♪ judy: good evenin i am judy woodruff. on the "newshour" tonight, the virus on the rise. cases of covid-19 spike across the globe, forcing an end to reopening efforts and further taxing health care efforts. and, an undue burden, the supreme court strikes down a louisiana law restricting providers. the supreme court supporting abortion rights. plus, a bounty on u.s. troops.ne evidence reportedly

concludes a russian military taliban fighters t u.s.to pay soldiers in afghanistan. and, a long race, south sudanese olympic hopefuls living in japan,he working on dream, despite the postponement of the games. all that and more on tonight's "pbs newshour." >> major funding for the "pbs newshour" has been provided by -- >> when the world gets complicated, a lot goes advisor can give advice and recommendations. that is fidelity wealt management. >> consu johnson, financial services firm

raymond james. the zuckerberg initiative workg for a mower just future for everyone. at czi.org. the william hewlett organization, advancing ideas and institutions to promote a better world, at hewlitt.org. and wh the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions -- ♪ >> thi program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.

stephanie: good eveng, i am stephanie sy at newshour west. judy woodruff will be back after the latest headlines. the coronavirus pandemic claimed the lives of some 503,000 people to date. over 1/4re americans. ise in ner a infections and some state aders are closing sections of the economy back down. thisrnvening arizona's go doug ducey issued an executive order that will close bars, nightclubs, gyms and other opening of schools.he laura kelly is signing o iner that most kansans wear masks in blic. and los angeles county closing beaches, after the biggest daily increase in cases since the pandemic started. chief justice john roberts joined this a pre-court's four

more liberal justices in striking down a louisiana law that doctors who performed abortions. we will take a closer look at that decision after the news summary. the high court made it easier for president trump to remove the head of the consumer financial protection bureau. and it declined to block federal executions scheduled to begin next mon. the white house briefed select members of congrs today at amid supports russia offered bounties to taliban-linked militaries for killing u.s. troops in afghanistan. the alleged counties were reported by the new york times, citing intelligence officials. president trump denied being briefed on the sub wct and said not credible. more on this later in the program.ni in afgan today, an attack at a busy market killed at least 23 people. a car bomb and mortar shells rocked helman province, leaving

children killed among the victims. back in this country the so-called golden state killer pled guilty today to 13 counts of first-degree murder. 74-year-old joseph d'angelo is accused of killing at least 13 people and rapingmo scores re across california in the 1970's. and 1980' he was arrested and 2018. the former police officer appeared in a wheelchair at hisn hearin sacramento. w spared the death penalty, but will serve life in prison without parole. the four former police officers arged with the death of george floyd in minneapolis were back in court today.e dge threatened to move their trial outside the city ifi local ofs would not stop speaking publicly out the case. separately lawmakers in mississippi voted sunday to remove the confedera symbolte from their slag.

their governor is expected to sign the bill soon. four militants attacked the pakistan stock exchangey,n karachi toilling three. and guns to try to take hostages. security forces killed them before they get into the offices where employees took shelter. >> law enforcement agencies, police and the rangers played a vital rolen combating this tack. the financial stock exchange was safe. stephanie: insurgents laterd claisponsibility. president trump and 35 others linked to the drone strike that killed its top general soleimani in january. tehran's chief prosecutor asked the international police prosecutor interpol to help, but it refused. brian hoes, the u.s. retative for iran,

dismissed and the move as a propaganda stunt. still to come on "newshour," the supreme court knocks down a louisiana law, trying to restrict abortion dos. d,he russian military paysen meies to kill u.s. soldiers. and, covid travel ban's, and much more. ♪ >> this is pbs newshour om eta studios in washington and in the west from our bureau , at the walter cronte school of journalism at arizona state university. judy: today the white house briefed congressional republicans on intelliatnce reports ussia paid taliban fighters to attacu.s. forces afghanistan. amid bipartisan concern about the president's statement he had we will get to congressional

leaders response in a moment, but first, nick schifrin reports on new details on russian bounty payments u.s. officials fear killed u.s. troops. ck in april 2019, a bomb planted by the taliban in this spot killed three u.s. marines. intelligence officials tinvestigated wheths blood was on russian hands. last year thib t are believed to have received russian intelligence money.o target u.s servicemembers. the payments were discovered by information taken from taliban leaders and u.s. special operation forces found 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 john nicholson. >> given to us by afghan leaders who said this was b giv the russians to the taliban.

we know the russians are involved. nick: today the kremlin called that statement and today'sal reportes, but u.s. intelligence officials say as americans trained afghan forces and fought the taliban, russian involvement was always or collection py. it was always briefed up to senior levels, but today the white house spokesperson reiterated presidentberump had neve briefed. >> the ciairtor, nsa, and chief of staff can all confirm thatr neither the president vice presidentere briefed on the alleged russia bounty intelligence. nick: fmer intelligence ficials say president trump was part of briefings before they signed a peace the taliban this past february. attacked u.s. troops, but have killed hundreds of afghan civilians and security forces d launched a targeted assassination campaign against journalist travel in this van.

today, children bloodied and orphaned. two years ago the u.s. and russia began a more serious battle. u.s. funded afghan fighters were eventuallyth forced soviets to leave. u.s. officials say the russis s have alwaynted payback in afghanistan. they likely increased toir assistancehe taliban upset u.s. plans. because the u.s. had not pushed back strongly enough on prior u.s. support. i am nick schifrin. tion from's get re two key lawmakers on capitol hill. the chairman of the house intelligence committee, representative adam scf california. he joins us now from capil what do you believe happened here? rep. schiff: we want to gethe full answers from the intelligence agencies. we asked them t physically ief our committee.

we have asked for a full house briefing. we want to know, are the russians offering bounties to kill american troops? if they are, why is the president still seeking to have pressure brought into the ga -- g8? y uld he give them that favored status and maintain this cozy relionship with putin? that is not how we ought to to kil country trying our people in afghanistan. we want to get the full intel briefing on these allegations and find out whether this was part of the president's daily brief and if the intelligence agencies are still not briefg briefing him., why they are not is ts an issue where they cannot tell the pre wdent things ts to hear when it comes to vladimir putin and russia? judy: if the white house is others today, tha this wasm unconfirmed intelligence as part

of aongoing investigation, is it possible this reporting got ahead of what is going on? rep.chiff: anything is possible. it is also possible we are not getting the straight scoop from the white house. it would not be the fit time. if the president is making a pitch to bring russia into the g8, his people the national security council would want to make sure he is aware of this. they can caveat this a say, we have x amount of confidence in this intelligee, but before you invite the russians back in, you should investigate this. i do not know if those questions took place, or if he just does not care or read his presidential daily brief. but we ought to fi out. this s is tety and the lives of our troops at stake and you would hope the

commander-in-chief would want to hear this information and evaluate it. judy: how confident are you the intelligence community will be straight with you on this, and if you finout they did not they knew, what does that say to you? rep. schiff: i would like to find out, and i can night -- cannot comment on classified informatio but in terms of their confidence regarding thes% allegations, if they felt they could not bring this to the president's attention, why they did not. or i they did in fact bng it to his attention. agencies ought to enpply the pres with the best informatioim tellhe limits of that information, but allow the decisions.o make good if he does not want to heart it, won' hear a bad word said about

putin's russia, we need to know about that, because itcoalls on ress to protect the country when the commander-in-chief won't. judy: do you believe it is possible toer determine wher not the president was briefed on this, was informed in some manner? rep. schiff: wtoshould be able . the white house is likely to resist that. erweinformed and made it to the presidential daily brief. there are times they will fight that. able to ascertain whether information is getting to the president and, whether there is a separate issue about whether, as we see with russian interlock -- election interference, those who might raise it at the cabinet level do not do so because it is a good ticket out judy: you said this raises

questions about the presidenta inviting rusto g8. what should the punishment th for russia i is true, that they were offering bounty k the taliban l americans? rep. schiff: we would need to consider additional sanctions necessary. we would certainly halt efforts to welcome russia backe it ought to tell us something about the peace process and afghistan w thahave a nation trying to subvert that peace process byncentivizing the taliban to attack u.s. troops. if these allegations are correct. but it ought to inform all of our policy judgmentsnd repercussions in terms of russia. at a minimum,. to end t president'-- in oughto end the

president's discussions to bring russia into the g8. judy: now to texas congressman mac thornberry. he is the highest rankin republican on the house armed services committee. earlier today, he received a oniefing from the white hous these reports. and he joins us now from capitol hill. congressman thornberry, thank you veryuch for joining us. tell us, what are they saying at the white house about these reports? rep. thornberry: well, our briefing today was of the classified intelligence information, which is the basis for these concerns about russians encouraging attacks against u.s. tros. eand so we dug down a lit deeper into the information. like a lot of intelligence questions, it's not completely clear-cut. there are pieces of informationn some of it contradictory, and you have to try to put it all together to understand

what's really happening. and so that's what we focused on. judy woodruff: so, as you know, the new york times and now other news organizations are reporting thathe russians did offer bounty, paid bounty, to the taliban to kill american troops. that's pretty direct. so, you're saying what you heard today was that this is not true or that it could be true? rep. thornberry: there are pieces of information that support it. there may be pieces that give somewhat different view. but i think most of us would agree, if there's any hint of truth or any prospect of truth in the idea that russia or any other country would put bounties on the head of u.s. service membs, we have to treat it very ser lead and make sure our people are protected. and so i think that's got to be the mind-set moving forward. judy woodruff: and what were

you told with regard to t ether presidump was informed about this intelligence? rep. thornberry: we were told that he was not informed about the intelligence, because it had not been fleshed out, not proved credible enough rise to his level. at t same time, the white house staff did begin to work on a menu of response options, in case further validating information would be woularcome fo there were really, i think, from the white house perspective, two tras. at the same time, i do believe that our forces in afghanistto action in case this represented an elevated threat to make sure our people were prepared and protected. and again, my view, think most of us believe that, whether you can prove it all tf way or

not,ere's a threat to our people, then we need to take decisive action to make sure our people are protected. judy woodruff: well, that's what i want to ask you about. if there is a chance that this information was correct, does it make sense to you, with such an explosivpiece of information, that the president wouldn't havb beefed about it? rep. thornberry: well, my default uld be, if it's a threat to our troops, especially a state thats putting a bounty on the heads of our troops, yes, i would want to tell the presiden and, yes, i would want to pursue it as vigorously as possible to track it down, and i 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 come many, many threats that haveo

be evaluated, whh ones make it to the president, which ones don't. they have to be fleshed out. and so all of us ought to be a little bit careful aboutss second-gg because of all the things that are going in there. but, again, my view is, if it's a threat to u.s. troop might be a threat to u.s. troops, that's got to rise to the top. juhe woodruff: do you think white house is completely leveling with you? rep. thornberry: i assu have told us i assume what they have told us is accurate. but it is important for our s,committee on armed servihe intel committee on the house and senate to pursue these issues, again, because there is so much stake. judy woodruff: and if the intel community had this information and didn't share it with the w president should happen with regard to the intelligence community? rep. thornberry: well, the first pursue these lines of information, and i think they are doing that, certainly now, to find out if it is true or

not, what the supporting evidence is. i think that, really, the decision is the advisers around the president on what to bring to his attention and whatnot. judy woodruff: and, at this point, you're at thipoint, is the white house pursuing this? do you get t sense they take this seriously and you're going to get answers quickly? rep. thornberry: i do think, at this point, they are taking it seriously. i think there will be some other public statements coming. but, again, this is an allegation that ought to be pursued with 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 top presence in afghanistan, because that would only encourage more of these sorts of threats to come about.

so, we have got to, yes, pursue the telligence and where it leads, but we have also got to have smart policy to not encourage this sort of thing by the russians or wyone else. judruff: congressman mac thornberry, ranking republican on the house armed services committee, thank you very much. rep. thornrry: you're lcome. judy woodruff: and after we recordedhose inter earlier this evening, we learned that leading democrats, including chairman adam schiff, will receive a separate briefing torrow at the white house. ♪ judy: as we have been reporting, the summer surge of covid-19 has left the u. and the globe rethinking how to reopen. william brangham has more. william: the u.s. is clearly struggling to contain this

virus. i am joined by a man who has spent his career figh viruses and disease, dr. thomas frieden ran the cdc and is now the head of a global health initiative called resolved to say -- save lives. good to have you on. we are about six months into this ordea5 we have seen million official cases, over 25,000 americans have died. when you look at where we started versus where we are today, what is your assessment of how we have done responding? dr. friedan: the u.s. is clearly a laggard. there are countries aroun the world getting their economies back because they were guided by public health, they communicated clearly, they fully supported public health, and uortunately we are paying the price for a response not nationally organized. and not well

implemented if you leannto a punch, you will get hit. that is what is happeng all over the south and in much of the country today. u.s. are high, but they are only part of the story. there a man more people getting this infection who have not been tested. the 40,000 cases diagnosed the other day are not all of them. this is creating a huge viral reservoir that will take monthsi to dea. the truth is, if you look at what people are saying, most americans get it. we need to wear mask, wash your hands, watch your distance. government and public health need to scale up the box it in approach. tester strategically. not a qstion of how many, but whether you do it right. isolate people well, contact tracers, quarantine supportively.

, bre are tough questio so much more we need to be doing. see progress, new york, new jersey, connecticut, but at risk because of any part of the u.s. all parts of the u.s. are ate, risk. william: if the majority of the public does believe in the three w's you were laying sut and wants mp out the virus, how do e welain this several dozen states seeing these dramatic spikes? what is going s on in thostes that is causing that? saw was an approach that was not data-driven. a data-driven approach would not have closed for so long and so many places that did not have covid. sit like trying to catch a wave when you are surfing. if you go to early you do not catch the wave. you catch it to early, you get swamped. you have to do it just right. in many parts of the u.s. use are closings too soon and too

long, then they opened just as it was increases. -- increasing. that is asking to get hit hard. iitno surprise you are seeing big increases. places like arizona were nearly one out of everyour tests is positive, that is an extraordinarily high rate and demonstrates a real increase. it will take a while. it means a lot more distancing, masks, handwashing, distance, but also that bars need to be closed in these areas. you cannot do that safely. we had many outbreaks related to bars. indoor space, the more people together with less ventilation, the higher the rate of covid in th area, the more chance for explosive read. william: we ha seen several states that opened early, reversing arizona, they said they would clo bars down in response to the surge of cases.

i want to ask you about another issue. the president and vice president argued the real reason we are seeing so many cases because we are testing more. if you look more, you will find more. is that a fair depiction of what is really going on? dr. friedan: that is simplyon as a scientist, epidemiologist, doctor, i can tell you that when you look at the data, there are states when you see more testing and an increase in testing, then it is correct. but if you look at arizona, texas, florida, sout carolina, and many others, the tests a either up or stable, but the percent positivity is that is the key number. that tallies you that the rate of covid -- that tells you that the rate of covid is ireasing. it is not about increased test, it is about increased spread of the virus. william: lastly, the president and vice president argue w yes,e

may be seeing an increase in tests, but not as many are dying, mortality rates are not new cases. how do you explain that? dr. friedan: first, death rates lag case rates by about a month because peoe get sicker and sicker and need to be careful. -- cared for. second, we are seeing increases in young adults. young adultse of is massively lower than the death rate of older adults. but what starts in young adults does not stay in young adults. that means the lag could be o or three months. we areo aeing improvements in how to care for patients. what we have seen, when you have a situation like new york city, with just ovehelming numbers, the death ratgoes up because it is harder f doctors and nurses and respiratory therapist to give optimal care. i think we are seeing a lower death rate. some of that is the lag because

it takes longer for people to get severely ill. some othat i the age group. the death rate may come down, but we projected in the next month the u.s. iso likely t have at least 15,000 more deaths. i think we are getting inured to these numbers. doctors and nurses on health care workers, more than 400 of them killed by covid. that is a shocking number. we have to do better it protecting our health care workers, shielding the elderly, and making sure nursing homes, meatpackingri fac, prisons and jails, are protected so we do not see this explosive spread and steady increase. it is about how broadly this virus spreads in our community. it creates t equivalent of a reservoir of virus that will a taong time. new york city had to shut down for months to cool it down.

judy: -- william: very sobering news. thank you for your me. ♪ judy: as we reported earlier, the supreme court struck down a restrictive louisiana abortion law with a 5-4 majority. as john yang reports, chief justice john roberts provided the decisive vote. again in an unusual positionts today, siding with thefour reliably liberal judges to strike down the abortion law by a 5-4 majority. just as justice breyer wrote -- invalidating a nearly identical texas law, at the time, the

court'sig bgest endorsement of abortion rights in a quarter-century. then roberts was on the others among dissenters. importancrote of the of supreme court precedents. the louisiana law imposes a burden on access tabortion just a severe of that imposed by the texas law for the same reasons. therefore, louisiana'sca law ot stand under our president. robert says he still belcaves the texa was wrongly decided. the question today is not whether it was right or wrong, t whether to adhere to it in deciding the present case. marcia coyle, chief washington correspondent, says it underscos roberts emergence as the swing vote. >> his concern for the t credibility institution, he tends to write fairly narr opinions when he does move to the left, as he did here.

he not going to make any immediate, gigantic shifts left or right. that and has done some in theng past. john: in a statement, the press secretary called the ruling unfortunate and have invaded on the sovereigniv prerog of state governments by imposing their own policy preference in favor of abortion to overrideti lete abortion safety regulations. roberts in particular is drying the ire of conservative legal scholars. >> rather than calling balls and his confirmation hearings, he comes down with an opinion i believe characterizes a political one. strangely enough, while trying to keep the cord out of politics, the court becomes more involved in politics than ever before. john: for president trump's appointees gorsu and

cavanaugh, it was -- kavanaugh, it was the first involving gorsuch called it lite more than the judicial version of a hunters to. si -- stir in anything tinteresting and season tte. kavanaughts said lower coeed to. rule more -- need to rule more. while it is a victory for abortion rights, there are more challenges ahead. >> people celebrating this decision as a big win, areruoing to have awakening. john: this law professor studies abortion law. >> c it isar there will be more abortiond restrictions abortion will be limited. if you're thinking about the ultimate fe of roe. wade, that is more up in the air today than yesterday. john: the louisiana law, which has never gone into effect, would have requid doctors who

performbortions to have mitting privileges to nearby hospitals. abortion activists said that would leave the state with just onabortion provider. bakker said it was to safeguard women. angie thomas is the director of right to life. >> this is about ptecting women,he keepingsafe from substandard care, substandard care we know to be true through the violations over the last two dedes. john:ct abortion rightsists say the abortion rate is very low, less than 1%. kathleen pittman is an administrator for a clinic in louisiana which would have been left with agl s part-time physician permitted to perform abortions. >>ve how many times did we o transport? 20 yearstances over period. a woman pregnant is at much greater risk for her health and

should she continue that pregnancy versus having an abortion. john: with today's ruling the clinic doctors can continueng perforbortions. for the "pbs newshour," i am john yang. [no audio] judy: we look now at how the u.s. relationship with one of our closest allies is complicated by current events. nick schifrin spoke with the new british ambassador to washington. nick: dame karen pierce was named british ambassador to kabul, then u.s. representative in 2018, named u.s. - tu.k. ambassad washington. she joins me now. thank you for joining us at the newshour.

according to former military and intelligence officials, there is a belief russian military intelligence was providing financial incentives to the taliban to kill u.s. soldiers. how concerned is the u. government? dame pierce: we never comment on intelligence matters, but irrespective of this report, there has been a pternf russian maligned activity around the world, and in recent years. international part we want to push that back while making clear to russia we would like a more productive relationship. nick: you were ambassador in kabul. more recently, the outgoing general said russia was support to the taliban two years ago. do you believe that increased in the last two years? dame pierce: certainly.

while i was in afghanistan we saw a haening of the russia position and russia became less cooperative th previously. it is also worthhiing the only thing worse than native otbeing in afghanistan is being in afghanistan. they provide stability for russia as well. that factors into the russian assessment. nick: the core of u.s.-nato deterrence has o been te thousands of american troops in germany. esident trump wants to reduce the number of those troops by about 30%. he announced that without having consulted germany or no officials. does the fact that consultatio h did nopen, does that erode the transatlantic alliance? dame pierce: i think it is so

inter-woundedrw -- inen and interdependent, it does not rely on one sgle event or decision. we have to remember nato is the most successful military alliance in history. asegard the numbers, my understanding is that defense secretary esper is speaking to the president about options in germany. one single decision does not undermine the fact nato has been extraordinarily successful since it was first founded. nick: on coronavirus, cases in s certain u.tes are spiking. there are concerns about people respecting social distancing ahead of the july 4 weekend. the u.k. will open up pubs. britons are not necessarily ngknown for social distan after a few pints. the government has announcedup will increase cases in the u.k.? dame pierce: the prime minister

and scientists are being vigilant. we are calling july 4 our version of independence day because people can come down of lockdown. they can go to the pubs. they can do more to enjoy themselves, but it has to be done on a responsible basis. social dtancing rules will be relaxed. one meter rather thanwo. but that meanseeping measures ke mask wearing so we do not get a resurgence. nick: t european union is on the verge of expending -- extendina ban onmerican tourists from traveling to the bloc. while the u.k. make the same decision? pierce: our decisions now there was a stateme ine.u. parliament saying restrictions woofd be relaxed for a numbe countries shortly. he is looking at which countries

might fall into that lis a lot depends on the trajectory of the virus in those countries. we hopeo be able to announce that list shortly. i am afraid i have not seen it, so i do not know who was on it. nick: the trajectory the. is not in the right direction. are there ongoingiscussns about respective travel ban's? erme pierce: there are a lot of cotions about covid handling in general. they do not just cover travel. they cover medical, science, a whe range of talks go on and we take part in other groups trying to manage all these issues across europe and the united states. nick: one last topic, the cupied west bank. you oppose the green light in the trump peace plan to annexation and will you impose

penalties if annexation goes forward? dame pierce: boris johnson said in the house ofommons we did oppose unilateral annexation by israel as to what will happen if israel goes ahead, i do notan to speculate, but i think our opposition toxanilateral anon has been laid out loud and clear. judy: ambassador -- nick: ambassador pierce, thank you. ♪ judy: it's only monday but it is already shaping up to be a busy week in politics.us to helive into it all, tamara keith of npr. she also co-hosts the "npr politics podcast." and errin haines, she is the editor at large of the 19th. it's a nonprofit d nonpartisan newsroom reporting on the intecsection of gender, politi and policy.

errin haines, we welcome you. amy walter is away. hello to you, tam. so, i want to start by asking both of you about the language of race, as president trump uses . this has been, as we know, an ongoing issue since the electio1 6. but, just over the weekend, the president retweeted a video of a group of men, one of them yelling "white power let's look at what was in that man: racist! racist! man: yes, you got it. r! white powe white por! man: ere you go. white power. you hear that? president did later delete the tweet. but, tam, how is something like this received in this current atmosphere in this current atmosphere of mucheneightened aws of racial justice?wh tamara keith: the house says that president did watch the video before tweeting it,

but somehow didn't hear that very glaring "white por" phrase. and the fact, is this is nothing new for president trump. it's only been a few daysince we were talking about how he was using a racist term to describe the coronavirus. he, in his campaign speeches and tweets, has been emphasizing that the removal of confederated sculpturestatues is the removal of our heritage, though our is not particularly inclusive. and the sense is that this is at mpt at a repeat of 2016, that president trump is running a similar playbook, hoping for the same results. and it's clear that there's no dialing it back, for instance, with the kung-flu refealnce. it'st become a call and response, and he's only had two campaign events in the last week. judy woodruff: but, errin haines, this is a difficult political climate now, is it not?ri

haines: well, this is certainly not the climate that the president was running in four years a, although we certainly still are very much in a racially polarized environment headed into novemb. listen, it's just as tamara said. the president is drawing againom racial playbook that he has been using since he first descended the escalator at trump tower five years ago to declare his candidacy for president, whether it was referring to mexicans as rapists, whether it was referring to african and or cities like baltimore as rat-infested, whether he wasg callr law and order in cities like chicago, or raising the specter of voter fraud in cities like philadelphia. i mean, at this point, they're not even dog whistles. you saw in that video the elderly gentleman said "white and so, 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 place. but i think it does message to certain supporters of his who either share his views or support him in spite of them. the question at this point i not who the president is i think we know who he is after four years but who the american electorate is going to bein headin november. judy woodruff: well, it certainly got a lot ofat ntion. of course, the other thing getting a great deal of -1tention right now is cov we are seeing a surge, questions being raised about the leadership both at the national and the state lel about what to do, about whether the leadership has been the kind that has made the american people do what they neo do to stay safe and to stay healthy. ard, tam, we are seeing division over whether to asks, whether to stay socially stanced. how do you see this politicization, if you will, of the coronavirus as we get oser to the election? tamara keith: right. d there is a real mixed message coming from the trump

administration. i guess that isn't a particularly new development. but yo secretary, alex azar, saying that this is a critical moment masks if they' socially wear distanced.th message from the president, according to the press secretary today, was a little bit different. it was that masks are optional, and naat it's really a per choice, and the people should listen to local health officials.er but just is a there's this message that is mixed, and coming that leading into this moment, it has been largely a blue state problem, a bluer state, bluer county problem. and that has been flipping. and the political implications for that for the president, where now states like florida anand arizona are more domin the caseload, this could have

r litical implications for him. it's not clst yet what it will be. but one thing we know is that the city of jacksonville, where the president is moving his convention acceptance spthch, well, no require masks to be worn. judy woodruff: errin, how do you see this playing out? i know we're months away from election day, but this is on top of mind for many americans right now, and will be, it looks like now, for erwhile to come. n haines: it absolutely is, judy. and what we're looking at here headed into november are the al pandemics of coronavirus ted racism, which are abso political and on the minds of many of the voters that i have spoken to, both the ones who stood in line for hours to cast a ballot during this primarynd wonder how they're going to be able to safely participate in this democracy headed into november, to blackpaoters who ar of a community that is disproportionately being affected and killed by this deadly virus.

and so having leaders or looking for leaders who are going to respond to these dual pandemics, i think, is on the minds of a lot of voters, v particularers 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. anso what i'm g from women and from voters of color is that the pandemic is absolutely political and ulsolutely something that be galvanizing and energizing them headed into the fall. judy woodruff: and just very quickly to you, tam. the polls are showing that older voters, who are more vulnerable to the coronavirus, ide prt is seeing some slippage in his support among that group. tamara keith: well, and former vice president joe biden is doing surprisingly well wi older voters i mean, you have to figure that the coronavirus is playing into this, certainly, even as, at the moment now, more young americans are beg affected by the new cases. it's not clear statistics will stay that way.

judy woodruff: for sure. so much to follow, even more than we have time to get t today. but it's great to see both of you, tamara keith, errin haines, politics monda thank you both. ♪ judy:ng the y african nation growing challenges, thegtwo 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. japan, the host of the now postponed 2020 games, offered to help. epallie roganorts on five unique runners. allie: for this track star, the road to glory was long. covid-19 made longer.

>> the first night ieard the olympics were postponed,. i was really worried allie: since november, he and four teammates have been living in a small city in japan, 5000 miles from home, where none of theseliorld-class faes are available. >> they do not have a single track in the whole cntry. it is a big challenge. most of thethtes, including myself, are from poor families. allie: south sudan is the world' in 2011, it declared independence from sudan aft months of fighting. but fighting among south continu groups only in february did they agree to end six years ofivil war. he dreamed of giving his united nation a reason t unite. but in march, the olympic

committee postponed the tokyo games until next summer, and possibly beyond. he worried his dream would disappear. the whole night thinking i lost thisme chance i had o fight for. an ally, one of the world's oldest and richest cntries. japan's development agency chose him dis teammates to train ahead of what was supposed to b the 2020 tokyo summer olympics. agency's goal is to unite the south sudanese people through sports. a representative said the mayor offered to host from a sense of duty. >> the mayor sai i japans a country which, after world war ii, sucheded in economic gro thanks to the support from the international community. it is important for japan to return this favor by supporting velopment of south sudan allie: in november japanese tv

celebrated him and his teammates arrival. they have become a beloved part of the community. before the pandemic they learned the traditional way to make mochi, a traditional japanese dessert, took lessons on writing japanese scripts, and visited shrines. they have a translator. >> we haen become f. one day i would lik to go there and meet them in person, in south sudan. allie: before thehuown, athletes trained with volunteers and runners. they spend their free time learning abo japanese culture and civics and how the nation recored from wartime. >> japanese history, there is nothing permanent, no condntion is perma after that long-suffering, japan

has gained that peace and they are one of the most peaceful countries at the moment. allie: it goes both ways. in this country now 75 years removed from war,e h and his teammates visited japanese school children to share their stories. ask most ask about south sudan. we tell them, this is the world's youngest country, but situation. very difficult that does not make us lose hope. allie: now the japanese decided to preserve olympic hope. officials extended their stay by raising money from taxes and revenue from new vending machines. >> the worry was reduced because we believe we will train. allie: he and his teammates are staying throh at least july. what happensfter depends on local officials and the south sudan olympic committee. for n volunteers are keeping

distant and athletes train in an otherwise empty gym. there are moments he misses home, but remains focus on the reason he and his team embarked on this journey. >> if i mis i cannot achieve it again. but the friends when i get back out, the family, i have to focus on my goal first. allie: what does it mean to have the opportunity to represe south sudan in the olympics? >> it feels good to represent my country. this is what i was fighting for. it was my goal that i set. allie: whenever he achieves hise goal, will have the entire country cheeringim on. judy: you have got to be pulling for that south sudanese team. that is the newshour for tonight.

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♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ -today on "americ" keith makes brthe perfect tuscan grilled pork ribs, adam revls his top pick for honing rods, dan reveals the science behind oily mushrooms and lan makes julia the ultimate sautéed mushrooms with red wine.