>> good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour, care in the time of covid. despite the ongoing pandemic and e upcoming election, the trump administration asked the supreme court to invalidate the affordable care act. and texas and florida again clos bars. are on the ground in arizona as it reconsiders a reopeningd a dramatic spike in new coronavirus infections. th>> the w here is great. people just went crazy and arted to congregate and that's driven the numbers higher tha we eve expected. plus, it'sy. fri mark shields and david brooks consider the week in politics

and the ongoing federal response to covid-19. all that and more ononight's "pbs newshour." ♪ >> major funding for the "pbs newshour" hasde been provi by -w n it comes to wireless, consumer cellular gives the consumers the choice. talk, text and data as you want. and our u.s. customer based service team is on hand. to learn more go to consumercellular.tv. >> byry monday james. johnson & johnson. >> the john s. al knight foundation. more an kf.org.

>> and with the ongoing support of these institution ♪ >> and friends of "the newshour." this program was made possible by the corporation for publicbr dcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like y. thank you. >> good evening. i'm stephanie sai. we'll return to judy woodruff after the latest headlines. o big states tex and florida are reigning in their reopenings as covid-19 infections sge up. florida governor ron de santis argued his early push to reopen is not to blame forf the turn o

events. >> we went to phase one in the beginning of may, and we hadhe best covid results we've ever had all through may and theg begi of june. the cases was low. i think what's happened in t xt few weeks, i think people want to be social. they want to interact. >> all told, the nation had a record 40,000 new cases i the last 24 hours, and the death toll neared 125,000. in washington, dr. anthony fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert warned that young americans most of whom may show no symptom are driving the new infections. >> you have an individual responsibility to yourself. but you have a societal want to end this outbreak, really end it and hopefully when a vaccine comes and puts the nail in the coffin, we' got to realize that we are part of the process.

stephanie: fauci spokes as virus task force gave its first briefing in the past two months. infections are rising but he says the overall situation is bet than two months ago. he defended the president's decision to resume political rallies. as cov-19 spreads in migrant detention center, a feder judge has accepted the release ofre chi by july 17th. the order applies to children held for more than 20 days atam threey detention centers in texas and pennsylvania. on wall street, the covid resurgence and moves by texas and florida to reimpose closures sent investors heading for the exits. the d jones industrial average lost 730 points nearly 3% to close at 25,015. the nasdaq fell 259. anhe s & p 500 gave up 74

points. the minneapolis city council voted unanimously today in favor of dismantling its police department. thatould lead to a november ballot measure of creating a new approach but also with licensed officers. the death of george fld during a may arrest in minneapolis led to the move. in seattle, city crews tried today to clear away protestors, -called occupied zone to no avail. demonstrats chanted their resistance. police sto by but did not intervene. meanwhile, democrats in the u.s. house of representatives celebrated passage of a major police overall measure. it seeks to ban chokeholds and reduce legal immunity forfi rs. in the senate, majority republicans favor a more limitei but democrats have blocked it. house speaker nancy pelosi said

the next move is to the g.o.p. >> we always have asi resplity to reach across the aisle. but instead of a handshake you get a slap to the face, then you say you better go to the drawing board. and tt's what they better do. when they come to their ou conclusion,an't pass a bill and you think we should embrace it? no. stephanie: senate majority leader mitch mcconnell said it nnot pass the senate. they voted today to make washington, d.c. the 51st state. the measure passed 25280 with all republicans opposed.ke we'll closer look in the program. in mexico city, policeut were in force after gunmen tried to assassinate the police chief in a daybreak assault. it happened in an upscale neighborhood.

where attackers had sniper rifles. he was badly wounded andhree people were killed. offi aals blamed drug car sell and three suspects are in custody. the infamous birmingham church bombing man has died in prison. he was 81. officials say he passed away of tural causes. the 1963 bombing killed four young black girls. blanton was finally convict in 2001. and corporate giant will stop advertising on facebook, twitter and instagr to protest racist and violent content online. the ad halt will last through december. it makes eve dthing frome soap to ben & jerry's ice cream. the trump administration asked the supreme court to invalidate

the affordable care act. arizona reconsiders reopening amidma a dc spike in new you coronavirus infections and much more. >> this is the "pbs newshour." in the west from the walter con cite school of journalism. judy: the fate of the healthcare law often refered to as obamacare will be on the line again as the covid pandemic plays out. last night, the trump administration sought to strike it down.is ime by filing a brief with the supreme court arguing that it is unconstitutional. contending that the law must be overturned because congressim ated the individual mandate. more than 23 millionns ameri get coverage through the a.c.a. but for some, the cost of that

coverage are still high. andy slavet is the formermi strator for the medicare and medicaid services during the obama administration and he joins me now. andy, welcome back to "the news hour." as you know the tharget the trump administration and these 18 states are making is that now penalty imposed on people if they don't have insurance, that a law no longer has constitutional basis. and therefore it should be without getting too much into the legal weeds on, this andy slavet, why is that wrong? andy: well, their suggestion is that when the senate passed a it actually intended to not just eliminate the mandate, but intended to eliminate the entire law.er in oords that -- that one was intended to strike on all.

the senator made it cle that that was not the intent of anybody voting. nobody was voting repeal the entire law. so they are, i thi, this case is attempting to, and i think in a polital fashion to reinterpret what political intent was with pround impac on the american public. this is such a far reaching law. it's not just million people who have coverage. it's 130 ml million people who are preexisting coverage. more people coming out o covid-19 and preexisting nditions. soast sweeping law change to make on that basis. judy: so making the argument that it's not constitutdnal -- as you know very well, there's criticism as we just saidy that for m americans, the premiums are still too hight the answer to that? andy: well, there's plenty to system. about our healthcare

and no one law whether it's the a.c.a. or any other law i going to fix it all. what we need to do is keep improving our healthcare system and make it morore affordable f people. there is a bill that was introduced thiseek tha attempts to address that. i think it's long overdue. wi thin the republicans were controlling the congress rather than to tear it down they could have put forward these improvement bills. what we need to do is that everybody gets a fair tax treatment that employers get. if you earn $100,000, it's affordable because you get the same tax subsidy that employers get. but if you're $100,000 you apn't. that's an the law because there's 100 people get healthcare. judy: quickly, back to your first point. if this law is overturned if the court does find it unconstitutional especially now

that we'n the middle of a pandemic? andy: well, first of all, directly 23 million people w ll ger be able to take caur of their families if someone ould get sick from covid, preventive care and all of the ings that come along with it. second if you have employer erbased ce, it will be up to the insurance companies to decide what to cover and whatnot to cover. if ye losmployer base coverage you won't be able to guarantee to get that coverage back or if you get it it will be excluded no matter what is said by the white house, that's just thate fact. appens to all that money? the top .1% of earners are going to get a $200,000 tax cut. i think that's what's behind a lot of this is that the people pushing to repeal the law rather you use that for the wealthy.

if you have covid and you have preexisting condition, it's not just covid, it's if you have a blood clot or any kind of immune logical -- >> your point being that repercussions are much greater while in the middle of fighting covid-19. very quickly, the fact that today the number ofovid cases you follow this very closely. the white house is saying this is not due to reopening. it's what the vice president, ce president said today. how do you read the cause behind the is resurgeross the -- much of the country, 16 states? >> the virus moves from bigger cities to smaller cities. in some level we steam b the only nations in the world that doesn't understand that that's going to happen. and then there's cse and effect and a time lag. so we -- i thienk wave

particularly in arizona and texas and florida, governors that have been repeatedly told during the course of may that this was going to happen and they waited not only to see enough cases, they waited until at this point if they acted l. today with strong action, they wouldn't be able to turn the tide around for another three weeks or so. dso we're reallling with the middle of july and of course, things are going t o continue o and continue to get worse. so we have not -- i think we have to get a better feel or what's causing these things. we have to be more honest. and the vice president with all due respect can't come out and int a rosy picture. it's not fair to the pub who just wants to know what to they need to do to be safe. judy: certainly bad numbers in terms of covid recurring, resurging across much of the country. andy, we thank you. andy, thank you, judy.

♪ judy: as we heard arizona has become a new epicenter for covid-19. in fact, it has more cases per capita than reporteny by year peen country. but as stephan saior r from arizona, renewed everetts to flatten the curve are still meeting some resys tense. >> at the downtown phoenix farmers market kelvin picked up extra facemasks. >> people are dying from it. and it doesn't matter y if're feeling anything or not. >> others weren't as concerned. >> i think it's a real issue. but i don't feel t like hype behind it is as much as they say it is in my personal opinion. d s i don't personally feel

threatened. >> the grand canyon state which has experienced several increasing coronavirus cases, one where ed ziggler continues to socially distance. >> doing exactly what the c.d.c. says. washing my hands religiously, using m mask. trying to stay, you know, away from people as much as i can. >> and another where people like koo brewer are enjoying weekend as though the pandemic is over. >> i'm actually coming to eat and support local business. people are overreacting on how they're handling the situation. >> under pressure from all sides, then republi governor doug duceyegan reopening the state's -- the state in mid may. >> will humble is a former state health director. s hes many new cases in recent days have been among younger ate residents.

>> the average age for new cases is 39. d so that number is moving down. >> humble sss the problem i not with the state reopening, but how it reopened, allowing for come play -- complacency to set in. >> if we had put some measurable restrictions we would haveed st the gains we achieved. >> governor ducey is not talking about shutting back down. he is urging people to stay home. >> there's no magical decision or golden government action that witop this virus. >> as things stand, for a weeke the r of positive tests each day has been above 20% compared to new york state's positive testing rate which is hovering at around 1%. >> one of the things that we're

hearing more and more in arizona now is thathile testing capacity has improved marketedly, the turnaround time has been bad. and that's really important because you're contact tracing effectiveness depends on fast turn around times from the laboratories. >> and in the state'sorst affected areas, testing sites are overwhelmed.s linef people waiting to be swabbed. maricopa county where most arizonaians live has by highest numbs of cases deaths and hospitalizations in the state. but other areas are seeing surging including yuma which po borders hot in california and new mexico. >> the weather here is great. people just went crazy and started to congregate and that has driven the numbers higher than we ever expected. >> yuma county chairman tony reyes suggestsay mindsets have something to do with the higher rate of infections he's seen.

well, you have a lot of people who believe that anything you mandate is an infringement of their rights. we try to emphasize to our friends and our enemies that this is a health crisis. this is not a politicals. cri this is not a cultural crisis. >> but politics have come into play. e're doing so well after the plague. it's goingway. >> at the rally, there was no social distancing. ordinancee the city's requiring masks, many chose not to wear them. for those worried about catching the virus, a max w rallyh people coming in from all over logic.ate and beyond defs >> i have a preexisting condition. if i get this virus chances are i would have long-term or permanent organ damage or i die. >> morgan knows how serious getting covid is. >> i got covid in march and it's

a relong recovery for some and it was for me. >> not ak mas site. >> but as others decide to go out, hospitals are closer to reaching capacity. >> in a word, terrible. arother word is overwhelming. >> emergency depent dr. levecchio is concerned with staffing critical care units. >> i think a lot of nurses are tired, exhausted. a lot of doctors are exhausted. >> we're on the exponential part of the curb. >> they're seeing int care unit beds fill quickly. in arizona's largest hospital syst. >> critical care is stretched. beds are stretched. the nurses are stretched >> and the public health expert who has been monitorg arizona's spiraling covid crisis says someel mhave predicted statewide that hospitals might be full as early as mid july. if arizonaians pick it up. if they use their masks.

sif businessesrt to get c.d.c.'s mitigation measures, maybe those models are going to be wrong. i hope theyre a arizona never flattened the curb before reopening and now it'so starting do so while trying to stay open. i'm stephanie sai in phoenix. ♪ judy: we turn now you to the trumpat adminisn's posture on protests around racial injustice onolice reform and on the coronavirus. yeah mitchlcdor has a conversation recorded earlier thisvening. >> we get the white house's point ofiew, the deputy assistant to president trump and the officef america innovation, he's one of the most senior african-american

administrators. democrats successfully blocked senator tim scott's polbiing in the senate. but they were able to pass the democratic version of the house bill.n what's the p now to get policing reform and are you -- is the whiteouse open to compromise through the democratic bill? >> i think what we all want to do is find common ground. i hate to use the word "compromise" but i think the senate and the white house have always been willing to work partisan. ho think that what wed have done and what the democrats should have done is work from a bipartan position from the beginning because bipartisanship is what's neededhi to get done. and we are certainly trying to do that burks it looks like the democrats don't because they rather play a little politics with the policy. and we're -- we're really focused on getting outcomes going and peo te don't havee for politics, >> is it fair to say that the willing to ill be work with the democratic bill? >>, no i think it's more fair to say tt we need to start in a

bipartisan manner. you c't work with a bill that has no bipartisanship with it. there's a lot of different issues that need to be fleshed out. and the thing is there areeh stders on both sides that want to work through these issues. we've always had an open process and willing to work witev ybody. and that's what you saw in the executive order us working wh lice departments and also working with the families. and i think that's how you eread the nee because there are some common sense ways that we can go about doing this toet actually the reform that everyone wants. >> now, despite making up only% of the population, african americans are two and a hal more -- times more likely to be killed than white americans. does president trump believe there's systemic racism? >> i think the president believes that our overall system has been broken andt needs reform. that system has created disparries not only african americans but many vulnerable populations. but we espially know tha the

african-amican population has had some historic disparitys that need to beis fixed. irst step of e.o. that we put together helps deal with that becaue the real is goes back to police and community relations. and the direction that the democrats took is increasing that relationship in therong way. and i'll tell you how, because if we have less police incentivized to beat police, you have ls opportunity for the people whoepresent the community to be a part of the police department. and that creates some distrust. we want to do the oppos we. wet to create better police community relationships and -- and invest in those police don:s so they recruit from the neighborhoods and create that rational aspect that can quell some of the distrust. >> why hasn't the administration put out a larger plano address systemic racism and injustice in this country? >> we have put outar ar plan, if people would have covered what the president announced in dallas, they would have saw that the president put out a plan on access to capital,

ut out a plan on access to education, put out a plan on access to healthcare and put out a plan on police and community relationsle we've taken a holistic approach. before we had these dissearses an issues i saw a spotlight on it, the president hire med to work onnv rization process. and we set up the reinvitization >> we've seen coronavirus spikes in states like texas and flay. but still about half of the coronavirus cases in this untry don't have racial dat atamped to it. why hasn't the ainistration done more to get the data on who es being impacted especially when w know that black and brown communities are being impacted by the coronavirus? >> the c.d.c. is doing that work. this week we invested $40 million in morehse medical school to do more testing on these disparities. getting real-time data that does

take some time. but this administration has ait cont there. and the vice president made that commitment about two months ago when we tal to half a million african-american stakeholders. >> the trump administration filed ahrief w the supreme affordable care adismantle the why is it property and necessary during a pandec when people ed health insurance. why is the administration pushing tohe end affordable care act? >> my mother has had insurance all of his life and then as soon as we that legislation, he lst the insurance he hadnd the premiums for my mother also went up. we've always realized there needs be real fixes to that. but more importantly, we're making his toirk investments into federally qualified healt serns centers around the country through the cares act. the resources there for telehealth and telemedicine and mobile hlthlings is dare to deal with these disparities.

but we're continuing to do more because closing that gap for thesendividual communities i snag's very important to the administration. >> well, thank you so much, jeron smith, deputy assistant to president trump. >> thank you so much, yamiche. judy: more than four million american citizens living in territories from puerto rico to guam have no voting representation the house of representatives voted today to make a change. lisa desjardins reports. lisa: welcome to a city flourishing with one othe fastest growing populations in the country of restaurants and arts. no one contributes to government more. washingtonians contribute more

but no less citizens have more say. they have no vot in congress. >> we alone deprive our citizens of the same rights that all others i the country enjoy. >> eleanor holmes norton, d.c.'s delegate to congress cannot vote on bills. them.e can author and she's proposed a statehood bill every year for nearly 30 years. there being 232 in therm afive. 180 votes in the negative. >> today the house passed her washington, d.c. admission act, the first time in history that either chamber has voted to make the city a state. the bill would name the new state washington douglas common wealth after former city

resident douglas. one voting member of the house and contr over its own decisions. overrule, congress can local officials. that's not theoretical. rlier this month, district officials had littles say a federal park police moved in on peaceful protestors including in some blocks usually overseen by the city. it alsoffects pandemic response in the cares act offering relief, congress sent d.c. $750 million less than it gave to states. quintessential example of what it means to -- to not have the same rights aser othin our own country. >> holmes norton points out two current states vermont and wyoming have smaller populations than d.c. and have full representation in congress. feel the difference.oke with >> at any moment co ress can swoop in and make a decision that what i've decided as a lol ressdement the city is not

important or legitimate and can >> if i want to, you know, convey my opinion about legislation to a member of they can't really do -- they can't take action for it. they can't vote against something. and it'srustrating and, you know, it's almost like a -- i feel like i'm yelling into the wind.>> ut some opponents say what's fair to d.c. residents isn't the issue. constitution. t >>ell, when the district of columbia was established 230 years ago by congress, it was o set up t be a unique entity not to be part ofny state. >> roger pelon, a con scholar at the cato institute. two of his arguments first the n constitution d the city as a federal district. the law argues that only a constitution amendment not congress can make it a state.

then there's the 23rd amendment whic giveshe district electoral votes for president. but that would conflict with the electoral votes a new state would get separately. >> in other words for the president that 23rd amendment would have to b repealed and you can't do that through mere etatute. you have to h a constitutionalal amendment to repeal a constitutional amendment. >> holmes norton concedes that should be rerepeal. but the city can be a state first and that cgress can do . . >> now, it is true that the to do this capital city. what and so it gave jurthdiction over congress. well, the congress is taking action now. it is takin action make the district the 51st state. >> both ackwledge one towering obstacle to statehood, politics. >> it' always partisan. and because the district is largely democratic city, you cep

expectlicans and the president of the united states to be against it. >> what wre talking about here is two new democratic senats an that is not something that the republicans in the senate want to see since the senate is so closely divide. >> which is why there's little hope the republican-led senate will pass the statewood bill this year, and why s thekes for d.c. are high in nover when house and the long-term chances for d.c. statehood are on the ballot. for the "pbs news hour," i'm lisa desjardins. judy: and now weurner to the analysis of shields and brooks. that's mark shields and "new york times" columnist david brooks. so good to see both of you. thank you.

the polls show notnl president trump running somewhere between, eight, 12, even 14 points bween joe biden but his disapproval rating is at record high. marist, 58% disapproval for president trump, the highest itn has ever b and then you see on the second graph,ap doval ratings higher than president obama than at this stage of his presidency. or president bush 43 that point. nificant is that? >> the numbers are devastating for the president. you know, big things are happened where we're looking at possible really serious and long economic recession or wedepression. e losing the battle against

covid. we're having a racial reckoning. americans are learning what daily life is for african americans. these are gigantic things that are happening in the country and on each one of them donald trump is considered an inadequate leader by a l people. he's losing high school educated white men and college educated women. biden was winning by 14 s. percentage poi there's no way other than to say that some seismic shift is happening in the electorate want to f donald trump.people judy: mark, what do you see in these numbers and how significant do you think they are? mark: i think they're encouraging for democrats but at the same time for those who want to put the champagne o ice, i would remind them of the wisdom of the ann ricrds to th late governor of texas, july rests do not make it a november election.

this is not the first time that democrats have had a large lead in the summer and not managed to win in november. i think david's absolutely right about donald trump. he -- right now, this election is a referendum on him. and he is failing that test on virtually every major ground. there's only two times it's good be a united states president. swimmingly prosperity and so there's neas the world and you get that bask and that warmth and that era of good feeling. the second time is strangely enough, is a catastrophe not of your making or an earthquake or a pandemic as we're having now, and that's what a presidentan console and lead and comfort a nation and be really a figureng who b everybody together. donald trump has failed that. and failed that miserablely and i don't see a recover miserably, and i don't see a recovery.

judy: the president was out in tulsa and in arizona getting thousands of people to show up. mi tulsa what is it, 6,000? he's ding if you will the covid virus, though. i mean, he's saying that if more testing -- if there were moree testing dhere wouldn't be a virus. he is trying to play to his base. >> to some par of the -- part of the base. they like the jokes. thin like him spe 20 minutes about walking down the ramp which he did in tulsa. be there are part of his base who hate allff that s they vote for him for -- for dges or for some other issue because they think he's decent on the economy. but now, he's not decent on the economy. and they really don't like the idea of voting for a president who seems racist. md so theyht be with him on other issues.

but you're seeing people flake away from him for really serious issues, for really serious reasons not for some tweet. i agree with mark, n this is the time to celebrate. but we've had such a stable set of polls where he's hung basically solid. and now, things look dferent. and they look different because big things are happening. judy: mark, could his arguments about the virus i people to enough people to somehow persuade them, um, that he's got the right argument goingere? mark: i doubt it, judy. he's not been a national leader on this issue. i mean, in fact, hs been a sniper on the -- on the sidelines too much. criticizing governors in michigan and minnesota and virginia for taking measures in theirs to lead to a

lockdown in hopes of curtailin it somehow, there seems to emerge a choice between public health and a strg economy. and donald trump say open that economy. but the reality is we will noth a strong economy without restored public health. t that root -- and the road to it. down a deadnd and it shows oing terrible indifference to the people who are his most loyal supportist. there are 3,000 people without masks or social distancing. you know, that's a terrible prospect of illness forthcoming. udy: and that's the image that the administration's is pro jectsing. the vice presint today defending those rallies saying there's a first amendment right to assembly. a people havight to go out and support -- support the candidate of their choice.

mark: if we're going to have the george floyd protest, you can't say to onef group o people you can protest and to other ones you can'tly obvio since that precedent was set. the president basically chose jared kushner over steve bannon. what's interesting about the steve bannon wing is that they were quick about the covid-19. they were let's take this let's be the side of the health way.s if you want to put it that and trump went the other way away from the populace and toward the more wall street people. and he said, no, it's no because i don't want to deter the market. and sha shift was -- that shift was one of the pivotalhift of the administration. i hate to be a praiser of steve bannon. the president would be in better shape bh sub stanively and

politically if he would have listened to people in that wing. judy: interesting. we forgot about that and mark, to t it all off, it's what we program, trying to get rid of the affordable care act. >> john baner, fmer republican speaker of the house was candid he said 25 yearsn the republican of the house, not once, never once did republicans ever agree on a healthcare plan. and he was absolutely right. healthcare plan.en a republican they're trying to repeal, replace the -- the affordable care act. but at a time when 20 million people turning to it havin lost their jobs and, you know, at a

me when it is more popular than it ever was when barack obama was president. and you know, with every healthcare group of any significance in hospitals and doctors and -- except the american nurses association on ing the administratio this -- what happensf they win and there's noe affordable c act and there's no preexisting coverage? it's an absolute political foy. judy: i want to ask you about that, dav. d then i've got two or three other things you want to ask. go ahead. comment for us on the affordable trying to yet again to get rid of it. david: if you're a republican senate candidate in arizona, sud accidently, you've got to defend the idea of taking away this insurance at momt w i think had covid-19 could become a preexisting condition.

it'sal a polit poison for any republican senate in a close race. >> david, i'm going to stway you. police reform aer all these rallies around the country, it's clear there's a lot of sentimeno looking at ways to improve country. n this the house and the senate completely -- republicans and democrats completely at odds over this. what's going on? david: on this one, i - i blame frankly. ats, i think tom scott the republican fromar southina who is the republican sponsor put together a good faith bill.it had not everything but it had some stuff. it had making lching a federal hate crime. against chokeholds. more transparency for pole misconduct. and they say we're going to let you vote. maybe i o support somthese amendments. so he had a pretty open process. i'm a big believer if you can take half the cake, take half

the cake. d democrats can get the whole cake. think they should have compromised on thisnd accepted half a cake. it would have been a step forward to a better police force. >> s the democrats tried to sit down with tim scott or any of the other republicans? mark: well, i think tim scott -- i think tim scott was authentic figure on this, absolutely a man of reality, talked about his own rsonal experience of being stopped seven times by -- by pitol hill police. he, a united states senator being asked for identification and papers. so he showed a sensitivity to it. there was a skepticism aboutouow much he deliver. but i did honestly think there was a chance. iug t that for legislative compromise on this, i'm less confident on this today than i was last week. it's an election year, and the

less we lk at this, the lessil itbe and i'm sad about it. judy: and howlose are we to washington, d.c. bag state? >> i'm pessmix. >> i'm more optimistic, judy. district residents pay more on taxes than 22 states, the .esidents of 22 states combined at the same time they die at a rate higher than americans in 14 other states and wars. at some point they've g to be, accorded citizenship. and you know, i'm hoping that it will be in theext administration. judy: citizenship but no voting representation. mark shields, david brooks. we'll leave it thank you, both.

judy: as the u.s. approaches another coronavirus milestone, f a ok back at the lives few of the almost 125,000 americans who died b of the pandemic. >> 92-year-old theodore gaffney was a researchers and documentarian who b great work.y to his after serving in the u.s. army following world war ii, theodore studied photography und the g.i. bill. the washington, d.c. native was one of the first african americans to photograph inside thehite house. in 1961 he documented the freedom riders as they traved to the south to fight segregation. theodore later moved to brazil to sdy the african diaspra, it s there that he met his wife

maria. jess bigayenior transported everything from explosives to milk. he taught oersow to drive commercially including his own daughteres lynn. she says her dad was humble and always open to learning more. he still referred to himself as a rookie even a 25-year-old veteran. they described as his dedicated and loving. he was 73 years. o mary wilson had a way with animals. she was 23 whe she started working at the maryland zoo and went on toe promoted to senior zookeeper as a black woman mary was a mother figure including an orphan gorilla named sylvia. she continued to visit sylvia.

sylvia always remembered her. mary's dedication to her work inspired her daughter sharon to become a zookeeper, too. mary was3. dr. thomas neeam bonnie was a to lifelong edu and student. ssionate about learning, thomas earned advanced degrees well into his 50's. he taught english i class kenya where he was born. after immigrating to the u.s. in 1985, taught at a minnesota technical college. thomas was a generous and devoted father and grandfather. leader within the congregation. thomas was 69 years old. maurice dodson's family said he put his family first. maurice discovered that he too loved helping others.

maurice went on to work as a nursing assistant for the elderly in austin, texas for 25 years. his younger sister was otective and giving. maurice was 51. and as always, our hearts go out to the loves ones lost in this pandemic.e the calls for equity in all sectors of life including broadway. jeffrey brn looks at the efforts that black artists are making that more diverse facesp willear on and behind the stage. the story is our ongoing story on arts and culture. ♪

>> it was the brand-new antonio awards. >> it's true, we've been ordered to stay at home ♪ >> a play on words, a streamed show with a virtual red carpet, original numbers and star presenters, >>elcome to the antonio awards! are you inar treat. >> the -- are you in for a treat. >> and to celebrate the achievements of black theater artists on and off stage. >> as we continue t move forward and fight for equality to ight for justice and fight for our lives, it's important to -- to have lf-care and celebrate all that we are fighting for. >> thank you so much. renowned theater star stimmed ra mcdonald added to her toney a em awards with an antonio

award for her performance in "johnny and claire" show. before the killing of george floyd and the black lives matter protests of the pas few weeks, and now the push for change was even more urgent. >> there's a desire and a -- and a want to sort of be together and celebrate in any way that we can. and because of this horrific time that we are in where gere's so muchef and pain, becae of what's happening racially in our country, we can do both. we can celebrate and we can -- we can t rallyo make change. >> mcdonald and and all-star group of theater artts have also launched a n effort called black theater united. >> we need every voice lifted. >> and we need every heart --

>> opened. to fight against racist ideologies that have divided us. >> the coalition is partnering with groups like fair count and fair fight tteo promo greater voter participation and protect voting rights. the theater itself is the other focus. among other projects the group wants to create mentor programs for aspiring black artists and bring attention to within the theater world. african americans make up just7 of membership in actors equity. the labor union for live eatrical performance. a recent study shows that members of color, earn 10% less hen they do find work. according to theater mania in the current season out of the 3h s that were on stage befored,

coight casts no artists of color. it is one of several new efforts another called dear white american theater a multi-racial grp called on arts and dismantle their harmful and racist practices." ♪ >> actor drew shade founded broadway black in 2012 to celebrate bla theater achievements. his group produced the antonios. >> we contribute and give of ourselves and o our talent and of our body. eight show as week.ik just any other performer, just like any other artist. and i think t that contributions that we've given or equally held up in the same manner. >> is it an tuelingsr institutional bias? is it an overt racism? is it just this is how it's

always been done by the people who do cro such things? ay >> it's a the way it's been done. when it comes to black bodies and black. stori if certain people cannot relate then it doesn't feel like as though it's valuedt' because not their experience or something they know to be so it's all of those things. >> stimmed ra mcdonald has had one of the most successful and claimed careers in theater history. bu she too sees the need for changes. >> there's not a lot of black stage managers in the hair unit, in the wardrobe in the crew in casting offices. so many of are oftentimes the only one in the room. >> there's also a desire to address the issue of who goes to the theater, the theater is seen as being four. >> it's also h about you create your marketing materials, who do you advertise. to and there's been an implicit bias to make the theater an older white type of experience

which is why i've come into the industry to shake tha u to market to black people to market toeople that would not normally think the theater was for them. that's the whole reason why i'm ear. >> the theaterorld, says mcdonald, reflects the solet. >> the larger house is on fire right now. we've got to save our lives first. we need to engage civicly to do everything we can a toect change and to protect our lives and our communities and give ourselves a gndater voice then at the same time concentrate on what we can do to change the theatrical landscape as well. shows are on hold at least al through labor day.♪ >> hi >> theater artist wait for the curtain to rise again, the hope for change in broadway and beyond goes on. i'm jeffrey brown.

judy: can't wait for broadway to come back. online, join us tomorrow for a virtual town hall with joe biden and trump campaign surrogate, the former governor of guam, eddie baza calvo hosted by the asian and pacific islanders american vote organization. :0 beginning at p.m. eastern. it will be lived streamed. i'm judy woodruff. thank you. please stay safe. good night.>> ajor funding for the pbs news hour has been provided by -- >> when the world gets complicated, a lot goes through your mind. with fidelity wealth management, a dedicated advisor c tailor advise and recommendations to your life. that's fidelity wealth management. >> consumer cellular. financial services firm reymond james. johnson & johnson.

the william and flora hewle foundation. for more than 50 years advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world at hewlett.org. >> suppo singial enter prenurse and their solutions to the world's most pressing problems. skullfoundation.org. >> and with the ongoing support ♪ tse institutions. >> and friends of "the newshour". >> this is "pbs

tonight on kqed newsom, a large outbreat the san quentin prison how a health officials are responding and the pandemic has hit nonprofits ha. we talk with the ceo of goodwill about their struggle to help the bay area. and it is pride weekend rtwith l events. we will take you inside the lineup of the film festival. welcome to kqed newsroom. new coronavirus cases ar climbing rapidly in california prompting strong ssages from the governor. he also partnered with the former state governors to yourg ev to wear a mask. the number of positive tests a si