices-- there were not at least four justices willing to take up those cases, those one is gun laws. there were about a dozen gun laws being challenged and gun rights advocatewere hoping

this conservative court would t ke them up. the coururned them all down. ttthat draw a bit of a rebuke from justice clarence thomas writing for himself and justice kavanaugh. he saiid surely ths court would speech or he pointedly added, abortion, access to an abortion. but today faced with the petition chaenging a restriction on citizens' second amendment rights,he wrote, the court simply looked the other way. another issue that is getting a lot of attention now because of the police shootings and cases of excessive force by police is the doctrine of qualified s munity. thisdecades old idea that the supreme court has said that police officers and other government officials cannot be sued in civil court unless they clearly violate the law or violate some clear constitutional standard. by coincidence, because these cases were sent to the court

before, the were about 8 cases that the court was being asked to reconsider this doctrine, they turned them all down. and fially, state sanctuary laws. the courts today reected a bid from the trump administration ta revi california sanctuary state law that fords state law enforcement officials from providing certain information to federal immigration oicials. they said they are not going to review that so that law stands. judy, the justices usually like to wrp up their business by the end of june.bu because of time they lost because of the pandemic and the early days of the panmic, they say they may be working into july this year. >> woodruff: we will be looking out for that, john yang, reporting not just on what the justices ruled on but what they have kleined to rule on. a lot on your plate, thank you, john.

to look closer at what thisst ic decision means for l.g.b.t.q. rights, i'm joined by alphonso david, he is the president of the human rightsla campaign, thest civil rights organization devoted to l.g.b.t. equality. and chase strangio, the deputy director for trans justice with the american civil liberties union's l.g.b.t. and h.i.v. project. he was one of the lawyers working on the case decided today. welcome to both of you. and let me start with you, alphonso david, just put this in a larger con tech. what does today's ruling mean? >> today's ruling means tha lgbtq people across this country can now go to bed knowing that the feeral courts are protecting them from discriminations at work. we have had case decisions in the past 20 yrs that sad that lgbtq people are protected under federal civil rights w.

that principle was challenged in the u.s. supreme court. and today have a ruling that says lgbtq people areotected under federal civil rights, emdoyment discrimination that is the biggest take away. >> woodruff: chasegitr what about for you, how do you as somebody who has fought for the kinds of rights that were debated before the court and are now handed down in this opinion, what does it mean to you? >> you know, th as was incredible day coming on the heels of soin mancredible and heartbreaking days of organizing and reistance. and the work has been fought for decades. t what is an incredibly basic proposition that you shouldn't be fired from work just because of who you are.a it wa conservative legal principle. it wa a conservative case of statutory interpretaedon and inle to have a 6-3 ruling from the united states supreme

court that undermines effor to sabotage protections for lgbtqt that we have seen from thgo rnment since president trump was elected. >> woodruff: so does this mean all the legal barriers come tumbling down? what does it mean from a practical standpoint? >> from a practical standpoint this decision means that if you face discrimination at work, you have the ability to seek redress in court under federal civ rights laws. but it does not provide comprehensive protections for lgbtq people and that is what we are fighting currently in congress. is a piece of legislation called the equality act. ceand that pief legislation would provide comprehensive legal protections forb lgtq people in housing, in public accommodations, credit, educatiois retail estaents, transportation and the like. under current law there are no federal prtections for lgbtq

people for public accommodations, no protectns in credit. and so we're lacking to make sure that those protections are enshrined in law and that will be the equality act. ifs pas passed the house of representatives, it is currently stalled inhe u.s. senate. >> woodruff: and chase strangio, in terms of rights for transindividuals an area that you have a speciterest in, is this going to make a difference at a practical level. >> yes, i would think two first it will absolutely make a difference. this as alphonso said is going to ensure that there are employment protections forr transgeneople across the country and clarify that the federal prohibiti onx discrimination includes transgender people. that will likely ltend to of the federal statutes that prohibit sex discriminion it also undermines the efforts by the trump administration to trans individuals and all lgbtq

people in health care ich is absolutely integral to our survival. and at the same time a forl legal ruling isn't the end of the story. we have a ton of work to do t protect our black trans sblings to the violence they are experiencing at the hands of the state, at the hands of individuals and we have to keep organizing. ,000 people showed up in brooklyn on sunday, yesterday, for trans lives. and so that is part of what ensures that the material impact of today's decision is fel w th don't lose momentum but absolutely today is a huge moment for trans people, a huge moment for the whole lgbtq and the whole civil rights community. >> woodruff: alphonso david, i want you to pick up on that, it was just on friday that the trump administration moved to remove protections for trans individuals under the affordable is this in anyway going to ange the argument with regard

to that? is that still standing? >> that is still standing, unfortunately. as you said, the trump administration finalized regulations on friday that would effectively discrimination-- discriminate community angendermembers of our nonconforming members of our community as well as women. we believe the tru administration has exceeded its authority. they do not have the authoritye to rewrite taw and that is effectively what they are trying to do. we believe this decision should have an impacon executive administrative action. but if the trump administratio continues to advance these regulations and they refuse to scind the regulations, we will be advancing legal action. we fid announce riday that we are commencing legal action against the trumpra adminion. i'm hopeful that today's decision allows them to reflect and rescind those regulations, but if they refuse to we will be suing them. >> woodruff: and let's continue with that, chase

strangio, because it's not justm the that took place on friday, it was the steps by the trump administration to say transgender individuals can't legally serve in the armed forces and a number other eps they've taken. so what do you see as the task that lies ahead of you and others who are fighting for transgender rights within the trumeadministration is not t final word on discrimination against of sex. the supreme court is. and today the supreme court mad unequivocaear that discrimination because of an individual's sex includes discrimination against lgbtq people. so i agree. is void.that the hhs reg i think that efforts to discriminate against transgender students are no longer consistent with the te as has been made clear by the supreme court but all of these issues wilbe percolating in our already being litigated in the lower courts. in terms of the extent of protections and the context of education, in the context of housinltand sh, as well as

under the affordable care act in the context of health care. when it comes to the ban on-- open military service by transgender people, this will apply to civilian contractors, title 7 does apply. title 7 does not apply to-- so the fight ovr transgender military ban continues. it continues in the lower courtsunfortunately the supreme court allowed the ban to into effect. but ultimately a new president could take away that ban almost immediately. so there are so many fights ahead and some of them will be litigated in the lower courts. sox of can be fi by executive action but ultimately we're going to keep fighting in every ossible way to ensure that our full lgbt communityhe particularlylack and brown people who had been leading the the discrimination are leading the fight and center. woodruff: alphonso david with the human rights campaignt and davidangio with the aclu, we thank you both within thank you.

>> thank you. >> woodruff: a new killing by police, new outcries across the country. the city of atlanta is the newest focus tonight of the burgeoning campaign for cial justice. william brangham begins our >> brangham: hundr protesters turned out in downtown atlanta this morning,ga marchingst police brutality and demanding change. the flashpoint was the fataloo ng three days ago of rayshard brooks, a 27-year-oldn, black y a white police officer. chastity evans is brooks' niece. >> not only are we hurt, we are angry.to when does this! we are not only pleading for justice, we are pleading for change. >> bngham: on friday night, police answered call that brooks was asleep in his car in a wendy's drive-through lane.

it began as a calm encounter,ca but ted when police tried to arrest brooks for drunk driving.oo struggled and fought with the officers, then ran away with what appeared to be e of the officer's taser guns. while fleeing, one of the officers shot him twice in the back. atlanta's police chief, erika shields, resigned the day after the shooting. the officer who shot brooks, garrett rolfe, has been fired... and the other officer at the scene, devin brosnan, has been placed on administrative duty pending the outcome of the investigation. atlanta's d.a. said he'll decide this week whether to file any crimin charges will be filed. today atlanta mayor keisha lance bottoms said it's "abundantly clear" there ia need to review the rules d the training for how police use deadly force. we do not have another day, another mine, another hour to wait. it's very clear that our police

officers are to be guardians and not warriors within our >> brangham: brooks' killing fueled new fury throughout the people protesting in atlanta and elsewhere. change.le are done waiting for a and everybody is standing together, everybody is walking, everybody is making noise. we just want to be heard! >> brangham: the wendy's, where rayshard brooks was killed, was torched on friday night. bu his widow, tamika miller, appealed today for an end to any violence. >> i just ask that if you could just keep it as a peaceful protest, that would be wonderful, because we want to keep his name positive and grea >> brangham: meanwhile in minneapolis, the pressure is still building to dismantle the city's police department in the wake of george floyd's killing eree weeks ago, when a wh officer pressed a knee to floyd's neck for almost nine minutes. yesterday, democratic ota congresswoman ilhan omar

insisted the minneapolis police department needs a complete overhaul. >> you can't really reform a department that is rotten to the root. what you can do is rebuild. >> brangham: elsewhere: protesters in seattle are stillm occupying l part of the city's capitol hill neighborhood, after police abandoned their precinct there a week ago in an effort to ease tensionsef stnts are boarded up and covered in graffiti, andes barricadark the borders of the roughly six-block so-calle"" capitol hill autonomous zone". officials need retake the area he will deploy the national guard to do do, and in southern and,n southern california: the families of two young black men are demanding investigations after the twwere found hanging from trees, 50 miles apart, in recent days. both their deaths were initiallu led suicides, but relatives say they fear the men were lynched.

alex villanueva is the los angeles county sheriff. >> we'll answer all the questions and we'll get full closure to what happened here. i reached out to attorney general javier becerra and they are now going to provide avi monitor and all of our investigation to make sure we didn't leave any rk unturned. >> brangham: all this s as the united nations' human rights council in geneva has announced plans toebate systemic racism and police brutality in the u.s. and elsewhere on wednesday. those concerns triggered solidarity protests around the world over the weekend. from new zealand... >> this has been happening fors yeard to finally be able to speak up about it and feel like i'm doing something to help you know? it means a lot. >> brangham: to brazil, and in france. for the pbs newshour, i'm william brangham.

>> woodruff: in the day's other news, the u.s. food and drug adnistration withdrew emergency approval for hospitals to use hroxychloroquine to treat covid-19. the f.d.a. saithe malaria drug is unlikely to be effective against the coronavis. president trump s touted the drug, and defended it again today. >> i can't complain about it, i took it for two weeks and here we are.lt i took it and ood about taking it, i don't know if it had an impact, but it certainly dn't hurt me. >> woodruff: meanwhile, infections continue to increase across much of the united states. arizona, texas, and florida have reported surging case numbers, and alabama's weekly case average is up 92%. at least 18 more states and puerto rico also report rising infections. also today, chinese officials

shut down beijing's largest outdoor food market and ordered new testing after an outbreak of dozens of cases. in russia, a moscow court sentenced american paul whelan today to 16 years in prison on spying charges. the former u.s. marine was arrested in december 2018, and has denied the charges. u.s. officials called it a "mockery of justice." we'll ex the program. later in hethe top two officials at u.s. government-funded "voice of america" have resigned amid .ashes with president tru amanda bennett andcter deputy di stepped down today. that came after the president charged v.o.a.'s coron coverage was too easy on china. he also tapped conservative filmmaker michael pack t oversee v.o.a.'s parent organization.on all street today, stocks slumped, then rallied after thev

federal resaid it will buy more corporate bonds.w the nes industrial average gained 157 points to close at 25,763. it had been down 760 at one point. the nasdaq rose 137 points, and, the s&p 500 added 25. and, the 93rd "oscars" awards will be held on april 25, 2021, two months later than originally planned. it's postponed after the coronavirus shutdown production, mid-march.eater films in the academy has also extended the deadline for movies to be eligible for the 2021 awards to february 28, 2021. still to come on the newshour: minneapolis becomes a testing ground for a nationwide push to reallocate police funding. why thousands are volunteering to be infected with covid 19 in the search for a vac two americans are imprisoned overseas by autocratic governments. anmuch more.

>> woodruff: now to minneapolis, where george floyd was killed by police. since his death, a movement to "dismantle the police department as we know it"as grown stronger. and it has the support of a majority of erty council me special correspondent fred de sam lazaro takes a looat what this might mean. >> reporter: as fire and rage overwhelmed long stretches of the lake street businessat districtlast month, minneapolis ty councilor alondra cano says residents of her ward took matters into their own hands, tryg to salvage she live streamed effort

on facebook. >> we started with, you know, small, small buckets of water and throwing them at the fire, and then finally the neighbors from the other block had access to an old fire hose and were able to open the fire hydrant there. >> reporter: when they finally ntheard from law enforcemecano says, it was with flashbangs and tear gas, imposing the strict no exceptions curfew. she says such experiences have given swift rise to a movement and the slogan "defund the police," the sentiment is plastered across the city and a veto proof majority of the city council committed itself to" ending the minneapis police department." >> heeverybody, we need to organize our own and no one else is coming to our aid. >> reporter: using social media, community organizers like sam gould, brought huge crowds to the powderhorn neighborhood park

the first morning after protests began. >> it's now up to the to inform themselves and set the agenda owhat a police free future is. >> reporter: school teacher jessica mueller: i anything is going to happen to keep us safe, and to keep us as a solid community,oi it's to have to come up from within the community. so the last people that we feel safe with right now are the mpd, who we pay. >> i like to more sp think about it as reimagining public safety. gh reporter: philippe cunn serves the city's fourth ward. >> at the end of the day, we want to make sure that when anyone calls 911, that they have their emergency cr, and thate to they are being kept safe h >> reporter:says that response could be from a social worker, mental health psprofessional or armed cohen that is deemed appropriate; a shayting or armed robbery, s the council plans to initiate a long process, including likely a referendum, to change the city's charter.

at the same time, and allow it to shiftome of the $193 million annual police department budget to community-based programs. councillors say they want to address underlying problems like homelessness-and other symptoms of poverty that drive crime and violence. critics of the council's move say they are alarmed at the laai of d or time frame. steve cramer, with a downtown business association, says it sends the wrong message to the economically vital companies and sport venues who want to reassure customers, employees and fans that the downtown is safe. >> there's no plan. there's no plan to make a plan. yet there's this very ovocative headline out there, int that'stalking created a huge vacuum that people are filling with their either their best aspiratis or their worst fears. >> reporter: others worry about morale in the minneapolis police department, troubled for years by officer-involved shootingsga

and alleons of misconduct. 13 officers have either quit or are in the process of resigning since george floyd's killing. another group published its own open letter, condemning the actions of their former colleague, chauvin. >> 99% of those police officers goo work every day, with t right attitude, and the right mindset. >> reporter:ich stanek is a former minneapolis cop, republican state legislator and former sheriff of hennepin county, which includeshe city. >> they've been attacked from every angle by the elected officials, the residents themselves, others across the country whom they've never met. it's going to be hard to overcome, er, rebuild. reporter: however, poli officers enjoy significant protection from laws that alw wide latitude in the use of force, and powerful unions, which have lobbied successfully for state laws against residency quirements. 93% of minneapolis officers livs

e the city. and only a tiny fraction of the city's police officers who are brought up on misconduct charges face any discipline and their disciplinary records are kept from public view. >> it's been very difficult to hold officers accountable, you know, for the chief to fire officers that, you know, he orob she finds matic because of their behavior. >> reporter: university of page says that behavior also reflects what he calls anar entrenchedor culture in american policing. but page says the george floyd case-vividly on video, has moved white american attitudes like none before it. a lot of rage i think whitead people, including myself areo being forcede the things that people in certain >> reporter: that t bodeown. well for reform in public safety

approaches, he says. still, the process will take time and not beasy, even among the powderhorn neighbors looking to rely more on each other and91 less o >> most of the people, that 1000 that came, were white. and this neighborhood is not a white neighborhood.>> eporter: huda, who wanted only her first name used, said it is racially diverse and divided by class-and different priorities >> to be honest, the very first things that people were talking about, were property, and i was like, great, my apartment might burn down. but i'm also concerned for my own safety and for the safety of people who look like me. and i haven't heard a single one of you mention that. >> reporter: these neighbors agree that rooting out ingrained biases will be a challenge. so too might be sustaining the entire community's interest in police reform, amid historic events, like a pandemic and a for the pbs newshour, this is

fred de sam lazaro, in minneapolis. partnership for the undeojold stories t at the university of st. thomas in minnesota. tiesident trump is expected to sign an exe order tomorrow on policing that will focus on sues of training and information sharing. but the administration offial said it is not expected address systemic racism in law enforcement. >> woodruff: as the world anxiously awaits the development of a covid-19 vaccine, new and controversial measures are being considered for the first time. amna nawaz reports on a growing group ofoung volunteers eager might help the world movehat

forward, despite the personal risks. n az: sean doyle is a 31 year-old medical student at emory university. he's also one of the first americans to test a potential vaccine for covid-19. >> if my participation in this vaccine trial can help in any way and eventually ensure that it's not infecting people in the u.s. anymore and other places than it would be a great thing to participate in. >> nawaz: he knows the risks are still unknown, but he's had to weigh them before. a few years ago he took part in another vaccine trial, that one for ebola. >> it made me a lot more confident at this was a good choice and the potential benefits would probably far outweigh the risks >> nawaz: doyle is takinpart in a traditional clinical trial, a process that usually unfolds in three pses. first, small groups receive the test vaccine to test for its basic safety. the study is then expanded to include target groups for the vaccine, before its then given to thousands more who then go

back to their daily lives, to see how well it protects them d from tease. that process relies on people getting accidentally exposed to the virus and can often take months or years, leading health experts to warn the best case scenario for a covid 19 vaccine could be a long way off. >> although this is the fastest we've gone from a sequence to w trial it stild not be applicable to the epidemic year and off.t about a year to a >> nawaz: the urgency to find a vaccine has led to concerns that those traditional clinical untrials that are already der way aren't moving quickly enough. and there's now growing calls to begin another more controversial kind of trial. they are called human chlenge trials, in which, a r group of volunteers are given a yccine and then deliberat infected with covid 19 to >> so challenge studies fill a

really critical gap there. >> nawaz: seema shah, a bioethicist at northwestern university, sa the real value human challenge trials is their speed. >> so you can take two groups of people randomize one to receive a vaccine. the other to receive placebo and then expose them to the virus. and if you see a difference between those two gryou know, very quickly whether that vaccine worked. >> nawaz: now, up until this point, human challenge trials o hay ever been used with diseases like malaria or typhoid fever-- cuble if the vaccine fails. with covid 19, there is no cure. >> challenge trials have a lot of promise and potential. but we have to be sut they're going to realize that potential and that we can manage the risks appropriately. >> nawaz: a recent study published in the "journal of infectious diseases" also says thatuman challenge trials could have the potential to accelerate a coronavirus vaccine. and a group of over 30 memberses of congrhas urged the

federal government to consider using human challenge trials, likening the fight against the pandemico war, in which "there is a long tradition of volunteers risking their health, and lio help save the lives of others. that chance to help save lives is what led 34-year-old new yorker josh morrison to look into the trials. >> you know, first i thought it seemed like a good idea to plore. its something that could make a significant difference. >> nawaz: after becoming a kidneyonor in 2011, morrison left his corporate law job and launched a n-profit to make donation easier. he launched a new non-profit, called one day sooner, signing up volunteers for a pomaible challenge trial for covid 19. >> there is a real benefit to feeling ke to be able to take one step that's, you know, useful or potentially useful. and i think that helps with kind of coping with this really terrible disease and terrie'r situation in right now.

>> nawaz: over the last few months, his list has steadily grown. today more than 28,000 volunteers, mostly in their 20's and 30's, have signed t from mon 100 countries. to be deliberate infecd with a deadly virus. >> yes, yes. >> nawaz: did that surprise you? >> it did. if challen trials do go forward, i always did feelike there would be more than enough people who'd be eligible to do it, who would want to do it. >> nawaz: 31 year-old lehua ay, of austin, texas, is one of those volunteers who thinks the risks are worte it. gned up with h parents >> my mom works for the v.a. ans my dad wor the t.s.a. and when i, so they're basicall like on the frnes every single day. and they're both essential. so they can't, they ke measures to protect themselves, uld so, like for me, if i take some of the risk off of them and put it onto myself, since i'm young and healthy and, you know, they're much more high risk, like that's a no brainer. >> nawaz: 23 year-old lena jewler, also signed up. she's a masters' student at johns hopkins university school

of public health. >> finding a vaccine faster and a safe vaccine faster an effective vaccine faster has so many benefits attributed to it, not just, you know, lis saved, but being able to socially interact in ways that we haven't been able to in the past month and a half and perhaps won't bet abagain until there's a vaccine. >> nawaz: but doctor mike t vine, who has worked on vaccine developmnce the late 1960's, including more than a hundred challenge trials for diseases like cholera and dysentery, is skeptical.ur if someone in amily came to you right now and said, i think i want to volunteer for these trials, what would you say? >> i would say right now, i would recommend not >> nawaz: levine argues the time it would take to safely set up the first human challenge trials for coronavirus might not actually be faster than the clinical trials already underway. and if the human challenge trials only includyoung, healthy people, there's no

guarantee a vaccine would helpra the most vule. >>luite aside from the ethi issues, this would be very complicated. this is not a walk in the park at the moment. if we had a vaccine orked only in young adultsthat would be helpful if it didn't work, and it's possible if it didn't work in protecting the elderly, they may have to spend the rest of their, lives until covid transmission diminishes in a degree of seclusion. s >> nawaz: stilma shah has been working with the world health organization to develop the ethical criteria that need to be met if experts decide to move forward on a covid 19 human challenge trial. >> researchers have to know this is worth doing and they have to make a solid case about that. and given everything that's mappening right now, that's a difficult case t. but it's not out of the i estion. thate haven't really done in

challenge studies in the past, it's really important to do a ay that we know will move the needle. >> nawaz: and maybe move one step closer to endincovid 19 pandemic. nawaz.pbs newshour, im amna >> woodruff: two americans overseas received lengthy jail sentences in proceedings watched closy here, and around the world. nick schifrin now looks at the cases of former marine paul whelan in russia, and the renowned journalist maria ressa, in the philippines. >> so, it is what it is.ch >> sifrin: today a defeated paul whelan listed from a glass cage to what his lawyer called a sentence without evidence, and a judgemen without translation. >> your honor, i don't know what you said. >> schifrin: outside the

courthouse, u.s. ambassador to whelan's trial a sham.alled >> it's a mockery of justice, i can't sai'm surprised. if they can do it to paul, they can it to anyone. >> schifrin: whelan is a former police officer and marine, who loved to travel. he was arrested in moscow innd december 201 accused of spying, a charge he has consistently denied. he turned 50 and spent more than 500 days in prison, and has made his case, through bars and jostling journalists. >> although russia says itht caames bond on a spy mission, in reality, they abducted mr.ean on holiday. i'm the victim of an assault by a prison agent, and thatth somethin you need to cover. >> schifrin: david whelan is paul's twin brother. do you believeour brother has tten a fair trial? >> paul has been given aib te deal with the russian system, both from beingat entrappehe very beginning, not being able to have translated evidence. not being able to have witnesses appear. the whole thing is a railroad. >> schifrin: moscow says it's interested in a prisoner swap.

for konstantin yaroshenko, a former military pilot convicted by a u.s. court of conspiracy to smuggle cocaine, or thele notorious armsr viktor bout, convicted of conspiracy to kill u.s. citins and officials. last november senior ume. state depa official julie fisher rejected the swap. >> there is no need to discuss a swapparticularly for someone who was a convicted criminal. >> i don't think there's ever been a question that's what he's been held for.d i wo very conflicted about paul being a tourist, even though the russians called him a spy, being exchangedmsor a russian dealer, a russian drug dealer. >> schifrin: 5,000 mil away, maria ressa walked out of aal trial she alsoled a sham. the filipna-american journalist is a former cnn correst, and started the independent news outl, rappler. >> we're at the precipice, if we fall over we're no longer a democracy. are we a democracy or not? let us do our jobs. >> there will be no let up in this campaign.

>> schifrin: since 2016, filipino president rodrigo duterte has carrieout a war on drugs, that the u.n. calls an extrajudicial, murderous crackdown that killed 12,000. he's also waged war on the press and dissent, shutting down the country's largest broadcaster just last month. rappler repeatedly cri acized dutert linked a prominent businessman to illegal drugs. even though ressdidn't edit that article, and even though it was published eight years ago, she could face six yn prison. >> are we going to lose freedom of the press, will it be death by 1,000uts, or are we going to hold the li so that we protect the rights that are enshrined in our constitution? >> it oks like a targeted attack on a single journalist oo has been, writn a lo done a lot of highly critical coverage of the duterte administration. that is a threat to everyur list in the country. the committee to projecter is

journalist's asia coordinator. he says the threat to journali in asia, goes beyond the philippines. >> many governments have have activated anti-terror laws or or libel laws, fake news laws. enis is part of a broader that has forced press freedom further into retreat from what we've se in recent years. >> schifrin: whether through jailing journalists,stage diplomacy, two americans have become the targets of governmes pursuing their endas, by manipulating justice. for the pbs newshour, i'm nick schifrin. >> woodruff: as president trump gears up for his first campaign rally since the pandemic hit, we take a look at the political pressures on him to acon police reform. our politics monday team is here

to analyze that and mo amy walter of "the cook political report" and host of public radio's "politics with amy walter." and tamara keith of npr. she also co-hosts the "npr politics podcast." >> woodruff: legalo to both of you, it is monday, a lot to talk about. we have just learned amy that in this executive order presint trump will be signing tomorrow the white house putting out wor that it will say something about training, something about transparency, about information sharing and about comnity policing. we don't know many details. how much pressure is there nw on president trump to do something about police reform? judy, there is a lot of pressure on him. i mean i think many of us have been surowised atuickly this issue, not only rocked it up to the list of issues americans say they are concerned about.i saw a cnn poll that shod this as the number one issue for ters. obviously many more democrats

see this as a top issue than republitans. but stilas ranked higher even than covid. and i also think we have been surprised at how quickly american's oinions, specifically white american's opinions not just about police but also racism writ large in this country have changed in such a short period of time. and the president needs to ge with the right side on this issue. right now joe bidenis seen as having an advantage on handling race relations. the cnn poll, b more than 30 points. so the president wants to come stout unddably very quickly, put something out there as an executive order. congress igoing to in all likelihood get to this isue at some point in july which will give the president another opportunity toign something. >> woodruff: so tam, you cover the white house. if you are president trump or one of the people around him, how do you look at there issue?

>> well, president trump has really been going b fck anorth on what his message is and who he is delivering that message to. he is someone, his mpaign ran an ad during the super bowl about criminal justice reform. but at the same time he wants to be the law and order president. and he is speaking to different constituencies. but clearly as amy says, the fact that the white house has rushed, has worked hard on this executive order, the fact that the president is, according to officials going to be calling on congress to do more, jus is a sign of the pressure that he's under to shothat he's doing something and isn't simply focused on law and order ores individual ca that said, whether he ties thisn the larger idea of systemic racism that protesters are marching about or whether he really makes this about the few

has apples which is what he been talking about, which there few bad cops, i think that remains to be seen. it see tms much more likeat he is going to lien on the side of well, let's root out the few guys-- . >> woodruff: mean time, the president continues to say he has one more for at one point, better thany. abraham lincoln, it sounded like what he was say but amy, i want to ask you about this rally. first campaign rally he has had since the pandemic began. it's going to be in tulsa, oklahoma, the site of a terrible massacre of blacks back in the 1920s. it was going to be held onen june, the anniversary of the end of slavery. they have now moved it tosa rday. but my question is, is it still smart for the president to be doin this? >> well, nobody in public healti thinks's a good idea for him to be doing this.

the tulsa newspaper, the editor qual board said we love havina president come in, but we with like him to not come in the ddle of a pandemic, especially when it means a whole bunch ofed people croogether indoors which is according to all health experts about the wor possible thing that you can do with covid. but judy, it comesack to ths. it is the politics of it reahely aren'tssue here. it seems to me it is what the president wants to do. he loves getting the adoration of, he crohe has been missing it desperately. look, the reason that the president though is sitting at a very low point of job approval ratings, in fact, he has dropped rating, it is not because he hasn't held enough rallies. st because the two most important issues right now to americans the covid crisis and race relations, he is seen by majority as not handling those particularly well. and so doing a rally isn't going to make his approval ratings

move at all. so politically, it's really for him. it's not for his political standing. >> woodruff: and tam, help us unrstand the white house thinking here. why do they think it is the right thing to do? >> well, you know, he doesn't like polls, right? heoesn't trust theolls but he doesn't have the thing to point to to sak, loohe polls are wrong. i have amazing enthusiasm, vus look at these plpeo well, after saturday he is going to have that back. he's going to be able t say look at those 19,000 people that we packed into the center in tulsa, oklahoma, and look at joe biden. is he still doing smll gatherings, you know, that are socially distant. this is n going toe socially distant. the trump campaign told me day they will be passing out masks but they will not be required. and they will pass out hand

sanitizer. but the arena will be absfuoluty is what they say. president trump has said that you know, social distancing wouldn't look so good for a rally, it it wouldn't really work. so he going to have this big, bold, loud example of how he has enthusiasm. now you know, does one rally they gate a bunch of negative polls, probably not. but it will look good in the ads. >> woodruff: and just a few seconds to each of you, is it a problem for joe bid that he is not getting out, amy? >> well, right nothe real clear politics has he joe biden up over 8, so no i would say it is not a problem. >> and he is makding a calcula risk that it may not be a great idea to be the source of sua rspreader event. we don't know whether the trump rally will turn into auper spreader event but without social distancing and masks the expublic healtperts i talk to are really concerned.

>> woodruff: i guess if you can be up from your bae eight up from your basement, why change things. tamara keith, amy walter, well we thank you both. >> woodruff: on the newshour online, the latest episode of our podcast, "america interrupted." this week, we look at the polict departn camden, new jersey, which many point to as a model for reform. what did it get right, and where does it fall short? lien now on our website, that's: pbs.org/newshour/podcast or wherever you get your podcasts. and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodrf. join us online and again here tomorrow evening. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you, please stay safe, and see you soon.

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