captioning sponsored b p newshourductions, llc >> woodruff: good evening, i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, the cong sto-- hurricane laura threatens the gulf coast with 140-mile an hour winds as officials predict widespread catastrophic damage. then, the republican convention. the vice president headlines the third night of the r.n.c. as the party draws a stark contrast with the democrats. plus, the ongoing unrest: a white teenager is arrested and charged in the killings of two people in wisconsin during protests that followed the police shooting of a black man. and, the trump plan-- we discuss ore president's economic r with a top campaign advisor amid the historic recession wrought by covid-19. >> i'm not pollyanna.

i byn't think things are fin any stretch. but there are reasons, legitimate reasons for optimism. >> 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-- skollfoundion.org.

>> the lemelson foundation. committed to improving lives through invention, in the u.s. and developing cntries. on the web at lemelson.org. >> supported by the john d. and catherine t. macarth foundation. committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. more information at macfound.org of these institutigoing support >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. s>> woodruff: catastrophe blowing out of the gulf of mexico tonight, upstaging night convention.e republican hurricane "laura" has morphed into a category 4 monster, with winds that could rch 145 miles an hour. officials are warning of extreme damage as it slams into the texas/louisiana coastline.

in coastal communiti along the louisiana and texas gulf coast, floodwaters began creeping in throughout the day. but experts trking the storm have issued a dire warning: this is only the beginning. >> you're going to hear ranges in louisiana sincecaneen't heard audrey in 1957. you're going to hear the word" unsurvivable" when describing the storm surge that we are expeing. >> woodruff: hurricane laura in intensity as it reach the gulf coast, and officials are warning of potential catastrophe. the national hurricane center said storm surges could reach 20 feet in parts of texas and louisiana. >> the worst thing you can do is when that storm really starts beating at your door a or 2:00 o'clock in the morning is

to decide, well i'going to leave now, because that will be the absolute worst decision you can make at that point. >> woodruff: the storm has prompted the largest evacuation since the start of the half a million peoar there than texas, louisiana border haveo been orderedave their homes. adding to the concern: the region has been hit hard by the coronavirus and is still suffering from the aftermath of hurricane harvey three years ago. if the current projectio hold, hurricane laura would be thest fiertorm to hit the gulf coast in over a decade. let's get the latest on all of this with ken graham, the director of the national hurricane center. he's in miami. ken graham, thank youch for talking with us. so give us the latest on where this storm is. >> yeah, judy, we're right here in operations, the hurricane

eorecasters and specialists behind me constantly getting the vatest information. we 145-mile an hour winds about 155 miles southeast of lake charles, louisiana. just a giant storm, pronounced eye and all theac impheaded for louisiana and texas. tonight we expect the landfall overnight tonight. >> woodruff: give us a sense of where you expect it to hit at this point. >> looks like right now right around the lake charles-port arthur area with a majorri hurne, extreme murk-forceinds. the tropical storm winds alone stretch o5 miles out from the center, so extreme rainfall, and the big thing here is well outside the cone, well away from the center, the storm surgeon survivable storm surge, just incredible amounts of water here, 10 to 15 feet, some eas 15 to 20 feet. some of the storsurge could

stretch 50 miles north of the coast. that's an ince rediount of storm surge, a dangerous 'rtuation for so many people. >> woodruff: wetalking about a huge population. when you use the word "unsurvivable," that is frightening. you mean that literally? >> i to. to desibe this situation, whens you start thinking about 10 to 15-foot of storm surge, 20-foot of storm surge, judy, the waves are on top of that. so in addition to that, you still have the waves. well north, this is i-10, you start thinking north of i-0, every one of his rivers and bayous and cals that drain the riversthe surge is coming u those areas, they'll flowback ward d will cause th flooding. that's higher than many rooftops, a ondangerous situa >> woodruff: so you're telling people get out of the way or else? >> that's what's happening here because if you think about those type of y valueh, evacuation is everything.

we have been encouraging everybody to listen to the local officials. if they tell you to leave, you have to be able to do that because these impas are well before landfall, already starting to see the areas of rising water. >> woodruff: what is thes chance tuld weaken before it hits populated areas? >> well, what happens in this case is, you know, you start getting large storm like this, so even if you get, you know, 5-mile an hour or or less, it's not going to change the impacts at this stage because a lot of thstorm surge has to do wh the structure and size of the storm, so even if the winds fluctuate some, it won't change the big impacts >> woodruff: again, you're looking at the direction, the wind and the rain it's bringing with it >> absolutely. the storm surge and also the rainfall, you know, and it's no just coastal. if you look northward, just n incredible amount of rain, 5 to 8 inches of rain, some areas up to 15 inches of rain, stretching

from portionsx of east as, louisiana, even up to arkansas as the system continues to move inland. sith not just a coastal threat. even inlands, you get the high winds and flooding rain. >> woodruff: ken graham, another busy night at the national hurricane center, thank you very much. >> thank you. >> woodruff: now, let's check in on the grod with preparations and concerns. i'm joined on the phone from galveston, texas, with its mayor pro tem, craig brown.ma r brown, thank you for talking with us. so based o what you know, whatrt f preparations have you made? >> well, we have been planning for a number days for hurricane laura, we have been we called a mandatory evacuation yesterday for our citizens, and we assisted those that needed assistance to movthem off the island and into safe housing. we'rcurrently watching this hurricane, we're watching the intensity. i understand it's now a categorn

could get even stronger, which is extremely concerning for us. it looks like we ma-- it may go to our east a little bit, but it could come right in here, and if it did, it could be devastating for our community. >> woodruff: what are you mainly worried about? is it the storm surge, the water that is your main concern? >> i think both storm surge and the wind. when you have it coming to us 145 sustained winds coul be just devastating. the storm surge is always the concern. we're a barrier island here off the coast of texas, and if we get a storm surge that's associated with this, with a direct hit, it would inundate our entire island. >> woodruff: are people heeding the evaiocuorder? is everybody leaving? >> many are. now, some have elected to stay on the island here.

we've already infour citizens if they to stay that they may not get any emergency services proauvided bec the conditions may not allow that. >> woodruff: how worried are you about that? >> quite a bit. we would love for our citizens to evacuate. those that did not, though, we're telling them to shelt in place and stay safe. we do have -- we're on theis nd now. our first responders and city personnel are at our command center here on the island. conditions allow us not to be. once the storm passes through, we wilsbe outsessing damage, and then start our cleanup if oo's needed. >>f: and where will you be monitoring all this? and do you have the sources from other governments to support you? >> we do. we feel -- weghave been thr many hurricanes, as most coastal cities have, but here in galveston, when through many hurricanes. wer e prepared. ate government, the texas

department of emergency management has been extme cooperative, our county and our federal government, they contacted us today and offered any type of aistance they could. so we feel very comfortable we have gouodpport. >> woodruff: mayor craig brown, mayor pro tem of the very best with all you'reou dealing with. thank you so much. >> you're welcome. thank you. >> woodruff: vice president mik pe set to take the stage at the republican convention and formally accept his party's re- nomination. his speech comes after a night in which republicans went out of their way to draw stark differences with the democrats. na nawaz has the story. >> nawaz: a trump campaign looking to shore up its base amaned hard into social issues. >> some look at ican opportunity and see only >> nawaz: and at tgnored

political precedent, even the president's own policies, toss meage directly to his base. pe>> we believe that each on is made by god for a purpose. >> nawaz: among his strongest supporters: white evangelicals, and eir core issues, front a center throughout the program. from billy graham'sis granddaughter,e graham... >> our founders did not envision y a quiet, hidden faith, tt out to ensure those voices were always welcome. >> nawaz: ...to anti-abortion rights aivist, abby johnson. >> i now support president trump because he hasone more for the unborn than any other president. >> hi, i'm mike pompeo. >> nawaz: even secretary of state mike pompeo, in a controversial address while overseas on official business,re delia key message for those white evangelical voters. the president, too, moved the u.s. embassy to this very city of god, the rightful capital of the jewish homeland. >> this president has been a champion for women. >> nawaz: also featured prominently?

women backing trump. including this compilaiaon of testim from women in the west wing... >> he is proud to entrust many of our nation's most crucial jobs to women. nawaz: and speaker afte speaker at the convention podium... >> four more years for president donald. trump. >> nawaz: in 2016 mr. trump won the majority of white womenre voters, bunt polls have found that support slipping. a pre-recorded presidential pardon made for a memorable >> a full rdon. >> nawaz: despite openly violating the hatch act by hatch act, which prohibits governments official using public office for campaign purposes, by turning the white house into a political conventiontage. and a naturalization ceremony of five new americans... >> on behalf of the united states. >> nawaz: ...stoodstn stark conto the president's own record on immigration, having dramatally slashed legal migration over his first term. for the second night in a row,en the trump chilook to the stage.

his youngest daughter tiffany railed against what she called big tech and mainstream media censorship. >> this manipulation of what information we receive impedes our freedoms, rather than allowing americans the right to form our own belie. >> nawaz: while son eric ended on a rare personal note, nodding to the recent passing of president trump's brother, robert. >> dad, let's make uncle robert very proud this week. let's go get another four years. >> nawaz: from a newly-revamped, rose garden crowded with unmasked, closely-seated supporters, first lady melania the only speech to address both the fight for racial justice. >> it is a harsh reality that wr not proud of parts of our history. i encourage you to focus on the future while still learning froh past. >> nawaz: ...and the devastation brought by the pandemic, as the u.s. death toll topped 178,000

people. >> and my prayers are with those who are ill or suffering. i know my people are anxious and some feel helpless. i want you to knon you are not >> nawaz: meanwhile today, the democraticice presidential nominee, kamala harris worked to bolster the support of black voters at a virtual campaign event michigan. >> have a plan to vote, and be sure to vote, and to talk to all of your family members.>> awaz: her republican ticket counterpart, vice president mike pence, will be among those speaking tonight, as his party cntinues to make its pitch to the american people. for the pbs nehour, i'm amna nawaz. >> woodruff: and now to share her reporting i'm joined by our white house correspondent yamiche alcindor. so, asmiche, hello. e just heard, the first lady did address some of the suffertag that's ng place, great suffering among the

american people over this virus, but we don't hear that, we haven't heard that from other spkers at the convention. that more are you learning ab that?>> that's right, the taupef first lady melania trump'sas speechastly different from what we've heard from the r.n.c. over the last weear she d off by expressing sympathy for people who have been infected by oronavirus or who have died. she said she understood some americans felt helpless because to have the virus and said you not alone. that said, other speakers, mainly larry kudlow, talked about th virus as if it was in past tense and this was all inew the rearv mirror. i want to put up for the viewers numbers that show where we are when it comes to the pandemic. united states has decreased in the last month in the united states, but this coury is eseeing 42,000 new cases per day onverage during the last week, also the u.s. has the second highest average of new cses arter india and, judy, people in

the united statee way more people in the united states are dying from the coronavirus than in modernized, industrialized countries. another thing to know, a recent cbs poll found democrats and vastly different rms.andemic in republicans said that they thought it was acceptable to have about 170,000 americans die because we are in the midst of a y ndemic, but about 90% of democrats saat number is unacceptable. that's one way we see the polarized society impacting how people view the coronavirus. >> woodruff: yamiche, it's also interestg to look at how the republicans are talking about the president's record compared to thectual recor for example, on the issues of immigration, on race, and wee know t president even ceremony, that was in amna's report just a moment ago. each otherll this square with >> well, first lady melanialk trump about as an

immigrant she wanted to tace migration and racial strich in the country, but when you look at theresident's polls c's -- first, melania trump was someone that former president barackidea obama was not born in this country, but to look at the esident's own record in addition to what he said in his rhetoric. when you lookt at the the president's own things that have been happening in the pandemic, he's been detaining immigrant children and families at a hotel in the pandemic. n00,000 migrants have bee dispelled from the country during the crisis, and as a result of president trump's policies, there will be a 49% reduction in legal immigration by 2021, judy. >> woodruff: so finally, yamiche, what else stood outur bout last night and what should we look for tonight? >> reporter: whastood t i you saw a lot of speakers try to make an emotional connection between president trump and everyday americans.

the president s talking wit people, you saw videos of him interacting with people. also the white house is userred in a central way that's untraditional, a lot of people found it unthical. there is the hatch act that's supposed to keep the camp and the white house separate. yesterday we saw the blurring of the lines. anothething to note is we'll see a number of white house officials speak, vice presidente mike pence wiliving the key note address, also kaylie mcenany, the white house press secretary and kellyanne conway. a lot of misleading statements have been said in tst week including first lady melaniaid trump, she shere's an unprecedented number of womenin sein the trump administration. that's not true. the number ofwo men in the trump administration is much lower than when president obama was in >> woodruff: such important reporting, yamiche alcindor, thank you. and you will be with us tonight watching it very closely.

yamiche, thank you. >> reporter: thank you. >> woodruff: ronna mcdaniel has played a key role planning this week's convention.ir she is the cman of the republican national committee and she joins us now from her party's headquarters in ronna mcdaniel, thank you very much for being here. so you're now at the halfway point. how do you feel the takeaway is so far? what do yo taking away from this convention? >> i think people are recognizing that we're telling the story of real americans in their own wo hrds andw the policies of this administration have impacted their lives directly, the farmer, the person who had a buseiness where th p.p.p. loan helped them, a chilr who benefited the right to try executive order, the lobstermen from maine. th that was our hope is that it would be about people of

america and telling their stories. >> woodruff: we notice the people who calculate tv audiences say the number watching the first night was, overall, less than it was for the democratic convention. last nit, you were a lot closer, it was very close, but just the base you want to reacht but are you also reachingpe uadable voters, do you think? >> i do. i do think we're reaching persuadable voters. i was listening to comments on c-span last night after the programming was done, and there re many voters calling in and saying i'm switching to republican. there was one democrat from lorraine, ohio, who said,am so pleads with wat i'm seeing, i'm switching those are the things i'm hearing. if you count our digital channels, whi, ch, of coure r.n.c. and the trump campaign are pushing this out on our digital channels as well, the viewership is incredibly high. >> woodruff: there is a fair amount of commentary about what

is perceived as a disconnect esident trump'sr record and what is being said at the convention, with regard to thpandemic and the economy. but even with regard to opioid adction, one speaker described a decrease in opioid deaths in 2018, but looked at federal preliminary data from the c.d., and in 201,we fatalitiere up. so how much fact checking is going on with your speakers? >> well, there's always going to be fact checking d you can't deny the trump adminisation has investeda hevily $6 billion into the opioid pandemic. you saw the numbers, the president has tackled this head-on, and we're talking about what the administration is doing every day to fight a crisis, and i think the first lady made a od point last night, an i appreciate you bringing this up. let's not talk about gossip as much as in our headlines. let's talk about the opioid crisis. the president declared it a public health emergency. we have people fraom all wlks of

life continuing to pass away and be inflicted by this terrible crisis, yet it isn't given the but we're really pleased. again, these are stoes told by people in their own wo i don't think you can fact check somebody who is saying this is what happened for me and this is why my lifes better because of this policy, that's just the truth. >> woodruff: there's been -- separately, there's been pretty dark picture painted at the convention about what vice president biden would do if elected. and, worse,somebody who'sist embraced the bernie sanders agenda. we know joe biden is clearly to the left of president trump, but he has not embraced defunding the police, he has not embraced government-paid medicare for all, for example. so do you owe your viewers a

more realisc description of what joe biden stands for? >> joe biden said he would redirect funds from the police. i consider that defundime. if sody says i'm going to take funds away from you and redirect them somewhere else, that means you're not getting the funheding. picked a running mate, kamala harris, who absolutely has embraced meare foall and a government takeover of healthcare.and if you lookt at m of the party which he, combinedr withe sanders to create, there's a lot in there that has shown that joe biden has lurched very leftwyd in his pa and embraced many of the policies of bernie sanders. and you know who said that at the convedeion? bernie s. he said i ran on things that were out of the mainstream four years o that are now part of our party. >> woodruff: i want to ask you very quickly, ronna mcdaniel, about former president george w. bush. is he going to appear at the convention? and what about your own uncle, former republican nominee for

mesident senator mitt ney, are they going to be there and, if not, why not? >> well, it is a different convention, judy, and i think you recognize that. it's a virtual convention, south not the same as crowds in charlotte like we were hoping to have wit the candidates parading across the stage. so we have two hours of programming that's covered every night, and the president made a decision, i want this to be about the erican people. >> woodruff: but they're also not appearing in videos at the convention, and you've had twoic icepublican leaders pass away since the last convention, former president george h.w. bush, john mccain. what does iti aythink, about the party -- republican party of today that none ofhese figures is involved? >> well, i don't know if you've looked at the democratic conventionnd how many politicians they omitted. i mean, we, obviously, at the enn.c., recognize the passing of

our former presand our former nominee. but right now this convention is about nominating donald trump restrictions that covid has placed on our convention, i think most amerans recognize that the limited programming we have is going to be focused on why we ne tedo reelect president trump. >> woodruff: all right, we'll leave it there. we will be watchintonight and tomorrow night. republican party chair ronna mcdaniel, thank you very much. >> thank you. >> woodruff: a chaotic night in kenosha,isconsin, one that led to two deaths after protests and confrontations. and after several days of anger, frustration and unrest following the police shooting of jacob blake, a black man. authorities still have relsed few details about that shooting. john yang has the latest. >> he shot him, man.

he shot him! >> yang: two people were shot to dedeh while another was woun as protests flared for a third night in kenosha. cellphone video appeared to capture a young white man firing a rifle in the street. as the crowd scattered, the man walked down the middle of the street with his hands up while police arrived, though officers did not challenge or apprehend him. thisfternoon, police in illinois said they arrested 17- year-oldyle rittenhouse of antioch, illinois, just over the wisconsin border, in connection with the shootings. kenosha authorities said they're looking into reports that he wao paa vigilante group patrolling the city. >> it's a very active investigation and we have a person in custody out of state. i'll be working to bring that person to wisconsin to face appropriate charges. tat i can't tell you is w lead to the disturbance, that lead to the use of deadly force

by this person and if both deaths are related to the same person, i don't know that at this point. >> yang: the shootings horrified witnesses. >> the man was laying on his stomach and he turns arod and the first shot was fired and that went straight into the guy. the second shot was fid. at went into another gentleman. i ran inside. we got everyone away from th windows, got everyone down. and this gentleman stood up again backing up firing, just firing down the street. >> was he a homeowner protecting his property? was he someone against the black lives movement? what was he? we don't know. it's crazy! it's chaos, total chaos! >> yang: outrage has filled the city's streets since sunday when kenosha police shot jacob blake, who is black, multiple times from behind at close range and in front of his three children. his attorney said it would "take a miracle" for the 29-year-old to walk again. blake's mother, julia jackson,

today on" cbs this morning."ee >> ilike i'm in a bad dream. never in a million years did i w think ld be here in this place. him being alive is just a miracle in itself. >> yang: last night's peotest began efully. crowds kenosha county courthouse. riot police stood guard and tactical vehicles patrolled the area. the situation escalated when some demonstrators sho protective fence and threw edreworks police. officers respondith tear gas to disperse the crowds top. enforce an 8:0 curfew. daylight revealed the extent of the damage, as crews cleared away rubble. this afternoon, president ump tweeted that federal law enforcement was on the way: "we will not stand for looting, arson, violence, and lawlessness on american streets." he vowed to "restore law and order."

separately, wisconsin governor tony evers re-doubled thnumber of state national guard troops deployed in kenosha to 500, still short of the 1500 troops the kenosha county officials called for. w need more national guardsman on the ground. what the governor sent to us originally did not suffice. it didn't even-- it didn't put a dent in the damage we were seeing happen to our community. >> no justice,o peace! >> yang: blake's shooting re- ignited protests over police use of deadly force nationwide.ro and h the n.b.a. in kenosha, authorities are bracing for another night of protests, hoping that an earlier 7:00 p.m. curfew and the increased security will help keep theeace. for the pbs newshour, i'm john yang.

>> woodruff: and now to stephanie sy witthe rest of the day's headlines. >> sy: thanks judy. the centers for disease control and prevention drew new criticism today for saying people without covid-19 symptoms do not need to get tested, even if they've been exposed. that change reversed the c.d.c.'s previous position. a number of public health experts warned it flies in the face of science. we'll get into this in dail, after the news summary. in belarus, police broke up new demonstrations in minsk and detained dozens of protesterse who say esidential election was rigged. authorities also called nobel-winning author svetlana alexievich for questioning. she is part of an opposition council trying to negotiate a ansition of power. police in hong kong arrested 16 people today on rioting charges tied to pro-democracy demonstrations in july of last year neo opposition lawmakers were

among those det they said they were the ones attacked by agitators in white shirts. their party accused police of an anti-democratic crackdown. >> ( translated ): the police ohave committed a situati abuse. this lets the public see what the government's attitude towards the tire protest movement is. it's clear that the government has nontention of trying to fix the administration's mistakes and police abuse in the movement. >> sy: some 9,000 people have been arrested in hong kong since protests began in junef 2019. we'll talk to a leading hong kong democracydvocate,ater in the program. the u.s. and russian militaries have had their most serious confrontation in months, in eastern syria. the national security council says four americans were hurt when a russian military vehicle struck a u.s. vehicle on patrolt

at l00 people have died in n.avy flooding in northern and eastern afghanis strong seasonal rains brought mudslides that filled streets, submerged cars and destroyed more than 2,000 homes. bulldozers and volunteers dug back in this country, another day of cooler, humid weather15 helped som00 firefighters battli huge fires around the san francisco bay area. they made more progressg extendntainment lines around the flames. but, estimates of homes and other buildings destroyed, rose sharply, to well over 1,700. u.s. intelligence officials say they've seen no sign that foreign cotries are working to sabotage mail-in voting. they also report no evidence of any effort to commit widespaiad fraud withd ballots. president trump has warned that both problems will fe rampant thl. but several intelligence agencies said today they have n evidencepport the claim.

and, on wall street: the dow jones industal average gained 83 points to close near 28,332. the nasdaq rose 198 points, and the s&p 500 added 35. still to come on the newshour: ncerns remain in the u.s. that politics trumps science as we battle covid-19 and a rising death toll. the former owner of a pro- democracy newspaper in hong kong discusses his arrest under a new chinese law. and we examine the president's economic record amid the historic recession brought on by covid-19. >> sy: two recent moves, o by the food and drug

administration, the other by the centers for disease control and prevention, have again raised questions about whether the trp administration is injecting politics into the nation's pandemic response. william branghamas the latest. >> brangham:hen president trump and head of the f.d.a., dr. steven hahn, ce forward to announce the emergency approval of convalescent plasma as a treatment, hahn overstated how effective the treatment was. after much criticism, he walked back his comments days later. then yesterday, the c.d.c. changed its guidance on who should be getting tested for coronavirus. without explanation, it moved its prior advice that people with no symptoms get tested, even if they've been exposed to the virus. i'm joined now by dr. thomas he ran the c.d.c. for eight years and he's now the head of a global health initiative called "resolve to save lives."dr

frieden, great to see you again. what is your sense? what do you make of these two change is this just par for the course for science, or is there something more troling going on here? >> this is not par for the course, this is unprecedented. william, the fact is that the virus does not respondopin. the virus responds to science, and these two moves teen together very concerning, they're ncerning, in particular, for what's going to happen in the coming weeks and months with the rollout of a vaccine againsvid because, although a vaccine is the single most important thing we can have to protect ourselves against the virus, it's not going to be quick, it's not going to be mple, and getting people to trust and confidence, and thesef are two moves that have undermined confidence of the public health community, of the scientific community, and i'm afraid to have the broader

community as well. >> reporter: on this issue of the testing change with he c.d.c., as i mentioned, youan the c.d.c. for my yes. twnews outlets today reported pressure froem th trump administration came down to make that change. rue really believe, knowing the men and women who run th ed.c. d make up its scientific cadre, that that's lly possible that that kind of pressure could be exerted and have this effect? >> i cannot a remember a single incident in my nearly eight incident running the c.d.c. or 20 years working at the c.d.c. where any entity other than the c.d.c. got something put on the c.d.c. web site. unfortunately, that hahappened repeatedly in the current administration, and that's dangerous because it undermines confidence in what has been one of our most trusted and trustworthy public health institutions. >> reporter: admiral brett

inrgeroire said there was no wet on the scales by thent presi or vice president or secretary azar of hmentd h.s he said this was a product produced by the scientific and medical people discussed exte.ively at the task for so if we take him at his word and there wasn't pressure, de you believe science merits asymptomatic?eople who are that, thus far, has been a public health strategy that we all know. >> let's be frank -- we don't have enoh tests. the administration perhaps doesn't want to see saythat, but there aren't enough tests that can come back in a meaningful time frame, one or two days. therefore,e have to prioritize. that's reasonable. symptomatic people, people who are in congregate facilities like nursing homes, omeless shelters, correctional ntsilities, meat packing pl where you can have massive

outbreaks are higher priority. some asymptomatic pare at lower priority. if a college wants to test every kid coming back to campus, that's not a high priority when we have limited tests. but a contact of someone who has covid is high typrioecause they may have infection without symptoms, they may be the source of the infection without knowing that that have it, and you can'p hains of transmission unless you can find chains of transmission, so it's not defensible to say that asymptomatic contacts should not be tested. >> reporter: let's turn to theal issue of cocent plasma and dr. hahn to make a bas scientific mistake in overstating the effectiveness of that. he later walked thastatement back. do you chalk that up to a mistake or, where w that particular issue, do you see sothing else afoot? >> there's nquestion that there was a desire to describe this as a major breakthrough

when, in fact, what we have is a 100-year-old treatment that may work somewhat for some patients, and whether or not an emergency use auts horizationstified, the bottom line is we're not going to be able to learn how to help patients most if this kind of politics iswi played h science. we have to do careful studies, maybe certain antibodies work better than others, maybe certain patients will be benefited more than others, maybe it's ony useful in the first day or two after people get sick. we don't know that and, now may not know it for even longer. to control covid, not how toow control the news cycle. >> reporter: aght, dr. thomas frieden, former head of the c.d.c. and now c.e.o. of "resolve to save lives," thank you so much again. >> tha you, william. >> sy: as reported, there

were more arrests in hong kong today, part of an ongoing rampaign targeting pro-dem activists. bewing now has a powerful weapon to punish its critics in hong kong: a nional security law passed in late june, that allows authorities to sentence demonstrators to life in prison. nickchifrin sits down with one of the law's most prominent targets. >> schifrin: two months ago, beijing imposed a national security law on hong kong that promised to punish not only people for what they did, but also what they said. anyone who participates in any action that calls for separating hong kong from china, anyone who received support from a foreign country, even anyone who provokes hatred of beijing, can be arrested and sentenced to the most prominentn outspoken pro-democracy voice, billionaire media tycoon.on he came tokong when he was 12, stowed away on a fishing boat, worked his way up frtt the to found a clothing chain, and then hong kong's

largest newspaper. m earlier thonth hong kong police arrested him and frogmarched him through his own newsroom. sed ofow been ac colluding with foreign countries. and now jimmy lai joins me from hong kong. jimmy lai, welcome to the newshour. what is the message that hong kong police are trying to send to everyone when they arrest you so publicly? >> it probably is the intentiono ofng the teeth of the national security law, because they already have had a very powerful, intimidating efft in hong kong's resistance movement. of those young people or even some of the older ones, who were involved in the movement, either have leftavor are g. a lot of them who stay, have sidestepped the movement.ri >> sch if that's the case of the impact of the crackdownby eijing, what is the state of press freedom? what is the state of freedom ofp ch today in hong kong?

>> as long as people are becoming more cautious, what they write, what they say, in security law, the freedom ofal speech is not there. are supposed to do.oing what we but we don't know when there will ba clampdown again on us.t so jcause of this apprehension, has made thepe freedom ofh, not so free. >> schifrin: do you believe you were arrested because last summer you met with vice president pence and secrkeary of state ompeo? >> they are very strict about this "collusion" with the foreign power. even now, accepting your interview could be collusionei with f power. so i have to be cautious of what i say, you know? so this is the fact of life here now. >> schrin: do you feel that you're already self censoring? >> well, no. ino, if i'm self-censorin

wouldn't accept the interview. >> reporter: what can the u.s. do in order to try and guarantee that hont g kongast maintains some of its freedoms. >> if i tell you what they should d i will be in violation of the law, ich i avoid. but i think thmost important thg is like accepting your interview now, hong kong is a very unique place. people here share the same value as you guys in the u.s. we are very differentrom the chinese in china because they have a totally difrent value. we have a val you that's the legacy ofu or past time. it's not democracy but the rule of law, the freedom of speech, assely and religion. if the american people knowt thwe are being attacked, theyte

can resoith us and the suort will be very important to us. >> reporter: beijing said it passed the national security law because it needed to because of violence last year in hong kong. we did see violence in protest. i ha to ask, were you in any point, during some of these violent protests, worried about security being eroded inon hong >> well, i was worried about the not our power.use violence is we can't be more violent than the c.c.p. our power is out f moral authority. we have to stay in the nonviolent and peaceful resistance >> and finally, jimmy i, you e, as we talked about earlier, accused of colluding with a foreign power. are you resigned, on a personal level, tg found guilty and spending a long time, even perhaps the rest of your life, in prison?

>> i don't think about ts because i don't want to put the psychologicaburden on myself until the time comes. you know, i'm not worried, jusbecause, if my life is about myself, itul be meaningless. only when f i detam myself, and thinking of my life is abouter something biand not about myself, that my life becomes meaningful. and that me going every day.ai >> jimmy ljoining us from hong kong. thank you very much. >> thank y. ha >> sy:s all from here. judy? >> wdruff: throughout this week, republicans have cited policies as one key reason they believe he should be re-elected.

one important question for voters: what would a second term agenda look like for president trump, even as covid continues to drag on the economy. paul solman is back tonight with a look at the trump plan and his record so far. sense."bueries, "making >> wt the greatest economy in the history of the world and now i have to do it again. that's god testing me. >> reporter: president trump's pitch to vers: under his watch the economy was heaven until the covid test. and though almost 30 million americans are on unemployment right now. >> he is the right leader to create the conditions for theom trump .0. >> reporter: and boom 2.0 is just around the corner, saysgn campdvisor steve cortes. >> recent economic data in the last few weeks has really been quite fantasc. housing starts are soaring. existing home sales are off the .harts. biggest month ev last month, industrial production picking up. >> reporter: the presiees a so-called v-shaped recovery: a steep economic decline followed qukly by a strong rebound. >> and the v is turning out to

be true! i was saying a v and everybody was saying a v is impossible. the v is beyond a v. it's a super based on the numbers that we have now! over the last three months we've gained nine million jobs nationwide which is a new record. >> reporter: but after having lost 22 million jobs the two months prior.me , you're talking about from a historically low point, right? >> sure. we have a long way to go. i'm not pollyanna. any stretch.k things are fine by but there are reasons, legitimate reasons for optimism. >> reporte on top of the several trillions in government spending bills to resurrect the economy, passed in congress, signed by the president, he has issued new executive actions. one: to continue extra unemployment benefits. ng>> for those who are looor work or who don't have enough work right now. they're goa get $400 per wk. of it coming from the federal government. 100 being matched by the states. and make sure thth they can pay r bills while they're still looking. >> reporter: so far, 32 states

have been approved to offer the benefits but just two ve begun distributing funds and only three will contribute the $100 state match. the other executive actions: direct government officials to identify funds to prevent evictions, though it's unclear they have the authority. defer student loan payments through 2020. provide a payroll tax holiday through the end of the year to those with income of $104,000 or less. and so president trump's economic platform to address the immediate ecomic crisis. >> near term i think the helps will be tax cut, regulatory reanlief on the one hand, d then on the other side for people still looking, continued enhenced unemployment, which president is providing through executive order. >> reporter: but relief through executive action raises legal questions since the constitution gives congress, not the president, the power of the purse. >> it's regrettable. look, i'm a constitutionist. i don't love the idea of executive action oggressive but these are incredibly unusual circumstances. it's a crisis in our country

right now. and the president felt compelled to take strong leadership. and in this case, unfortunately, he had to do it unilaterally. >> rep democrats argue, because aid to workers and states,ugh won't fund the post office in order to jeopardize the electoral process. and, says former vice president joe biden, even if trump could manage to make the payroll tax holiday permanent, it would cripple social security. >> he's proposing to eliminate tax that pays most half the social security, without any way of making up for that loss revenue, resulting in cuts. >> the president has been incredibly clear about this, that social security is not in any way at risk. he is not any way targeting social security. no senior, nobody who gets social secity payments, because it's not only seniors. no nobody who gets those payments should feel it in anywa threatened by this move. >> reporter: but in other words, president trump, with a second term, would be committed to funding social security out of general funds.

>> that is correct. >> reporter: biden ao criticized the tax cuts trump signed in 2017, calling em: >> the president's $1.3 trillion tax giveaway to the wealthiest 1% and the biggest, most profitable corporations, some of which do not pay any tax at all. >> reporr: while high earners and companies were the biggest winners, most americans did get a tax cut.ma the lahave boosted the economy in the short-run but it failed to stimulate significant growth ome. still, trump maintains... >> i will always put americanlw workers first,s. >> reporter: a key strategy: trade wars, with china and others. >> i love properly put on unfair competitors from foreign countries to do whatever you want them to do. >> reporter: in a second term, trump would remain tough on trade, bring business back toco america, sayes. >> how do we do that? i think in two ways. number one, we continue to negotiate smarter trade deals,wi

as we di the usmca with our neighbors and allies, mexico and canada.ha we need to useas a template for other countries like the u.k., japan, et cetera. number two, i think we encourage onshoring by being very tough with china. it is very clear that china has then abusing and exploitin united states in trade for decades. >> reporter: in the president's firsterm, the china trade wa arguably slowed growth and cost jobs. but in a second term, a renewed onshoring push will spuriring, says cortes. >> we're for on-shoring generally but most specifically for critical areas of our economy that relate to oec nationality. things like supplies of medicines. so i think it's critical for thd un states that sensitive supply lines for things like medicine be brought back to the, united stahat we cannot be dependent upon other countries. >> reporter: for the pbs newshour, this is paul solman.

>> woodruff: and before we go, amna nawaz is back with what we can expect frotonight's republican convention. >> nawaz: women once again feature prominently the line of speakers at tonight's republican national convention. we'll hear from female memhers ofepublican caucus, including senator marshaof blackburennessee, and senator joni ernst of iowa. also delivering remarks toniwot, some of thn who work with president trump in the west wing, like his senior advisor kellyanne conway and house press secretary kayleigh mcenany later in the evening, we'll hear from second lady karen pence, and tonight's keynote will come from vice president mike pence, who will formally accept the republican party's nomination. we'll hear from them and a host of other speakers, tonight on the third night of the republican national convention.

>> woodruff: a news update before we go, the only native american on federal death row was executed today. lesmond mitchell was put to death in a federal prison in terre haute, indiana, despite objections from the leaders oft the navajo ion citing violations of tribal sove wignty. mitche convicted in connection to the slaying in 2001 of a 9-year-old and her grandmother. and that's the newshour for night. please join us starting at 8:00 eastern tonight for our special coverage of the republican national convention. we'll have a panel of experts congressman tom cole of oklahoma. i'm judy woodruff. for all of us at the pbs soon.our, thank you and >> major funding f pbs newshour has been provided by: >> consumer cellular believes that wireless plans should reflect the amount of talk, text and data that you use. we offer a variety of no- contract wireless plans for people who use their phone a between. or anything in to learn more, go to consumercellular.tv

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>> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcaing. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by p newshoductions, llc captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org hello, everyone, and welcome

to "amanpour & co." here's what's coming up. >> four more years! >> high stake for president trump at his convention. i talk to a key supporter in a key battleground state, florida senator and former governor rick scott. then -- >> china's been taking at vantage ofat the united for many, many years, for decades. >> we turn to china, one of the president's mai election weapons, but will washingtonij g emerge stronger over the next four years? with me to discuss, experts from both sides. elizabeth economy a victor >> i sat up, i couldn't catch my breath. i went to the bathroom and immediatemy coughed up blood. >> our hari sreenivasan talks t