captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening. on the "newshour" tonight, the u.s. sets a new record for daily coronavirus infections as themselves inundated withd patients. a landmark decision-- we examine the supreme court ruling that half of oklahoma sits on native american land and what it means then, leban in crisis.state. a look inside the pivotal country as a pandemic lockdown and an economic crash sparkre . >> the lebanese people, when they see the is no justice, e protestors will be obliged to use violence to take theirnd rights back,e go to the politicians' places and take our money back from them. >> woodruff: and it's friday, david brooks and jonathan

capehart break down this past week and the trump administration's response to a rapidly expanding pandemic. "pbs newshour."tonight's >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: our u.s.-based customer service team is on hand to help. to learn more, go to consumercellular.tv >> financial services firm raymond james.

>> johnson and johnson >> the john s. and james l. knight foundation. fostering informed and engaged communities. more at kf.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions:fr annds of the newshour. pr >> thiram was made possible by the corporation for and by contributioyour pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff:ore states are moving tonight to try to curb the surge of covid-19. but for now, at least, k infectiop reaching new levels-- with no end in sight. lisa desjardins begins our coverage. >> reporter: every day this week-- in just about ery state-- case loads have been rising.

the nation as a whole has logged record numbers in six of the last ten days. texas is one of the hardest hit states, with over 10,000 new cases of the virus yesterday, and the death toll surging past 100 per day. in florida, patients are pouring into hospitals that once thought they had turned a page. were able to close down the, we cod i.c.u., we had all the covid patients in one floor, we felt like we had our handle on it, and then we had to open up a second floor and the third floor and now we're into a fourth and fifth floor, and we don't see it getting any better. >> reporter: in orlando today,go rnor ron desantis again defended his decision to -start the economy in may. >> there was really no justification to not moveus forward beof the low, and that continued through may, y pa of june. and now we're seeing more cases in transmission at the exact

time that e rest of the sunbelt is. >> reporter: but now, more states are pivoting back to old contnment measures. mississippi's governor has now made face masks mandatory in 13 of the hardest-hit counties. michigan has toughened its mandate that businesses deny service to those without a mask. new mexico is canceling contact sports at high schools this at restaurants.d indoor-ning and nevada ordered bars to close again, startintonight. meanwhile, the american academy of pediatrics, plus twr teachers unions, and a school superintendents organization, warned today against reopening schools this fall-- unless local experts approve.t presidump has threatened to cut off federal funds for schools that don't reopen and criticized c.d.c. guidelines as too onerous. last night, he played down the severity of the virus' new x rge, in a phone interview with ws.

>> literally most cases, they automatically cure, they automatically get better. a reporter: the presideo stepped up his criticism of dr. anthony fauci, the nation's foremost infectious disease expert. >> dr. fauci is a nice man, but he's made a lot of mistakes. told "the financial times" he hasn't briefed mr. trump for at leassttwo months-- and they la saw each other in early june. around the world, australia-- looking to contain a new outbreak in melbourne, its announced limits on how many of its own citizens will be allowed to return home from overseas, each week. and, britain-- slowly emerging from its lockdown-- lifted a 14- day quarantine requirent for arriving travelers. those rules, however, remain in place for those fr higher-risk countries-- including the u.s. for the "pbs newshour," i'm lisa oosjardins. >>uff: in the day's other news: president trump spent much of his day in south florida-- even as covid cases kept rising in the state. but he postponed a campaign rally in new hampshire scheduled

for tomorrow, citing the approach of tropical storm fay to the region. campaign officials had already acknowledged it was unclhow many people would show up in the that same tropical storm i tonight.p the eastern seaboard it made landfall near atlantic city, new jersey, with winds of 60 miles an hour, and pushed toward new york and new england. along the way it touched offfl flasds in newark and other towns in new jersey, and shut down beaches in delaware. utah has closed its state after protests over a fatalnday police shooting turned violent last night.ct the distttorney had ruled that two officers were legally justified in killing bernardo palacios-carbajal. he had a gun and was shot more than a dozen times as he tried toun away. his family condemned the finding.

in turkey a court today allowed conversion of the world heritage site hia sophia, in istanb, back to a mosque. it had been a christian cathedral for 900 years, then a mosque for 500 more, until a secular government made it a museum, in 1934. today, crowds gathered to celebrate and pray. supporters of the decision saidi it's a lon coming for majority-muslim turkey. >> ( translated ): once upon a time, this was a place of worship for christians. but with the conquest, it has become a symbol for us. conquest.come a symbol othe therefore, we have been thinking for years that we should have the liberty to pray here. >> woodruff: turkish pnt recip tayyip erdogan hailed the decision.he as sought to bring islam back into mainstream politics. the u.s. and much of the international community largely opposed the move. french officials now say notre dame cathedral will be rebuiltex

tly as it was before last year's disastrous fire. that comes after president emmanuelacron considered modern additions, with ideas ranging from a roof-top swimming pool to a glass spire.tu the 12th c paris landmark went up in flames in april last year. actual rebuilding rk won't begin until next year. >> the first execution of a fedel prison inmate in 17 years. daniel lee was set to die by lethal injection on monday. for three murders. but relatives of his victims said they were afraid to attend because of rising coronavirus infections. and on and on wall street investors shrugged off worries about the pandemic-- at least foy. the dow jones industrial average gained 369 points to close at 26,075. the nasdaq rose 69 points. and the s&p 500 added 33.

still to come on the "newshour," a supreme court win for native americans in oklahoma and what it means.le banon faces financial freefall and political turmoil amid the pandemic.ea we hr from the front lines in houston, as covid-19 cases in texas surge, and much more. >> this is newshour walter kronkite school at arizona state university. >> woodruff: yesterday, the supreme court reaffirmed native american rightto millions of acres of land in eastern oklahoma. the 5-4 opinion granted jurisdictional control to the muscogee nation. that decision extends to four neighboring tribal nations,th which to make up more than

half of the state. justice neil gorsuch wrote the opinion, stating, "today we are asked whether the land these treaties promised remains an indian reservation for purposes of federal criminal law. because congress has not said otherwise, we hold the government to its word." here to talk about the significance of this decision is allison heera. she's a reporter for kosu radio near oklahoma city. >> i have to say i have a special interest in this case as someone born in tuls but let's talk about the justices rulin i'm seeing opinions today that this is going to affect the tribal rights of these native americans in many more ways than beyond just the narrow ruling that this originally was, which was an original case against ona on how is it being interpreted

there? >> hi, judy. i just want to state what this ruling does is affirm what tribal citizens have known and upheld the law for the nation's highest law and that is that ese treaties must be honored and the music crk nation was never dissolved. in terms of what is going to change it's not going to change anything. it already up holds whas citizens of oklahoma and the citizen of the five tribes have already. kno >> what about at the very basic level, in terms of criminal law, theat fact the man who had been convicted of child abuse, molesting a child, he had been tried in skate court. is his case or other cases going to have to back and tried there federal court. >> it's my understanding in terms of post conviction release

there are rules and a timeline that must be followed. this ruralling doesn't change any of those proc reediruremalts. this notion that hundreds of people being released from prison isidiculous. there's really no recording or no basis in that what it's going to do is basically just reaffirm the major crim act which is that when an indian person commits a flowe n crim reservation or indian land, that person is bject to federal law, federal court, not state court. >> and so -- so the interpretation that we're seei in some quarters, especially in the east coast in thereadin washington times and the new york post that this is an historic landmark decisn -- you're saying it's really -- the effect is that it will be muchan more narrow that? >> i'm not disagreeing that it's not a landmark decision.it

is a landmark decision. it's historic in in termof in terms that it affirms tribal sovereignty and up holds e law that indigenous people living in oklahoma and elsewhere around the nation have already known. but in terms of affecting everyday live of citizenin oklahoma not native and non, well, a lot of the police departments, tribal police and state police, they already work together. so some of those officers e cross-deputized so the thing that is going to up-end criminal proceeding, it's just not the case. in fact, yesterday oklahoma's attorney general mike hunter a the five tribes released a statement saying that they were already working on aneement after the murphy case that was from last -- from the last they were aeady starting to work on an agreement together to hammer out some ofs these

jurisdictional and prosecution issues that might arise. and i think the feeling from both the tribe and from the state is thatea they a have a really good working relationship and they're going toateep continuing whhey're doing. so gone this is just upholding s the law that waalready there and affirming tribal property. >> well, it's certainly got ouro attentn. allison herrara, wosu, thank you very much. >> thank you vviy much for me. >> woodruff: lebanon recordedit highest one-day tally of coronavirus cases today, after extended lockdowns eased. while nowhere near the u.s. surge, lebanon can ill-afford another crisis. it's already in economic freefall, and has a paralyzed, corrupt and bankrupt government. now, with hunger and despair

spreading, special correspondent jane ferguson has this report. >> reporter: keeping a family fed and housed has rarely been harder in lebanon. rents like susan shabaan, raising their kids in destitution, have no choice but toait for help. tripoli is the country's second largest city, and long neglected and poor area. the current economic freefall in lebanon-- with t government effectively bankrupt and a deep recession setting in-- is swelling the ranks of the poor here. half the country nowive below the povey line. >> ( translated ): all my neighbs are the same. all of them. next to me and then next to them. my in-laws are the same. here in tripoli lifery difficult. there are so many poor people here. who is goingo help us? they all are poor, they need help, too. >> reporter: susan's husband used to work occasionally as ach car ic, but hasn't had a day's wages in many months. the youngest of her four

the tiny room they live in was stifling. outside there is a food market, but few people around here can afford to buy.ea in like susan, more and more rely on charity. civil society has long stepped into the space that lebanon's government has left. there is no real safety net for people provided by the sta instead independent organizations like sanabel nour, funded by donations from withint the commun hand out food and money to those who need it-- now a huge portion of the country. >> in lebanon the n.g.o.s are the state, because we cann rely at all on government. we he been working in this role for 20 years. >> reporter: several financial crises have hithe country at once-- a devaluation of the currency, a banking sector near collapse and a bankrupt government. in october, 2019, vast protests hit the country, with people calling for potical reform and an end to corrupt leadership. the protests, initia peaceful, turned violent as

desperation rose. a nationde lockdown since february due to the coronavirus ended much of the organized protests, but didn't stop recent rioting in tripoli. acro the country, anger at t central and commercial banks is palpable. since the end of the brutal 15 year civil war here in 1990, lebanon has been attracting u.s. dollars by offering high interest rates at it's banks. thhee dollar deposits were t lent to the central bank which gave them to the government. now, the government is broke, and owes the banks tens of billions of dollars-- the peoples' money. as lebanese account holders panicked and tried to get their savings out of the bank, the banks controls.hoc capital very quickly, millions of lebanese coun't get to their n money. and yet, the ingrainedup coon here has meant that since then over $5 billion has been withdrawn and is presumed to have left the country anyway. >> we are speaking about a country in crisis that doesn't

have formal capital controls. economist based int.hanem is an >> we are in a financial crisis where the rich can take their again to buy public assets, while basically people who have pensions can't take their money out of the bank. this is full aression against the poorest most vulnerable segments of society. >> reporter: now, officials from the international monetary fund, or i.m.f have arrived to discuss a bailout, the country's only real option. t lebanon has seen bailouts before. each time, little changes in the country's leadership, where traditional leaders of the numerous religious sects-- shia, sunni, druze and christian, mainly-- keep a tight grip on the ecomy. the sectarian political system keeps relative peace here, but entrenches corruption, with >> these sects are, of course, represented by, you could say godfathers, or dons to chiefs wt cam. which means it's kind of ruled by extended business networks

which are more or less mafia-like. >> reporter: the protest movement forced prime minister rafik hariri to resign lastnd year, but heis party-- much like the other sectarian leaders-- still hold enormous power. the new government has managed to enact no real change since then. sami nader is a lebanese political analyst. o >> t political establishment has nominated newcomers, but they totally control the decision-making system, so it's the same old operating system. >> reporter: that system includes the iran-backed owlitant group hezbollah-- powerful force in lebanese politics and government. st here expect i.m.f. conditions on a bailout to include reforms that would threaten hezbollah. it has much to lose from changes that seek to push back the influence of a gup labeled by many member countries a terrorist organization.

>> i do believe that hezbollah is short of options, because on one hand he has sanctions, on the other hand he feels the pressure of his political base, and that is a part of the lebanese population and they cannot take it any more because the lebanese economy is in freefall, it's collapsing.>> eporter: the value of the lebanese currency is collapsing too. pegged to the dollar00, the lebanese lira has-- at street exchangers-- fallen to as much as 4300 lira to the dollar in recenweeks, rendering most goods are imported, and for businesses their real purchasing power is at the street rate. for lebanese shoppers, supermarket shelves ve seen enormous price changes in recent months. if you have dollars you can change them on the street to keep up with the price but lira.people are paid in lebanese so, to them, forced to use the official exchange rate, this box of cereal, for example, costs $20. as the covid-19 lockdown is

coming to the streets-- some warning thathings could turn violent if politicians don't get serious about change. >> we came here to say "no, we will continue the revolution." and if you do not do your job there will be big chaos because the lebanese people, when they see there is no justice, the protestors will be obliged to use violence to te their rights back, and we go to the politicians places and take our money back from them. >> reporter: the country's banks are preparing for more anger, literally armor-plating themselves.d w the strict coronavirus lockdowns of the last few months have pushed the economy over the edge. while those efforts toave lives have worked-- lebanon has only had 35 deaths from the virus-- the people here will have to face incredible financial hardship for years to

come. "pbs newshour" i'm jane ferguson in beirut, lebanon. >> woodruff: as a number of states see spikes in coronavirus cases, texas is breaking records.ee thisthe state set new highs for single-day deaths and the number of positive coronavirus tests. tes governor greg abbott warned that next week will be worse. wiamna nawaz spoke recentl telinda metts, a nurse manager of an all-covid ive care unit at houston methodist hospital. she started by asking her about this latest spike in cases. >> when we first locked down, people stayed home. you didn't see people on the streets. you know, it was taken seriously, i feel like. and then as things began to open so, everybody maybe had a sigh of relief and said, great, we've

got this. we've got this. and then, and then we didn't. you know, i think when things open, it sends the message that everything's okay. it feels like people aren't taking it seriously. and it's more seous now in houston than it was before. you know, in the hospitals than we were before. >> reporter: tell me what that the supplies that you have, in terms of the patient, the bed capacity. what does that look like day to day? >> we have plenty of masks and gowns and that type of thing. i think thathat we're seeing now as far as what we need is we need more room, we need more beds. and, fortunately, in the texas medical center and houston methodist, we have the ability to make more beds you know, people to takeare of those patients is a little challenging. but we are bringing on people from outside of the state, traveling nurses to support us.

>> reporter: tell me a little bit more about the patient mix. are they older or the younger? >> i think right now in my unit, i have a patient who's 88 and i have a patientho is 30. so, it's really across the board. many of the patients do haveun rlying illnesses such as diabetes or other lung diseases that make it specific and particularly hard with covid, but we do sometimes have patients who have nothing. thin've never been sick a da their life and for whatever reason, they haven't done well with covid. >> reporter: so, belinda, you've been doing this for over 30 years. it seems like it woulda lot to phase you. but in this moment, what is it that worries you about the virus and what you're seeing right now? >> i mean, i feel like we have like, how many more patients are going to come and eee we going tohaving that capacity to care for these patients, not necessarilin the form of a physical bed, but is in the forr of a or a doctor? we feel, you know, we're starting to feel on the thinner

side, and we know there's help on the way, but i jujust wonder where the end point is. >> reporter: what's that like her you as a manager when you're in charge of all people who are worried about getting sick themselves? >> yeah, i do worry about my employees, and we certainly have a fair number of employees who are testing positivewhich also impacts the workforce. you know, i spend a lot of time out on the floor with my nurses and staff just trying to encourage them and rieving their stress however i can. it's stressful because, you know, these patients cannot have families come and visit them. and so often the nurses do become their families. and sometimes it's, we have some sad moments with our patients. and that takes a toll, too. i think you, when you go home, you know, you're thankful for your family, you love your mily, and you're just thankful for every mont you have. >> reporter: if you could wave a magic wand and change one thing

about anything in the community w,at you're serving right what would it be? >> i wish everybody would wear a face mask when they go out, i do. it's hard for me because we know at wh two people who have masks on that the, you know, the incidence of transmissions goes down considerably.es i gus i don't understand why people don't want to proct ch other and protect themselves, especially in the f,facef everything that's happening. and i just feel like, you know,' got to help us out. we want to help every-- i want to help all patients. t you've got to help us out. we've got to decrease the admissions that are coming in through our doors right now. and if that's the y to do it i don't understand why people don't want to do that. >> reporter: do you think that people don't believe that it's they're not seeing what you see everyday? >> i want to say, come to work with me. come on, let's go. come see what i e every dayho and sethat affects your attitude about what, what covid is and what's happening to people. people say it's no worse than the flu.

well, for some people, and itny might not beorse than flu, but for many others, they're losing their lives to it and they're dying alone. ad i hate it when i hear people say, oh, it's on% or 3% mortality. well, it's only 2% or 3% until it's your 2% or 3%. d your family. >> reporter: when u see the way the cases are rising right now, how are you preparing for what's ahead?w you go home at the end of the day and get ree y for what's xt 14, 16 hour day? >> a lot of my nurses are chronologically very young. and so, i stresso them tt this is a pandemic. it's hard to plan for a pandemic. and it's hard for me to tell you exactly how your day is gointo go every day. but we became nurses for a and we need to rise to the occasion and we need to meet the needs of the patients reporter: well, we wish you all, all the luck and good safety weeks and the months ahead. that's belinda metts, nurse manager at houston methodist

hospital in texas. thank you so much for being with us. >> thank you foraving me. >> woodruff: now, for their take on this week in potics, we turn to brooks and capehart. that's "new york times" columnist david brooks and "washington post" columnist jonathan capehart. mark selds is away. . >> let's start with the coronavirus, david, as we just heard in our conversation with the head nurse there in hues, these cases are surging, hospitals -- some spitalsre having difficulty and we are eing cities set new records across the south and the record with pesident trump said he says things are well and expects things to doret bet and he is now insisting schools open in

all. what do you make of the president's approach? >> well, this is of just tough -- why is it rising in california and florida? i think the epidemiologists are humble over what a complicated and tough disease this is. it's just not a help that donald trump is detached from that, from the reality of that, detached from anthony fauci, and he hasn't spoken to him in two months, i turns out. so he is living in d aferent world, which would be bad enough but he's successfully polarized the country. a few weeks, i was on the program talking about all of the warm there was a back in mar april, people were reacting not as republicans and the doctorachts but as one. you have the 77 percent majorities and cthat's note as much anymore. we have the president and fox is the polarization industry has

successfully turned into into a left-right thing which is crazy. it's a disease. >> and something like this. judy: jonathan it is the case at that time the president i criticizing rauci and he is threatening to withhederal money from the schools? >> yes. which, when you have a global pandemic that is spiking all over the country, and most of the states, and then you have the president of the united states who david was saying is not following hwn guidelines for helpingo keep the pandemic in check, the idea that re talking about opening school ad forcing schools to open when there's no national stratecc, no e, and you know, 50 different ways of going about trying to hand down the pandemic strikes me -- and i understand

parents are concerned aut their children's education but send the children school in a pandemic in the middle of noy national stratthink is bore so many. >> and david, there are arguments to be made, surely. the children need to be in school. the american academy of pediatrics made that case this week. but you combine that with what you mentioned a minute ago, the president criticizing the man who is the most trusted person in the country when comes to this disease to covid, dr. fauci, is there a strategy there that you see that in wme ay that is going to benefit the president? >> wl, i don't think it's going to benefit. if you look at his polling, back when this lock down started in march, at one point it reached a spot where h was 55 percent of americans approved of h covid handling and now it's down to 3r verse plummeted in the last

weeks or so as reality has dawned on americans that we're losing to this virus. america is not fooled by what is going on. triy know donald trump is out os h.kes me as alassic problem that should be settled in a way by pep who know what they're talking about. maybe in someyo placecan open schools and maybe you n't.ca goods and competing goods are , getting kids educattting parents and relief and keeping them self of safe. so it shouib be poss in lower yales and new york maybe where the disease isot so good or is not so high to strike some buinr nngandable way to do this. forcing schools to do stuff strikes me as insane. and jonathan what you are both getting at, thi idea of rejecting the cdc guidance on schools, againf criticism of dr. fauci rejecting science, i e president taking a risk by

doing that? >> oh, absolutely. the president is going up against dr. fauci, that's a fool' errand. dr. fauci is a world-renowned, world respected sign ti. he has been in that job for montgomery decades. he knowshat he italking about. if the presidencowergnizant and capable of creeding authority to someone he would allow dr. rauci to go out there and tellhe american people on a daily basis, here is where wet are wi pandemic, here is what you can do to protect yourself, your neighborslind fa and if we do this together, we can overcome this. ke someing to sacrifice but it's worth it in the short-term for the long-term we don't have that. what we have is a president, his own reality, when i comes to the pandemic of trying to

push it away, hap talk it away that as we see with the rising cases coronavirus and the rising death rights and a whole lot of states around the country the american people on the ground in those bumping up against the reality, the reality that the president of the united states refuses to see. >> separately david president got bad news and good news i guesses you could say in split decisions by the supreme court this week. cases where there was an effort to gain access to t president's personal financial records and the court ruled the president has no absolutely immunity from prosecution as his lawyers have argued. does the president -- doethe office of the presidencyco away changed? and what about the effect on this predent himselfy these rulings? >> there won't be much affect on president trump because he will

litigate this in lower courts and we will not see the records until the election. i thinkthe president does have reveal tax records and supreme court or throughugh the legislation which is being talked about, that's a aood precedent. it does strike me for art conservative chis has been a pretty bad month for the president. john rob ergts again and again has said this administration doesn't do things correctly, and he slapped him down repeatedly for not doing things correctly on abortion and a whole series of rulings, religious liberty -- conservatives have no reason to this is the case. l >> what do you omathat? what john roberts that wrote the decisions and it was the twustices the president appointed, gorsuch and kavanaugh who voted against the president onhe case involving the manhattan da?>>

ell, what this tells me is that those justices sided with the rule of law and sided with the constitution. the presidentwhen he talks about the supreme court, and particarly his two appintees to the court, he talks about th as if he owns them, tha pca e cour tt,ut that they will sidh him no maat c ty're going to be for it. what we saaw witheh alltte of we decisions -- i'm glad david and especially ed around ghr ruy with the case and the rulings that were handed down yesterday, the couris saying our loiment is not to the president but to the ns coappltiy tutito endvery man ann also includes the president of the united states. and so for a president who thinks that the world reinvolve, around hat people work for him -- literally work for him -r

theuling says, no, we don't work for you. we are here.ve we hataken an oath to the constitution, not to you. >> judy: i want bring bothof you back to the other fellow running for president this november, joe biden. this week, david, he and, i guess they were calling it a task force, t he bidenmp and bernie sanders were leervegging at ways to put together an agenda that would be acceptable to the folks support bernie sanders. what do you make of this? it's a look at some of the things that joe h biden sa wants to do if he is elected president. i mean, ishis -- is this the kind of to fervent bernie sanders supporters? >> i would say that the sanders/biden reconciliation has been made easier by the fact that we're in a severe check

depression and there's a lot of resume f government action. and would thatsand concessions o the left but hasn't don anything to scare awayoters-like medicare for all or anything like that. what is surprising to me during the economic announcements teks s he is talking like donald trump, he has a rhetoricf of amerist. it's a different version of america 50. this is not barack obama's or bill cnton's party. this is we have to secure our own supply cin. we have to move away from china. and we have to close in and serve america first. so this -- it looks like dick gephardt, this is the demratic party he tried to lead us towards decades ago and economic populism is here. >> i remember him well. and jonathan capehart in roll of rolling this how to, ben is talking about buymerican first and support american workers.

president trump reacted and said he is plaijizing and taking my ideas away from me, she copying me? >> which is rather interestica e i didn't think that president trump was a progressive. that president trump was someone who was looking and getting hisr idea the left. th eand bersae ers have something in common is actually kind of laughable. but what is track here is -- and i agree with david -- that, sure, both vice president biden and president trump have an america-first agenda. but they're coming at it from different ways and i think president trump comes at his america first agenda from a very dark place -- from a place where it's -- where america is turning it's back not only on the world but in a lot of ways on its yealtsdz. and i think vice president biden tod in his plan, what he is trying ay is that we are in

a mess, in a gbal pandemic, our economy has imploded, the pandemic has showed there are issues with our c supplyin that also have an impact on how health care i ys delivered a can make an argumt thats a national security issue. but tverall thing that i take away from what vice president p biden out yesterday and will be putting out over the days and weeks ahead is that he has an agenda for tere he wan lead the country. he is giving a rationale t voters for why she should vote for him and have him lead the country over the next four years. when presint trump was asked that question in an interview a few days agoiv he could not ge a forward-looking answer. >> judy: well, that's a reminder that there is an election under way.it's easy to forget sometims because there's a whole lots going on.bu it's a reminder, and we want to thank both of, you dav brooks, jonathan capehart. we appreciate it >> thank you.

>> woodruff: there has been considerable conversation in this count about the taking down of confederate statues-- including many comments from there are many more debates otbrewing over the messager memorials and statues send-- and how people may perceive them diffently. in the capitol hill neighborhood of washington, d.c., stands th"" emancipation memorial" which has been a flashpoint in recent weeks. jeffrey brown talked to four black americans on their varied views on it. it's part of our ongoing arts and culture series, "canvas." >> reporter: a hot afternoon i washington, d.c. >> i am reminded every single a day thatless than a white person whether i want to admit it or not. >> reporter: a heated exchge over a statue of abraham lincoln, standing above akn

ling, newly freed african american man. atlast month, protesters gred to demand the statue be taken down. the national park service, which oversees the site, erected a fence as protection. 20-year-old harvard university student glenn foster helped organize the call to take down the statue. he sees one man shirtless, with broken shackles, at the feet of another man in a positn of power. >> how are you going to represent black people looking free when you ha them kneeling before a white man? what images does that teach our young children about our history? and what doethat teach themn moving forwardrms of achieving their liberation and freedom on their own terms? a lot of older people believe that the statue is fine because of the context of wherd they've leary it came to be, instead of understanding the imagof what it stands for. >> reporter: set in lincolnze park, the bron statue, called the "emancipation"an or" free" memorial, dates to 1876.

slain president anemoratethe the emancipation proclamation-- the doment signed by lincoln to end slavery in the confederacy. >> let's not negate what happened. proved what happenwe don't that have to go back to it again. that is black story. reporter: and even now, instead of a symbol of subservience, marcia cole sees one of liberation. >> i see an african-american male figure on one knee, and he's in the process of rising. his head was up. he was looking forward to a life of freedom. and that's what i saw. >> reporter: at the recent protests, cole picked up a bullhorn, debated with activists, and made her case for keeping the statue. for cole, there's more to the reory. she's studied annacts the life of charlotte scott, a freed african-erican woman, who raised funds to build theme rial after lincoln's assassination.

could be one of my dire ancestors. i want people to know that thesa are not juststics. they were individuals who had ordividual stories. >> reporter: andou that story, her story, is intrinsically tied to the statue and therefore keep thee? >> exactly. it honors her generosity of heart.ke i would lio see it remain as a teaching moment. without artifacts, visuas, artifaeople tend to forget. this statue there, while it may provoke some discomfort, discomfort is good because it would inspire inquiry. >> reporter: the complications and complexities were there from the start: a memorial paid for by blacks, but desigd by a white sculptor, thomas ball, in a process controlled by a white- n organization. the famed abolitionist and orator frederick douglassve ded an historic speech at the 1876 dedication, but also took the opportunity to point t' lincs shortcomings.

and now those complexities have burst anew as the nation confronts the continuing racism of today and the legacy it was built upon. >> it's not lincoln that's at issue. i'm fine with us memorializing him. but it's this depictionsident. specifically that's the issue. >> reporter: last month, 30- year-old marcus goodwin, a washington, d.c., real estate developer and now candidate forc the d.ncil, climbed atop the statue-- a public contrastma to the kneelinbelow. he then launched a pition tedrive to remove and relohe statue. >> there's no such thing as ing the past. my solution is to bring this properly contextualized, where a docent can walk you through and hetell you the history and intentionality behind the art, because it doesn't achieve its intended goal. people see it, they see demeaning imagery.

and maybe it's a generational divide, but we don't see thef typeir and equitable representation that's inherent in the american dream. >> reporter: if you take down or change t symbols or the monuments, is that not changing the past in some way? >> no. in fact, you're changing the future. and you're doing it for the better, i would say. >> reporter: goodwin says he got the idea of relocating the statue after seeing reports of a similar demand in boston, home to a replica of the same moment. and in recent days the boston art commission voted unanimously to take it down, without yet deciding where it should go.te >> rep it's a debate, says smithsonian secretary lonniebu nch, with many layers. >> it is about history, but it's about who were as a nation, who we want to be going forward. >> reporter: one of the nation's pre-eminent historians, lonnie bunch was also foundin of the national museum of african american history and culture. he told us he's for keeping thet "emancn memorial," but

perhaps adding another statue plxt to it, of frederick douglass, for ex creating, in a sense, more history.wa >> what to see is a reasoned process that allows uss to disthat allows us to bring history before we make decisions of pulling things down. i think that, yes, we could take that statue down. we could replace it th a statue that just talks about the enslaved. and think what we'd do is, o the one hand, we enrich our understanding. on the other hand, i think we lose the opportunity to help people understand more about lincoln and who he was and what he did. >> reporter: bunch thinks ese memorials will have to be considered case by case, local decisions by commissions that move with care, but relatively quickly, just as events does that surprise you, how deep this has gone? >> it has surprised me both howi des gone and how rapid it's gone. the challenge is that the statue itself doesn't give us any sense of complexity, nuance or ambiguity.

but that what history does. >> reporter: that may be a lot to ask in an america so greatly divided, seemingly not in a mood for complexity and nuance, now fighting over its past andfu re, one statue at a time. for the pbs newshour, i'm jeffrey brown. >> woodruff: the coronavirus conginues to enact a devasta toll on families and communities across t country. again, we take a moment tonight to remember some of the lives lost. oscar rosa was the go-to for friends and family seeking h advice, homewop, or a favor. everything he did was to support his family-- especially his niece, amarey. bright and dedicated, oscar

tacelled in debate, as a c and a coach in his los angeles high school, and later in college. he would often mentor students on opposing teams-- his family said he wanted everyone to learn and love debate like he did. oscar was just 25. for nearly three decades, john walter offered laughs and life lessons to his parish youth group in queens, new york. as one former student put it," nd took a bunch of misfits turned us into family." a long sufring mets fan and a lifelong new yorker, his son brian saidohn was usually the he was fiercely devoted to his wife of 57 years, peg, theiran four childretwo grandsons. the family proudly marched in the city's annual tism speaks james.in support of his grandson john was 80-years-old.

vanee sykes believed in the potential ofvery formerly incarcerated woman, and co-founded a halfway house in the bronx to help them re-enter society and find jobs. it was an idea sprouted during her own time behind bars. vanee spent arly four years in federal prison afterhe pleaded guilty to a scheme to steal food vaamps. during that timee's husband of 20 years, james, passed away, but she spoke to their three children-- jeffrey, james and alexis-- every day. vanee was 53-years-old. raul guale jr. was at his happiest spending time with his three girls. when raul was in high school, he became a single father. that propelled him to study nursing and go on to work at an assisted living facility on long island.

he met his wife, marissa, and their family grew.ey id everything together-- from disney vacations to foodnd shoppingaundry. raul was 34-years-old. victor arzola's conveniencee st juarez, mexico, was a neighborhood safe haven, with a self-designed loan system to help customers who couldn't pay. victor's wife of 68 years, belem, was the love life. after she became ill in 2007, he dedicated himself tonger care, settown in colorado. rarely seen without his g cowboy hat and a smile, victor became a u.s. citizen at 87-years-old. his family said it was his happiest accomplishment. victor was 93.

>> not able to say good-bye to their loved ones. can find the right words for thosere who a grieving. throughout life we are told to avoid cliches but writer omar scott shares his humble opinion on the one place the cliche will do:th >> oday before she died, the last time i saw my mother lucid, for no good reason, i when i left the hospital for the night. tod that's how i missed the final opportunitiss the cheek of my still living and conscious mother. this is one of the many samesses that frequently sw my grieving mind, things i would rather not think about. likewise, i'd rather not think time we talk, onlymemberher next there won't be a next time.

but, hey, all mothers die. she's supposed to go and leave o me here wiy memories. it's the proper way of things. some people choose to say nothing. ashamedly i've done it myself, even after knowing better-- but i've learned now the one good use for cliches. they somehow find power a balm to spread over the pain. look: as a writer, all my training has taught me to be allergic to cliches. if i were to somehow write that my mother's death caused me to cry my eyes out, in revision i would perhaps replace that stock phrase with a description ofn words loste crack of a voice trying to stifle back tears. death, in all its devastating t finaliugh, won't wait for a revision. death won't wait for you to dig through your soul in search of a blazing truth that will put a grievingpirit in order. i'm not convinced such a when someone dies, look the grieving in their eye and say "my condolences," or, "i'm sorry for your loss."

say it sincerely and with meaning. when those words were said to me in the days after my mother's passing, it said, "i see you and i see your grief." there may not be a blinding truth within you about anyone's loss, but there are small sparkles of light. the power your clichés have in the face of death's enormity is their acknowdgment that there is nothing to say-- no words as that particular clichéoes-- but still something needs to be said to recognize both the devastation and humanir. of the grie those well-worn words are a small offering perhaps, butff they'll e. >> woodruff: rion amilcar scott and on the newshour online right now we look at how l.g.b.t.q. artists and activists are using 'zines-- short magazines-- to t teir own stories and preserve their history. that is on our web site, pbs.org/newshour. and we'll be back, right here, on monday with a look at how

historic alexandria, virginia, is trying to balance safety with the needs of local businesses. that's the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. thank you. plt.se stay safe and good ni >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> when the world gets your mind. goes through with fidelity wealth management, a dedicated advisor can tailor advice and recommendations to your life. that's fidelity wealth management. >> consumer cellular >> johnson and johnson >> the william and flora hewlett foundation. for more than 50 years, advancing ideas ansuioorting instit to promote a better world. at www.hewlett.org.

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>> tonight on kqed newsroom. s coronavirucases are on the rise. there are more infections among younger people. extract challenges facing the san francisco zoo and the oakland zoo. an the imals still need feeding . >> scientists are collerorating across boto fight covid- 19. we spoke to researchers in california and in bolivia about their pioneering solutions . >> good evening. public health officials hoped to see fewer conavirus cases since it is summer. instead, the cases are on the rise. it is across the globe, across the nation anin california.