captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woouff: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight: the persistent pandemic. health leaders declare the coronavirus far from conined. we discuss congress' struggle respond, and more, with house majority whip james clyburn. then, security concerns. we explore the deterioration of u.s.-china relations with the assistant attorney general for national security. plus, a critical choice. joe biden closes in on his pick for running mate as the campaign for the white house heats up. and, it's friday. examine the congrelvid brooks stalemate over covid relief, the v.p. pick, and the president's suggestion of delaying the election.

all that and more, on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> fidelity wealth management. >> for 25 years, consumer cellular's goal has been to provide wireless service that helps people communicate and connect. we offer a varie of no-contract plans, and our u.s.-based customer service team can help find one that fits you. to learn more, visit www.consumercellular.tv. >> johnson & johon. >> financial services firm raymonjames. >> the john s. and james l. knight foundation. communities.formed and engaged more at kf.org. >> and with the ongoing suppt

of these institutions: r.and friends of the newsh >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to yourbs ation from viewers like you. thank you. uf >> woo there is still no end in sight tonight to the covid-19 pandemic-- and no economic relief package, either. but, health experts leadinggh the say a vaccine may be on the horizon.en that was aal focus at the day's marquee congressional hearing. stephanie sy begins our coverage. >> reporter: a note of hope from

the nation's top infectis disease expert today... >> we feel cautiously optimistic that we will have a vaccine by the end of this year and as we go into 2021. >> reporter: dr. anthony fauci told the house oversight subcommittee on coronavirus that efforts to secure a vaccine are ving at breakneck pace. he also promised that when a vaccine is finally approved, it will be widely available. >> ultimately, within a reasonable time, the plans allow for any american who needs the vaccine to get i >> reporter: joining him on the panel, dr. robert redfield, head of the cente for disease control and prevention, and admiral brett giroir, the white house testing czar. democratic committee chair jim clyburn of south carolina administration's response, especially on testing. >> the federal government has still not yet developed and implemented a national strategy to protect the american people. >> reporter: testing and contact tracing have been mostly handled at the local and state levels. with cases surging in much of the nation, admiral giroir

acknowledged danays in an ex with democratic congressman andy kim of new jersey.ld >> wt be possible for our nation to have results for allco covid testleted and returned within 48 and 72 hours? is that a possible benchmark that we n achieve? >> it is not a possible benchmark we can achieve today, given the demand andupply. it is absolutely a benchmark we can achieve moving forward.li >> reporter: rcans pushed the panel on re-opening schools, sential servicesnot inlose the classroom. blaine luetkemeter of missouri warned that child abuse is going acported, because kids are not in school where rs can see them and spot signs of abuse. and, the c.d.c.'s redfield repeated his own call to return to cssroom >> the public alth interest of the students in this nation right now is to gequality education and face-to-face learning, and we need to get on with it. >> reporter: but another point made by the missouri congressman on the use of hydroxychloroquine

as a covid-19 treatment was dispelled by fauci, who called the study president trump has been touting "flawed." >> all of the randomized placebo-controlled trials, which is the gold standard ofte ining if something is effective, none of them have shown any efficacy for hydroxychloroquine. >> reporter: ohio's jim jordan pressed the point of whetherin protests a police brutality, like those in portland, oregon, contribute to infections. >> i just wantn answer to the estion-- do the protests increase the spread of the virus? >> i don't have any scientif evidence of anything. i can tell you that crowds are known, particularly when you don't have a mask, to increase the acquisition and transmission. e>> reporter: avoiding la gatherings is one of five actions the c.d.c.'s rfield said americans should be doing to curb the virus, along with wearing a face covering; social distancing; hand hygiene; and, avoiding crowded bars and restaurants.

>> if we did those five things-n we've done moddata-- we get the same bang for the buck as if we just sh the entire economy down. >> reporter: on the economic relief front, white house negotiators met with congressional democratic leaders again. federal joblesbenefits and eviction protections are set to expire at midnight. but, white house chief of staff mark meadows said the sides are still deadlocked. >> the democrats believe that they have all the ca their side, and they are willing to of those that are hurting.nse >> reporter: in turn, house speaker nancy accused republicans and the white house of not recognizing the pandemic's severity. >> we don't have shared values, riat's just the way it is. so, it's not bic. it's standing our ground, or trying to find common ground.te >> rep with no deal in sight, house democrats said thel ancel the august recess until they've passed a relief bill. for the pbs newshour, i'm

stephanie sy. cl>> woodruff: let's taker look at the pandemic response from capit hill, with the air of the coronavirus oversight committee. i spoke this afternoon that and other matters with democratic congressman james arolina, whoouth is also thhouse majority whip. representative clyburn thank you very much for joining us. your special scommitt held a hearing this morning, you heard from top health officials in the trump admistration and you called on them to make drastic nisters in the admi approach to this pandemic. you said another 150,000 americans could die. what changes do you want to see the administration make? >> thank youvery 67 for having me. tirst of all, i do believe tha the administration has had the kind of a program that i would like to see. but seem to be pushing that out to the states privately.

i want them to go to a natial program. i want them to be well coordinated based upon science. >> woodruff: do you think they will do that? >> i don't know if they wl do it or not. but i think the testimony today was very clear. ndedfauci, dr. redfield, ande the admiral, i don't disagree with a thing. just sms to me that they are really working together. it's just not getting out to the staith. >> woodruff: president trump as y may know, representative clyburn, tweeted during the he hearing and he said this about you. he said,uote, somebody please tell congressman clyburn, who in his word doesn't hav a clue, that the chart he put up do much more testing. because than any other country in the world. if we had no tting or badding

we'd show very few cases. how do you respond? on i respond like the experts red. dr. fauci and dr. redfield all of thesm ay very saw st.ly sus st.ly that this surge -- this infectionsit has ltle to do with one thing only.'s plethora of things that are taking place. so the testing uld not account for this increase. this increase comes about because we were doing about 50% of what other untries are doing. in other words, if people had recognize social distancing,l that they might be a different thing. fun of wearing a mask not doingg any social distancg.

not setting an example for the rest of the country. that is what the problem is. so the testing is just one part of it. the othe part is whether or not we adhere to what the scientists say is required for driving the lembers down. >> woodruff:me ask you about covid relief legislation. the white house chief of 1256, mark meld dose, said republicans had mae more separate proposals to democrats on some kind of compromise, they saiyd ev single one of thehas been turned down. and with none counter proposal. my question is, mr. clyburn, why not just agree among other term extension, y not at least agree to a short-term extensosin hat these $600 in additional unemployment benits will continue and won't lapse. >> well, i c appreciate the h fact that iope you appreciate,

i haveo idea whether mr. mr. meadows would be reflecting accurately what is going on in these negotiations. but i will say this. i do beliweeve tha cannot allow people to lose thei homes homes, we cannot renters to be put on the streets. we cannot allow unemployed people lose their insurance. we need to keep people with income so that we can keep this economy going. so what mr. meadd,ows sai don't know. i'm not one of the negotiators i'm not gong to pass judgment on that at all. >> woodruff: democrats are making a major push right now for more access to mail-in voting. yesterday congressman john lew lewis'uneral, former president obama spoke about it.

it was very ctical of republican efforts in his words to deny a votes. today we had the white house advisor, steven miller, saying that what president obama said s scandalously and outrageou outrageously false. he said republicans are not trying to do any sucthing. where do you come down on this? >> i think everybody knows that i have forever been for what i call voting from home. we ask people to stay at home, make it available for them to vote from home. for some r for some that may be mail. for some that may be dropping off theirote. some predestinated place. we ought to be making it available for people to vote when they don't have to have a gathering. people will not be standing in line as they did in wisconsine whenle came up sick. we can arrange to pay for people

to votwhile being socially distanced. that's what i'm for. some people it might be mailed in. i do l in voting every year that we vote. because i always have to work on election day. anso i mail my ballot in and so it doesn't seem to say something different. voting absentee, than voting my mail. i made my absentee in so what's the difference? there s no difference. i think steven miller ought to be ashamed of himself. >> woodruff: one of the thing mr. miller said th,is morni it's shocking that nobody wh mails in a ballot has theidir tity confirmed. he he said nobody checks to see if they're a u.s. cizen. >> they can check to see anything they want to check to bar coding has ith us forever. i don't know where he's been.

but you can always bar code every doll tow whether or ballot. proper person cast that never been any kind of a probl problem. they have done researchn mail- mail-in ballots. there's -- i think there may be several states that vote 100% by mail. so nobody has ever found any flaw in that. they are just trying to cloud the issue, they're looking for me way to try to postpone this election. to have an election.some way not three years.saying that for that that president doesn't plan to have -- he's not planning to give up the office. he thinks that the american people will be duped by him like people of germany was duped by adolph hitler. >> woodruff: one final thing, representative clyburn.

u knowresident biden as yo is saying he's gng to announce o nouns next week which woman h has chosenbe his running mate. you have said you think it would be a plus, but not a musor joe biden to choose an african american woman. my question you, though, is with the what we've seen happen in this country over the last w months, the push for racial justice, the sensiuntivity ad racial justice, do you not think it would be bete ter if hchose an african american woman as his running mate? >> i still maintain that it will be a plus. i do believehat a little bit fool hard hardy for us to be fog on the vice president choice rather than other things as we well. i long an african american woman to sit on the united states supreme court. same we've had three women to sit on the united states supreme

consideration due to african american woman. that to mis pority. the vp is good ono style bun substance, give me an africanom american on the supreme court. that's where wdetermine how our democracy will be preserved. this supreme court has muted thc voting rightof 1965. i am very concerned about the mposition of theted states supreme court. >> woodruff: hou majority whip, representative james clyburn of south carolina. thank you very mu. >> thanks for having me. >> woodruff: this evening >> woodruff: this evening, there are reports that joe biden will announce his pick for running mate the week of august 10.

>> woodruff: in the day's other news, the surge of covid infections in much of th world has hit new highs-- rd 292,000 cases in the last 24 hours. india alone ported 55,000 cases-- its most yet. meanwhile, btish prime minister boris johnson abruptly imposed new restrictions in northern england. and, in vietnam, thousands were tested after an outbreak in da nang, now under a lockdown. hanoi and other cities also report new infections. a storm that battered puerto rico and the dominican republicr nowcane isaias, and it's heading for the u.s. east coast. it swept over the bahamas today, and was expected to strengthen before reaching south florida this weekend, and the carolinas by monday. a hurricane warning is now up for florida's atlantic coast. hong kong today postponed

september's legislative elections by a year, citing the pandemic's ongoing resurgence. pro-democracy forces, who hoped for an overwhelming win at the polls. activist joshua wong said it'sal part of a campaign-- including barring him and others from running for the c legislature. >> beijing has staged multipleev acts to t the opposition bloc from taking the majority in hong kong legislature. our voice is clear and loud to the world by our vote. we stand to defend our freedom edd rights that are stipul in the joint declaration and the basic law. >> woodruff: the election delay comes as mainland china is moving to curb dissent in hong kong unr a new national security law. back in this country, a 17-year- old boy in tampa, florida wa charged today with mastermding a major hack of twitter this month. investigators y he sent bogus tweetsrom high-profile

figures, including barack obama, joe biden, bill gates and others. the tweets promoted a bitcoin scam that netted morthan $100,000. two other suspects, one in britain and one in orlando, a federal appeals court has overturned the death sentence of dzhokar tsarnaev, the convicted boston marathon bomber.ru today'ng said jurors were not sufficiently vetted for bias. tsarnaev and his older brother killed three people and injuredt 260. the brother di in a gun battle th police. u.s. supreme court justice ruth bader ginsburg was discharged a frospital in new york today. she had a procedure on a bile duct stent. ginsburg is 87, and is also being treated for a recrence of cancer. the u.s. its deadline for this year's

count back to december 31. officials wanted an extension through next april, due to pandem delays, but the request is stalled in congress.ht today, civil rand other groups warned that the dember timetable means an under-count that will hurt minorities. census results affect congressional districts and distribution of federal funds. and on wall street, tech stocks led a late rally to close out a fourth straight month of market gains. the dow jones industrial average was up 114 points to close at 26,428. the nasdaq rose 157 points, and the s&p 500 added nearly 25. still to comon the newshour: the assistant attorney general for national security discusses e state of u.s.-china relations. joe biden closes in on his choice for his running mate as

the campaign for the white house heats up. mark shields and david brooks break down the week's myriad political headlines. plus, much more. about her background to come to the u.s. as the- is as u.s. takes on china on multiple fronts, there's a major push on the legal front as nick schifrin reports the partment alleged chinese inial andting strategic espionage a top. priori >> schifrin: in june 2018, the f.b.i. caught china spying, on camera. u.s. citizen edward pong didn't

realize he was being filmed uraving an envelope of $20,000 in cash, and rng later to pick up an s.d. card with what he was told was classified u.s. intelligence to give to the people's republic of china, or p.r.c. >> the charges, unsealed today, provide a rare glimpse into the efforts of the p.r.c. to obtain classified national security information of the u.s. >> schifrin: since then, that glimpse has become less rare. the department of justice has charged chinese hackers who act "in association" with chinese wtelligence, chinese military office pose as students and researchers to live in the who steal trade secrets for chinese companies, and just lask week, chinese s who broke into dissidents' accounts and private companies, working for s e state. >> these intrusie yet another example of china's brazen willingness to engage in theft through computer intrusions, contrary to their international commitments. >> schifrin: that is assistant rney general john demers who leads the department of

justice's national security division. in the last ten days, the division has made nine case announcements connected to what it calls chinese misbehaor, including juan tang, who temporarily hid out in china's san francisco consulate. in total, the department of justice says 80% of economic espionage charges, and 60% of all trade secret cases, are tied to china. >> we've now reached the point where the f.b.i. is opening a new china-related counter- intelligence case about every ten hours. >> schifrin: the department of justice's actions are part of a larger effort by the trump administration to identify, and punish, chinese behavior. and i'm now joined by assistant attorneyeneral john demers, who, as you just saw, leads the department of justice's national security division. john demers, welcome to "newshour." let's bee general with the highest profi action by theist against chin inside the united states, that is the closure last week of thhoustononsulate. what made houston the hub for more aggressive, more sucessful

chinese espionage that others. chinese acti >> as you indicate, nick, we didn't choose hoton at random among the chinese consulates it was at the forefront both of intellectual property , of participation in programs like e thousand talents program chinese have to help take u.s. intellectual property. also, of covert foreignti influence acti. and so, once the decision was made to close a consulate he in the u.s., houston was in many ways the obvious choice. >> schifrin: the overall question i think is, the u.s. has been accuse the chinese government of espionage for years. is the increased tempo it seems to be indictments assigned that the threat has increaseor the u.s. ability to find espionage and willingness to callut it increase? >> i think the theft has been steadi increasing. so we've seen chinese espionage

both traditional as you talkedth about ie pung case in the opening or on intellectual prerty side in the cyber cases for many, many years. and over the years the department has charged some of those cases, but the activity hasincreased over time, particularlywith the made in china 2025 plan that that was announ01d back in 25 the scope scope, i think the persistence use of nontraditional collectors like folks who are at comnies and aren't necessarily intelligce officers or member of the military o take intellectual property. the sophisticaon of the plans, their ability to do cyberus inns has also increased over time. so we've seen i think a stead

steady -- to make sure that across the country the u.s. attorney's office and here focused on the threat that we rire seeing every day in the intelligenceing that we were getting about the threaof intellectual property from hin china. ifrin: let's zoom in o something that you mentioned before. the chinese thousand talent program the u.s. campaign to recruit academics, recruit scientists to steal sensitive technology did intelligent community get that program. really understand that program in the last few years? >> i think that we have understood the scope of that program over the last few years that they set out on chinese end has beeneveloping over time. our appreciation for the way it's being used to take

intellectual property is also grown over time. in the cases that we have over the past couple of years, you see individuals both on the businessnd of things and on the academic end of things who are participating in s program, which isn't by itself illegal. but the problem is they're are they're doing so covertly. they're lying to their employe employers. they're lying to their company. they're lying to theiriv sity about whether they're receiving foreign funding. they are hiding their trips over to china.ar they're not d declaring affiliations with universities in china. at the same time they're taking intellectual property of the company or the university and they're transferring it over t china. so it's not just a talentt recruitmrogram, it is also an avenue for the chinese to take american intellectual property. >> schifrin: we went back to the chinese government's responses to some of these cases

and some of these claims. and a spokesman for ministry of foreign affairs said the department of jutice claim were full of politicalize, expose their ideologicalias. are you biased against china? o> i'm pro liberal democracy t that extent i'm against what we're doing s really going after illegal activity that is theft of intellectual property. we have brought many of these cases, we are able to prove them and we have proofed them using unclassified, admissible evidenso beyond any reable doubt. so i'm very comfortable in the cases that we brought and confident in the inferences that we've drawn from those cases. and we won't charge a case u been ron doing.nfident there has >> schifrin: the other day chinese government spokesman called tik tok a chinese compa company, reporting this this afternoon that administration could ask tik tok parent company

to divest or perhaps even microsoft could purchase it.s whathe threat attic to be closes? >> look, without go into any potential transactionss, the threat that we're worried about on the national security of tik tok is both with rpect to u.s. data and with respect to foreign influence the content of ose apps. so on the data side, about 1ll30 n users here in the u.s. who are providing their datavo ntarily when they sign up and knowingly. but also unknowingly that app is collecting data from their phon, locion data, using advertising ideas even from other apps on their phone to see their behavior, to fully utilize the app you have tconsent, for instance, fob the app to access your list.of there's a loata that is being selected on u.s. persons that we're concerned aut. because we've seen the chinese

acquirhe eitthrough stats or through attempted acquisitions, largquantities of sensitive personal data. on the content side nd foreign influence side you're aware of the many reports including from y istleblowers within the compf the company moderating some of the content on the app to exclude versions of chinese behavior that chinese government doesn't like, whether it's about hong kong or taiwan or tibet or any of thether sensitive issues in china. so that is really our national security concern with tik tok. and i think as the president to look at ways in which tonue mitigate those concerns. >> schifrin: i have to ask, yesterday president trump asked on twitter whether the elect should be delayed.ct ompeo said department of

justice will make a final judgment on that. could the election be delayed? >> the election is sety statute. i think you saw the responses from the hill yesterday about the idea of changing that date. i don't ow anything more tn that. that's really outside my area of respsibility. >> schifrin: assistant attorney general, thank you very mu. >> woodruff: as the ronavirus pandemic continues to surge, many questions remain abouhow next month's democratic national convention will work in a time of social distancing. but as lisa desjardins reports, the biggest question remains, who will share the spotlight with joe biden? >> what started as a debate

stage in march. >> i would pick a woman to be my vice president. >> reporter: have put a new twist on time honored campaign parlor game. whanh democratic w will joe biden pick as his presidential around a dozen candidates have been on his rumored short list, elizabeth warren, tammy duckworth. former national security advis advisor, susan rice. atlanta mayor, congresswom val demings. governor michelle grisham and several onhers. >> i'med to be back in north carolina, at least virual virtually. >> reporter: many of the potential picks have already hit e virtual campaign til. >> i think it's important to have people in leadership likebi joden. >> biden moved own to the final round of inte s intersa toe make his choice public soon. >> i'm going to have a choice the first week in august. >> reporter: it is after all just two weeks until democrs hold their next convention, a

scaled back event with biden speaki in milwaukee. and august marks exactly 100 years since women won the right to vote. >> gary dean -- whichever woman biden chooses will be second in history. 36 years ago new york congress warm gaeraildne joined. >> by choosing a man to run for our natonn's sechighest office, you send a powerful dignal to all americans. there are nrs we cannot u unlock. >> incredible responsibility. reporter: her daughteonna donna, later produced a movie about her mother's runst as fir woman on a major party presidential ticket. >> there was huge appreciate fur she did a good job she would be opening the doors of opportuni oppoidunity. if shet do a good job she thought it could be disastrous.

>> reporter: it was more than 20 years before another woman accepted major party nomination for vp. 2008, this time republican, tara who was breaking barriers. >> they say the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? lipstick. earreporter: that same y biden himself underwent a closely regarded process arouvp merging as barack obama's. running ma >> this is his time. this is our time. this is america's time. r orter: those around biden say that 2008 experience and his eight years in the white hou profoundly shaped how he'll make s choice now. mocratic congress juan of delaware cochairs the vp selection committee. >> he is looking for someone wh not only qualified and competent but his word is sim pat take co. >> there are dozens oer coion from personal chemistry to else balance as out

biden's potential shortcomingse to who can h win in battleground states. >> i think he's looking for a true partner. >> biden's chief of staff. >> he's oking for someone not only that he likes, but that he trusts and who can maybe do some of the things that he's not so grea'sat. ooking for someone who can actually govern with him in a situation, you know, where the country is in dire saits. >> a recent morning poll found 54% of people say, the vp nominee will have no mpact on their vote. >> i'm not as aligned to, it has to be this person if you don't pick this person you're going to get my vote. i'm more interested, we need t put america back on the right track. >> i definitely votg or joe biden. only viable can't date. >> he taught himself a transition candidate.

the person he chooses this year matters more because biden would be the oldest president ever sworn in. more vulnerable to e coronavirus and if not clear he would run for a second erm regard goes of health. >> i think who he chooses is going to elevate his running mate not just be his running mate for 2020 but i think definitely sets him up to be on national stage far some time. >> the vice president has really good way for him to reach out to people maybe undecided. >> biden is facing growingm pressure fome people to pick a woman of color. including from minnesota senat senator, amy kolb char who was at one point on the potential vp list. >> this is a moment to put a woman of color on tt ticket. >> reporter: those calls come tos race and justice issues have taken center sge in the campaign after nationwide protests sparked by the murde of george floyd. black women are the most

reliable and loyal voting block for democra democratic candidat, nearly 95% voted for hillary clinton in 2016. >> we have never been here before. we've never be on art list for vp. never. >> amyfoalal son iunder of she the people, a group that advocates for womn of color in politics. >> a lot 6 us believe that a black woman on the ticket wil help to increase enthusiasm, demotrate that joe biden's governance is going to include us was that we have ha place at the top of the ticket. ha>> bides said women of color will play a big role in his administration and several are on his vp short list. >> i am not committed to namingh anybody bu people i've named, there are four black women. >> there is of course a wide universe of women who biden can choose, meansg isndalling daily. but only a few days now untiln one getshe ticket. >> desjardins: what started as a

>> more qualified to make a vice president than joe biden wowho what the job is. intimately. what helps the president. i'd say very simply, judy, given the nature of this campaign donald trump cannotun or better off four years ago. it's going to be down and irty, demonizing, campaign. first thing i would consider someone who can throw punch

who can take a punch. someone who has been there and understands what it means to stand up for yr side ando respond. i think tha first qualification beyond comfort left that the president presidential candidate has. >> woodruff: david, somebody who can take a punch, throw a punch, nickels? >> that sounds like kamalais hao me? i guess i see it differently. i think vice president's selection makes almost n difference in the election. historically there's been no upside, sometimes a downside, there's a scandal. but i would think about governing. bejoe biden is elected he'll trying to administer the new deal and the progressive era a all at once. i think he needs shoebody has administrative experience, something like keisha bottoms from mayor of at lakhta, the ticket biden-bottoms streets

couldn't sound so grea she's impressive person who has a strong precious as she demonstrated during those first days. the governor 6 new mexico. is another person who has administrative experience. it's a plus to me have administrative experience outside of washington. less ideological climate where you are actually administering things. to me that wouou be how i wld look at it. who is going to take on sponsibilities in administration that is going to be chock full of legislative craftsmanship and administrativr administrative competence. >> woodruff: mark, go ahead. dave is saying doesn't make aan difference ito hear what you -- >> i think historically anke the case it hasn't made a difference. lyaon johnson did make difference in 1960 with the election of john kennedy.ha being the cter witness, by

association for northern catholic. but i he degree with david on that. i would say this. winning is not the most gnportant thing in a camp it's the only thing. i'm not in any way precluding or excludinged consideration of the talent, but i want someone who is going to help him win with rhe joe biden. it's going to be a lousy meanca mean-spiriteaign. you're going to have someone who is at your side tre. i don't think any question about it. >> woodruff: go a >> just say that congressman clyburn who america wants to see a kingaker we saw one. he is the man where he said, joe biden doesn't simply know us, he knows us. deat endorsement made the difference and mhe nomination when he said a woman of african american woman takes precedent.

he was gjing i thoughoe biden permission to pick a running mate or -- choose a running mate who is not african american. whether it's governor grishm or senator duckworth, but i thought that was a shrewd statement b jidrclyburn. >> wf: david that is what i wanted to ask you both about. that is, what we heard from jim clyburn, that for him it's much more important than africanoe american womanto the court court, the high court than the vice president. the job of the vice president. >> hadn't thoug of the interpretation on that, i find it very persuasive that he was giving permission to go outside if he felt like it. he said certainly a smarted political signal operator, that in normal times you take supreme court justice over vice president for sure, bause y get it for lifetime.

and has actual power.k i th's a clot closer right now. as i said, really thinabout fd fdr's first 100 days, the amount of legislation that was drafted. think of what is going to need to be done. so to me the vice president is going to be tremendously important, in part because biden was vice president he actually did a lot. he over saw the sim plow husband policy stuff.a lot of foreign he was not just window dressing i'm sure he's going to want ao vice president that. interesting case to me is elizabeth warren, if you wt somebody who is good at coming up with a plan, she's really good at coming up witplans. the question would be, are there moderate voters who would take a look at her and have a bit of fright if i'm sticking to my governance matters more than politicsre elizabeth wwould also be a good choice. >> woodruff: speaking of important agendas right now before congress, mark, is a pandemic relegief lislation. and it doesn't seem to be going anywhere.pa ed a $3 trillion plan at the

end of may. senate republicans haven't been able to agree among themselves. you've heard the reporting on all this. areis to blame, republicans saying democrats fault. democrats are saying republica republicans. who bears responsibility? >> i thinktair to say responsibility in washingtons i shared at this point. primary responsibility that thea housyou pointed out did pass its plan. 's all on board. sen for mcconnell introduced the plan that died on arrival. the white house has absolutel absolutely -- president is not a player in ts. i have to say that there's been a certain republican abdicion. the reality is, judy, we're ta talking about according to th census bureau, we have 14 million american households, i the richest nation in the history of the world can with children are food deprived as of last week. they're going hungry.

that is unacceptable. leaving towns at a time when you haven't resis just u unacceptable. i think every member of congress really has to face that. ngey should be there, they should be wor they should come to a resolution. >> woodruff: david,oes one side or another bear more of the responsibility here? >> i think 60-40 to republicans that blame. they returned to their corners, democrats did not have enough for small business we have to prott small businesses from going bankruptcy. you don't lose gist jobs you lose all the human a capit the connecons that were put in to build that business. that is a tragedy. republicans certainly err in trying to cuthe 600 to 20. they are -- i spoke to a few this week that people are making more unemployed than they would employed because they're not going back the their jobs. that is certaly a problem. people are doing okay with this. but the research suggatt th

people are getting the employment insurance benefit are going back to work just as much as people are not getting it. there does not seem to be a disincentive. when you've got people really struggling to r to cut them back to $00 a week or whatever it would be seems unscionable to me. i do in the think republicans understand that ware on a lifeline because of the earlier aid packages. e economy would be doing way worse without that. and if you take away that supply of money we'll zika istha freethrow tee is greater than anticipated would be a humany. trag >> woodruff: this week as you both know we got terrible news about the resurgence of this virus and we got very bad news about the ecoomy,onnected to it. but we watch these in emplobeymt fits lapse this weekend. mark, very quickly, voting, there's a lot of back and forth this week about absentee ving, voting by mail. the president weighing in.

saying that there is fraud in mailing. then raising the question of whether the elections should be delayed. how much -- everybody knocked it down at the capital. but what do you think? is that something that eoplern should be con about? >> we should be concernedbout a president who wants to open up otball stadiums, send 7-year-olds back to school to sit on school buses be in groups but at the same time doesn't want -- virus is so serious we can't vote in november. figure that one out, judy. being very blunt, we do vote my mail in this country, five states vote only by ml. 35 states have no excuse absentee voting. that is it. among them are most important politically in terms of thean pennsy, wisconsin,

michigan, new hamtapshire, ss that where you have to have your ballot postmarked by election. da and so the president says he refuseo sign any legislation that gives more money to state d local people trying to deal with increased expected absentee vote by mail. i have to say, there's nothing more sacrosanct. we've done it in world war ii, in the civil war, c bighoices now. we have to vote and will vote on november 3rd, donald trump has to be absolutely rebutted on this issue. >> woodruff: david,. >> i'm worried about it. we've had a bad year on elections. long lines in georgia. the night of iowa caucuses. just had a bad year, epidemic makes it a lot worse. a lot of people are not going o be comfortabl comfortable pan m

polls. a lot of people are not where they live. worry a close election have results drag out for days, wee weeks, while everybody in the conspiracy world undermines it. this is sometng that for most, ould be upper most on our mind d what donald trump is important. >> woodruff: finally, david, i didn't give you a chanc week to say something about john lewis, the nation said goodbye w to him all thk then yesterday that very moving funeral service in atlanta. thoughts about how that unfolded and what his life meant. >> just on obama eulogy, i thought it was -- ino didt mind if it was political. if barack obaanma wts to deliver a eulogy wants to dedicatit to causes that i dedicate my life to that's fine by me.ha what he emzed about lewis is what was so impressive him anthe wholeement which was

progressiveness. constant offense. always marching whenever there was a debate internally should wecharch or prudent not to march. lewis says, no, we're matching. it was that sense of constant push can, constant pressure that made it so successful as a movement and made him as a person. we know him well. what always struck me, h could have carried himself as a saint. he had something saintlybout him but he carried himself as a normal human being, it was extremely approachable. so there's a reason we're all paying attention because moral exemplars don't come along every day. >> woodruff: they certaiy don't. we are all touched by h life and by his legacy. thank you both. david brooks,ld mark sh thank you. >> woodruff: the ustates

passed another devastatingth mileston week, with more than 150,000 lives lost to again, we take a mto recognize a few them. reverend vickey gibbs's final sermon at her houston church was an impsioned cl to action on coronavirus relief and racial injustice. >> be the bridge tequality by demanding and voting in ange. >> woodruff: spreading love and fighting for justice-- these were vicy's callings, said her wife, cassandra, whether that meant attending protests or cooking meals for friends in need. she had a special bond with her grandson, who she nick "boo." together, they listened repeat to "my cherie amour" by stevie wonder. vickey was 57.

n.s. ramamurthy, "rama" to those who knew him, was a pioneering research scientist at stony brook's school of dental dicine. the work of his team led tosc important eries in oral health and antibiotics. born in south india, and before settling in new york, rama moved hi canada 1966, where he met sharon, in a biochy class. soscribed as "gregarious," with a passion foh asian arts, students, and his , his including two daughters and five grandchildren. rama was 80 years old. cynthia tilley's friends joked that her hair was asig as her heart. the former nurse was constantly evganizing community fundraisers and charitts in myrtle beach, south carolina. christmas was her favorite holiday. she spoiled everyone around her,

om her two children, to her two granddaughters, who called her "gigi." at 61, cynthia was still the star of any dance floor, especially when performing the shag. until she was seven years old, tiana moore barely spoke, but she went on to become a talented singer in her buffalo, new york theater group. tatiana loved working with children. she ran a before- and after- school program, mentored young performers, and helped care for ds with special needs. tatiana was the first in her family to graduate college, andl ned to go back to school to become a social worker. her kind, patient demeanor earned her the nickname "the peacekeeper." tatiana was 22 years old. fareeda kadwani was a lifelong educator, teaching kids at new york public schools for 20 yrs. after moving to the bronx from

mumbai, india in 1984, fareeda volunteered her time as a tutor for neighborhood kids, who said she was a "constant guidance." party, her daughter said those r o met her lt like they known her foars. fareeda was 75. of course as always our hearts go out to those who haveost >> woodruff: on the next episode of "beyond the canvas," we profile some of the brightest stars taking the stage, like "hamilton" creator lin-manuel miranda, and new playwright jeremy o'harris. find out how they are breaking boundaries. that's this weekend, "beyond the canvas," only on pbs. check your local listi canvas" online.re "beyond the during the coronavirus pandemic,

cellist yo-yo ma says artists, and musicians especially, have an important role to play in helping to lift others up. he recently spoke with the newshour's amna nawaz about why he encourages anyone to write, usic or create art at th time.th al and more is on our website, www.artscanvas.org. and that is the ne for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. have a great weekend. please stay safe. thank you, and good night. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >>hen the world gets complicated, a lot goes through your mind. with fidelity wealth managementi a ted advisor can tailor advice and recommendations to your life. that's fidelity wealth management. >> consumer cellular. >> johnson & johnson. >> financial services firm raymond james.

>> the william and flora hewlett foundation. for more than 50 years, advancing ideas and supporting institutions to omote a better world. at www.hewlett.org. >> supporting social entrepreneurs and their solutions to the world's most pressing problems-- skollfoundation.org. of these institutionsng support and friends of the newshour. hi >>program was made

hello, everyone. welcome to "amanpour & co." here's what's coming up. another trump shock, suggests laying u.s. election, an orders u.s. troops withdrawn from defending democracy in europe. i ask tony blinken what happens when america is missing in plus, as trade tensions and the pandemic wreak havoc on the world economy, i talk to the outgoing wto president roberto azevedo. and -- >> putting brakes on a car, you can drive fast. without brakes, you're not going d drive very fast. >> 150,000 deaths unting.