♪ judy: good evening, i am judy woodruff. the newshour tonight, no progress yet. as the pandemic persists, congress struggles to find common ground on economic relief. i ask house speaker nancy pelosi about the state of negotiations. then, covid crackdowns. the corovirus provides cover for authoritarian leaders worldwide to consolidate their power and stifle dissent. plus, vote 2020. jill biden on hernd hus's run for the white house and handling of the pandemic. and, rethinking college. while many colleges charge full tuitn, one school plans to keep its drastically reduced costs permanent.

>> lifetime earnings for someone with a college degree in the right major is always a go outcome, but we have to bring costs down. judy: all that and more on 'tonight'"pbs newshour." ♪ >> major funding for the "pbs newshour" h been provided by -- >> since our beginning, our business has been people and their financial welg. that mission gives us purpose and a way forward. today and always. >> the women's suffrage ricentennial commission ho 100 years of the 19th amendment. landmarks will light uple in pund gold on august 26. learn more at womensvote100.org.

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watching and waiting tonight to see when the covid-19 resurgence will ease. daily infection numbers for the nation as a whole are down from last month's peak, buttill rising in 26 states. deaths are up in 35 states. still, president trump said in an interview last nit that it is under control, as much as you can control it. meanwhile, white house about a new reliefill talking assessments of the today.nt >> chief of staff market meadow, sey mnuchin, had been on the hill many days now, trying toet this deal worked out, but it is democrats,uc nancy pelosi, k s aumer, makinockery of this process. >> the neggiations are mov forward, bit by bit. we are moving closer together on

certain issues. we take each issue and we explain to secretary mnuchin and chief of staff meadows why this is the amount we need. judy: later, treasury secretary mnuchin said they have now agreed to try to work out a deal this week. it could include unemployment americans that expired last all eyes are on congress to close divisions to pass thd new ro coronavirus relief. to give us a sense of where democrat's top negotiatoe speaker of use, nancy pelosi. thank you. welcome back to the newshour. secretary mnuchin is saying you are aiming for a deal this week. what does it look like from your perspective? speakesi: we said at earlier availability with the press, we all have agrd we need to have an agreement.

an agreement though that faces would you believe the white house has not accepted the gravity of the situation? that is why the are thinking in smaller ways than they need to. a situation where we a trying to save the lives, livelihood and life of our democracy. we are making some progress, understanding each other better, exchanging paper to see in writing. legislators for many years. challenge to face and we want to have a legislative solution. owwe have to hat we are talking about. that is why we have to be precise about what we say and the impact it has. and a different point of view than theepublicans on this. judy: are you coming closer together on that all-important unemployment, federal unemployment benefits?

democrats were asking for $600 to continue endemic -- and republican said $200. speaker pelosi: theres no in between. since we passed the bl 11 weeks ag tomorrow, 3.3 million more people have gone on to the infected list. 70,000 more people have died. the republicad they would push the pause button. they did and last week they came up with some piecemeal thing. we are not saying to the american peoe, more people are infected, dying, more people are uninsured, more children food insecure, and guess a what, we going to cut your benefit. judy: madam speaker, with all due respect, you called it piecemeal and yet, what the republicans were offering was a short-term extension that would have allowed these extra

unemployment benefits to keep flowing. democrats said no. speaker pelosi: it would have been finished by now. the fact is, they did not have anything they couldn passe senate on their own side. if the pressants to say they fered this, you can't offer something you do not have. we have a bill called the heroes act. it passed 11 weeks ago tomorrow. it would have saved lives. they have said we have 20 members who will not vote for anything. are we talking rhetoric or reality, about what one side or the other is offering? this pieceme thing for one week -- you can only do that when you are on the verge of closing, passing a bill and having it signed into law. otherwise it is just shoiz. judy: i am trying to understand where the two sides are coming together.

example, the republican argument is, the $1200 they would give to millions of americans who need help right that lesser amount in some of unemployment. speaker pelosi: that is exactly what we had in the c.a.r.e.s. act. c.a.r.e.s. act.0 in the how does that make sense? we have to get something done, but it does not help. we have to get something done. this is theravity of the situation. we want to honor our heroes by supporting state and local gornment, end this virus by having testing, tracing. they said tracing -- we have things we want to do to protect our democracy, to protect the post office and what that means to o country.

and to feed our children. these are largely our priorities. they are saying we cannot afford to do that. let's find out what we can afford,e something we can ag to. can.s get it done as soon as we but let's not bein misreprese judy: excuse me fo terrupting. what about with regard to food aid? democrats do have money in the heroes act proposal for food. republicans don't. when talked to leader mcconnell last week he says the money they have that goes to schoolould provide at least scol meals for children. that would make up a significant proportion of the food assistance democrats are talking about. speaker pelosi: in our bill we have $67 billionor food and a small percentage of that goes to

food and utilities, water, li that. $67 billion for food. in their bill, they have $250,000 for food. judy: his point was thathe money that they have for schools would pay for school meals for ma children. speaker pelosi: we have to do that anyway. we have to do that anyway. we are far apart in terms of our values, in terms of understanding the gravity of the situation. are we determined to find an agreement? yes. we will find our common ground, but will not find it in a piecemeal bill thasays to our workers, you used to get $600, and now you will get $200

because the virus intensified and its spread. judy: republicans are showing flexibility for money for state this is a difference, democratse want more republica want less. they say they are willing to show flexibility and are saying a lot ofd money pas the spring has not been spent yet. speaker pelosi: if you want to be an advocate for them -- judy: i am playing devils advocate am asking for your position. speaker pelosi: we have a bill that meets the needs of the american people, called the heroes act. they don't even want to do state and local. when they do, it is meager. they want to revert to money from before. much of the money allocated before has been spent or allocated. a small amount has not because .hey want to see what we are doing in this bi

that a usot to recognize we have $915 billion for states, localities, counties and the rest, tribal governments and territories. they have very little money that they a offering. whene ve a chance and when we are allowed to show you what the different numbers are, but our record is clear. we are there for america's working families. we are concerned tens of millionsne of ople have or the 19th straight month onto unemployment insurance. 19th straigh week of one million people going on unemoyment. children are food insecure by the millions, and they don't want to spend the money arcessary to feed the children.

families are in f eviction. they said we will extd the moratorium, but not put any money to help with that rent. in terms o the $600, we will b cut yoefit and that is how we will observe. again, we will figr our common nd. i do not think as a legislator that whatas they are proposing any recognition of what is happening to the lives, livelihood and life of our democracy. judy: what iab was askint was money that had already been appropriate but had not been spent, and whether that can be part of a solution? speaker pelosi: no, that is money from before. it has been allocated and there is a small amount they are waiting to see what we do before they release. judy: again, trying to understand where the two sides may coming together.

th are you spending so much money, tts democ $3 trillion, that that hurts future generations. speaker pelosi: they dido not seemind when they gave a gigantic tax cut that added to trillion dollars to the national debt so they could get 83% of the benefits to the top 1%. it is amazing how free and clear when it comes to tichthey are friends and how exacting they areoo when aperson out of work gets $600. judy: is there any conversation about rolling back any of those tax cuts? speaker pelosi: we are not doing that in is bill. there is one we would like to roll back in the c.a.r.e.s. act. they put $250 billion for wealthy people in our country, having nothing to do with coronavirus. it w retroactive for their taxes in the past. we would like to get rid of that. i do not think we will have that chance.

when we address taxati in this country, we will do that in a way that is pay part -- bipartisan,d has fairness transparency, so the american people can see what is happening, rather than in the dark of night at the speed of light, a bill that gives 83% of the benefits to the top 1% and as nearly $2 trillion in debt for children to pay. w can they say food stamps add to the national debt? with all duepe r, thei piecemeal, meager approach does not recognize the gravity of the situation.if they had recognized it, we would not be in the situation we are in. since our bill passed 11 weeks ago tomorrow, 3.3 million people have gone onto the list of those infected. 70 million have died. that did not have to happen. judy: bottom line, are you

saying a deal will be reached this week to pass next week? speaker pelosi: i hope so. our differences are again and our value systems. chuck and i are master legislators. we know how to get the bills done. know the devil and angels are in the details. are exchanging papers rather than having a conrsation. we have to have an agreement and we will, but we are not going to do it at the expense of america's working families, on the basis i will add to the tional debt. the chairman of the fed and others have said, if we don't help now with the economy, the economic situation is only going to worsen.

not investing in making iil safr for en to go to school, people we are giving this money to to inject demand into the econy so the economy thrives, it is only going to make matters worse. we feel very proud of the work done by our chairman to bring us to this place. i will say it again, save the lives, livelihood and life of our democracy. judy: house speaker nancy pelosi, we thank you very much for joining us. speaker pelosi:nk tou, judy. ♪ judy: -- stephanie:oo evening, i am stephanie sy with newshour west. monstrous explosion shook beirut, lebanon and shattered

much of the city's port. the health minister0 reported 7 videor showed an emous blast buildings miles away. officials said 2700 tons of ammonium nitrate blowup. rebecca collared is in beirut and spoke with judy earlier tonight. judy: rebecca, thank you for whing with us. exactly is known about what happened? rebecca: a lot is not known. the initial report said this was some sort of fireworks cache that caught fire. eri amclose to my own apartment, miles from the blast site. yo electricity.have no many of the buildings more than a dozen stories high have the top blown out. there is glass all over the street. the most recent thing we have heard, there was some sort of

chemical being held in this facility and that chemical caught fire. because of that, we saw this massive explosion. if you look at these phot, the video of the explosion, a massive explosion and huge plume of smoke from beirut. judy: as you described, a massive aftereffect, loss of life, so many injuries we are hearing. rebecca: the officia toll is over 60 and over 3000 peopl jured. i can tell you even where i am to this point, hours after the blast took place, i am still hearing ambulances taking people to hospitals. the i hospita beirut are overwhelmed with the number of injuries coming in. unfortunately, over tonight and into tomorrow, we will only see rise significantly.d judy: such a terrible incident.

rebecca collard, reporting from beirut, thank you. rebecca: you are welcome. stephanie: back in this country, tropical storm isaias sped up the i-95 corridor up the east coast today, leaving damage. the storm was downgraded after coming ashore as a hurricane in north carolina overnight and heading north. along the way it spun off multiple tornadoes, including one in windsor, north carolina that demolished mobile homes, flipped ca and killed two people. heavy rain triggered heavy flooding in suburban pennsylvania and elsewhere. two more people were killed by falling trees. stherm also knocked out power to nearly 3 million customers. the u.n. secretary general warned of a generational catastrophe and education costs by the pandemic. in a video message antonio guterres said school closures

have disrupted learning for at least one billion students across 160 nations. he said getting students back to classrooms safely has to be a top priority. >>fi we have a ng moment for the children and young people. it has impact on hundreds of millions of young people and the velopment prospects of countries for decades to come. stephanie: guterres said minority children, the and others are at greatest risk of being left behind. a closely watched primary race in new york was finally called six weeks after the election. representive carolyn maloney was a the winner against suresh patel after a judge ordloed absentee b be counted. president trump pointed to the contest as an example of problems with mail-in voting. five states held primary elections today, with vote by

in kansas, roger marshall and kris kobach vied for the u.republican nomination fo senate. in st. louis, democratic presented live lacy clay faced prressive cory bush. in detroit, rashidala was in a rematch with brenda jones, the city council president. president trump signed a bill that will pump nearly $3 billion a year into conservation, national parks and outdoor recreation. the great american outdoors act became law in a ceremony today. it is touted as the most important conservation measure in nearly 50 years. critics say it does not go far enough. still to come on the newshour with judy woodruff,l dr. j biden discusses the campaign for the white house and r new book, "where the light enters." wthronavirus provides covers

for authoritarialdwide to stifle dissent. in light of the pandemic, one college plans to keep its reducedos tuition permanent, and much more. ♪ >> " this is ts newshour" from weta studios in washington and from the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state univsity. judy: former vice president joe biden is expected to announce soon who he was as his running mate and the person undoubtedly closest to the candidate's , drsion-making is his wife jill biden. her book, "where the light enters: building a family, discovering myself," first published in 2019, it is out in paperback today and she joins me now. dr. biden, thank you for joining us. we will leave everyboe in suspense the vice president and starty talking

about your book. it is very personal. you write about being 24 years old when you met joe biden. you rried him two years later. was already united states senator with two children and he lost his first wife. you described how daunting it was. how dido it? dr. jill biden: when i met joe i was hesitant at first. he asked me five times to marry him. it was not just my heart on the line. like you sd, he had lost his wife and daughter. hei fell in love with boys, but i had to make sure this marriage w going to work. and a sister. a mother cthld not lose a mother through divorce. so i said yes, finallyer and we are 43 years later. judy: you wrin the book

about the highs and the lows, the heartaches, including especially the death of your son bo five years ago from brain cancer. i was struck. you wrote in the book, this was last year when the book came out, you said you lost your faith, but hope you can salvage it someday in the future. have you been able to salvage it since? dr. jill biden: i have. something remarkable happened to me we were on the campaign trail last summer in south carolina. we were visiting a church, the sunday service. during the service a woman came up to me. we were in t front pew and she put her hand on me and said dr. biden, i want to beneour prayer pa i had never heard of prayer partner. we got in touch.

we prayhe tog we text each other a few times a week. after five years, she gave me back my faith. it was so remarkable. judy: you write in the book also about how teaching is central to who you are, you have made a career of it. you were the first second lady of the united states to work full-time while your husband was vice president. you said some years ago you wanted to teach, if he were tected president. would you still t? dr. jill biden: i would love to do that. if i have the honor of being first lady, i hope i can continue to teach. that is one of the things i am looking forward to. judy: education is so important to you and a huge problem during this pandemic. right now schools, parents, do.ng over what to you said the health of the children and teachers should be remost, but at the same time

you know very well not having an education can be very damaging, especially for the young or children with disabilities. how does that getved? listen to the exped doctorave to s and only returned to school when it is safe. i think what this pandemic has done, it has shown the inequity in education. msoy areas of our country do not have broadband. ansokids do not have laptops or computers. they do not have internet. eed to fix that. this hopefully gives us the opportunity, moving into our nexttr adminion, where joe, that is part of his plan. he is already working on a strategy, and education strategy, all children can universal,r education at

prekindergarten, starting at age three. we have to address the inequities in our system. my husband joe is prepared to do that and i will be right behind him. judy:e's talk about the fall campaign. do you expect to be out traveling, meeting with voters with your husband, and how concerned are you? there is a pre-consist -- pre-existing condition. your husband suffered aneurysms a few decades ago, and just the virus out there. dr. jill biden: we would love to be out on the road. joe is the best campaigner ever, but we are going tdolisten to thors. if they say it is not safe to go out, we will not go out. lo at what we are doing today. joe and i are meeting with thousands of americans every day through zoom and these virtual meetings. it has n stopped, it is just

joe keeps going and going. o he hasch energy. he was very young, 45 years old, when he had his aneurysm. he recovered and has not had a problem since. judy: the campaign, as i am sure you know, is one of the most polarized in history. irit is down and, the names thrown around. president trump hasca already ed your husband corrupt, crazy, mentally shot, the m-wt extreme leg candidate ever. this is f going to be on the history books. how do you get prepared for that, because it is going to be personal. dr. jill biden: it is personal, but we knew what we were getting into. we kwhoonald trump was. when we made our decision, wee looked at other and i

said, we haveoueen t the absolute worst thing that could ever happen to two people, and that is the loss of a child. lddo trump, whatever he throws at us, we can take it. nothing is sticking to joe. the american people know joe, his character. he has been in politics, they know his decency and resilience. and quite frankly, his leadership style. i think that will make the difference in the election. judy:ab what when president trump goes after your husband for hicognitive ability? how does joe biden aanure the amereople he is prepared? dr. jill biden: for trump to be saying that my husband is not up to the job is just ridiculous. i think joe has proven, he has been on the debate stage, you

have seen him. i don't think joe has anything to prove to the american peop s because peop him, they see him daily, they know him, they know his plans, his strategies. i think peoe cannoait for a joe biden presidency. judy: just a couple other things. back to the vice presidential selection. youte told a rep today you are getting close, your husband is getting close. how involved are you in this decision? dr. jill biden: it is a marriage and he bounces things off of me, i bounce things off of him. of course we talk about it, but it is ultimately j's decision. when joe was in the white hoe with barack obama, they had a true friendship. i would say it even developed into a love for onenother. our families are very close. i think joe will be looking for

the woman who shares the same values he shares. i think that is what he had with barack obama and that is what he is looking for. judy: we assume he shares values with all the women who made the are down to the final shortlist. give us a sense of special qualities you and he are looking for. dr. jill biden: i think it is really important, tru is important to us. and i guess experience, wisdom. he needs a partner in governing, someone who knows how to govern, has the experience. i love all the -- the women who are candidates now, each and every one of them would ring someing really special and uniq to the ticket. it has been really hard to look

at each one and think, wouldn't she be wonderful? is a really tough choice, judy. judy: i am happyve for you to us a clue. [laughter] dr. jill biden: i can tell you it is going to be a woman. judy: last thing, it was just last march when you are on a stage withus yournd in los angeles and you physically stopped twoom people umping up, you body-blked them from getting close to your husband. my question is, have the cret service deputized you? dr. jill biden: [laughter] you know, the men and women of the secret service are so great, i would be honored to join their ranks. joe was giving a speech, he had no idea what was happening behind him. i happened to turn around torg e people cg up the steps. i did not even think about it, i

turned and put up my hands to stop them because i had no idea what they were going to do. i think as a mother, a wife, it is just instinct that that is how you react. fjudy: we will be looki you to do it again on the campaign trail or virtually. dr. jill biden, thank you. the book is "where the light enters." thank you. dr. jill biden: thanks, judy. ♪ judy: there is an old saying, never let a crisis go to waste. forle somers around the world, the pandemic has been the crisis they have been waiting for. pro-democracy groups say nism was already o the rise before covid-19. as nick schifrin tells us, the

ic has accelerated that trend. nick: they marched for democratic values and held signs saying free country, free press. but in hungary, democracy is sliding down an authoritarian slope. last week a reporter was c fired foerage critical to the government. all of those from that new site walked out. victor has long called them a fake news factory, but covid became a cover for him to seize power. it is happening elsewhere. an open letter from wor leaders andobel laureates, say authoritariani threatens the future. >>ea authoritarianrs across the world are using this to push through far more aggressive

autocratic measures and repress inde society.ices in civil european policy analysis.or >> i don't think they would have been able to do this because there would have been more attention and criticism, a a time we were not going through a global pandemic. nick: covid has embol be dictators. in russia, police shoved protesters into vans, thanks to a referendum that extends putin's power through2026. in egypt, a doctor arrested for criticizing the government sending masks abroad when he did not have enough for his own practice. th have arrested dozens for you to sizing the official covid response. in poland, andrzej duda, drnpite e.u. conwould not be fair. the vote was upheld by his uphandpicked sme court.

in hong kong, the beijing counselon pos a september vote it was expected to lose. pro-democracy groups say more than 60 elections have been postponed and more than 40 countries have restricted press freedom. these leaders sayor extnary times require extraordinary steps like border closures, an tracking.>> we successfully defr country. our achievement is comparable to any other country and we did that within democratic frameworks. nick: but many of the powers do not expire or have anything to do with covid. in hungary, orban withheld money from oonents. he declared victory over the virus, but in th house, there is only loss. last month, her mother died. >>ll i r miss her, everybody loved her. she always made our favorite food and got us ttle surprises

and presen. it hurts a lot that she is not with us anymore. nick: her mother was suffering kidney cancer when she was sent patients.ake room for orban silencing the press means hungarians did not receive the medical information they needed. she says her mother's death could have been prevented and in hungary know one person should have total control. >> i think it that unlimited power was given in one person's hands. nick: part of the problem is that covid arrived when covid attacked. the 14th consecutive yearf decline in the global freedom index. to t discusst and how authoritarianism has spread during covid, i am joined by ann appelbaum, a historian of central a europe andhor of a new bo ". twilight of democracy" welcome back to the newshour. you have known many of the

players. poland was one example, hungary. you have seen them shift over the decades from advocating democracy to eroding rule of law. what happened? ann: youave to look country by country for a complete explanation, point across both mature democracies and new democracies, a disappointment with democracy. sometimes this is culral. people don't like the way their societies have changed. we haves to acknowledge there a part of every society that does not like the cacophony of noise of democracy, and to arguments, the fact democracies cannot make insta decisions the way autocracies can. nick: turning to covid a the focus we put on one particular country, hungary, how did orb on -- orban take advantage of covid? ann: when it arrived, he used it

to illustrate he was already fully in control of his system. he passed a decree o order that said for the period, as long as he wanted, he would rule by decree. a number of hungarian said to me, we know this sounds terrible, but in a way, orban was confirming what we already ioow, that he fun as a dictator. there are no checks and balances on him. he was using the askew's of the coronavirus to rub this in. nick: one aspect of orban's edom ofwn is against f pres we have seen governments all over the world restrict freedom ofhe press. what is the long-term impact of some of those measures? ann: the increase to crackdown on the freeze -- free press and channel it inertain directions has always been with us. the coronavirus some governments to take advantage of that situation.

remembing for many people, moments wh they are afraid and fear for their lives, are often moments when they aree illing to treedom for security, or freedom for safety. nick: let's talk about china for a cond, that propaganda apparatus has waged an ideological battle, saying their structure is better equipped to deal with this type of crisis. you fear thatrgument could be accepted by people around the world? ann: the problem with the chinese argument is that it has -- it is undermined by their own actions during the crisis, and the fact t ithe chinese first denied th pandemic was dangerous. china is not in a good position pdeh but even when you step away from that, there is another interesting thing happening. best with the virus arehat

democracies. create a sense of community and trust, andavet people to b in a way that reduces the virus. there are a number of autocracies that have done badly. it turns out the line between who was doing wl and badly is not democracy versus dictatorship. it is to do more with solidarity. trust, com nick: lastly,resident trump raised the possibility of delaying the u.s. election. where is the u.s. when it comes to this story? ann: his purpose is to undermine our faith in the electoral process itself, so that people do not vote, so that they stay away, and so that they doubt the result if it is bad for him. this is a tactic used by authoritarians all over the world, when thewant to undermine people's faith in the

system, they undermined their faheh in voting andurpose and meaning of voting. weave all been convinced for many decades now that american democracy is something inevitable, like water coming out of the tap or the air we e,brea that there is nothing special we have to do in order to perpetuate it. but the lessons from around the diworld show democracies d people lose faith in them. political parties withan democratic beliefs take over democratic countries. our democracy like every democracy requires work, reformt renewed cont. they require new kinds of litics. it may be that all of us have te more involved in politics and think harder about how to ensure our democracy survives than we ever expected to. nick: ann appelbaum, the book is "twilight of democracy: the lure

of authoritarianism." ♪ judy: despite the fact that college classes will be taut only remotely at many schools, plen of colleges and universities are charging full tuition this fall. hari sreenivasan has a story about one schoolui cuttingon substantially during remote learning m anding plans to keep it low permanently. it is part of our rethinking college series. hari: during his final months of high school, anthony, a varsity golfer, spent time on his swing and thinking about the cost of college. his older sisters have about 100 $80,000 in combined student loan debt. their parents, both public school teachers, worked extra jobs and rented out their home,

but the pandemic ended that actual -- extra income. hisay father there were difficult conversations as the family tried to work out how to pay for ahony's first year of college, 23,000 dollars, after financial aid and a golf scholarship. >> we live in a small house. conversations carry. we talked about how to manage going forward financially. it was stressful. hari: about a month before his high school graduation, anthony got an unexpected email from the school he was planning to attend, southern new hampshire university. >> that email was two paragraphs long and thereas no confusion. we are going to waive your tuition for your first year and then it will be $10,000 a year after that. that is a huge weight off me. i cannot believe someone would have to pay thaedmuch for an ation. hari:hey agree.

>> lifetime earnings for someone major will always be ain the good outcome, but it is not worth it at any cost. we have to bring the cost down. hari: he is the president of that university in new hampshire. they are lowering tuition for studentson normallampus from $32,000 to $10,000 while remote learning continues, and agree to reduce tuition to $10,000 in the years to come. all incoming freshman are receiving a full ride their first year. they planned to lower tuition in 2023, but the pandemic prompted the change. >> this pandemic and recession arfs the last recession. th elite schools probably will not feel much pressure to change. they will get back to normal and

say that was a pretty terrible period, but we are back to where we were. but they are fewer than 50 schools out of 4000 that fit th category. for everyone else, it is up for grabs. hari: they have a relatively small campus, 4000tudents, but it is the largest by enrollment because more than 130 thousand students attend online. >> when i made the first phone call they made it so easy. hari:av you mightseen the ads on tv. they spent more than $500 million on national marketing since 2009. it boosted enrollments and profits. rotheyht in more than $100 million last year. >> our abilityo serve more students has also meant we have not raised tuition in over 10 years. hari: but the school has faced scrutiny about marketing spending as well as concerns about graduation rates and what their grads learn.

they are often lumped together with for-profit competitors, when questions of qualit remain. now as so many universities and colleges are struggling financially and trying to adapt leblanc saysrning, smhu is financially solid and an expert at remote learning. >> the best online courses are often perior to facearo-face ng. hari: while some schools are lowering costs,u smh stands out for the amount of tuition it is cutting. >> we have 120te comies and you can master those as fast as you like. hari: we first visited the university six years ago when it ofred a competency-based degree, rather thanhours -- than hours spent in class. they reduce time in lture

courses. he say' the schoos goal after the pandemic is to have the tuition the same as online. >>o to go from 32 is a heavy lift. we cannot cut enough expense to lower tuition to that level. it reallynk means tg about stctural change. why we can' reason go 12 months ut of the year and get students into the workforce faster? hari: an incoming junior is one of the stunts on the front lines of change of the she is enrolled in a pilot project which before the pandic hit combined self driven competency-based online learning with dorliving and classroom supports. >> it is different from a regular classroom. there is not a teacher teaching yo no one sitting for hours on end talking to you. it is easier because i am learning at my own pace and grasping what i need. hari: wow she says ge program

isd fit for her, giving her flexibility to work while attending school, she is wondering how future empheyers will vieunconventional degree. >> when someone looks at my reme they will not see a gpa. the program does not require a gpa. i would have to explain to them exac about and how it is done. hari: that and other issues could come up for students as the school pushes the boundaries of a traditional college but he says higher ed needs to adapt to modern employers. >> let's not hold themano an old rd. transcript cannot discern much about what you actually learned or no. -- know. moving into a skills-based or competency-based framework gives us a language with eloyers. hari: teaching that will be faculty likeowell matthews.

he says while some profe fors are on tce about the changes, he is up for the challenge. >> being a professor of african descent, having limited opportunities personally to be able to to college, i am actually still paying today for my college degree and experience. so when you talk about equity, it is very personal and real for me because i am still in debt. are we really setting up students for success by allowing them to graduate with debt? hari: matthews and his colleagues hope lower tuition will help alleviate those debts. the school will announce how it plans t get tuition down permanently during the following school year. for the pbs newshour, i am hari sreenivasan. ♪ judy: president trump held press briefing at the white

house again tonight. yamiche alcindor was there and sh joins me now. first of all, we understand the president made comments abou this massive explosion in beirut today,ore td,n 70 d thousands injured. yamiche: that isid right, prt trump took questions on that topic. he said it looked like aomb or attack happened in that city, but there is no confirmation what happened. the president said it just looks like that and military officials are looking into what happened. judy: the other thing i want to askou, the president had comments on mail-in voting again. yamiche: that is right, the president over and over again has come out against the idea of mail-in voting. withou evidence that it would be fraught with fraud and peo ge would try e the system. today he tweeted and doubled down on this idea that florida the state that can do mail-in

voting without issues. crics of the president say he is trying to carve out the state that is a kst battleground e, the state he won in 2016. the president saying it is safe and clean there. there is no evidence mail-in voting involves rod. in the middle of a pandemic a lot of americans will try to use absentee valid because they are avoiding crowds. this is the president changing his stance on mail-in one state, florida. judy: the presidentnd others the administration acknowledged they in the past and themselves have voted by mail. yami the president has florida residency. he has voted by mail. so has the white house press if you -- for some states, you

have to physically vote. i should also note the president is saying there was fraud in a new york election, though there was no evidence. many americans are simply afraid to walk into these lines where you might be shoulder to shoulder with people as you trys toyour ballot. if there is record tournament, there could be a virus outbreak. a lot of people are looking to vote by mail. the president is coming ou against it, except in florida where he vacations a lot. judy: it is an issue we will weeks and months to come. yamichert alcindor repog for us tonight from the white house, thank you. yache: thanks. judy: that is the newshour for tonight. i am judy woodruff. join us online and again tomorrow evening. from all of us at "pbs newshour ," thank you, please stay safe.

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♪ thisroam was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by to your pion station from viewers like you. thank you. ♪ >> thi is "pbs newshour west" from weta studios in washington and from our bureau at the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. ♪

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