sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woouff: good evening.f. i'm judy woodr on the newshour tonight: the persistent pandemic. health leaders declare the coronavirus far from contained. glwe discuss congress' strto 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. mark shields and david brooks examine the congressional stalemate over covid relief, the v.p. pick, and the president's suggestion of delaying the election. pbs newshour. tonight's

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and friends of the newshour. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: there is still no d in sight tonight to the covid-19 pandemic-- and nof economic relage, 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 ou coverage. >> reporter: a note of hope from the nation's top infecous

disease expert today... >> we feel cautiously optimistic that we will have a vaccine by his year and as we go into 2021. >> reporter: dr. anthony fauci told the house oversight subcommittee on corovirus that efforts to secure a vaccine are moving at breakneck ce. 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 gett. >> reporter: joining him on the panel, dr. robert redfield, head of the centers for disease control and prevention, and admiral brett giroir, the white house testing czar. democratic committee chair jim clyburn of south carolina ripped into the trump 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 haheled atocal and state levels. dmd with cases surging in much of the nation,al giroir acknowledged delays in an exchange with democratic

congressman andy kim of new jersey.ou >> it be possible for our nation to have results for alls covid templeted and returned within 48 and 72 hours? ishat a possible benchmark that wcan achieve? >> it is not a possible given the demand a supply.oday, it is absolutely a benchmark we ubachieve moving forward >> reporter: replicans pushed the panel on re-opening schools, essential servicesnot inse the classroom. blaine luetkemeter of missouri warned that child abuse is going unreported, because kids are not in school where teachers can see them and spot signs of abuse. and, the c.d.c.'s redfield repeated his own call to return to classrooms. >> the public heth interest of the students in this nation right now is to get quality education and face-t learning, and we need to get on with it. mi reporter: but another point made by thouri 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 wa an answer to the question-- do the protests increase the spread of the virus? >> i don't have any scientic evidence of anything. i can tell you that crowds are known, particularly when you don't have a mask, to increase the acquisition and tranission. >> reporter: avoiding large i gatherinone of five actions the c.d.c.'s redfield said americans should be doing to curb the virus, along with wearing a face coverin and, avoiding crowrs andhygiene; restaurants. >> if we did those five things--

we've done modeling data-- we get the same bang for the buck as if we just shut the entire economy down. >> reporter: on the economic relief front, white house negotiators met with congressional democratic leaders again. federal jobless benefits 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.pense >> reporter: in turn, house speaker nancaccused republicans and the white house of not recognizing the pandemic's severity. >> we don't have shared values, that's just the way it is. so, it's not bickering. it's standing our ground, or trying to find common ground. >> reporter: with no deal in sight, house democrats said they will cancel the august recess until they've palled a relief for the pbs newshour, i'm stephanie sy. >> woodruff: let's take a closea

look at themic response from capitol hill, with the chair of the coronavirus oversight committee. i spoke this afternout that and other matters with democratic congressman james carolina, who is also e house majority whip. representative clyburn thank you very much for joining us. your specialubcommittee held a hearing this mning, you heard from top health n officialse trump administration and you called on them to makerastic changes in the administer approach to this pandemic. you said another 150,000 americans could die. what changes do you want to see the administration make? >> thank y very 67 for having me. first of all, i do believe tha the administration has had the kind of a proam that iould like to see. buhiseem to be pusng that out to the states privately. i want them to go to a national

program. i want them to be well coordinated based upon science. >> woodruff: do you think they will do that? >> i don't knowilf theyl do it or not. but i think the testimony today. was very clear dr. fauci, dr. redfie, ande andd the admiral, i don't disagree with a thing. justeems to me that th are really working together. it's just not getting out to the staith. >> woodruff: president trump asou may know, representative idyburn, tweeted during the he hearing and he his about you. he said, quote, somebody please tellongressman clyburn, who in his word doesn't have a clue, that the chart he put up indicating more cases because we do much more testing. th any other country in e world. if we had no testing or badding we'd show very fases. how do you respond?

>> iespond le e experts responded. dr. fauci and dr. redfield all of them say very saw st.ly sus st.ly that this surge -- this infections has little to do w one thing only. it's a plethora of things that artaking place so the testing would not account for this increase. this increase comes about because we were doing about 50% of what other countries are doing. in other words, if people had masks, or seals, if people will recognize social distancing, that theyb mighe a different thing. but we have the president making fun of wearing a mask not doing any social distancing. not setting an example for the re of the country.

that is what the problem is. so the testing is just one part of it. the other part is whether or not we adhere to what the scientists say is reqred r driving the numbers down. >> woodruff: let me ask you about covild reief legislation. the white house chief of 1256, mark meld dose, said republicans had made more separate proposals to democrats on some kind of compromise, they said every single one of them has been turned down. my question is, mr. clyburn, why not just agree among oth ter thiny suggested a short term extension, why not at least age to a rt-term extension so that these $600 in aitional unemployment benefits will continue and won't lapse. >> well, i can appreciate the fact that i hope you appreciate,

i have no idea whether mr. mr. meadows would be reflecting acrately what is going on in these negotiations. but i will say this. i do believe that we cannot allow eoplto lose their homes homes, we cannot renters to be put on the streets.t we canlow unemployed people to lose their insurance. we need to keep people wmeith ino that we can keep this economy going. so what mr. meadows said, i don't know. i'm not one of the negotiators i'm not going to pass judgment that at all. >> woodruff: democrats are making a major push right now for more accesso mail-in voting.er yey congressman john lewis lewis' funeral, former president ama spoke about it. it was very critical of

republican efforts i his words to deny any votes. today we had the white house advisor, steven miller, saying at what president obama said was scandalously and outrageou outrageously false. he said repuotblicans are n trying to do any such thing. is?re do you come down on th >> i think everybody knows that i have forev been for what ica 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 their vote. some predestiated 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 i line as they did in wisconsin when people came up sick. an can ae to pay for people

to vote while being socially distanced. that's what i'm for. some people it might be mailed in. i do mail in voting every year because i always h work on election day. and so i mail my ballot innd so it doesn't seem to say something different. voting abstee, than voting my mail. i made my absentee in so what's the difference? there is no difference. i think steven miller ought to be ashamed of himself. >> woodrufe of the thing mr. miller said this morning, it's shocking that nobody whoma s in a ballo has their identity confirmed. he hsaid nobody checks to see if they're a u.s. citizen. >> they can check to seewa anything the to check to see. bar coding has been with us foreven' i know where he's been.

but you can always bar cod every dollar to know whether or nothe proper pn cast that ballot. never been any kind of a probl problem. they have done research on mai mail-in ballots. there's -- i think there may be several states that vote 100% by mail. so nobody has ever found any they are just tryo cloud the issue, they're looking for election. try to postpone this they're looking for some way not i have been sayinthat for three years. that that president doesn't plan to have -- he's not planningo give up the office. he thinks that the amrican people will be duped by him like people ogermany was duped by adolph hitler. >> woodruff: one final thing, representative clyburn.

vice president biden as you know is saying he's going tnco ann o nouns next week which woman he has chosen to be his running mate. you have said you think it would be a plus, but not a must for joe biden to choose an african american woman. my question to you, though, is with the what wve seen ppen in this country over the last justice, the sensitivity around racial justice, do you n think it would be better if he chose an african american womans his running mate? >> i still maintain that it will be a plus. do believe that a little bit fool hard hardy for us to be fog on the vnte presihoice 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 too sin the united states supreme court, no one has ever ven

consideration due to african american woman. that to me is priority. substaive me an african but on american woman on the supreme court. that's where we determine how our democracy will preserved. this supreme court h muted the voting rights act of 1965. i very concerned about the composition of the united states supreme court. >> woodruff: house majority whip, representative james cclyburn of soutolina. thank you very much. >> thanks for having me >> woodruff: this eveninghi >> woodruff:evening, there are reports that joe biden will announce his pick for runninghe mateeek of august 10.

>> woodruff: in the day's her news, the surge of covid infections in much of the world has hit new highs-- cord 292,000 cases in th last 24 hours. india alonreported 55,000 cases-- its most yet. meanwhile,ritish 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. hanoand other cities also report new infections. a storm that battered puerto rico and the dominican republich is nricane isaias, and it's heading for the u.s. east coast. it swept over the bahamas today, and was expected to strengtheng before reachuth 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. it was a setback for pro-democracy forces, who hoped for an overwhelming win at the polls. activist joshua wong said it's l part of a campaign-- including barring him and others from running for the city legislature. >> beijing has sged multiplepr acts tent 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 ourom and rights that are stipulated t the joint declaration a basic law. >> woodruff: the election delay comes as mainland china is movi to curb dissent in hong kong under 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 say he sent bogus tweetsrom high-profile figures, including barack obama, joe biden, bill gates and

others. the tweets promoted a bitcoin scam that netted more than $100,000. britain and one in orlando, a federal appeals urt 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 carried out the 2013 attack that killed three people and injured 260. the brother died in a gun battle with police. u.s. supreme court justice ruth bader ginsrg was discharged a frospital in new york today. she had a procedure on a bile duct ste. ginsburg is 87, and is also being treated for a recrence of cancer. the u.s. census bureau is moving its deadline for this year's count back to december 31.

nficials wanted an extens 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 come on the newshour: the assistant attorney general for national security scusses the state of u.s.-china joe biden closes in on his choice for his running mate as heats up.ign for the white house

mark shields and david bros eak down the week's myriad political headlines. plus, much more. about her background to come to the u.s. as the -- this as u.s. takes on china on multiple fronts, there's a major push on the legal front as nick schifrin reports the department du justice has made combating alleged chinese trial and 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 leaving an envelope of $20,000

in cash, and returning later to pick up an s.d. card with what he was told was classified u.s. intelligence to give to theub people's rc 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. charged chinese hackers who act "in associion" with chinese intelligence, chinese military erficers who pose as students and researto live in the u.s., naturalized u.s. citizens who steal trade secrets for chinese companies, and just last week, chinese hackers who broke into dissidents' accounts and private companies, working for the state. >> these intrusions are yet another example of ching's bren wilss to engage in theft through computer intrusions, contrary to their internional commitments. >> schifrin: that is assistant attorney general john demers, who leads the stpartment of e's national security division.

in the last ten days, the division has made nine case announcements connected tohat it calls chinese misbehavior, including juan tang, who temporarily hid out in china'ssc san franconsulate. 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 reaed 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 attorney general john demers, department of justice's national security division. john demers, welcome to "newshour." let's bee general with the highest profile 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 successful chinese espionage that other

chinese actions. >> as you indicate, nick, we didn't choose houston at random among the chinese csulates 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 foreign influence activities. and so, once the decision was made to close a consulate here in the u.s., houston wasn 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 call it out increase? i think the theft has been steadily increasing. so we've seen chinese espionage both traditional as you talkedth

about ie pung case in the opening oon 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 tim particularly with the made in china 2n 025 plathat that was announced back in 2015 the sco scope, i thk the persistence use of nontraditional collectors like folks who are at comnies and aren't necessarily intelligence officers or member of the military o take intellectual property. the sophisticaon of the plans, their ability to do cyber intrusions has also increased over time. so we've seen i think a stead

steady -- to make surthat across the country the u.s. attorney's office and here focused on the threat that w rire seeing every day in the intelligenceing that we were getting about the threat of intellectual property from chi 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 ge that program. really understand that program in the last few years? >> i think that we have understood the sce 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 being used to take intellectual property is also

grown over time. in the cases that we have over the past couple of years, you seindividuals both on the business end 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 theirun ersity about whether they're receiving foreign funding. they are hiding their trips over to china.cl they're not declaring affiliations with universities in china. at the same time they're taking intellectual property of the company or th university and they're transferring it over to china. so it's n just a talent recruitment program, it is also an avenue for the chinese t take american intellectual property. >> schifrin: we went back to the chinese government's responses to some of these cases and some of these claims. fod a spokesman for ministry of

ign affairs said the department of justice claims were full of politicalize, pose their ideological bias. are you biased against china? >> i'm pro liberal democracy to that extent i'm against hethoritarian communism. what we're doin is really going after illegal activity property.heft of intellectual we have brought many of these cases, we are able to prmove the and we have proofed them using unclassified, aissible evidence beyond any reasonable doubt. so i'm very comfortable in the cases that we brought and confident in the inferences that and we won't charge a case u unless we're confident there has been ron doing. >> schifrin: the other day chinese governmentpokesman called tik tok a chinese compa company, reporng this afis rnoon that administration could ask tik tok parent company to divest or vperhapsen

microsoft could purchase it. what is the threat attic to be >> look, without ng into any potential transactionss, the threat that we're worried about on the national security of tik tok is both withespect to u.s. data and with reo pect tforeign influence of the content of those apps. so on the datae,bout 130 million users here in the u.s. who are providing their data luntarily when they sign up and knowingly. but also unknowiy that app is collecting data from their phes, location data, using advertising ideas even from other apps on their phone to see their behavior, tlyftilize the app you have to consent, for instance, fob the app to access your list. there's a lot of data that is being selected on u.s. persons that we're concernedut. because we've seen the chinese acque eitr through stats or

through attempted acquisitions, laquantities of sensitive personal data. on the content sidand foreign influence side you're aware of the many reports includingrom whistleblowers within the company of the company moderating some of the content on the app to exclude versions of chinese behavior that chinese government doesn't like, whe'str bout 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 himself said today we continue to look at ways in which to mitigate those concerns. >>chifrin: i have to ask, yesterday president trump asked on twitter whether the elect should be delayed.se pompeo said department of justice will make a final

judgment on that.ul the election be delayed? >> the election is set by statute.i think you saw the ress from the hill yesterday about the idea of changing that date. i don'know anythinmore tha that. that's really outside my area of reonsibility. >> schifrin: assistant attorney general, thank you very mu. >> woodruff: as the coronavirus pandemic continues to surge, many questions remain about how next month's democratic national ocnvention will work in a time ofl distancing. but as lisa desjardins reports, the biggest question remains, who will share the spo with joe biden? >> what started as a debate stage in march. >> i would pick a woman to be m

vice president. >> reporter: have put a new twist on time honored campaign parlor game. which democratic woman will joe biden pick as his presidential running mate. aveund a dozen candidates h been on his rumored short list, elizabeth warren, tammy duckworth. former national security advis advisor, susan rice. atlanta mayor, congresswoman val demings. governor michelle grishamnd several others. >> i'm honored to be back ih n norolina, at least virtual virtually. >> reporter: many of theic potential have already hit the virtual campaign trail. have people in leadership likebi joe den. >> biden moved own to the final round of inte intersays set toee his choice public s>>n. 'm going to have a choice in 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 woman to run for our natonn's sechighest office, you send a powerful signal to all americans. there are no doors we cannot u unlock. >> incredible resnsibility. reporter: her daughter, donna donna, later produced a movie about her mother's r 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 op drtunity. if sn't do aood job she thought it could be disastrous. >> reporter: it was more than 20 years before another wom

accept a major party nomination for vp. 2008, this time republican, tara palin who was breaking barriers. >> they say the difference between a hockey m and a pit bull? lipstick. ereporter: that same y biden himself underwent a closely regarded process arnd emerging as barack obama'ste running >> this is his time. this is our time. this is america's time.>> eporter: those around biden say that 2008 experience and his eight years in the white house profoundly shaped how he'll make his choice now. democratic congress juan of pelaware cochairs the v selection committee. >> he is looking for someone whs not only qualified and competent but his word is sim pat take co. >> there e dozens oidf coation from personal chemistry to else balance as out biden's potential shortcomings

to who can have a win in >> i think he'sng for a true partner. >> biden's chief of staff. >> he'looking 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 grhet at. looking for someone who can actually govern with him in aio situ you know, where the country is in dire straits. >> a recent morning poll found 54% of people say, the vp nominee will have no impact on their vote. >> i'm not as aligned to, it has to be this person if you don't going to get my vote. i'm more interested, we need t put america back on the right track. >> i definitely votg inor joe biden. only viable can't date. >> he taught himself a transition candidate. the pson he chooses this year

matters more because biden would be the oldest president ever sworn in. more vulnerable to the would run for a second termr he regard goes of health. >> i think who he shooses i going to elevate his running mate not just be his running ma for 2020 b i think definitely sets him up te on national stage far some time. >> the vice president has reall good way for him to reach out to people maybe undecided. >> biden is facing growing pressure from some people to pick a woman ofol. 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 hat ticket. >> reporter: those calls come autos race and justice issues have taken center stage in the campaign after nationwide protests sparked by the murder black women are tht reliable and loyal voting block

for democra demoatic candidates, 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 will help to increase enthusiasm, demonstrate 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 isnd falling daily. but only a few days now until pb>x,gts on the 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 rue nature of this campaign donald cannot run or it's going to be down and dirty, 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 that first qualification beyond comfort left that the president presidtial 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 aboug govern if joe biden is elected he'll be trying to administer the new deal and the progressive era a all at once. i think he needs shoebody has administrative experience, mething like keisha bottoms from mayor of at lakhta, the tickbo biden-ttoms streets couldn't sound so great.

she's impressive person who hasi a strong ps as she demonstrated during those first days. the governor 6 new mexico. is another person who hasad nistrative experience. it's a plus to me have administrative experience outside ofashington. less ideological climate where you are actudministering things. to me that would be how i would look at it.t who is going te on responsibilities in administration that is going to be chock full of legistive craftsmanship and administrativr administrative cpetence. >> woodruff: mark, go ahd. dave is saying doesn't make a difference i want to hear what you >> i think historically can make the casee t hasn't ma difference. lyndon johnson did make a difference in 196 with the election of john kennedy. being the character witness,y association for northern catholic. but i he degree with david on

that. i would say this.is winninnot the most important thing in a campaign. it's the only thing. excludinged consideration of the talent, but i want someone who is going to help him win with rhyme joe biden. it's going to be a lousy mean mean-spirited campaign. you're gng to have someone who is at your side there. i don't think any question about it. >> woodruff: go ahead. >> just say that congressmancl urn who america wants to see a king maker we saw one. he is the n where he d, 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 giving i thought joe

biden permissn 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 stateyment b jim clyburn. >> woodruff: 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 african american woman goes to the cou court, the high court than the vice president. the job of the ce president. >> hadn't thought of the interpretation on that, i find it very persuasive that he was giving permission to gside if he felt like it. he said certainly a smarted political signal operator, that seems persuasive to me. ake supremeimes you court justice over vice president for sure, because you get it for lifetime. and has actual power.

i think it's a clot closer right now. fdr's first 100ays, the amount of legislation that was drafted. th tk of what is goio 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 package, did a lot of foreign policy stuff. he was not just window essing i'm sure he's going to want a vice president to be that. interesting case to me is elizabeth warren, if you want somebody who is good at coming up with plan,he's really good at coming up with plans. the question would be, arehere moderate voters who would take a look at her and have a bit of fright. if i'm sticking to my gove matters more than politics elizabeth warren would also be a good choice. >> woodruff: speaking of important agendas right now before congrs, mark, is a pandemic relief legislation. and it doesne 't seem to bgoing anywhere. end of may. trillion plan at the

senate republicans haven't been able to agree among themselves. all thiheard the reporting on who is to blame, republicans are democrats are saying republica republicans. who bears responsibility? >> i think it's fair to say i responsibilin washington is shared at this point. primary responsibility that the house as you pointed out did pass its plan. it's all on board. sen for mcconnell introduced the plan tat died on aival. the white house has absolutelly absolu- president is not a player in this. eenave to say that there's b a certain epublican abdication. the realy is, judy, we're tk talking about according to the census bureau, we have 14 million american households, in 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.

aving towns at a time when you haven't resolved is just u unacceptable. i think every member of congress really has to face that. they should be there, they should be working. they should come to a solution. >> woodruff: david, does one side or another bear more of the responsibility here? >> i think 60-40 to repub that blame. they returned to their corners, for small businessave tonough protect small businesses from t ing bankruptcy. you doose gist jobs you lose all the human capital all the connections that were put ii to that business. that is a tragedy. republicans certainly err in trying to cut the 600 to 200. they are -- i spoke to a few this week that people are making more unemployed than they would employed because they're notth going back thr jobs. that is certainly a problem. people ahi doing okay with s. but the research suggest that people are getting toyhe

emnt insurance benefit are going back to work just as much as people are not getting it.er 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 unconscionable to me. ti do in think republicans understand that we are on a lifeline because of the earer d packages. the economy would be doing way worswithout that. and if you take away that suofpy oney we'll zika that is freethrow tee is greater thanti pated would be a human tragedy. >> woodruff: this week as you both know we goterrible news about the resurgence of this virus and we got very bad news about the economy, connected to it.we buatch these in employment benefits lapse this weekend. mark, very quickly, voting, there's a lot of back and forth this week about absentee voting, voting by mail.en the presweighing in.

saying tt 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 thin is that something that people should be concerned about? >> we should be concerned about a president who wants to open up football stadiums, send ac 7-year-olds to school to sit on school buses be in group of 30 other kids. 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 mail. 35 states have no excuse absentee voting. that is it. among the mm aost important politically in terms of the pennsylvania, wisconsin, michigan,ew hampshire, states

that whereou have to have your ballot postmarked by election day. anso the president says he refuse to sign any legislation that gives ore money to state and local people trying to deal with increased pected absentee vote by mail. i have to say, there's nothing more sacrosanct. we've done it in world wari, in the civil war, big choices now. we have to ote and will vote on vember 3rd, donald trump has to be absolutely rebutted on this issue. >> woodruff: david,. >> i'm worried about it. we've haa bad year on elections. long lines in georgia. the nighof iowa caucuses. ast had a bad year, epidemic makes ot worse. a lot of people are not going to be comfortabl comfoable pan ma polls. a lot of people are not where

they live. worry a close election have results drag out for days, weks weeks, while everybody in the conspiracy world undermines it. this is something that for most, sht ld be upper moson our mind and what donald trump is important.uf >> woo finally, david, i didn't give you a chance last week to say something about john lewis, the nation said goodbye to him all this week then yesterday that very moving funeral service in atlanta. thoughts about how that unfolded and what his life meant. >> just on the obamaulogy, thought it was -- i did not mind if it was polital. if barack obama wants to deliver a eulogy wano dedicate ito lifes that i dedicate m to that's fine by me. what he emphasized about lewisat is was so impressive him and the whole movement which was

progressiveness.ns nt offense. always marching whenever there was a debate internally should we march or prudent not to mar march. lewis says, no, we're matching. it was that sense of constant push c, constant pressure tha made it so successful as a movement and made him as a. pers we know him well. what always struck me,e could have carried himself as a saint. he had something saintly about 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 do't come along every day. >> woodruff: they certainlyt. do we are all touched by his life and by his legacy. thank you both. david brooks,ie mark shs. ank you. >> woodruff: the united states

ssed another devastating milestone this week, with more than 150,000 lives lost to omronavirus. again, we take at to recognize a feof them. reverend vickey gibbs's final sermon at her houston church was an impsioned call to action on coronavirus relief and racial injustice. >> be the bridge tequality by demanding and voting in change >> woodruff: seading love and fighting for justice-- these were vickey'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 5 n.s. ramamurthy, "rama" to those who knew him, was a pioneering

research scientist at stony brook's school of dental medicine. the work of his team led todi importanoveries in oral health and antibiotics. born in south india, and before 6,ttling in new york, rama moved to canada in 1here he met ems wife of nearly 50 years, sharon, in biotry class. r scribed as "gregarious," with a passion uth asian arts, fama was devoted to his students, and hily, including two daughters and five grandchildren. rama was 80 years old. cynthia tilley's friends joked that her hair was as big as her het. the former nurse was constantly aiorganizing community funrs and charity events in myrtle beach, south carola. christmas was her favorite holiday. she spoiled everyone arod her, from 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 sh. 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. ame ran a before- and after- school promentored young performers, and helped care for kids 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 kidat new york public schools for 20 yrs. after moving to the bronx from mumbai volunteered her time as a tutor

air neighborhood kids, who she was a "constant guidance." party, her daughter said those who met her felt like they known her for years. 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 stagelikeor "hamilton" crein-manuel miranda, and new playwright jemy o'harris. find out how they are breaking boundaries. that's thiweekend, "beyond the canvas," only on pbs. check your local listi yon can find more "beyond the canvas" online. during the coronavirus pandemic, stcellist yo-yo ma says ar and musicians especially, have

an important role to play in helping to lift others up.en he ry spoke with the newshour's amna nawaz about why he encourages anyone to write, make music or create art at this time. all that and more is on our website, www.artscanva and that is the newshour 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 mo than 50 years, advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world. at www.hewlett.org. >> supporting social entrepreneurs and their solutions to the world's most pressing problems-- skollfoundation.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutionsfr annds of the newshour. >> this program was made

night on kqed newsroom, coronavirus cases sore in alcalifornia's cenvalley, we hear from lawmakers in the region about the surge and its impact on farmworkers. thus, extended unemployment benefits for llions come to an end, a key member of congress talou to us abt the crisis. w 00 cuts, a documentary profiles the struggle of journalists under attack in the philippines. welcome to kqed newsroom. this week, governor gavin newsom announced state assistance to contain, quote, alarming coronavirus outbreak in california's agricultural heartland. the state wi deploy three teams to eight counties in the central valley