captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening, i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, the virus on the rise-- cases of covid-19 spike across the globe, forcing an end to many reopening efforts and furtr taxing healthcare resources. then, "an undue burden"-- the supreme court strikes down a louisiana law restricting abortion providers, with the chief justice supporting abortion rhts. ty on u.s. troops-- new intelligence reports conclude a russian military unit oteered to pay taliban fighrs to kill u.s. soldiers in afghanistan. and, a long race-- soupi sudanese olc hopefuls living

in japan hold onto their dream despite the postponement of the games. all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs nehour has been provided b >> when the world gets complicated, a lot goes through with fidelity wealth management, a dedicated advisor can tailor advice and recommendations to that's fidelity w management.

>> the william and flora hewlett foundation. for more than 50 years, advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world. at www.hlett.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions: and individuals. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions toour pbs ation from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: the coronavirus pandemic has claimed the livesof ome 503,000 people to date.

over a quarter of those deaths are americans. this comes as more than 30 new infections, as morese in communities loosen restrictions eiand re-open doors for business. debut some state l are now having to re-think their plans, battle this sumrge.gether, to william brangham has more. in the day's other new chief justice john roberts joined the supreme courts' four liberal justices in string down a louisiana law that placed restrictions on doctors who perform abortions. we'll take a closer look at that decision, after the news summary. the high court also made it easier for presidenmotrump to the head of the consumer financial protection bureau. but it separately declined to block federal executions scheduled to begin next month. stocks soared on wall street

today, and recovered half of their lossesrom last week. the dow jones industrial average d 580 points to close at nearly 25,596. the nasdaq rose 117 points, and the s&p 500 added 44. the white house briefed select members of congress today amid reports that russia offered boties to taliban-linked militants for killing american troops in afghanistan. the alleged bounties were initially reported by "the new york times," citing intelligence officials. president trump denied being broniefehe subject, and said he was told the intelligence wasnd 't consideedible. we'll have more on this later in the program. meanwhile, in afghanistan today: an attack at a busy market killed at least 23 people. rocked southern helmands province, leaving children among

the ad and injured. both the taliban and the afghan military blad each other for the attack. pcalled "golde state killer" pled guilty today to 13 counts of first degree murder.74 ear-old joseph deangelo is accused of killing at least 13 people and raping scores more across california in the 1970s 2d '80s. he was arrested 8. the former police officer appeared in a wheelchair for his hearing in sacramento. he'll be spared the death penalty, but will serve life in prison without parole. e four former police officers charged in the death of george floyd in minneapolis were back in court today. the judge threatened to move their trials out of the city if attorneys and local officials do not stop speaking publicly about the case. separately, lawmakers in mis vsissiped sunday to remove the confederate symbol from their state flag.

the governor is expected to sign the bill soon. four militants attacked the pakistan stock exchange in karachi today, killing at least three people. they stormed the compound armed with grenades and guns, to try and take hostages. security forces killed them before they could enter the offices where employees took shelter. >> the law enforcement agencies, the police and the rangers played a very, very vital role, combating this attack, and with grace of god, the exchange, the financial hub of pakistan, was safe. insurgents from the southwestern province of baluchistan later claimed responsibility. and, iran has issued arrest warrants for president trump and 35 others linked to the drone strike that killed its top general qassem soleimani in january. tehran's chief prosecutor also asked the international criminal

police organization interpol to help but it refused. brian hook, the u.s. special representative for iran, dismissed tehran's move as a "propaganda stunt." still to come on the newshour: the supreme court strikes down a louisiana law restricting abortion providers. a russian military unit reportedly offers taliban fighters money to kill u.s. soldiers. discusses russia,, and the u.s. travel bans. plus much more. >> woodruff: today the white house briefed republicans on intelligence reports that russia

paid taliban fighters ep we have beenting to attack u.s. forces in afghanistan. amid bipartisan concern aboute esident's statement that he had not been told about the intelligence. we'll get to congressional leaders' response in a moment, but first, nick schifrin reports new details on russian bounty payments u.s. officials fear killed u.s. troops. >> in april 2019, a bomb pland y the taliban >> schifrin: in april 2019, a bomb planted by the taliban in this spot, killed three u.s. marines. and intelligence officials investigated whether this american blood, was on russian hands. st year the taliban are believed to have received russian military intelligence money to target u.s. service intelligence officials tell pbs newshour. the payments were discovered by information taken from taliban leaders, and when u.s. special fooperations forced a large amount of american money during a taliban raid. it was a dramatic increase in russian support to the taliban,already described in

2018 by then u.s. commander general john nicholson. >> we've had weapons brought to us by afghan leaders and said, this was given by the russians to the taliban. wree know that the russians involved. >> schifrin: today the kremlin lled that statement, and today's reports, "lies." but former u.s. officials say in the last two years, as americans trained afghan forces, and fought the taliban, russian involvement was always a collection priority. and it was always briefed up to senior levels. but today, white h spokeswoman kaleigh mcenany reiterated president trump had never been briefed. the c.i.a. director, n.s.a., national security adviser, and chief of staff can all confirm that neither the president nor the vice president we briefed on the alleged russian bounty intelligence. officials say president trump was part of briefings about russian support before the u.s. signed a peace deal with the taliban this past february. since then, the taliban have not attacked u.s. troops, but have killed hundreds of afghan

civilians and security forces, and launched a targeted assassination campaign against mosques with moderate clerics, journalists traveling in this van. and just today, civilians in helmand, leaving children, oobldy and orphaned. 40 years ago the u.s. and russia began a much more serious proxy ban afghanistan. after soviet troops invaded, the u.s.ded afghan fighters whorc eventually fo the soviets to lea. u.s. officials say the russians havalways wanted payback in afghanistan. and they likely increased their assistance to the taliban to upsetni u.s. plans in afghaan, and because the us hadn't pushed back strongly enough on prior russian support. for the pbs newshour, i'm nick schifrin. >> woodruff: let's get reaction now from two key lawmakeron capitol hill. first up, for a democrat's take, twe turn to the chairman house intelligence committee, representative adam schiff of california. he joins us now from capitol hi

t what do you believe happened here? >> well, we want to get the full answers frothe intelligence agencies. we've asked them to come in and physically briefur committee. the speaker has asked for a full we want to know are the russians offering bounties to kiroll americans and, if they are, why is the president still in to the g.8?e russia brought why is he giving russia that favored status wedging them into the community of nations and maintained this cozy elationship wi putin? that's not how we ought to treat a country that is trying to kile our le in afghanistan. so we want to getthe full intel briefing on these aegations and find out whether this was part of theup's daily brief and if the intelligence agencie are still not briefing the president, why they're not briefing him. is this an issue where they cannot tell the thpresident gs he doesn't want to hear when it comes to vladimir putin and

tssia? >> woodruff: i white house is sayingics as -- saying, as isported from others today, that this wasco uirmed intelligence as part of an ongoing investigation, is it possible that this reporting oing got ahead of what's g on >> you know, anything is possible. it's also possible that we'reth not gettinstraight scoop from the white house. it certainly wouldn't be the first time. buould think, if the president is making a pitch bring russia into the g8, h people in the national security council would want to make sure he's aware of. this now, they can caveat this and say, well, you know, we have ox amountf confidence in this intelligence, or we want to do further informationbut beore you invite the russians back in, you should know about this. t i don't know se conversations took place or if they're just afraid of raisingwi this him or he just doesn't presidential dailyf, but we ought to find out. these are the safety and the

lives of our troops at stake, and you would hope that the commander-in-chief would want t heis information and be file to evaluate it. >> how cnt are you, congressman schiff, thathe intelligence community is going ou be straight with you on this? and if you fin that they didn'brief the president with what they knew, then what does that say to you? >> well, i'd like to find out, and i can't comment on the classified information, but i would like to find out what they'd say in terms of their onfidence regarding these allegations, yif they felt t couldn't bring this to the president's attention why they couldn't or if they, in fact, president's attention. what the agencies ought to do is they ought to supply the information, they ought to tell the president the limits of that

information, but allow the presgoent to mak decisions. if the president doesn't want to hear it, won't listen to ithe won'ar a bad word said about putin's russia, then, obviously, we need toabout that because, then, it falls on the congress to protect the country whthe commander-in-chief won't. >> woodruff: do you believe it's possible to determine whether or not the president was briefed on this or was informed in some manner? >> we should be able to. i hate to think the white house will likely resist that. there are times we are informed nthis made it the presidential daily brief. there are times, i'm sure, when th will fight tat. but i would hope that we will be able to askertain whether information is getting to the president and, as i mentioned, whether there's a separate issue about whether, as we see with russian election interference, those that might ratse it wih the president at the cabinet

level don't do so because it's a good ticket out of the cabinet if they. do. >> woodruff: you said a moment ago this raises questions about the president talking about inviting russia into the g8. what should the punishment be for russia if it tus out this true, that they were offering bounty to the taliban to kill americans? >> well, i think we would need to consider what additional sanctions on russia aree nssary. we certainly halt efforts to welcome russia back on to the international stage, and it ought to tell us something about the pearocess in afghanistan, that we have a nation that is trying to subvert that peace process by incentivizing the taliban tato k u.s. troops. again, if these allegations are correct, but it ought to inform all of our policy judgments as well as wat rer repercussions ot to take place in terms of

russia. at a minimum, it ought to end the president's talk about welc president putin and russia back into the community >> woodruff: chairman adam schiff of the house intelligence ou veryee, we thank y muc >> thank you, judy. >> woodruff: and now to texas congressman mac thornberry. >> woodruff: and now to texas conbegressman mac thoy. he is the highest ranking republican on the house armed services committee. earlier today he rd a briefing from the white house on these reports. and he joins us now from capitol hill. congressman thornberank you very much for joining us. tell us, what are they saying at the white house about thees reports? >> well, our briefing today was of the classified intelligence information, which is the basis for these concerns about russians eouraging attacks against u.s. troops. and, so, we dug down a ttle deeper into the information. like a lot of intelligence questions, it's not completely

clear cut. there are pieces of information, and some of it contradictory, and you have to put it all together to understand what's lately happening, so that's what we focused on. >> woodruff: so as you know, the "new york times" and other news organizations are reporting that the russians did offer bounty, paid bounty to the taliban to kill american troops. that's pretty direct. so you'reaying what you heard today was that this is not true or that it could be true? >> there a eces of information that support it. e thy be pieces that give a somewhat different view.t think most of us would agree, if there's any hint of truth or any prospect of truth in the idea thatussia or any other country would put bounties on the head of u.s. serice members, we have to treat it very seriously and pursue every lead and make sure our people

are protected. so i think that's got to be the mindset moving forward. >> woodruff: and what were you told with regard to whether about this intelligence?rmed >> we were told that he was n nt informed about the intelligence because it had not been flushed out, not been proved credible enough to rise tois level. at the same time, the whitff house sdid begin to work on case furr validatingptions in information would come forward. so there were really, i think, from the white house per specific, two tracki at the sameme, i do believe that our forces in afgnistan took action in case thi represented an elevated threat

to make sure our people were prepareand protected and, again, my view, and i think most of us believe that, whether you can prove it all the way or not, if there's a threat to our people, then we need to take decisive action to make sure our peoe arprotected. >> woodruff: well, that's what i want to ask you about. re is a chance that this information was correct, does it make sense to you, with such an explosive piece of information, tthat the presid wouldn't have been briefed about it? >> wel my default would be if it's a threat to our troops, especially a state that is putting a bounty on the heads of our troops, yes, i would want to tell the president and, yes, ould want to pursue it as vigorously as possible to track it down, a would want to take all measures possible to protect our people. that is my default position. but i also acknowledge that into

the white house every day com many, many threats that have to es make ated, which on to the president, which ones don't, they have to be flushed out and, so, you know, all of us ought to be a little bit careful about second guessing because of all the things that are going in there. but, again, my view is, if it's a threat to u.s. troops or mig be a threat to u.s. troops, that's got to rise to the top. >> woodruff: do you think the white hoome isetely leveling with you?me >> i ashey have told us -- i assume what they have told us is accurate. but it is importantfor our committee armed services, the intel committee onthe ouse and senate to pursue these issues, again, because there is so much at stake. >> woodruff: and if the intel informationad this and didn't share it with the

president, what should happen with regard to the intelligence community? >> well, the intelligence community must first pursue these lines of information, and i think they are doing that, certainly,ow, to find out if it is true or not what the orsung evidence is. i think that, really, the decision is the advisors around the president on what toing to his attention and whatnot. >> woodruff: and, at this point -- at this point, is the white house pursuing this? do you get the sense they take this seriously and you're going to get answers quickly? >> i do think, at this point, t seriously.ing i i think there will be some other public statements comin but, again, this is an allegation that ought to be pursuehd w all the instruments of the u.s. government. and the other thing is it would be a tragic mistake for us to

further reduce our troop presence in afghanistn because that would only encourage more of these sorts of threats to come about. so we've got to, yes, pursue the intelligence and where it leads, but we've also got to have smart policy to not encourage thisg sort of th the russians or anyone else. >>odruff: congressman mac thornberry, ranking republican on the armed services committee, thank you very much. >> you're welcome. >> woodruff: >> woodruff: after we recorded those interviews earlier this evening, we learned that leading democrats, including chairman adam schiff, will receive a separate briefing tomorrow at the white house. summer surge of covid-19 has th left the u.s. and the globe

rethinking how to reopen. william brangham has more. >> brangham: that's right judy. the u.s. is clearly struggling to hckold his virus. i'm joined now by a man who's erspent a caattling viruses and disease. centers for disease control and prevention from 2009 to 2017 and he's now the f a global health initiative called "rolve to save lives." dr. frieden, good to have you back on. we are about six months into this ordeal. we've seen two and a half million official cases, over 125,000 americans have diewhd. you look at where we started versus where we are today, what is yourassem of how we have -- assessment of how we have doinne respo? >> well, the u.s. is clearly a lagger here. there are country around the world that are getting their economiesack because they were guided by public health, they communicat clearly, they fully supported public health, and,

unfortunately, we are payg the price of a response that wasn't nationally organized and not well implemented. so if you lean into the punch, you're going to get hit, and that's what's happening all over the south and in most or much of the country today. the numbers we're seeing in the u.s. are high, buthey're only part of the story. there are many, many more e peoe who tting this infection and who have not been tested. so the 40,000 cases that were diagnosed the other day are not all of them. this is creating a huge viral reservoir that's going to take months to deal with, and, really, the trutis, if you look at what people are saying, most americans get it. we need to do the three ws, wear a mask, wash your hands, watch your distance. and government and public health need to sca up the box-in approach that we have been talking about fomohs -- test

strate acally. it's nuestion of how many but whether you do it right. isolate people, contact trace, quarantine supportively. there are tough questions t be asked, ere's so much more that we need to be doing. there are parts to have the u.s. that a continuing to see progress -- new york, connt, new jersey -- seeing progress still. but they're at risk. if any parts ofhe u.s. are seeing this rapid increase, all parts to have the u.s. aret at risk. >> reporr: so if the majority of the country believes in the three and wants to stamp out the virus, how do we explain this several doen states now seeing these dramatic spikes? what is going on in thosestates that is causing that? >> i think what you saw was an approach that wasn't data-driven. a data-driven approach would not have closed for so long in so many p that did ptd have covid. it's like trying to catch a wave en you're surfing. if you go too eaonrly, you't

watch the wave, if you go too late, you get swamped. you have to dot just right. so in many parts in the u.s., you saw closingn, too s too long, and then opened just when it's increasing. again, opening when it's increasing is just asking to get hit hard. so it's no surprise yore seeing the big increases. places like arizona, where nearly one out ofev y four tests is positive. that's an extraordinarily high rate, and that indicates a real increase, not an increase in testing. it'siloing to take a wh it means a lot more distancing, masks, han washing, distance, but it also means bars need to be closed in these areas. you can't do that safely. we've had many outbreaks related to bars. it means indoor space, the more people together with the more acrowding, less ventilatid the higher the rate of covid in that area, the more chan for explosive spread. >> reporter: we have been seeingseveral states that have opened up earlier, as you were

describing, or reversing. arizona is announcing this evening they will close bars in response to the rge of cases there. but one other issue that the have arguedt the real reason that we're seeing so many cases is because we're test mgue. if you look more, you're going to find more. is that a fair depiction of >> that's simply wrong. as a scientist, as an epidemologist, as a doctor, i can tell you, when you look at the data, one orwhwo stateen you're seeing more testing and a similar increase in cases, s.at's correct, it's about te but arizona, texas, seoul, ths are either up ormany others, stable but the percent positivityres ising, and that's the key number, because covid n that community iste of increasing. this is not about increased

it's about increased spefd the f the v>>irus. reporter: lastly, the president and vice president also argue that, yes, we may bea seeing an in in tests but not as many people are dying, that mortality rates are not rising commensurately with new cases. how do you explain that? >> there are a few things going on. first off, death rates lag casey rateabout a month because people get sicker and sick around need to be cared for. second, it is true that we're seeing increases, especially in young adults, and the death rate of young adults is massively lower than the rate of older adults. but what starts in youngad ts doesn't stay in young adults. that means the lag may be longer tha a month, two or three months, but it's likely to be there. we're also seeing some improvements in hoto care r patients and what we're seeing all over the world is when you have ti sit like new york city with just overwhelming numbers, the death rate goes. it gets harder for the doctors

and nurses andir retory therapists to give optimal care. so i think we're seeing a real lower death rate, that's arc. some oft that is the lag cause it takes longer for people to get severely ill than to get a case and some of that is the age group, s the delt rate may come down. but we still project that in the to have at least 15,000 morey deaths, and i think we're getting enured to these numbers. this isa huge numeral. 135,000 deaths with another 15,000. doctors, nurses, healthcare workers, more than 400 killed by covid,ckhat is a shoumber, and we have to do better at o protecti healthcare workers, shielding the elderly and maurng sureng homes, prisons, jails, packing companies, are protected so they don't e the spread. it's about how broadly the virus spreads in tithe comm.

it creates the equivalent of a reservoir of a virus that's going to take a long time. new york city had to shut down for months to cool it down. >> reporter: very sobering news. dr. tom frieden, thank you so much for your time. >> thank you so much. nice to speak with you again. >> woodruff: as we reported ieea the supreme court struck down a restrictive louisiana abortion law with a 5-to-4 majority. as john yang reports, chief dejustice john roberts pro the decisive vote. >> yang: chief justice john roberts was again in an unusual position today: siding with the four reliably liberal justice to strike down a restrictive louisiana abortion law by a 5-4 majority. justice stephen breyer wrote the decision, relying on the 2016 5-

3 ruling invalidating a nearly identical texas law at the time the court's biggest enrsement of abortion rights in quarter century. th, roberts was on the oth side, among the dissenters. today, incurring opinion, he wrote of the importance of supreme court precedent:" the louisiana law imposes a burden on access to abortion just as severe as that imposed by the texas law, for the same reasons. therefore louisiana's law caot stand under our precedents." roberts said he still believes the texas case was "wrongly decided. the question today however is not whether [it] was right or wrong, but whether to adhere to it in deciding the present case." marcia coyle, chief washington correspondent for the national law journal says it underscores voberts' emergence as the court's swin. for the credibilithehis concern institution. and he tends then to write

fairly narrow opesions when he ove to the left, as he did here. immediate gigantics leftny or right, although he's capable of doing that and has done some in the past. >> yang: in a statement, white house press secrary kayleigh mcenany called the ruling" unfortunate" and said" unelected justices have intruded on the sovereign prerogatives of state governments by imposing their own policy preference in favor of abortion override legitimate abortion safety regulations. roberts in particular is drawing the ire of conservative legal the heritage foundation.m of >> rather than calling balls and strikes, as he pledged to do during h confirmation hearings, he comes down with an opinion that i think can be appropriately characterized as a political one. so, strangely enough, while trying to keep the court out of politics, the court becos more

involved in politics than ever before.ng >> for president trump's appointees, justices neil gorsd brett kavanaugh, it was the first case involving abortion rights. gorsuch cred the majority in a dissent, calling its ruli"" little more thanudicial version of a hunter's stew: row in anything that loo interesting, stir, and season to taste." in his dissent, kavanaugh said lower courts need to determine more about how the louisiana law would af there.ess to abortion while today's ruling is a victory for abortion-rights advocates, analysts say there are more challenges ahead. >> people who are celebrating foday's decision as a big win abortion rights are, in my opinion, going to have a rude awakening. >> yang: universitlorida law professor mary ziegler studies u.s. abortion law. >> it's clear that there will be ctionsbortion rest upheld by this court and that access to abortion will be more limited. if you're thinking about the ultimate fate of roe v. wade, in

some ways, i think that's more up in the air today than it was yesterday. >> yang:he louisiana law, which has never gone into effect, would have required doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals. abortion-rights advocates said that would have left the state with just one abortion provider. the law's backers said it was to safeguard women. angie thomas is the associate director of louisiana right-to- life.: >> this is all about just protecting women and keeping them safe from substandard care and substandard care that we know to be true through the violationsr the last two decades and more. >> yang: but abortion-rights advocates said the complication rate is extremely low-- less than one percent. kathaleen pittman is adnnistrator of a clinic i shreveport, louisiana, which d have been left with a single part-time physician permitted to perform abortions.. >> how many tis have we actually had to tranort? i think we were able to come up

with four instances er a 20 year period. woman who is pregnant is that much greater risk for her heth and her life, should she continue that pregnancy, versus having an abortion. >> yang: and with today's ruling, the clinic doctors will be able to continue rforming abortions. for the pbs newshour, i'm john yang. >> woodruff: there is no greater us ally in afghanistan, than the united kingdom. nick schifrin spoke late today with the new british ambassador to washington. >> schifrin: dame pierce used to be the british ambassador to kabul, from 2015 to 2016. she was appointed as permanent representative to the u.n. in 2018, and named the new ambassador to washington, in

february. and she joins me now. ambassador pierce, thank you so much, weshome to the "nr". i know you can't comment on specific intelligence reports, but today according to former military and intelligence officials, tay there's a belief russian military intelligence was providing financial incentives to the taliban to kill u.s. soldiers. how concerned is the britishut government aussian support to the taliban? >> well, you're rit, nick, we never comment on intelligence matters, but, irrespective o this particular report, i think there has been a pattern of russian malignty acti around the world in recent years, and britain, together ur international partners e we wa to push back on that malign totivity, while making clear russia that we would like a prior productive relationship. >> reporter: you were ambassador in kabul a few years ago. more recently the outgoing russia was providing weapons and

political support to the taliban about two years ago. do you believe that support increased in the lastwo year? >> certainly. when i was in afghanistan, we did see a ofhardeninthe russian position, and russia became less cooperative than she had been previously, but i also think it's worth thinking that the only thing russia liked less than.a.t.o. being in afghanistan is n.a.t.o. not being in afghanistan because n.a.t.o. provideurity and stability for wrist as well, and i think that al needs factoring into russian assessments. >> reporter: the co of n.a.t.o.-u.s.-western deterrence russia in europe has been tens of thousands of american roomin german and president trump wants to reduce the number of those troops by about 30%, and he announced that without having consulted germany or n.a.t.o. officials. so does the fact that that atnsultation didn't happen, does rode the transatlantic

alliance? >> i think n.a.t.o. and the transatlantic alliance is so inteomennen and so interdependent that it doesn'tst depend on one single event or decision. i thinewe have to remer n.a.t.o. is the most successful military alliance in history. as we go into the numbers, my understanding is defense the president about options for troop numbers in germany. but as i saw, one single cision doesn't underne the fact that n.a.t.o. has been extraordinarily successful since r: was first founded. >> reporn coronavirus, as you know, cases in certain u.s. states are spikinerg. are concerns here about people respecting social distancing ahead of the july fourth. fourth of july also happens to be the day when u.p will oen pubs. residents are not known for

cial distancing after a few pints. are you worried this opening up will increase cases inhe u.k.? >> the prime minister and scientists and other people arel g for people to be we're calling july 4 our version of independence day because people can start to come out of lockdown, as you say, they can go to the pubs and do more tjoo themselves, but it has to be done on a responsible basis, wid social distancing rule be relaxed to a metefrom adound two meters, but that's in tion to the measures like mask wearing and staying alert so we don't get a resurgence of cases. >> reporter: the european union is on the verge of extending a ban from americansto travelinhe bloc. will the u.k. make the same decision? >> our decisions are separate and independent from the european union. our transportation secretary made a statement in parliament

saying the restrictions would be relaxed for a number of countries shortly. he is looking at which untri might fall into that list. a lot depends on the trajectory the expected trajectory of the virus in those countries, buwe hope to be able to announce that at least shortly. i don't know whoon it.een it so >> the trajectory in the u.s. is not in the right direction. are there ongoing conversations between u.s. and british outfficials aespective travel bans? >> there's a lot of conversations abing on t covid handling in general. they don't just cover travel, they cover medical, science, a whole range of talks go on, and we take part in some other groups that the u.s. is trying to manage all these essues across you were and the united st >> reporter: and, ambassador, in the time i have left, one nast topic, the week is the a

ex parts of the occupied west bank. duo pose the administration's green light in the peace plan to an e -- annexation and will you impose penalties if annexation goes forward. >> it was said we opposed unilateral annexation by israel. what happens ifsrael goes ahead, i don't want to speculate, but i think our opposition to unilateral annexation has been laid out loud and clear. >> reporter: a, assador pierank you very much. >> thanks very much. >> woodruff: it's only monday but it is already shaping up to be a busy week in po. to help us dive into it all: she also co-hosts pr politics podcast."

an errin haines, she is th editor-at-large of the 19th, a nonprofit and npartisan newsroom reporting on the intersection of gender, politics and policy. amy walter is away. hello to you, tam. so i want to start by asking both of you about the language of resace as ent trump uses it. this has been, as we know, an ongoing issue since the election in 2016, but just over the weekend, the president retweeted au video of a gp of men, one of them yelling "white power." twt's look at what was in at ret. (shouting) >> white power! there you go, whierte pow did you hear that? >> woodruff: so the presiden did later delete the tweet, but, tam, how is something like this receiv n current atmosphere --

in this current atmosphere of much heightened awarene of racial justice? >> the white house said t w president dtch the video vefore tweeting it but somehow didn't hear thaty glaring "white power" phrase. and the fact, is this is nothing new for president trump. it's only been a few days since we were talking about how he was using a racist term to describe the coronavirus. he in his campaign seches and tweets has been emphasizing that the removal ofnf erate sculptures and statues is the removal of our heritage, though "our" is not particularly inclusive. and the sense is that this is an attempt at a repeat of 2016, that president trump is runing a similar playbook, hoping for the same results, and it's clear that there's no diali it back, for instance, with thle kungu reference. it's almost becom a common

response and he's onlyad two campaign events in the last week. >> woodruff: bt, errin, this is a difficult climate, is it not? >> this isn't the climthe president was running four years ago, though he is still in a very much racially polar a'sed environment headed into november. as tam said, the president is dwing from a racial playbook that he has been using since he first ascendeesd thlator at trump tower five years ago to declare his candidacy for president, whether referring to mexicans as rapists, whether referring to african and caribbean countries as s holes or cities like baltimore as rat intested, calling for laorw and r in cities like chicago or raising the issue of voter fraud. gethe elderlleman said white power not once but twice and while it would certainly be hard

to miss, even if that was something that the president missed, deleting it was obviously something that should have happened, but, in reality, that never should have been posted in the first pace, but i think it does send a message to certain supporters of his who either share his views or support him in spite of them. ise question at this point not who the president is, i think we know who he is after four years, but who the american electorate is going to be heading into november. >> woodruff: well, it certainly got a lot of of course, the other thing getting a great deal of attention right now is covid 19. we are seeing a surge of estions being raised about the leadership both at the national and the state level abouthat to do, about whether the leadership has been the kind that has made the american peopleo what thy needed to do to stay safe and to stay y, and, tam, we are seeing division over whether to wear masks, whether to stay socially distanced.

how do you see this it mr.tyization, if you will, of the coronavirus as we get closer to the election? >> right, and there is a real mixed message coming from the trump administration. i ess that isn't a particularly new development, but you have the health secrety alex azar saying that this is a critical moment an p thple need to wear masks if they're not socially distanced. according to the s secretarynt today was a little bit different, it was that masks are optional and that it's really a n rsonal choice, and the people should lis local health officials. but, you know, there just is a -- there's this message that is mixed, and there's this challenge that is coming that, moleading into thint, it has been largely a blue state problem, a bluer state, blue county problem, and that has been slipping, and the political implication force that for the president where now states lke

florida and arizona are more , thnant in the case load could have political implications for him. it's not clear juyest what it will be, but one thing we know is the city of jacksonville, where the president is moving his convention acceptance speech now, they require masks to be worn. >> woodruf f:rin, how do you see this playing out? i know we're months away fromec recoon day but this is on top of mind for many americans and will be for looks like a while to come. >> it absolutely, is judy, and whatwe're looking at re and headed into november are the dual pandemics of coronavirus and racism which areut absely political and on the minds of many of the voters i've spoken, to both the ones who stood in line for hours to cast a ballot during this primary and wonder how they will safely participate in this democracy headed into november, to black voters whof are parta community that is

disproportionately being affected and killed this dead rivirus. so having leaders or looking for leaders who are going to reond these duel pandemics, i think, is on the minds of a lot of voters, particularly voters of color, but also women who are the majority of the electorate and who are being disproportionately affected, maybe not by death but in almost every other aspect of the coronavirus crisis. so what i'm hearing from women and from voters of color is them pa is absolutely political and absolutely something that could be galvanizing them and energizing them headed into the fall. >> woodruff: quickly to you, tam, the polls are showing at older voters who are more vulnerable to the coronavirus, where the president is seeing some slippage in his support among that group. and former vice president joe biden is doing surprisingly well with older voters. you have to figure that thes coronaviis playing into this, certainly.

even as, at the moment, now, more young americans are being affected by the w cases, it's not clear whether the statistics will st that way. >> woodruff: fors sure. o much to follow. even more than we have time to get to today, eat it's grt to see both of you. tamara keith, errin haine "politics monday." thank you both. da woodruff: the young african nation of south is facing two growing challenges: the coronavirus pandemic and ethnic fighting that has long plagued the country. that has left little time and investment for athletes looking to compete in the olympics. so japan, the host of the now- postponed 2020 games, offered to help. newshour producer ali rogin reports on five unique runners.

or>> reporter: south sudanese track star abraham majok matet guem, the road to olympic glory was already long. covid made it longer >> the first night when i heard that the olympics were postponed, i was really worried. >> reportece november, abraham and five teammates have been living and training in the small city of maebashi, japan, 7,000 miles ome, where none of these world-class facilities is available they don't have a singl track in the whole country which is still facing the country as a big chlenge. and then most of the athletes, includinme mysel are from poor families where it is har >> reporter: south sudan is the world's youngest country. in 2011 it declared independence from sudan, llowing decades of fighting. et that fighting among south sudanesethnic groups continued. only in february did rival

of civil war. to end six years guem dreamed of giving his divided nation a reason to unite. but in march, the international olympic committee postponed the tokyo games until next summer and possibly beyond. abraham worried his dream would disappear. >> the whole night, thinking i might haveost again this chance that i had come to fight for my dream. >> reporter: in that fight, he has an ally: one of the world's oldest and richest countries. japan's international development agency chosebraham and his teammates to train in maebashi ahead of what was supposed to be the 2020 tokyo summer olympics. their goal is to unite the south sudanese people through sports. yoshifumi yamanaka represents japan's development agency, he said maebashi's mayor offered to host, from a sense of duty. >> ( translated he mayor said that japan is a country succeeded in economic growth thanks to the support from the

international community, and it is important for japan to now return this favor byupporting the development of south sudan. >> reporter: back inovember, ndpanese tv celebrated his his teammates' arrival, and they've become a beloved part of the community. lefore the pandemic, they ned the traditional way to make mochi, a favorite japanese , took lessons in writin japanese script, and visited local shrines. kenichi uchida is their translator in maebashi. >> we are getting cld we become friends. one day, you know, i'd like to go there and meet them in person in south sudan. sh reporter: before a citywide coronavirudown, the athletes trained with local volunteers and athletes. they spent their free time urarning about japanese cu and civics, and about how the nation recovered from wartime. >> what i've got to learn from the japanese history is there is nothing which is permanent, no

condition is permanent. after that long suffering and japan has finally gained the peace. and they are one of the world's most peacel countries at the moment. >> reporter: and it goes both ways: in this eauntry now 75 removed from war, abraham and his teammates visited with japanese schoolchildren, to shareheir stories. >> most of them ask us about soutsudan and we always tell them this is the world's youngest count, but it's still under very difficult situations right now. hope. not make us lose >> reporter: and now, the vepanese have decided to preshe team's olympic hope. maebashi officials extended taxes, and revenue newmoney from vending machines. >> when we heard that ra're going to after that long, at least the worry was a bit reduced because we believe we're going to train and we y have the chance to reach olympics here.

>> reporter: they're going to stay at least through july. what happens after that depends on local officials and south sudan's olympic committee. for now, the volunteers are eping socially distant, and the athletes train in an otherwise empty gym. the are still moments when abraham mi home. amt he remains focused on the reason he and hi embarked on this journey. >> i'm for a mission, which if i miss, i can't achieve it again. but the frnds, when i get back, i will meet them again. the family, when i get back, i will see them again. i have to focus on my goal first. >> reporter: what does it mean for you to have the opportunity to represent south sudan in the olympics? >> i feel very good to represent my country because this is what i was always fighting for and this is why i've been training all along. and it was my goal that i set and i ve to achieve it. >> reporter: whenever abraham achieves his goal,e'll have the entire city of maebashi eering him on. for the pbs newshour, i'm ali rogin.

>> woodruff: and that's th f newsho tonight. i'm judy woodruff. join us online and again here tomorrow evening. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thk you, please stay safe and see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> since o beginning, our siness has been people, and their financial wellbeing. that mission gives us purpose, and a way forward. today, and always. >> the kendeda fund. committed to advancing restorative justice and meaningful work through investments in transformative leaders and ideas. more at kendedafund.org.

>> supported by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. more information at macfound.org >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcastiny andntributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. s captioningnsored by newshour productions, llc media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

hello everyone and welcome toamanpour & co." here's what's coming up. the youth mobilizing form chang. i' joined by you activists from black lives matter and the parkland school shooting movement for gun control. then stole from his mother, dehumanized by the system. poet, author and play right lemn sissay about being a cahild in britain's care system plus -- >> if the best people in the the past could get sff so in horribly wrong what are we getting so horribly wrong right now? >> all men are created equal, but did the