captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening, i'mdy oodruff. on the newshour tonight, breaking barriers: senator kamala harris is set to formally accept her party's vice presidential nomition at the democrats' virtual national convention. then, the biden plan-- we examine the democratic presidential nominee's proposal for getting the u.s. out of the recession that was brought on by covid-19. and, power play-- detentions resume in belarus as president control following an electionn widely seen as fraudul >> lukashenko does not have the trust and support of society and the people who are coming out into the streets.

they are ready to fight for their voices. >> woodruff: all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> supporting social entrepreneurs and their solutions to the world's most pressing problems-- skollfoundation.org. >> the lemelson foundation. committed to improving lives through invention, in the u.s.

and developion countries. the web at lemelson.org. >> supported by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. committed to building a more world.verdant and peaceful more information at macfound.org >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions: this program was ma possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thu. >> woodruff: the democratic national convention hears tonight from two history-making figures in american politics. both are critically important to the party's newly mint presidential nominee, joe biden. one chose biden to be vice president. the otr is now biden's choice for that job. amna nawaz begins our coverage.

♪ ♪ >> nawaz: after officially being nominated for president by the democratic party last night, joe biden briefly addressed the virtual convention... >> from the bottom of my heart, thank you all. it means the world to me and my family. and i'll see you on thursday. >> nawaz: but tonight, the spotlight will shift to his lanning mate, california senator kaarris. she will officially accept her firty's vice presidential nomination, tht woman of color to do so. and she'll be joined by a slate of other barrier-breaking women: former presidential candidate elizabeth warren: the first female senator from massachusetts. house eaker nancy pelosi, the first woman to serve in that role. and former secretary of state hillary clinton, who in 2016 became the first female presidential nominee by a major political party. the keynote will come from vice president biden's old boss-- former president barack obama.

obama's remarks follow two igevious presidents who spoke last: jimmy carter, and bill clinton, who hailed biden's president trump's handling of the covid 19 pandemic. >> at a time like this, the oval office should be a command center. instead, it's a storm center. >> nawaz: former secretary of stte colin powell continued a trend of prominent republicans ckg their own party, and backing biden as a steady hand in foreign policy. >> our count needs a commander in chief who takes care of our uloops in the same way he his own family. for joe biden, that doesn't need ng. >> nawaz: earlier today, i spoke with congressman jim clyburn, the number three democrat in the house. he weighed in on the party's messaging strategy.se >> we had thitive, the compassion, the faith-based approach to life that thisne countreds to get to the next level and, so, i felt real good last nigh. >> reporter: but among the parade of high-powered

>> nawaz: but among the parade of high-powered speakers, it was everyday americans who stole the show. l the re-imagined roll caltook viewers on a virtual tour across 57 states and territories, hearing deom democratic gatefar and wide. >> we believe we need to protect the natural resources that are their inheritance. >> i'm putting on my mask and we are going to every corner in north carolina to help organize >> i trm to fight for us. >> reporter: and biden's nominating speech came from jacqueline as bee. >> nawaz: and biden's nominating speech came from jacquelyn asbie, an elevator operator whose brief encounter with biden in new york city back in january led to some viral momeors. >> in the time i spent with joe biden, i could tell he really saw me, that he actually cared, that my life meant something to him.ev and i knew, en when he went into his important meeting, he'd take my story in there with him. >> nawaz: to close the night,

jill biden spoke with compassion and heart, about building a family with joe biden after the death of his first wife and daughter. >> how do u make a broken family whole? the same way you maka nation whole. with love and understanding and with small acts of kindness. with bravery. with unwavering faith. >> nawaz: this morning, she laid out what's at stake in this concerns the trumpartisan administration is attempting to hamstring the u.s.ostal rvice and vote-by-mail efforts. she spoke on nbc. >> i think that all americs really take their right to vote as sacred, and i think we have to do everything possible to ensure that every american has the right to vote, whether it' by mail or in person. ying, quote, they're going to

do everything to steal this election. you saw it with what they're doing with the pt office. tonight democrats return to the virchle stage >> nawaz: tonight, democrats return to the virtual stage for their penultimate convention night, under the theme of "a more perfect union." for the pbs newshour, i'm amna nawaz. >> woodruff: and we turn to our sjisa dins who is covering all this from wilmington, delaware. so, lisa, tonight, we are going to hear from kamala harris, but, as we've just heard from amna, the party's also going to looking to make some policy points. tell us a little bit about that. we know they're going to be speaking about women. share more. >> reporter: that's right, judy. tonight the theme is called a more perfect union, but really what democrats are doing is they're talking about sues in which they believe there is a clear and very sharp divide between biden and president trump. some of these issues -- immigration, as amna mentioned,g al safety, gun violence, and one more, climate. those are very big issues.

biden has extensive plans on several of the issues including a $2 tllion climate pl. they want to point out the the contrast. we'll hear from speakers about all those issues. it's also a night for women in leadership. hillary clinton will be giving her speech, who lost by narrow margins in 2016 to donald trump, is going to say to voters don't make this a could have-should have election, trying to implore them to remake and vote. we'll also hear from house speaker nancy pelosi, the woman who has achieved the highesthi ranks in thory of a u.s. government, we also expect her to talk ab and talk at her personal experience with him as well as contrasting her style and his. >> reporter: and, lisa,we know the main ent tonight is kamala harris, making somee history. tell us, what is the -- what does the campaign hope she

accomplishes tonight? what do wetknow abhat her message is going to be? >> i spoke just a short time ago and have been e-mailing with s ands campaign official staff and here's what they tell me, they say kamala harris would like people to see themselves in her speech tonight. she wants to tell her story, and she also wants lay a vision of a nation where everyone is equal, that they have equal opportunid equal protection under law. as a former prosecutor, expect those kinds of themes of law and justice to come up, of course. and, of course, she's going to contrast her running mate joe biden with donald trump i think it's interesting to see what this hall looks like. we have videos and photos of inside this exclusive hall that just a fewrsozen repor will be inside for and they've tried to make it look like a convention site. we see the signs foatr each e, but they will not have the delegates there.ce the sciethe candidate but no delegates. >> woodruff: so, lisa, yeah, it is a facsimile, i guess you

could say, of a big convention hall. >> reporter: yeah. >> woodruff: lisa, we're hearing about intraparty friction among democrats this amount of time bei given toe progressives speaking, the time they're given fospeaking slots. what do we know about that? >> well, i've had a few sourous reacto me about this over the last few days.e us particular is ation that alexandroia casio-cortez had one and a half minutes of speaking time. the second in speech for bernie itnot just about alexandria sanders. ocasio-cortez as a progressindve leaderoung member of this party though those things are part of it, i also had one source reach t about the fact she's a freshman democrat in congress. the reason the democrats ontrol theuse, of course, is because they had so many new members, 67 mbers of the house are

freshmen democrat, and yet only two of them so far will be speaking tonight. what does the biden campaign say about this? they say we believe we are showing the most inclusive an broad coalition ever at a convention and i will say, judy, this friction is at a lleower l than in the past. this is n circa on2016 cli versus sanders, it's frustration, perhaps, more than one other note, are issues for republicans as well. today another republican came out in favr of joe biden, former pennsylvania comanli chdent. i spoke with someone familiar with his thinking.di why dent come forward now? it's because president trump has endorsed candidates that he sees as too far right, those .spousing especially the q-anonphilosop >> woodruff: interesting. seems like a republican a day coming out for joe biden.ll fi lisa, we have been watching you in that empty parking lot. i guess you said last night it's

beginning to take shape. what's going on? >> reporter: still a little lonely but there's hope for the future in this parking lot. we saw the moe screen go up. we expect the drive-in theater of sorts tomorrow night. t i'll tell you, judy, security has changed signericantly. now are double prirmingts around this area and i spent some of my time today traveling around the perimeter. i will say there are no signs o prot all at this point but there is a much more secure facility now. ist much more tilt to get in an out. but there aren't many people who are doing that so you have to be credentialed now, which was ago.erent than a couple of days >>uff: we'll see if that continues through tomorrow with the acceptance speech. >> reporter: yeah. >>oodruff: lisa desjardins, we'll be checking in with you a lot tonight. thank yo>>u. reporter: you're welcome.

wi>> woodruff: if joe bide on november 3rd, it would be far easier for him to gehis legislative agenda passed if his party controls both chambers of athe moment democrats are favored to keep the house, but taking over the senate is another matter. democrats need to pick up three more seats while holding on to the ones they currently have if biden wins, and four, if president trump is re-elected. the democrat who's seen as most vulnerable of all the senators up for re-election, is doug jones of alabama. s joins us now from birmingham. senator, iod to see you. thank you for talking with us. you must be getting tired of that description, the most endangered democrat up for reelection. >> you know, judy, i've heard it for three years now. i heard when i was running in 2017, so it just kind of rolls off. we have been running hard, and we feel very good abwhere wee. i've told folks all along, i'll let pundits say what they wa to all the way up to the point

that i give my victory speech on november 3rd. >> woodruff: well, there's a lot to ask yoabout your race, but one thing i do want to specifically ask you about is the african-american vote, it was one of the critical elements to your winning that special election against roy moore in 2017. african-americans make up, what, about more than a quarter of the population in the state of duplicate in a general election, when you've got a much biggr turnout, is it not? >> it is harder to do o duplica. i think, historically, you knowa the afamerican turnout has been about what our registered voter percentaa is. we were to do better in our 2017 race. it was higher in barack obama's race, thoug and i think we've got the energy and enthusiasm this year that it's going to be significant, even though there are concerns about the pandemic and the healthcarerisis, i feel something out there and see

something talking to people. folks are verne eized. quite frankly, the addition of kamala harris on the ticket, i think, is boosting tha significantly. >> reporter: let me ask you about that what is the reaction you're hearing from folks in alabama to her choice? >> one, people are very excited. the south to huntsville,bama, in alabama, in the north and east and west, people are very excited about kamala being on this ticket. they were excited when my old friend joe biden announced he was going to pick a woman. thbe was nr one. that got the excitement starting o build. but kamal of all the great potential candidates that joe had to euse from, kamala always seemed to be at the top of the list. she's been inalabama a lot, she's been here with me and john lewis walking across the edmund pettus bridge. she came here in march and did n event with me and my wife at one of the great historical

black colleges, myles college. you heard them talk about we know joe biden and joe biden kn. that's the talk here in alabama about kamala harris. there's a tremendous t of excitement here. >> woodruff: i want to ask you u southern democrats have often stayed away from natial democratic party conventions but this convention monday night. why is that? >> well, i think democrats have stayed away and i think that's been aig mistake in the last 20 and 30 years. decrats haven't participated and,hey haven't had as much a voice in the convention or national poliavcies. wechanged that. you've got joe manchin in n st virginia, others, two great costntucky and louisiana. so i think the demographics of the south are changing. you know, a new eration of

citizens and engagement in the south is changing the way we look at things and people are looking at our kitchen table issues. and, so, the only way to make those changes fulfill is to get engage and ay engaged because there's nothing to be ashamed about. we have a great party. you look athe the convention,th various voices across america, the diversity o voices, that's alabama, georgia, mississippi, tennessee. we have to have the voices in speaking out and make sure the people in ouspr ective states understand who we are, where we come from and we've got their backs. >> woodruff: we hear republicans going after progressives in the party calling it thlie soct convention, and so forth. but i want to ask you about, you've known joe biden. i saw you met him in 1978 when he came to speak at law school, that you were a student at back then.id is the joe you know coming across in this convention and in this campaign?

because it's such an unusual campaign. >> yeah, no, i think it is. let j say thi biden is no g cialist, kamala harris is no socialist, and dnes is no socialist. you can try to pin labels and that's what gives us a advantage. you're not going to be able to pin those labels and have them stick. dy, i won an award from the u.s. chamber of commerce this year. that is no socialist organization. so what you're seeing in this conveion is a reflection, i think, of joe, who he is, what he is, his record over the last 40 years or mor i guess, now, an amazing public servant, someone who listens to people, and that's what i stressst joe doesn't just talk to people and haveonversations, he listens to people, he'spa etic with them, and he can translate that into policies thas lift all boin america for everyone, no matter where you ap , what ode you live in and no matter what your walk of life is.th an's coming across loud

itd clear in this convention, despite the fact all virtual, it's to some extent playing to the advantage, i think, of joe biden becaus'r seeing all 50 states and such a diversity of america and that's our strength right now. >> woodruff: some of the voices folks are hearing are people like bernie sanders who is a democratic socialist, alexandria ocasio-cortez, there's a confrontation about the fact she only had a minute or so to speak, nominating senator sanders, but there is a diversity and is the left ofhe party an issue and oa prblem for candidates like you? >> oh, well, look, the left of the party is always an issue. they try to make it an issue. the fact of the matter is pe just push that aside. look, we've got voices on the left but, you know, look what happened in georgia just hecently, i think it was georgia,ere where a kaye q anon copiracy theoriswon the republican nomination to go to kong and president trump

tweeted out she's one to have e rising stars. so i don't think people should left of the democratic party the voices who need to be heard, voices that are impo out there for all of us going forward. if they'renot going to criticize the racist comments from folks like the lady who won the primary in georgi the other day and this k anonconspiracysi theorist pnt trump tweeted out as a rising star, so we'll parties.on both sides of the but i think the fact the democratic party is so reflective of samerica,more reflective of alabama than people can understand andia appr, that's why the strength of this party and ticket will carry us forward ton victornovember. >> woodruff: senator doug jones of alabama up for reelection this november. thank you so much, senator. >> thank you, judy. it's great to be with you.

>> woodruff: donald trump won the white house in 2016 by taking several key swing states that former president barack obama won in 2008 and again in20 ; among them, michigan, ohio and florida. and each of these states is expected to be a political battleground in this presidential race. three democratic members of congressere to tell us what the landscape looks like for joe biden and kamala harris. representatives debbie dingellga of mic tim ryan of ohio and val demings of florida. oithanks to all of you forng us. and we thank you each one of you so much for joeaing us. it'sy good to see you. congresswoman dingell, i'm going to start with you. you were called debbie downer back in 2016 because you were one of the few members of congress, i think one of the few

people, eriod, who were raising alarm bells and saying, wait, donald trump could win my state of michigan mi, and he didby 10,000 votes. racould -- how do you const where joe biden is today with where hillary clinton was 2016 in michigan? >> so now i'm told to call myself debbie the realist. the factn is michig still a competitive state. i think joe biden is much better positioned than hillary was four years ago because he is listening to working men and women, but we have to make sures that our vturn out. i think that there are a third of the voters thavoted for donald trump that are going to vote for him again. the voters that voted for hillary are going to vote for ween who are not happy a group about how covid has been handd, but they've got a lot questions.

i'm watching trump signs come out. did four years ago when i kept saying to people, i'm wried but every second is going to matter between n and election day with nothing taken for granted. >> woouff: you feel better "probably." i caught the "probably." congressman tim ryan, you represent akron, youngstown, the mahoney valley. the state of ohio went for donald trump by 450,000 votes. what are the prospects for this november? >> well, it's trending in the right direction. el like the scenarios we're dealing with in 16 aren't here. people now know donald trump. it wasn't just a flashy campaign he ran. now he's got a history. everybody knows about here, and many ohioans, likmany michigans have a family down in

florida and we saw how trump, the trump style leading through the covid 19 affected so ma ohioans that now live in florida, so families here are affected. trump lost 4,000 jobs at a local general motors plant. we couldn't even get iohis atte the head of the union sent two letters to him. he never responded. i tried to contact him. sherry brown, others didn't lif a finger, awhen we lost all 4,000 jobs, he blamed the head of the uni. just today, judy, he came out saying the amican people shld boycott goodyear, which is 3,000 jobs, arworld headqurs in akron, the president of the united states in a the middle of a recession and a pandemic is telling the american people to boycott goodyear. it's insane. soll of this is adding to trending to biden. he's been up in the last two or three polls, and i think that's going to con. we've got a lot oof wothe ground, they're zooming or s wever we're doing this, but i think joe bidenoing to win

ohio, no doubt. >> woodruff: representative val demings, what about florida? i mean, hilry clinton was counting on florida the last time, but she missed by abot, what, two percentage points, 113,000 votes. what does it look like for joe biden this time? >> it's going to be ywi, it's going to see my colleagues when i think of mchigan, ohio and florida, i mean, we could decide the election right here. we were extremely disappointed in 2016. we know just about every poll had hillary clion upbut we know the relts, like 1 percentage point. we're prepared this year. we'rworking hard. one florida democratic party has more workerthe ground than ever before than the number in 2016. we know biden is up by 5 or 6 ints, but we're not taking anything for granted. we know polls are a snapshoain time, so wre working hard,

like he's or 6 points behind. i believe florida is in play. l the momentum right now is certainly with this ticket. vice president biden and senator harris, weare taking nothing until the last votes are counted. > woodruff: i heard each one of you s're taking nothing for granted. there's a theme here. congresswoman dingell, one of the centers of the trump presidency has been the china bashing, the tough posture on trade agreements, how is all that playing right now in michouan? >> well,now, i think it's complicated. first of all, i do think that wi haveeate issues with china, but it's very difficult. trade was a big issue. let's be blunt. in 2016, i think president trump and michigan -- won michigan based on trade. but i don't believe a lot of peop in michigan think he has actually delivered on trade. we did improve nafta but only

because of what democrats did, and there are still a number of problems with it. people don't trust china, they see their jobs being shipped overseas. i think one thing covid has ne is people suddenly understand supply chains and what we're talking about when we say our jobs have been shipped overseas. en you look at our dependency for p.p.e. equipment and on medicine from chin peopleare very concerned and, quite frankly, the president was t clear at all on china on either of those two subjects. so a lot of distrust about china among union voters, working men and women, and not any kind of clear policy on behalf of theup abt what hreally does stand for on any given day, any given hour. >> woodruff: congressman ryan, staying with the economyow, we his is one of the few issues where the president is actually doing better than joe biden. the president says, i've produced the best economy in the wod in history, until the pandemic hit, and he says he's

the one who's going to bring it back. >> well, even before the pandemic, judy, ohijob numbers were as bad as they were in 2009. as i said, lost that general motors factory, a lot of ine supply caround it and the auto industry in the northern part of the state, so we had some issues even before covid hit, and, look, this is not about -- like val said, this is a apshot in time. a lot of people in ohiant to will just say, if you want to talk about being tough on china, i was in congress when vice president biden and president obama put tariffs on steel tubing getting dumped into our country and that led to a billion dollar investment to a steel mi in youngstown ohio, put about a billion union construction workers to worupfor

a of years. so joe biden knows how to be f ugh on china. but that's he story. the way trump did it, destroyed our farmers in ohio. most are crushed now. you go to the build back plbettr where joe biden is throwing jet fuel on all these economic fires that are burning around electric vehicles, for example, batteries, charging stations, the new economy where these union workers or people who work hard, play by the rules but just want to make a goode wage, jo biden is going to make sure they get cut in on the deal, but i've got to have a strate to outcompete china not just the bluster and the b.s. donald trump gives. you have to talk, be firm, be better have a plan to win the future like they do and joe biden and kamala harris . >> woodruff: congresswoman demings, let me ask you about kamala harris. you were on the short list of those people vice president biden was looking at to be his

vice presidential running mate. was that generally a good experience or disappointing? >> well, judy, let me say this, for someone who grew up in uthe th, the daughter of a made and a jan tore, to bree consi to be on that short list for such a critical sition during such a critical time was an honor. joe biden was lvery bsed to have what i believe was a group of amazing women, and he selected setor harris. we're excited about that. i think the experience that she brings to the job, i can't wait to hear hertonight, begin the process of prosecuting the case against th president of the united states. talking about her own her start experiences and also helping every american see themselves ie ywn experiences and reall displaying that the democratic party is that big tent where every man, woman, boy and girl,

regardless of the color of their skin, how much money they have ve the bank or where they li has an opportunity to succeed. so we're excited for senator harris, we're excite about this ticket and we just want to get it done. >> woodruff: well, congresswoman dingell, what else tic conventimocra need to convey in the next two nice in what do they neeto say when they have the attention of a lot of people to help thist? tic >> i think this has been an inconvention. i didn't know what i thought. i thought michelle obama gave the best speech in tting out the case about why this election matters. i've known jill biden sinwece we both young wives, one of the first working spouses, and she told america who she was last night. we've heard from americans across the country. now thnext two nights, the two candidates are going to lay out

thision, what are the issues they're going to fight for? i think all of us as democrats have to find a way we're going to connect intergenerationally because we've got wisdom and youth, we've got caring about a lot of issues, and we've got to learn aboutow we can bring different perspectives to solving the problems and how we're going to support this team and bring america together to soothe our heart and soul and put us working together again which we have not done for four years. we have been divided by fear and hatred and they're going to show us how they're going to pull us together. >> woodruff: congressman ry, looking back to the primaries when you were running for president yourself, you id pretty tough things abt joe biden. you said at one point he's declining, i don't think he has the energy, ta re's ck of clarity, we need someone to take donald trump downwho can articulate a very clear vision. you lodid say, the guy, but you were pretty tough on him.

what do you think now? >> well, i think his campaign, like most, and better than my campaign, he started off slow, but i thinhe picked up a lot of momentum and h peaked at the eexact s time. debbie wa talking about wisdom. that's joe biden. he started out slow but came on strong. i think his campaign has strengthened each day and i think donald trump ifeeling the brunt of that as the poll numbers shift. he started outow slow, but he's running a great campaign, has a great team and is providing the stability and healing that this country needs. he's the exact person to meet this moment for our country. >> woodruff: congresswon mings, in one sentence, for the time we ha left, what else does this convention need to say, to do? >> michelle obama gave us a call to action, and i want every voter who cares about the future of this country to think about r words -- if youn't think

it can get worse, believe me, it can. we need t to elect joe biden. >> woodruff: congresswoman val demings, congressman tim ryan, d congresswoman debbie dingell, so good to see each one of you. thank you so much. >> thanks. you. >> woodruff: with tens of millions of americans reeling financially from the coronavirus pandemic, the future of the u.s. ruonomy is on the minds of many. both president and the democratic nominee joe biden are trying to coince voters they're the best choice to revive the country in the near future and for the long haul. thcs week, our chief economi correspondent paul solman takes a look at the economic agenda of joe biden. it's part of our regular series making sense

>> here we are now with an econy in crisis, but with an incredible opportunity, not just to build back to where we were before, but better, stronger. >> reporter: at stump speeches, and more recently via zoom, ce president joe biden makes the case for why he's the person to lead the economy out of the covid crisis, which has nearly 30 million americans receiving unemployment insurance. biden's plan? first, says jared bernstein. >> what he would do is very much the opposite of wt you've seen thent president, president ump, do. he would listen to the physicians. >> reporter: tts, masks, tracers. but bernstein isn't a doctor. he was the chief economist for vice president biden and now advises the campaign. economic step one, says bernstein: immediate relief. unemployment insurancen terms coverage, in terms of state, orcal fiscal relief, nutritional su support for renters.

>> reporter: so biden says, otamonr things, he'd extend unemployment insurance, consider another round of stimulus d checks, itiate paid sick arave for all workers who get covid or have tofor sick family members. that's right away. and then >> one thing that vice president biden has been crystal clear about is that simply getting back to where we were sets the bar way too low. >> reporter: which is why the campaign cls its plan "build back better," focusing on manufacturing, climate and infrastructure, racial equity, and support for childcare and adult caregivers. >> when vice president biden says building ba better, he eans building an economy that is far more resilient to the kinds of shocks that come fast and furiously in today's gbal economy. we can't have an unemployment insurance system that we have to reinvent every time we hit a recession. we can't have a health care epsystem that is totallydent on your connection to work,

because what if 30 million people lose their joa pandemic, right? we can't have an environment that is continually degraded. >> reporter: so biden has a slate of policies. >> there's 45 of them at last count, from ean energy to infrastructure to manufacturing to the caring agenda. orter: you may be relieved to hear we won't enumerate all 45, but highlights include a carbon pollution free power sector by 2035, creating millions of new green jobs. $775 billion for careguning, includinersal pre-k to $ree and four year olds. expand access 0 billion in low-interest loans to communities of color and a $700 billion "buy american campaign"-- 400illion on goods and services made in the u.s. and 300 billion on r&d into new technologies. about "buying american," president trump said: >> he plagiarized from me, but

he can never pull off. he likes plagiarizing. it's a plan that is very radic left, but he said the right things because he's copyinwhat i've done. >> the idea of biden copying trump makes zero sense because trump never gets anything done. and biden is all about implementation, execution. >> reporter: but what about paying for all this spending? taxes, right? or as presint trump put it, the biden plan won't happen... >> because he's raising taxes way too much. he's raising everybody's taxes. >> reporter: so biden would to 39.6%, for example.e tax rate taxing people,e's going to be xing me. >> nothing personal, but i suspect that we have a $400,000 cutoff, which we do, you'll be okay. >>,eporter: if i were to ma i don't know, $410,000, then i'm ly going to be taxed at a higher rate on the whole amountr >> these arenal tax rates.

so you would be taxed on that. 10,000. that's above 400. so anything below 400,000 is les.ft alone by these ta >> reporter: the biden tax ps n also inclupital gains on income of more than $1 million taxed at 39.6%. the corporate tax rate raised to 28%. one non-partisan group predicts the plan would raise some $3.5 trillion over ten years-- critics say his policies will cost a lot more, mainly by increasing taxes for the top one percent to pay for biden's spending. >> to pay for it by tapping some it the excesses of our ages of y to pay for it, by tapping some of the excesses in our age of inequality. >> reporter: i've been knocking around for a lontime. the week before the conventions happened, interviewing people like you, in fact you in the past. and those promises i've heard every four years going back to the '80s and so few of them attually get into, what makes you think his time is different? >> biden uses his skills to get

things done, to execute them and to explain to people how he's ing it or if he's being blocked, who's blocking him. so to me, it's the difference between reality tv and reality. >> reporter: for the pbs newshour, i'm paul solman. >> woodruff: let's cross now to stephanie sy from our newshour west bureau who has today's headlines and the re >> sy: thanks judy. the number of confirmed covid-19 infections in the united states topped 5.5 milon, with more than 172,000 deaths. in florida today, the number of dead passed 10,000. it came as the state's largest teachers' unioasked a state judge to stop schools from reopening this friday. wildfires raged across california today, forcing a statewide emergency and leaving

thousands of people under evacuation orders. fires in the san fncisco bay area and napa county's wine country exploded overnight, g leavant plumes of smoke hanging over the hills by morning. statewide, nearly 40 fires have crews resources stretched to the limit as they try to keep pace. >> we have no more to give on ontlines from our facilities. our local government cooperators throughout california are also at complete draw-down with their fire resources as well. so it's really the full forcof everyone on deck trying to fight ire. >> sy: the fires are burning in the midst of a record heat wave that ced today. 90 democratic members of congress called today for the removal of louis dejoy as postmaster general. they wrote to the postal service nors, saying dejoy's cos cutting policies have undermined mail delivery. the trump appointee announced yesterday he would delay those

initiatives untir the election, so as not to interfere with an expected wave of mail-in voting. anotr u.s. congressman has been ousted in a primary, the 8th this year. in florida, republican ross accused of campaignceter being violations. meanwhile, fmer wyoming ongresswoman cynthia lummis won the republican nod for u.s. senate. she's heavily favored to succeed retiring republican senator mike enzi. and, in alaska, democrat al gross will face incumbent republican senator dan sullivan. in mali, soldiers who ousted the presidt are promising timely elections. the coup in the west african nation came amid crumbling security in the face of an islamist insurgency. troops fired into the air on tuesday,they hauled imbrahim boubacar keita from his house. the president resigned later, and the mutineers said he had failed the country.

>> ( translated ): mali descends into chaos day by day, anarchy and rity because of the fault of the people in charge of its destiny. real democracy doesn't go with complacency, nor weakness of the state authority, which must guarantee freedom and security of the people. >> sy: the u.n. security council today condemned the coup and ed that president keita freed. meanwhile, the u.s. military maid all american forces i are safe. stationed in the region. back in this country, wall street had an off day. the dow jones industrial average lost 85 pointso close below 27,693. the nasdaq fell 64 pnts, and, the s&p 500 slipped nearly 15 points. and, slade gorton, a former republican leader in the u.s senate, died today in seattle. he was first elected to the senate from washington state in 1980, but lost his re-election bid.

later, he won two more. he also served on the 9/11 commission. slade gorton was 92 years old. di sy: riot police in belarus ersed protestors today off the streets of the capital minsk in a show of force. but demonstrators weren't met with the same violence that propelled thousands into the lastreet week after the disputed presidential election. with the support of the pulitzer center, special correspondent simon ostrovsky reports. >> ( translat): respected citizens, you are violattig the regulaons on mass assembly, please cease your activities and sperse. >> ( translated ): what activities? we're not allowed to sta up or

what? >> reporter: as partial shutdowns at several large manufacturing plants across belarus continue, alexder lukashenko renewed his crackdown on a protest movement that continues to threaten his rule. riot police dispersed protestors management across the country continued to simmer in the aftermath of the contested august 9 presidential poll; lukashenko claimed he won a less-than-credible 80%. there's a tense standoff outside the main state owned national theater in minsk, because the culture minister recently fired for the protests.is pport place all across the country in the last few days. the culture minister wants to talk to the actors about the theater's program for the upcoming 100th jubilee season. but the theater's employees have something else on the agenda. >> ( translated ): there has to be order in cultural institutions.

>> ( translated ): we can't work in a country where people are humiliated and beaten. >> reporter: one by one, they lay their resignation letters at the nister's feet. it looks like the upcoming season has been caelled. mikhail zuy is one of the actors who resign. >> ( translated ): i told the minister my kids were afraid ofa the poli wanted to know if they'd be taken away, my wife who is too scared to fall asleep. so this was the only way we could stand up for what we believe in. >> reporter: i asked the culturr ministf he supported the idea of holding a new presidential election in belarus. >> ( translated ): everything must take place within the framework of the constitution of theelarus republic. and only within the legal parameters because you are going to bring chaos to the country, we're heading in that direction by leaps and bounds.

>> reporter: the situation at this massive refrigerator factory in ms an example of why things aren't exactly raightforward in belarus rht now. protestors here are calling for thousands of worke work here, to go on strike, but only a handful have actually downed tools. >> ( translated ): we can tell that people support us and we want to support the pele as well and join the resistance against our country's regime and stop feeding the riot police. i was detained for two days myself and i just don't want people to be hurt like they are being hurt in our country right no >> reporter: vika balutenko ise among jority of workers at this plant who have decided to continuworking through the crisis, despite calls from protestors to help choke the regime of tax revenue. >> ( translated ): this is my work time. w te can't shuthe factory down. this would be a terrible blow to the budget.

>> ( translated ): that's exactly what we want to happen. >> reporter: the director of the factory, dmiy sokolovsky, stands outside the plant all day to oversee the arval of workers coming to their shifts. >> ( translated ): the factory is operating. i am categorically against halting production. if we don't produce goods now then we won't be able to continue operating in the winter. my position is that enterprises should not get involved in politics. >> reporter: it's a sentiment that belarus' opposition certainly doesn't share. sviatlana tsikhanouskaya is in exile in lithuania and declared herself the winner of the presidential election and urged an emergency european union leadership meeting today not to >> i call on you not to recognize these fraulent elections. >> reporter: and.u. complied, and also said it would levy sanctions. reporter: that's a warning

shot at russia-- despite recent tensions with moscow, lukashenko has discussed militpport with vladimir putin. and foreign minister sergei lavrov picked uparukashenko's today against the uprising: that it's the work of foreign powers. >> ( translated ): ware concerned with an attempt to use internal difficulties which rdbelarus is facing now in to meddle in these events, in this process from outside. >> reporter: tkhanouskaya's representative in minsk, olga kovalenko, said she expects the opposition candidate to return to the country imminently to take over from lukashenko and rganize new, clean elections. le ( translated ): we ask and it's car that the acting president alexander lukashenko does not have the trust and support of societynd the people who are coming out into the streets and are striki at anufacturers, they are ready to fight for their votes. >> ( translated ): we definitely consider this as an attempt to seize power.

>> reporter: but lukashenko has noshown signs of readiness for dialog, instead lambasting the opposition as coup plotters on etate tv and sending riot police back into the stof minsk. and today his spokesman announced lukashenko would be inaugurated again within two months. e pbs newshour, i'm simon ostrovsky in minsk. >> sy: the pressurheon nurses anth-care professionals has been constant throughout this pandemic. in tonight's brief but spectacular, whear from tara ,"nders, creator of "the clinn arts based workshop designed to alleviate stress and compassion figue, that many providers experience. rynders is a registered nurse in colorado. it's also part of our ongoing arts and culture series, canvas. >> i'm a ristered nurse.

i was a patient for the first time, and during this experience i had an ectopic pregnancy that had burst. people came rushing into my ro and yelling, and it was very chaotic. but i remember my nurse, and she td ook my hand e whispered into my ear and she said, "i'm here and you're going to be okay." so, after that moment i realized, this is important work. so i began researching patient outcomes, and realized that what's stopping their patients from feeling seen and heard and cared for every time, is compassion fatigue and nursing burnout. i and, seated a performance and workshop series to raise awareness, but also give resources and tools for resiliency. the clinic is an art based workshop series in immve theater performance. the intention was to raise nareness around compassio fatigue and nursing burnout. it did is it brought people into the hospital for a whole 'nother reason than to see someone who's sick or to have a baby, but to watch an actual performance take place in the halls of a

hospital. you follow a woman throughout the hospital as she eventually ses her husband. you also they share from their perspective what they're going through. it's like a behind the scenes of what nurses and physicians go through every day. in the workshops, we brought nurses in and we spent time with them doing the arts and getting them into a different headspace. currently, what our performances are looking like are called c.ovid stori so now i'm using artists and nurses to come together and create this conversation, so that the nurses who are inired now t after goiough these workshops are actually wanting to perform, actually wanting to move and share their own personal stories. i remember when i met you. i admitted you that day, a fray, and by tuesday you were v.ery sick i remember trying to advocate for you and i rememb being very scared for myself and my family that i may have exposed. we're supporting each other. there's moments in the workshops when we would come in and we

touch each other, and put our hands on, which we can't do that anymore.but through zoom and thh other means, we can see each each other's stories.ent in a lot of times nurses have said to me like, "this is so helpful to know that i'm not feeling this alone, when i go home, i can't always explain how hard it when our nurses are cared for, when there seen, when they're heard, they are operating out of their strengths, they're erating out of support. and only then will they be able to give that same care and love and support to our patients. my name is tara rynders, and this is my brief but spectacular take on caring for nurses so that they can re for us.nd >> sy:ou can find all of our brief but spectacular segments online at pbs.org/newshour/brief. that's it from us here a newshour west, judy?

>> woodruff: and on the newshour online right now, the ratification of the 19th amendment marked the moment that some u.s. women gained the right to vote. we asked today's women votersat hat right means to them as the 2020 electionears. that's on our web site, pbs.org/newshour. rand that's the newshour tonight. but stay with us, we will be back here at 8:00 p.m. eastern with our special live coverage of the third night of the democratic national convention. i'm judy woodruf for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you and see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: you can do the things y like to do with a wireless plan designed for you. with talk, text and data. consumer cellular. learn more at consumerllular.tv

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hello, everyone, and to "amanpour & co." here's what's coming up unity to restorehe soul of america. to the races.e democrats are off convention speaker and former presidential nominee john kerry joins me. then -- >> part of what i callheof dance democracy. >> legendary newsman, dan rather and the "daily beast's" margaret carlson, tell walter isaacson why conventions do matter and pick some of their highlights from decades of covering them. plus -- one of this year's presidential contenders, senator cory booker, is on the program. he talks aboutis call for civic grace. knd his good friend, the vice presidential pic, kamala harris.