captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the coronavirus takes its toll. the u.s. records its deadliest dsuay oer as new potential hot spots emerge. i talk to doctor anthoci about the ongoing response. then a potential breakthrough in the middle east-- israel and the united arab emirates strike single diplomatic mreement plusling it in: as the u.s. election approaches,he trump administration intensifies efforts to undermine mail-in voting and the postal service. and, desperate journey. migrants crossing the dangerous jungle between colombia and panama oftene at

immigration outposts with nothing left. >> ( translated ): it took me 14 days with many ambushes along the way. i twice met bandits. the first ones robbed all my money, and the second ones robbed all my family's food. >> woodruff: all that and more on tonight's "pbs newshour." >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> when the world gets complicated, a lot goes through your mind. with fidelity wlth management, dedicated advisor can tailor advice and recommendations to your life. management.lity wealth >> consumer cellular.

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>> woodruff: claims for jobless benneefits fell belowillion last week for the fime since the pandemic began, but new labor departmentstics show millions of americans still out work amid rampant layoffs-- all as negotiations over a federal a s package remalled. meanwhile, the u.s. reported its highest daily death toll from the coronavirusince mid-may-- nearly 1,500. i spoke this evening with dr. anthony fauci, director of the nationalnstitute of allergy and infectious diseases. let's talk about this virus. right know the good news is that the number of new cases does seem to be slowing. but on the other hand, the daily death toll has more than doubled

what it was a month ago. i looked, there were 14deaths yesterday, more than any other day in the moh of august. united states is not where it ishould be right now, it? >> no, it's certainly not where we want to be. certainly in certain sections of tathe country, cin sections are doing well am but your comment, judy, about the deaths e important because what bople need to understand is the deaths lind the cases. wrer last time we spoke we had the big surging of cases. and then what lags after that is hospitalizations, and then deaths. so it seems like a paradox. the cases are going down but the deaths are going up. and that's only because we have a lag. if we can keep the cases coming down and down and down, you will start tosee the dehs tush around and come down. >> woodruff: well, the toll, dr. fauci, in some places is enormous. we were just looking. there haveeen more deaths in the state of for da in the past

two weeks than there have been all together in the countries japan and south korea. i mean that's a pretty big indictment of efforts to get this under control, n't it? >> well, you know, we really need to get it under control, i judy. you anhave spoken about this before. it is within our power. if we pull together in a unified, consistent way. what i have said so many times, it has been shown in other countries and has shown in parts of our own country, that if you do five or so fundental things, not only do you prevent the surges, but when the rges occur yu bring it down. uniform and universal wearing masks. physical social distancing. ding crowds. outdoor things always better than ioor ings. ynd wash hands as often-- often as you possi can. an addendum is we should stay away from bars and am tho

plawses that can, close the bars. those are hot spots of unfortunately, thais what we saw in some of the states that we've got to cut that out. >> woodruff: let's' talk about schools. you hae been an advocate of doing everything possible to goke it safe for children to back to school. but we now see wh has happened a number of states. georgia, just one school students and adultnowike 1200 quarantined as a result of their opening inperson classes. are we-- i mean are we looking at frankly many months of virtual learning, distant learning before we're able to safely open schools everywhere? >> in some places, judy, that may be the case. i mean you have heard me say that the default position should be to try to keep the schools open or to gethem open. but the thunking that is important in this country is that if you looat the green,

the yellow and the red states th definitions that you know so well about percent positive, mber of cases per 100,000. in the green areas, green states, citiesk counties, you can open the schoolk i'm sure, with a degree of impunusity bethe level of infection is so low. when you get to the yell states you have to realize that you have infection in your community. so youave got to havethe capability of protecting the children and the teachers by doing certain things. and you leave it to the local authorities to figureut what that is best for them. but they are well spelled t in the cdc guide lines. using masks. windows open, outside if you can, those kind of things. i mustay that if you are in a red area, stte, citor county, then you really tter think carefully before you just jump into school. and the people without don't like my saying that should realize that the best way to get

your schopen is to get out of a red zone, into a yell zone, into a green zone, so if you want your schools to open get ur community level down. down to a safe level. >> woodruff: and again we hear you and we know there are still skeptics out there among the american public. i want to ask yoa couple of questions about a vaccine. you are sticking, i dear, to your original projection that we will have one the end of this year or early next year. russia this week, early, it wasm met with gre skepticism. how confident are you that when this vaccine comes in this calltry, from a project warp speed, that people are going to be willing to have, to be vaccinated. >> well, two aspects to your questionjudy. the frst one, let's take the russians situation. you know, just to say you have a

vaccine doesn't mean that you should be administering the vaccine. we have a laugh a dozen vacs evens but before you give it to the american public, you want to be absolutely certain that if is a, effective. and b, safe. which gets to your second question. ich is the issue of warp speed. you know, in some respects that is a bit of an unfortunate terminology. it tends to sub liminally suggest reckless sp eed. not, judy. what has happened is that e technology that has allowed us to go from the sequence that we knew ithe beginning of january to getting a vaccine into haa one trial and then quickly going into phase two and three has nothg to do with safety, judy. it is doing something based on technology and operating at a financial risk instead of a safety risk. so i haven't changed my projection. i still think that we can have it by the end of the year, the

begunking of next year in a safe way. >> woodruff: just continuing on the vaccineueion though, a number we are seeing a number of state officials, public health experts who are starting to express publicly concern that there is no federal plan that they know of to distribute the vaccine. mishandling of the treatment drug remdesivir and they said this could be a slow motion trainwreck when it comes to a vaccine. how confident are you that it is going to be handled correctly? operation warp speed we have two individuals that are leading it, the scientific aspect it. and then the technical supply chain distribution by general part of it, and a representative of the department defense. so right now there are plans that are in place alady

manufacturing and getting ready for distribution. the critical thing that we want to make sureth we do it the trial itself can conducted in a way where there is equitable distribution of demographico groupsat you know it's safe and effective in everyone. african-americans, latedinx, white, everyone, asian. the other one is when the standard way of getting a recommendation through the-- the adviso committee on immunization practices which advised the cdc, getting the national academy of medicine involved to make sure we get equitable distribution. i'm confident that that will haf:en. >> woodromething we saw this week, and this has to do with the future, dr. fauci, th medical his storian howard markle wrote, he said this bepandemic may ere for a lot longer than people are acknowledging. because he said both becae of ications andompl

frankly deficit without break and the management and monitoring of this pandemic. he said there is a good chance this pandemic may not be fully over until 2024. >> yeah, you know, jud you ca always make those kinds of-- kinds of speculations and modeling in different ways. c rse, if we do not handle safe and effective vaccine, this could go on for a few years. however, we have certain things within our grasp and within our power that i believe are going to make that projection inaccurate. and that is we can control this fr a public health standpoint. superimpose golid, and careful, prudent, public health measures with a vaccine that is effective, it doesn't have to be 10 percent effective. you get a vaccine in throuro

2021, hout the year, i believe by the year 2021, the end of the year, we will be as good back to normal as we poibly can. that doesn't mean that-- i want to be clear, that you are going to eradicate this rus. the only virus that we've ever eradicated in the history the planet is the small pox, for t humans. >> can get it under good enough control that it is so low that it do interfere with the kind of normal life thatwe want to get the economy back, to get employment back. i do not think it is going to be 2024. i think it's going to be more like the end of 2021. >> woodruff: everyone can certainly wish forthe very bs. two other quick questions am one is about american, an erican passion and that is for college two major conferences as you know have said in the last few days that theyre not going to play sports this season.

the geographicand we know that other conferences seem to be ready to go ahead. these decisions don't seem to match what's going in these different geographic regions of the country. but mi question to you is what advice do you have for the men and women who are making these itdecisions? issafe to play these sports in college or not? ,>> well you knhen you have contact sports like that, obviously there's an issue, for a possibity of transmitting. i don't wt to be a gate-keeper for anybody am but my advice for the authorities who me those decisions, is that if you are play, make sure that you have in your system everysthg ble to safeguard their health, the well far and the well-being of these individuals, t only the players but the staff. and if you are in a situation where you can get a high obability that you are going

to get into trouble,n i think you should pause and see maybe you want to modify your plan. modifying by delaying or whatever it is. it is certainly ,t up to me but the fundamental public healthprinciples are very, very clear, that you want to safeguard their health. if you can't do that, then youc should sider whether you want to have a season or not. >> woodruff: finalucly dr. we are entering the thick of the presidential campaign, the election season. both sides we know need to address this pandemic, how it's been managed. we know how politicized, how polarized the country is right now, how polarized the rhetoric is. how concerned are you that in some way the management of is the progress of this pandemic could be set back by the fact that it's being talked about in aolitical way this season? >> yeah, i mean obviouslynyone who doesn't realize we're in a

divisive society is not paying attention, judy. we are. it's a fact of life. but i can tell you from a scientific andpoint, for the things that i and my colleagues at the nih do,that that will not under any circumstances be influenced by any pitical consideration. we have assurances from our colleagues at the fda at they feel exactly the way we do about science will decide the policy and the decision. despite fact that we are in a divisive society and that we are in an election year. so i can give you my word that when it comes to the science, byat will not be influenced any political consideration. >> woodruff: i know a lot of people will be reasd to hear that. dr. anthony fauci, we thank you oury much. >> thankjudy. it's always good to be with you, thank you for having me.

>> woodruff: in the day's other news, president trump announced a deal today normalizings relatitween the united arab emirates and israel. arihe p gulf state now becomethe thir country to have full diplomatic ties with israel. president trump hailed it as a historic moment torrored across the region. >>y uniting two of america closest and most capable partners in the region, something others said could not be done, this deal is a significant step towards building a more peacefcure and prosperous middle east. >> woodruff: under the deal, israel would suspend i controversial plan to annex occupied lansought by palestinians. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu welcomed the deal as a "new era" in arab relations, but he stressed his plan to nex the west bank was only on "temporary hold."

>> ( translated ): implementing sovereignty will only take place in coordination with the united states. president trump, who is israel's greatest ally, asked that israel should wait temporarily regarding the implementation of sovereignty. but i did not remove, or will i remove, the sovereignty issue from the agenda. >> woodruff: a spokesman for the palestinian president condemned the diplomatic deal as "treason," and demanded it be reversed. we'll talk to president trump's national security advisor robert o'brien about the deal later in the program. fick in this country, fiters in southern california braved a blistering heat wave today as they battledf a raging we that's already scorched more than 10,500 acres. it broke out yesterday in dense forest north of los angeles and exploded in size oht, due to the tinder-dry brush and steep terrain. about 100 homes were forced to

evacuate. another riot was dlared in new clashes with anti-racismn protesters. police said crowds hurled rocks and ttles at them. officers then used tear gas to push back the crowds outside a justice center and nearby protests have been held there nightly since george floyd's killing in may. the f.b.i. will be joining the investigation into what caused last week's deadly blast in beirut, lebanon, that killed more than 170 people. meanwhile, the lebanese parliament today approved a state of emergency, granting the military broad powers in the wake of the government's resignation. human rights groups fear the move will prompt a new crackdown on anti-government protests. in belarus a new wave of protests today condemned police violence against demonstrators who insist sunday's presidential women holding flowers as

symbol of peace rallied in what lieycalled "s of solidarity" with the thousands who've frutal police crackdowns amid the protests. families descrhe chaos of the last week. >> ( translated f you can, show up here at night. what is ing on here-- there is real torture. there are such screams here, i am an adult man who has been to "h military, and i have never heard such a thing. >> woodruff: policeave detained nearly 7,000 people, and hundreds more have been injured in the crackdown since six-term president alexander lukashenko claimed 80% of the vote. a two-year justice department investigation has found that yale university is illegally discriminating against asian american and white applicants. it's the latest move in the trump administration's scrutiny of affirmative action in the college admissions process. yale has cald the findings

"meritless" and hasty." briefing questioned about kamalaotharris eing legally qualified to be vice president. he did not knock it down and for the record, she isligible. she was born in california anon ese suggespir rohr false questions that the president has raised about president oba's birth. ae trump administration the truinistration is rolling back rules designed to reduce greenhouse issions and curb the impacts of climate change. the environmental protection agency will finalize the plan to methane emissions, one of the most potent polluters, from oil aneld gas fields and pes. a federal appeals court in new orleans today upheld the constitutiality of the all- male military draft. it ruled that only the u.s. hepreme court uld change system. the case was the result of ad lawsuit fi the national

coalition for men. the military draft ended in 1973, but every le must still register for it when ty turn 18. and, stocks were mixed on wall street today. the dow jones industrial average lost 80 points to close at 27,897. the nasdaq rose 30 points and the s&p 500 slipped 7. tstill to come "newshour," a deeper look at the mideast deal between israel and e uted arab emirates; the trump administration intensifies efforts to undermine mail-in voting and the postal service; and more. >> woodruff: returning teth deal between israel and the united arab emirates to normalize relations, midwifed

diplomatically by the trump administration. there armany moving parts here, and r foreign affairs correspondent nick schifrin is here to walk us through it. is it?ho, how significant >>dy-- judy, one analyst call this a seismic shift, another analyst told me this wat inle. but the fact is that the uae becomes only the third country to normalize relations with israel. israel and the uae had already been growing closer because of a ared enemy, iran. but if they had been working mostlynder the table over the last few years, this basically removes the table. as one saior u.s. offil put it to me today, that just because this isn't maybe a big surpriesn't make it a big deal. and the u.s. and israeli officials hope it is an even bigger deal because it leads to more countries normalizing a senior u.s. of told me he hopes it is a domino affect. been talking to bahrain, oman, hoping that at least one of

them, judy, jothe ua, at a signing ceremony at the white house next month. >> woodruff:o nick, what changes on the ground rit now in israel and in the uae? >> the two cotries will open embassies. and that means there will be an israeli embassy across the persian gulf from irath will sign bilateral deaes over trade, technoloy, business over covid and direct light between uae and israel, they hope the changes are permanent but what is not rmanent, is the deal over annexation, bib i/netnet was specific. he said annexation was not off the table. david freean saying israel did the table permanently evenn off though the emirates today said that the o annexatif occupied west bank had been quote stopped.behind the scenes u.s. s

tell me jared kushner had already been pushing israel not to annex some of the occupied west bank in order to make sure that today's deal wouldn't be blocked. >> woodruff: and finally nick, we see the palestinians critical what are they saying about it. >> palestinians are expressing a sense of abandonmt. emiratei leaders relationship with the palestinian authorities were alreadvery strained. but this is exactly what the palestinians feared. an arab coy normalizing with israel despite steps, despite policies that the palestians oppose. the u.s. moving the embassy to jerusalem, u.sthendorsing annexation of the golan heights and cutting off funds to the u.n.alestinian refugee agency. israeli officials hopethat this isolates palestinian officials, convinces them to make a deal 67en89 but the siments among palestinians is really expressed by a tweet tonight from from a long time palestinian senior official, she is quoted ying

may you never be sold out by your quote friend, judy. >> woodruff: all right, nicker nick schifrinl reporting on of this for you us, thank you, nuk. and now let's turn to president trump's national security advisor. he is ambassador robert o'brien. he joins us from the white house. mr. ambassador, welcome to the program. you, e president is calling this a major turning point. how can you be certaitn that t is what it is? >> well, it's really a remarkableaccomplishment, judy. owesan accomplishment that its birth to president trump who crown prince of the uae and i want to compliment the. leaders. they enter the pantheon of great arab leaders to made peace with israel, anwar sadat and king hussein of jordan. it was a great move part

to normalize relations, embassy lls be will be open, there will be flights back and forth, trade, tourism, and bebe netanyahu took a political risk and we asked him to do so and he did. and e parties came together, it was very courageous and the name ofhe accord is the abraham accord which refers to abraham,fatheer of the three great religions that came from the ly land, ibrahim in arabic and abrah hebrew. and so it is a really remarkable, a very special day. >> woodruff: so we kntwo sides to every deal. the uae is saying, they're calling this an immediate stop to annexation on the part of the israelis. the israelis are stressing that that is only a tporary suspension. the president and you and others are saying, stressing how temporary it is. but if that is the ca, how can-- what is it that the uae can count on? is there some sort of unspokenr

agreement w long the suspension of this annexation >> well look, israeli wants to extend sovereigntand its laws to parts of-- of the ly land. and you know, we wouldn't refer we would say it ia suspension. what ultimately has to happen is the palestinians have to sit down with the israelis ande negotiate thissues. and ises real said-- israel said tey are not goio extend sovereignty without an understanding from the united ates. what we are pressing for is more arab and islamic countries to open ties ith israel as the uae courageously did and bring the palestinia to thegotiating table there is a lot the palestinians and israelis can talk b therare great teuptds for palestinians, president trump and his vision for peace is a two state solution, economic plans that would double the palestinian gdp in a few yes, so there is a huge opportunity for the palestinians. and the palestinians and israelis can sit down and talke about whe lines should be

really drawn on the real estate. >> woodruff: i want toget to that but you are saying the uae will be okay keeping ts diplomatic arrangement as it is even if isel goes back anto xation? >> well, we don't think th israelis are going to extend sovereignty at this point. this is a very important deal for israel. and brings peace between them and one of their neighbors, it is a great accomplishment of arime minister netanyahu. unless the u.s.ve the israelis the green light to extend sovereignty, i don't think th is going to happen. i think all the parties are todasfied with the arrangement >> woodruff: you mentioned the palestinians and how they see this, you say you hope that there can be something worked out betwn the u.s. and the palestinians but clearly they are not happy with this. have been sold out by an ally. given that, what, what are the palestinians even a factor for the united states any more in this? because they obviously turned down the most recent u.s. p proposal fce in the middle

east. >> well look, this deal is going to tack a long time to work out between the israelis and palestinians, president trump who is a great deal maker knew that from the start. in fact one of the thingssaid earlier today is that president trump is known as a greateal ker. i think history will remember president trump as a great peace maker having brought peace to israel and the uae, the third arab country to dve recogni israel. but he is very commit exed to the palestinian people. and the vision for middle east peace he laid out, with a two state solution has massive economic benefits for thele inians. i am hopeful the palestinians leaders will start to recognize that this is a israel and also with president trump who would like to broker a great deal between the palestinians and the israelis, and hopefully we can makree pr. in the many time i think will you see other arab countries follow in the uae footsteps and that will be great for the middle east, great for the region. >> you machinessed other countries twice now. thmean how far along arse

negotiations with these other countries ed in this, bye other september?ou sign this in >> i don't know if they will be here for the signing, that is certainly going to be a big event between the emirateis and israelis. but president trump has been reaching out to ls in the region. his diplomats have been reaching out to folks in the region. secretary pompeo,enior advisor kushner, to myself. appetite for a number-of-these countries to see how dynamic israel is, is-- and how they want to have a ecurity ties, economic ties. tourism ties. one of the unesld storiere is thanow muslims and arabs are going to be able to avel om the airport in abu dhabi, dubai, fly into the airport in tel aviv and visit the mosque on the mount. what a great thgfo religious freedom in the region to have muslim and arabs bb le to travel to israel and go up to

the temple mount and worship at the mask. we think this will really lead to momentum and we are hopeful there will be other countries that follow in the uae's footsteps. >>oodruff: i want to come back to something my collgue nick schifrin mentioned. that is the u.s. anuae have been working together for a number of years. shared concern over iran. i'm sure you know some observe ares are looking at all of this and saying this is really more about an attempt to get iran, to oppose iran, then it truly about a diplot you can coming together on the part of israel and the united arab emirates. >> well look, this is about but having said that i'm sure iran is not happy about it because iran has stde to stoke divisions an contention between r many,ates and israel fo many years. a state sponsor of terrorism in the region, and the uae has a capable military and they have a stroder in the crown prince zaed that stood up irto , it is i a small country, they stood up to a big country

just a-- across the straits from them. now isr ul and the working closelying to with the united statesnd other allies ini'he regionsure that is something that doesn't make iran happy, that is not the impetus behind this but st a great benefit. >> woodruff: final question, different subject, thato do with the intelligence that the chinese and theast week iranians are working in their own way to support joe biden and his presidential campaign. but the russians who have a much more sophisticated interference campaign under way are working again to support pre trump. so my question is, what is administration doing to counter the russians? >> well, it's not just countering the rusans, it is countering any state or organization that wants to disrupt our elections. the free and fair elections are the foundation of our democracy, what make this country a great country. we'r tnot going erate any outside country whether it is china on behalf of joe biden. by the way, i dispute, the one thing i would dispute, i think

the chinese have the most sophisticated global influence programs and stregies an abilities and capabilities in the world am but whether it st the chinese who are trying to elect joe biden or the russians who are dngigraoe biden or iranians, venezuelans or cubans or any other country, this he election, we have ed our election infrastructure, we are working with our secretary of ates across the states an u.s. territories who will be voting for president, we are putting ouunpress don'ted s of money in to make sure they are not vulnerable, our elections syems aren't vulnerable to cyberattacks. and so this is something we are taki t very seriousling it very seriously in my shops at the sc. president trump is taking it very certificate krusly. oere is z place in an american election for foreign r powers, whatever-- whateey want to do or however they want to influence this country, there is no place for it. >> woodruff: ambassador robert o'brien, national security advisor to the president, weyo than >> thank you, judy.

>> woodruff: the pandemic is pushing voters to cast ballots by mail, but president trump is claiming-- including this morning-- it is riddled with congressional democrats have sought to include billions of dollars of funding in the next aid bill to support the u.s. postal service and expand mail-in voting. but in an interview today with "fox business network," president trump dismisses the effort. >> now they need that money in order to have the post office ndrk so it can take all of these millionsillions of ballots. if they don't get those two ivems, that means you can't have sal mail-in voting because they're not equipped to have it. >> woodruff: in response, a spokesperson for joe's campaign, andrew bates, said in a statement that president trump is "sabotagingic service because he wants to deprive lyericans of their fundamental right to vote sauring the most catastrophic public health

isis in over 100 years." meanwhile, the u.s. supreme court toy let rhode island retain a policy-- for now-- that lets residents there vote by mail without wnesses present. william brangham expres how the vote-by-mail process works. >> reporter: judy, five states already conduct eir elections almost entirely by mail right now, and for the most part, their experience over thlast few years has been a good one. but as you're saying, given the pandemic, it's likely that millions more americans will be trying to cast their vote this way come november. to help dispel some of the myths and allegations about th technique. i'm joined again by jessica hussman. she's a reporter at "propublica" d has made the election beat her beat for many years now. jessica, great to see you again. could you just help us-- for people who are not familiar with this-- basically speaking, what is voting by mail? >> voting mail is very similar to what we have always done, except for instead of casting a ballot in the ct, you are casting a ballot through the mail.

so everything stays the same. once the ballot is received by the local administrator, they count in the exact same way that inside the precinct.e cast, it's the steps before that are a littleifferent. and so in every state, it's jusf a bit ent. there e five states and now a couple of a, couple more that have entirely re-hauled the system to accommodate vote by il. and so, they will automatically send voters a ballot. statesyou have to request a ballot and then you are, and then and then you can receive one. and so your ballot is mailed to yogenerally, along with an instruction packet and sometimes book of information on the candidates. you can make your choices at your leisure at home, and tn you have several ways to return that ballot in most states. you can, of course, mail it back cad you can drop it off the secure drop off on. and in many states, you can return them directly to the polls. so you could, in theory, go to your precinct and hand them your mail in ballot instead of casting it there, which might

take you a little bit of time. >> reporter: now, the president has alleged that voting by mail is rampant with fraud, and rampant with the potential for fraud. how true is that? >> you know, it's not true at all. i think that, yes, voter fraud does happen. a wnd i dont to put anyone under the impression that it is a complete myth. it does happen, but it is exceedingly rare. there have been multiple studies that show that you're far more likely to statistiklly get stry lightning than be the victim of or perpetrate voter and so we're talking about something that already happens at a very,low rate. and what we've seen over the last year is that states have really rampehe way in which they verify ballots to begin with ballots because they know that this is coming. and many of the security techniques that are necessary for ensuring that these ballots to do and low budgions.are easy and so, we've seen states across e country implement thos

and so now, you know, because we have standardized this process, because we've professionalized it, there is a very low risk that anyone's ball could be frudulently cast. >> reporter: we have seen some recent changes happening at the post office. a new postmaster neral has institut some new changes. he's stopped overtime, and we've seen reports of delays in postal delivery around the couny. is there a concern-- shared by a lot of people-- that that those delays could hamper a sudden tidal wave of ballots going through the mail come november? >> you know, i think that that is a real concern and one that i share. i think that our post office is already strapped, and we are relying on them more heavily to essentially serve democracy than we ever have in the past. and we have seen the u.s.p.s. wo very tightly and appropriately and quickly with the five states that set up vote-by-mail, we know that tse u.s.p.s. offices have a very specific process that they follow to identifysuallots, to

that they're postmarked and ensure that they arrive on time. my concern is that the states that do not have as much leadti as those five states might not do the basic homework that they need to do with their local u.s.p.s. to ensure that those processes, even if only in part, are still in place. eso, for example, one of biggest reasons that ballots end location is because it's not extremely clear that the envelope containa ballot. and that's not the case in the five states that we've talked about. they have very spefic envelopes. those envelopes are recognized and can be identified easily by u.s.p.s., but that requires a lot of organization getting your hands on thoands of envelopes that all look the same. making sure that every single postffice in the state is aware of the process. and if you can have those lines of communication, then it's not as difficult as you might think to organize. >> reporter: so, let's say someone has heard about potential delays, concerns about fraud. tho want to get-- they want

guarantee that they get their ballot and they get it back in time sthat it's counted. where do people start? is it their county board of elections, their state? where do they begin? >> you should always begin at te place closest to home. t's your county election. that's your county election office. and depending on tblem, the state can certainly at least advise you on how to proceed. but the vast majority of questions that are going to be answered and the specificity around where you need to turn up to vote, how you're going to get your mail ballot, that's all going to come from the county offices. r orter: so, i guess the takeaway is get it done, get it done early, ask questions if you're confused-- but don't wait., >> rigactly. and not waiting is a really big point. and i think that, you know, you hear aivists all the time say you need to make a plaote. well, this year, making a plan is going tlook a little bit different because the virus is so fast moving and because it's so unpdictable. the polling location that is assigned your pollg location today might change tomorrow or it might change four days before

the election. so, now things are moving so quickly that i would very much recommend that voters only ry on their county web site or calling the county for specific information. >> reporter: jessica huseman, as always, thank you for your advice. >> thank you. >> woodruff: last night we brought you part one of special correspondents nadja drost and bruno federico's reports, filmed before the pandemic, from one of the most dangerous migrant paths, and remote spots on earth: the darien gap. a wild, lawless expanse of nearly-impassable jungle that straddles northern colombia, and panama. tonight, with support of the pulitzer center, nadja and brunt report on hey saw after their passage through the jungle, and the immigration passe so many migrants found s ter their ordeals.

>> reporter:e u.s. in the remote darien region of eastern panama, migrants and asylum seekersworom around the d arrived in an indigenous hamlet. it's the site of nonstop confusion as panama's border anlice organized groups to leave ons. >> yo hablo español? >> ( translated ): i will try to understand you with the little englh i know. i speak spanish. >> reporter: to get to the next town they have to pay $25 for a boat ride-- but mao of them haveney now, and the trip is canceled. they thought it would be eier from here-- just through the most dangerous section of their long journey: the darien gap. it's a wild expanse of jungle that blankets the border region between colombia and panama. migrants from africa, southeast asia, the middle east, cuba and haiti, converge here, all trying to get to the u.s. many get lost, assaulted, injured, or run out of fd along the way. >> it's very dangerous. it's a matter of life and death,

>> reporter: this first settlement that migrants coming off of the trail arrive at. t they expis place to be a kind of refuge, but the reality is that assistance here is incredibly minimal. >> they give us all these foings, flour, it is not cooked epit's raw food. >>ter: no stove? >> nothing, no stove. >> reporter: usually after several days, migrants boa canoes to in la pe'nita. where they register with migratioofficials rosina and colns boateng, from ghana, took 14 days to cross the darien gap with their 14-month baby twins and-year-old boy. by the end of the trek they had no tent, no food a no mone >> no, they have given us somethinthis morning to cook, but apart from that, we need diapers, clothes. >> reporter: on the outskirts of

the darien jungle, this small outpesost meanamanian and u.s. security and border enforcement. panamanian migration agent abel abrego registered biometric information. >> (anslated ): we're taking the principal data from all people who are immigrating.ep >>ter: with equipment and training provided by the united states, panama, in exchange, submits the information into the u.s. registration system, said panama's migration chief, samira gozaine. >> when we collect the data they can tell us, or they can inform us, if they are their database. >> reporter: last year, nipanama authorities counted nearly 24,000 migrants-- 4,000 crehiamong them-- from outside south america trekking dathrough then gap; three times as many as 2017. and-- si podemoseguir-- on the ext page we have more africans presence, we have cameroon, burkina faso, angolaell as

cong only after getting vetted can migrantseave here, boarding buses that bring them to the border with costthrica. no mor 100 per day are allowed to enter. the u.s. also funds panama's pbordice, charged with fighting narcotrafficking and organized crime across the darien. now they are front line responders in panama's migrati crisis. while rapes and robberies are routine on the trail, in panama city, the chief of border police, oriel ortega had a different concern: >> ( translated ): that they are they are greatly affecting our advironment. they're leaving of organic and inorganic waste, plastic bags, plastic bottles with some liquid inside, diarded clothes, and backpacks. >>translated ): it took me 14 days with many ambushes along the way. i twe met bandits. the first ones robbed all my money, and the second ones robbed all my family's food.

>> reporter: we first met gedeao makombo nkosse in colombia, where he boarded a boat with his wife and three children to reach e darien trail. later he told us the jungle, and its swollen rivers, took a crushing toll. >> ( translated ): and while we , re crossing the river, i was with my childrl of us-- me, my son and two daughters-- we fell in the water. and when we fell in the water i... i. i managed to save only two children. my daughter is gone. i lost a nine-yearstld daughter ike that. >> reporter: makombo told us he uprooted his family from angola children a better future. his later, as he tried to explain to a security officer wre his daughter was swept away, he knew that finding her would change nothing. >> ( translated in): i have noleft. i don't know how to move on now and go forward with the rest of the family. >> if they cannot do it, then they shouldn't be doing it, because th are putting their

lives in danger. >> ( translated ): i don't know why they insist on going nine days through the jungle from colombia to panama. >> they insist because of panama's own migration policies," said the head of the panama office of the inrnational organization of migration, gonzalo meda. >> ( translated ): the routes that migrants have established through ngle of darien is the result of the decision of panama's government to maintain a closed border. >> reporte as long as migrants don't have to enter panama legally, they're likely to keep hiring smuggrs to help them oss the border. those who have run out of money .rely on scant handou whoever's hand reaches highest may get a blanket, rice, or donated clothing. but some migrants wait far walid ali fled the war in yemen, where he said houthi rebels attacked him for refusing to join them. he had been in the camp 44 days.

>> ( translated ): i left a year ago.i s thinking to go to america. i wasn't expecting them to welcome me, i know there is a ban on yemen. >> reporter: it's here, thousands of miles of the u.s., that ali first encountered an extension of the u.s.' own security and border priorities. yemen is not only subject to the trump administration's 2017 travel ban. it's long been included on a growing list of countries the overnment calls "special interest," because it considers them to produce or protect terrorist groups. migrants from those countries get extra scrutiny. >> obviously there are countries that are more established as countries where a terrorist can come from. >> reporter: in la peñita, these pakistanis made bread while they wait. wajid ali said he understands why they are being vetted, and grheees with it. > h> we apy to biometric us

because we are legally person; we don't have any crime. >> reporter: but he said he's disappointed over how long they'll o wait-- two months, probably. as migrants waited, they tried to call home. there's not much else to do. ♪ ♪ some danced the evenings away. we asked gozainewabout the long s for migrants from so- called "special interest countries." who is going to determine when they can go? >> if they are not in the database, you have to go to camp. sure, maybe 30 days, maybe 60 days. >> reporter: and those intelligence officers who go to e camp to collect information, are they panamanian? >> no. uhasually we don' that capacity. of course, we receive a lot of help from the u.s. in that area.

>> reporter: ihab elhassan once lived legally in the u.s., but returned to sudan. he left because of political rsecution and eventually arrived here 46 days later. he still couldn't find out why he was being held. >> they're playing with our mental stability. and at one point, we just decided to face them. that, "guess what? we're not going to eat, no more." >> reporter: a couple days after tr and a small group started a hungere, elhassan wasn't among the migrants officials selected to fill two buses to costa rica. but the strategy seemed to have worked for walid ali. his name was called. migrants still being delayed bid r friends a bittersweet goodbye,ot knowing when, or if, any of them would make it to the united states. from the eastern darien in

panama, reporting with bruno federico, i'm nadja drost for the pbs newshour. >> woodruff: incredible. nick schifrin recently spoke with nadja, to update the situation for the people you have met in these stories, and tehow the pandemic has aff their journeys.ep >>ter: nadja, incredible reporting. you were there about a year ago. what's changed along these routes, especially with covid? >> so the, the coronavirus has basically completely stalled this route, nick, so as we know, planes have been grounded and migrants can no longer arrive from asia or africa to south america to make their way northwards. t for the thousands of migrants alum seekers who were already en route to the u.s. when the coronavirus hit, jthey-- therney has effectively been stalled. they are no longer able to

continue on their ro costa rica and the rest of central america. esspoke with a local who l near that camp. there's abt 2,000 migrants stranded at that cwhp since marc latin american countries started shutting their borders. there have been coronavirus outbreaks in, in the migrant camp. >> reporter: and nadia, i know you've stayed in touch with some of these characters whose lives, whose storieve just seen, how are they doing? >> so, many of them are now in the u.s. they spend anywhere from 3-7 months in ice detention facilities. mroany of them have been d and are able to continue their immigration cases outside of detention. iad visited actually a couple of cameroonians who we trekked throe jungle with who are now living in maryland, and they're very happy in their new homes. they are staying with families

and they are basically waiting for their new lives to start. of course, the pandemic has made this all the more difficult. many of them are waiting for work permits, which have been delayed because of the pandemic. crd so even though they are ibly grateful to be here and to feel safe, they are anxious to start working and sgetart tto know the communities that they're living in. >> reporter: nadja drost, we're lucky to have your reporting. thank you very much. >> thank you, nick. >> woodruff: and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. join us on-line and again here tomorrow evening. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you, please stay safe and see you soon. f >> major fundi the pbs newshour has been provided by:

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hello, everyone, and welcome to "amanpour & co." here's what's coming up. history in the making. joe biden picks mala harris as his running mate. the moment valerie jared about and what it means for the presidential election. and i ask police reform st about harris's record and at she brings to the table. then, myth busting. human nature. i speak with historian and author kind."is book "human and why there might still be >> some of us, enough of us, were hoodwinked but it wasn't the way it's always been. >> best-selling author tells our walter isaacson how corporate america came to rule the country