captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight: vote 2020. four states. we aren the ground in minnesota to mark this new phase in the race for the white house. then, the longest war. peace talks like we have never seen before, attempting to end the bloodshed in afghanistan. >> ( translat): my delegation and i have come to doha to figure out a process to close the gates of war and pain forever. >> woodruff: and, it's friday, mark shields and david brooks analyze the politics of this complicated time. all that and more, on tonight's. pbs newshour

>> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ my moving our econoor 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> fidelity wealth management. >> for 25 years, consumer cellular has been offering no-contract wireless plans, designed to help people do more of what they like. our u.s.-based customer servic team can help find a plan that fits you. to learn more, visit www.consumercellular.tv. >> financial services firm

raymond james. >> johnson & johnson. >> the john s. and james l. knight foundation. fostering informed and engaged communities.re mot kf.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions: and friends of the newshour. >> this program was made possible by the corporation fora public broing. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: the presidential campaign spotlight is on minnesota night, with joe biden and president trump making stops in a state that's become a

battleground for now. it comes as the president offers another new timetable on the pandemic. lisa desjardins begins our campaign coverage. >> desjardins: at the white house, two days after breaking with experts and indicating a coronavirus vaccincould be ready in weeks, president trump today gave a new date, saying a vaccine will not be widely available until spring at least. >> there will be hundreds of millions of doses available every month, enough for ery american by april. >> desjardins: this, hours before he was to tnnvel to ota, where the election is underway.d there three other states, today early voters took to the polls, waiting in long,s. distanced line both presidential caidates planned stops in the north star state today.nt vice presiiden went to a carpenters training facility in

hermantown. >> this campaign is between scranton and par avenue. >> reporter: with boths camppressing to gin up turnout, official >> desjardins: with campaigns pressing to gin up turnout, officials in minneapolis sathey're working to ensure a safe process, amid a historic election. >> it's unique becausef the pandemic, of course. and our need to make sure we're making voting safe for everyone. accessible and safe for everyone. we don't want people exercising their right to vote to be dangerous. >> good evening. i'm anderson cooper. thanks for joining us. >> desjardins: the pandemic was also central to biden's cnn town hall in his childhood hometown of scranton pennsylvania last night. the former vice president accused his opponent of letting americans die through inaction on covid-19. >> if the president had done his job, had done his job from the ulginning, all the people still be alive. all the people-- ng this up. just look at the data. look at the data.

>> desjardins: it is not true that president trump could have prevented all u.s. covid-19- with more coordinated response plans have seen significantly fewer infections and deaths.mo >> four years! four more years! >> thank you very much. >> desjardins: at a rally in wisconsin last night, thete president pad a grim picture of what a biden win would look i lia more than 1.5-hour- long speech condemning recent anti-racism protes and some violent riots in cities. >> if biden wins, very simple-- china wins. if biden ws, the mob wins. biden wins, the rioters, anarchists, arsosts, flag- burners, they win. >> desjardins: a historic campaign grinds , with the war of words escalating by the day. for the pbs newshour, i'm lisa desjardins. >> woodruff: more courts were heard from today on u.s. elections issues. the state supreme court of mississippi ruled that absentee voting is not automatically available to people whose healtb

ms make them vulnerable to covid-19. a michigan judge cleared the way for absentee ballots to be counted as lonas two weeks after election day. and in ohio, state officials and the state republican party are appealing a ruling against limiting counties to a single drop box for ballots. oo >>uff: in the day's other news, confirmed covid-19 w infectioldwide passed 30 million-- up 10 million over just the past month. at the same time, the uniteds statesproaching 200,000 deaths. and the c.d.c. rescinded guidance that had discouraged testin symptoms.e who have no the "new york times" reported that officials at the health and human services department posted that guidance on the c scientists' objections.r

the trump administration is banning the chinese-owktok and wechat from u.s. app stores over national serity concerns. a total ban on wechat's messaging and electronic payment services takes effect sunday. full restrictions on the video-sharing tiktok begin november 12. we will get details later in the program. china stepped up military drills near taiwan today in a major show of force against a u.s. envoy's visit to taipei. 18 chinese warplanes crossed into the taiwan strait, and taiwanese fighters scrambled in response. beijing considers taiwan a renegade province, and chinese military officials sternly warned against any meddlinge. th >> ( translated ): recently, thi u.s. andn's ruling party have stepped up their collusion and frequently stir up trouble.h it is l thinking, and is

destined to be a dead end.op the chinese 's liberation confidence, and suntfull ability to thwart all external interference and separatist acts. >> woodruff: today's talks si taipei marked the second high-level u.s. in the past two months. back in this country, officials in alabama reported nd death from hurricane sal, and several hundred thousand people still have no electricity. satellite images of coasta alabama from before and after showed homes and other structures almost entirely underwater. governor kay ivey surveyed the area today. >> we knew that hurricane sally 'ad the potential to be devastating, but, it's really bad. i'm sure it could be worse; but from what i've seen this morning in the fly-over-- over gulf shores and orange beach,

and fort morgan-- it's really, really bad. >> woodruff: meanwhile, a new tropical storm formed in the gulf of mexico today, heading toward the u.s. forecasters named it beta, resorting to the greek alphabet after using up this year's official list of names. that has happened just once before, in 2005, the year ofic hue katrina. president trump says he isar sending $13 billion to puerto rico to rebuild the powes grid and schamaged in hurricane maria three years ago. he had opposed that step until no citing local corruption but the issue has become importanin florida, a swing state in the ection with a large puerto rican population. wildfires in the west have claimed the life of anotr firefighte it happened as crews battled a major fire in the san bernardino naonal forest. flames there have torched nearly 22,000 acres. there is new reporting on

allegations of unwanted misterectomies and other surgeries at an ant detention center in georgia. an associated press account today told of four women who say a gynecologist pressured themhe intorocedures. the a.p. also said that it found no evidence that even more women were affected, as alleged by a nurse at the center. in economic news, a series of new reports today found consumer confidence is rising and household incomes improving. pulled the market again. stocks the dow jones industrial average tlost 244 points to close 27,657.na the aq fell 117 points, and the s&p 500 slipped 37. still to come on the newshour: on the battleground. why minnesota could be a key to novemberas they start voting today. a global app battle.

how the u.s. itrying to take down tiktok. music as medicine. doctors turn to strings to help them use scalpels. and, much mo. >> woodruff: as lisa reported, the presidential candidas touched down in minnesota today. both campaigned near the northern iron range area of the state, once a reliable democratic stronghold. special correspondent fred sam lazaro has our report. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: at the afternoon v.f.w. polka in the small northern town of cloquet, theem dancers to defy their age-- and minnesota's mask mandate. on the accordion, 93-year-old florian chmielewski. >> hey!

there we go! >> reporter: besides his role in the "chmielewski fun time band," he is best known for his decades as a democratic state senator. chmielewski recalls rubbing elbows with big-name minnesota democratic politicians like hubert humphrey. but something changed, he says. >> we never had thatrelationshie in. and that was a disas the days of humphrey in this area is over. >> reporter: for years, demoats like chmielewski have been moving to the right, away from the party on environmtal and social issues like abortion and toward candidates who've tedged to uphoir way of life. one such candidate? president trump. in 201 the president lost minnesota by less than two percentage point he flipped 19 counties thatob presidena won in 2012, and in parts of northern minnesota, the democrats' edge shrank dramatically. joe biden's supporters say

they're determined to make sure the democratic party doesn't lose more ground here. >> if donald trump wins, we're sunk, wee sunk. there goes our democracy. we need somebody whoares about everybody and not only himself and his pockets. >> reporter: cindy gulbranson is concerned about health care. she's been battling leukemia, and her oncologist recommended that she leave her nursing job during the pandemic. >> which is a big financial difficulty. unemployme won't last forever. i don't know what's going to w happh my health insurance. if i do need chemotherapy in the president trump is trying to? get rid of obamacare. people like me who have preexisting conditions-- what will we do without health care? >> reporter: for president trump's supporters, the concerns are economic and social. usa westby worries about the unrest that rockan parts

of the state some three hours south of here, following the police killing in may of george floyd in minneapolis. >> it is concerning me that there is lawlessness going on down there. that is concerning. but i know a lot of people that don't even know that that's going on. >> reporter: the central issue at this rally in virginia, minnesota is iron ore mining, an industry that's defined the region economy dating back 150 years. in recent times, this iron range has been hit by automation and foreign competition, and environmental groups have blocked new mining of copper and nickel. that's driven bob vlaisavljelvich firmly into the trump camp. he's the mayor of eveleth, minnesota, and calls himself a lifelong democrat. what moved you along to the point where you are now? >> well, my parents, like everody i grew up with, they were all j.f.k. democrats. and that's kind of the mindset we've always had. and then the party started

drif really seemed to get angry when people disagreed. who addressed the republican national convention last month-n credits prestrump, and his tariffs on imported steel, with stabilizing the econre. >> people are having confidence, even local busexesses now, to nd and hire. and these companies, mining companies, have done some expansions. it was reay tough to live here, buy a house, raise a family. now, you're seeing the constency. >> nothing has changed. thstiron range of 2016 is al the same as the one in 2020. >> reporter: aaron brown is a northern minnesota author andt columno's written about politics here for years. we met in the iron range town of hibbing. brown notes, employment in the mines is a quarter of what it was just 40 years ago, and there are now more health care workers than miners in this county. >> they outnumber the miners, but they don't out-power them in the politics.

here in hibbing, there was a branding initiative, and the brand managers came and did all with a slogan that be came up great for the city of hibbing. they said "hibbing: we're more and that received that the city council and theirs managers changed the slogan toib ng: we're ore and more." >> reporter: f many on the range, like cindy gulbranson,id the prtial election is about much more than mining. >> we will run out of iron ore. our environment is beinge affected by ning. i really feel we need some new, clean industry in our area. we don't want to take people's jobs away. that isn't the plan. as reporter: this election seemingly torn at the fabric of these usually close-knit communities. gulbranson has even received threats on facebook. aaron brown has seen it, too. >> it's hard to watch.ti you know, my meneration iron range family really kind of

rended apart. this place, which i think was truly special from a historical and a politicastandpoint, has become less special, more like the rest of the country. >> reporter: or the rest of the state. even though the candidates were y,in northern minnesota to the election outcome will likely hinge on turnout in the more populous twin cities of minneapolis and st. paul, and critically, the surrounding suburbs. so far, polling in minnesota show voters think joe biden would do a better job of healing the nation's racial divide and handling the pandemic. for e pbs newshour, this is fred de sam lazaro in st. paul, minnesota. >> woodruff: and fred's reporting is a partnership with the university of st. thomas in minnesota.

>> woodruff: as we rep earlier, the trump administration is moving forward now with plans to ban the pular chinese social med apps, tiktok and wechat. some of those changes will begin but the action will ramp up after the election, in the case of tiktok. william branam has the details. >> brangham: judy, this is what's scheduled thappen. starting on sunday, americans will not be able to doload tiktok or wechat apps from apple or google's app stores. wechat users in the ited states will also not be able to use the app to send messages or mobile payments to family or friends anywhere in the world. ere are a lot of questio about how this is going to play out, and what's behind this larger battle between china and the trumadministration. nick thompson is the editor-in- chief of "wired" magazine, and he joins me now for more. nick thompson, great to have you on the show. for millions americans who use wechat and tiktok, what

does this practically mean for th? >> well, practically, in the case of wechat, it means you won't be able to use it, you won't be able to keep in touch with your friends in china but wechat, yo won't be able to do business through wechat. that will start sunday and ' a big deal. for people who use tiktok, the changes won't be as dramatic.n' you wbe able to download the new version of the app after suay and won't be able to download it on a phone. it wn't be till november that a new deal will be worked out ktok will probably station wechat is going away. >> repter: for people who may not be familiar with the apps. wechat is kind of an combinat facebook, twitter, pay pall, all iome passing. tiktok is enormously popular with young people app that allows you to make and share fun, snappy videos. pe allegation that the tr administration is making for these actionings are that these

apps somehow represent a national security threat. explain their argument and what is the evidence behind it? >> so the trump administration argument is the apps collect enormous aaounts ofta. they know where you are, what ip address you're connecting to, they know all kinds of personal information because they're on your pne and your phone knowsd your location l kinds of things about you. they argue the chinese government potentiaving access to that data is a real risk for americans. the counterargument is there's lile evidence the data has gotten to the chinese goanvernmt the same data is collected by american media companies. i think the trump administration could ma a thergument that to manipulate american politics by manipulating the algorithm. that would be a different but

intereing allegation. >> reporter: to use it tosort of spread information on the platform into the phones of millions of americans. >> yeah. they could do that. >> reporter: so to touch back on this isutue abohe potential of the chine government going to a chinese-owned company and saying, give us your data, for people who don't undstand how chinese society works in this regard, that's not an funreasonable thing to beaid of, right? >> no, that is an entirely reasonable thing to be afraid of. any company who is chinese owned has to have close reationships with the chinese government and comply with chinese requests which are often like that. tiktok has tried to set up various fire walls to protect it wasself, but the trump administration has decided those firewalls are not sufficient. >> reporter: for thovese who een following the twisty path this has taken. the goal post-s ha,ve mov there was talk of a ban, of maybe bite dance, the company

that own tiktok, would have to sell tiktok to an american firm. where does that stand now? >>he goalposts have changed and the conversation has changed. where it stands right now is bite dance is likely toontrol majority access of tiktok and, most importantly, to control american partner, mostly likely oracle, would hosant amer user data, so the data the trump administration is worried about would be hosted in the united states but oracle would a minority partner. so it's a much smaller septhan what the trump administration initially asked for which was an outright sale of tiktok. reporter: so if the concern is trying to protect americans' privacy, the privacy of their digital data, would that step satisfy that ifcl orawas holding that information here but tiktok stillived "in china," does that satisfy thatco ern? >> yes, absolutely. i mean, that is a great

question, ani think tht it probably does satisfy that concern. i also think that the fundamental concern is much more one of the general tech war with china. i mean, this is a suof a conversation that has been going on for a couple of years whe the united states government is really trying to crack down on the technological power china. china is becoming much less open united states and we're in the splitting sometimes called thefl ternet into the united states internet anthe chinese internet, and this is something ny in the united states including the trump administration are advocating for and something other people find extremely dangerous and potentially inefficient. >> reporter: just as yousa're ng it is being seen as a proxy war between the two superpowers, i mean, if you wanted to go about doing tis, it seems like you would institute a much more broader policy that applied to all americans' data ratherhan, per se, picking on one company, two

companies, three companies. >> yeah, that is a very smart right now.f what's going on so one can argue that what the trump administration should have done if they're ally concerned about data protection and about china is they should have come up wita set of blanket policies and rules, instead of charging at tiktok and changing direction, the conversation, lychanges what exaas being required, which has led us into a very strange wha wha amole situation, which is this enormously conversation between tech dynamics in the united states and chain, one to have the motast imp conversations in all of tech has gotten tangled up in this nasty, cry and confusing fight over tiktok, and that is a result of american policy that, as yougest, ha kind of shifted around in ways that are sometis hard to fathom. >> reporter: all right, nick thompson, editor and chief of "wired" magazine, thank you for

helping us wade through all of this. >> thank you so much. >> woodruff: in a few weeks' time, the u.s. wil yenter the 20r of war in afghanistan, when the u.s. invaded after 9/11. nearly 3,600 a have since died there, and hundreds of thousands of afghans. but for the preceding 20 years, afghans had also been at war: with the soviets, and then themselves. now, in the capital of qatar, the first talks between the afghan government and taliban itsurgents have begun, midwifed by the u.s., andthem, the first flickers of hope fornd ano war. here's nick schifrin. ( praying ) >> schrin: every war must end. and if the afghan war ends soon,

the beginning of the end will be this conference room. on one side, afghanistan'smo atically-elected government; on the other, leaders of the violent insurgency the taliban. both expressed hope. >> ( translated ): negotiations ve problems, but we hope that the discussions should mov forwth patience. >> ( translated ): my delegation and i have come to doha to figure out a process to close the gates of war and pain forever. >> schifrin: last weekend's relatively warm words were a good sign for two sides who've been fighting to determine afghanistan's cature for two s. >> the fundamental question on the table for negotiis, what is the afghan state going to look like? s schifrin: laurel miller the international crisis group's senior director for asia. she says beforthat core question can be swered, the two sides have to negotiate how they'll negotiate. >> what the rules of procedure,

so to speak, will be for the process. the next step will be to agree on what the agenda will be. >> schifrin: the afghan government wants the agenda to begin with a ceasefire. the government says 1,200 people have been killed, and 15,000ju wounded, i the last six months. >> a ceasefire, an immediateef cee, silencing the guns, is what people want. >> schifrin: nader nadery is a memberf the government's negotiation team, and a senior advisor to the afghan president. he spoke to us from doha. >> afgns across this country deserve to be heard, and they actually deserve a peaceful life, free of violence. ( sirens ) >> schifrin: but violence is the taliban's leverage, and the taliban won't agree to a ceasefire before agreeing on a new government that includes them, spokesman mohammad naeem told afghanistan's tolo news. >> ( translated ): it does not make sense to end 20 yearsr f one hour. be logical to disce main would aspects of the problems, and then finalize a ceasefire, so r the problem olved permanently.

>> schifrin: but wha of government does the taliban want? in the '90s, they ruled afghanistan, claiming their version of an islamic law with austerity, brutality and subjugation of women and minorities. >> schifrin: today, afghanistan's parliament has a the u.s. congress, and more than three million girls are in school. the taliban recently suggested they could allow female education and politians-- but no female chief justice or president. >> that's not acceptable to afghan women at all, to afghans in general it's not acceptable to me, for my daughters >> schifrin: in washington, there's bipartisan worry the talks willrode human rights. just yesterday, foreign affairs committee leaders-- democrat eliot engel and republican mike mccaul-- wrote a letter urging any deal to prioritize women's empowerment. but the administration has made clear, its priority is withdrawal. >> it's time, after all these years, to go and to bring our people back home. >> schifrin: the u.s. is

reducing forceto 4,500 by november, and has agreed to withdraw all u.s. service members by next april-- if the taliban doesn't harbor al qaeda, and continues negotiations. critics have called that deal at rush to the that weakened a fragile afghan government. the government had to release 5,000 taliban prisoners, some responsible for horrific attack, against afghnd the deaths of u.s. troops. >> we're not happy about that, and-- but sometimes, you know, you have to make the hard decisions. >> schifrin: the lead american as been ambassador zalmay khalilzad. he's suggested the u.s. wants negotiators to achieve quick progress by adopting a" the afghan government worries that roadmap might fce it to create a weak interim government without them. >> you can agree on a t of principles for governance, that are your building blocks for that future agreement. but that's different than-- than, say, to simply hand away

power to some kind of interim government with a very minimalist roadmap agreement. roadmap to where? unknown. >> schifrin: afghans are concerned president trump will push for a hasty deal before election day. ul we need to have patience and therefore to car proceed through it, to not follow certain short timelines and deadlines. >> schifrin: but after the u.s.' longest war reached its 20th year, the military, the administration, and the u.s. public support a deal, even if it means some taliban control. >> what it would mean is the most explicit acknowledgment yet that the u.s. did not win the war in afghanistan. the taliban was sufficiently successful to compel the u.s. to make significant concessions to that group.hi >> schifrin:week, afghans mbremembered their family s killed by the taliban. mah jan lost her son. >> ( translated ): i can

only forgive if i witness lasting peace. >> schifrin: in a land that has known little peace or forgiveness, there is desperate hope for both. for the pbs newsur, i'm nick schifrin. >> woodruff: now, to help make sense of this week in litics, it's time for the analysis of shields and brooks. that's syndicated columnist mark shields, and "new york times" columnist david brooks. hello to both of you. let's start with the president and science. david, today the president is alsaying americans shoul have access to a vaccine by april, but this is completely different from what he said yesterday. he was contradicting his own rector for the centers for disease control dr. robert redfield who usaid it wo take time, months, that masks arean impo yesterday the president said of

dr. redfield, he's mistaken, it's rigeht around corner. what are we to make to have the president's leadership on this, how much does it matter to voters? >> well, we've had six months, now, of erratic behavior, erratic statements, se completely crazy statements. you contrast angela merkel and many other leadersd round the woth donald trump and it's a night and day contrast. we're even learning and the "times" has a story out that e-mails that michael capo, trump's h.h.s. official and a part-time professor named paul alexander were sending to the c.d.c. to basicallyerrori the scientists to have the c.d.c. the c.d.c. was created for a momentnuch as thisd they were rendered strangely mute and now we understand whycause there was essentially a campaign veterandation to get a scientist of the c.d.c. to not say what they believe. so it's not only the administration, it's sort of the semi-competent or incompetent

brutes in the middle ofeh administration. >> woodruff: mak, what does this add up to at this point? >> well, in a css political sense, judy, it's bad for the president. iean, this is an issue, theri pandemics, in which the president is running about two to one behind joe biden i virtually every poll as to who's better on it. the only other issue in wch biden is compably as strong is healthcare. so every t donald trump talks about it in that sense he hurts about an issue in which he is not believable and has very little public confidence. the second factor is, for a vaccine to be effective, thereha to be confidence and trust in the american people.st the laoll i saw showed 51% of americans, at this point, cause of all that's gone on and all the sniping andd criticizing e sabotaging

that david deshacribed resulted in 51% definitely would take a vaccine. a vaccine will be of no value unless it's nearly universally taken. so in a public health sense, in a political sense, it's been disastrous. >> so, david, what are the american people to believe? i mean, it's not just the president's statementss contradicting n scientists, as you said. it's what appears to , if the reporting is right, political interference, n.i.h. orthe national institutes of health, officials throughout the admistration, the department of health and human services apparently tinkering with the web site of the c.div.c.,ing advice that's counter to what others have said, scientist have said. what are the american people o believe?

the head of the nature franciss. collins is one of the most credible mecan in amend he's been strong and not letting the administration push n.i.h. around, dr. redfield has been more aggressive recently, fauci has bngen sthroughout. i thinthere's a sense that some people who run these institutions whose ho in the professional standards of the institutions are beginning to stand up and the people can trust those leade. it's mostly the vacuum in the white house. a lot of the things we've kncoon abouvid are not brain science. wear a mask.e things are just not -- they're not hard. we just eed a sensethat everybody in society believes in diem and, so, there's a sense that we're all h each other accountable, and that has been lacking for six months. >> woodruf does that have longer-lasting -- doesn't that do loger-lasting damage, mark? >> it does, judy. i'not saying politics has been n

politics-proof, it hasn't, but it's been partisan politics free the institutions ve especially mentioned, the n.i.h. and the c.d.c. and it's a pattern. i caot think of a sinegl public institution that is strengthened, embellished, enhanced by this administration, where public trust, public confidence has beenncreased. it's a terrible, terrible indictment. just in a crass, political sense, it's a disaster for donald trmp. i mean, he's just in the matter of expectations. he set unrealistic expectations on this.es the debre coming up. joe biden has led in every poll over donald trump.ce january the debates are his best chance. so what do they do -- george bush people 2000 in the debate against al gore laid

outthe predicate al gore was a world class debater and he was just a poor boy frxom teas. when george bush showed up and did better than expected, it was a victory. instead, running against joe , biden, donald trunstead of saying joe biden twice voted for the vice president, crushed paul ryan the golden boy to have the republican party independent lektually, what do they say? he can't put two sennces together, sleepy joe, dumb ejoe. they've lowered the expectations. so when biden shows up as he did last night in town haunand cn and is coherent and lucid and empathetic, it's actory for him. i do not understand what donald trump is doing. he making hself the issue, the referendum on him, trying to not to make it a coice election which is the only chance he has to win. >> woodruff: david, is joe biden's message or messages getting throu? >> well, i think the one thing

he shifted to recently that i think is ncessary is a mch starker working class message. this was how i faulted the democratic convention, they really did not goer aftorking class voters in places like pennsylvania. if you lookt at the polls, the democrats and biden campaign isu doine well all of a sudden in places like wisconsin, minnesa, arizona, but thngs are tightening in pennsylvania and florida. drain there for biden.lit he's going down, trump is going up.i so they've sed in the last w weeks to a much more populous rhetoric, and tat's sort of the rhetoric obama used against romney years ago, and it worked. it worked for oba i. think moving to a little more he's the rich guy, this is the class of the rich guys, let's not forget that, that's something he has to lit harder than so far. >> woodruff: yeah, we've seen some polls moving around in different directions. but, mark, you mentioned biden's

message, how he came across overnight. is his message coming through? the president is getting more coverage because he's simngply generaews for the hour. >> he is but it hasn't been good news. i agree tith davat joe biden's message has been better and sharper. understand ts about joe biden's campaign -- he won one major primary in 2020, south carolina, and then he breezed to the nomination. to he reallyid notave a battle-tested campaign in the states -- in the battleground states. contests.r got to those so the's been a shakedown cruise, and think we're seeing that. and as far as joe biden himlf, i mean, i think he's moremf table he is as he talks about scranton, the more he's joe scranton and less he's joe

aviator glasses, the better for the democrats. i mean, i think it's that simple, that straightforward. >> woodruff: joe with the aviator glasses. all right, we're thinking out that. back to the president, though, david, last nightyesterday he gave remarks where he brought up what helled patriotic education and railed against any effort to teach more about black american history, the history of slavery, tomphasize that in american classrooms. is this an issue that can punch through to voters in this election? >> yeah, i do think that it is an issue. trp is good at culture war issues, and there's a kernel of truth to the problem he identifies. it is a tre that some of the ideas of critical race theories have gone into american schools, the idea that society is essentially a power struggle between groups and words are

really mask for group power ad civility is a mask for group power, that is an idea common in the universities and spreading around american culture. the solution is not to have a counterindoctrination, the solution is to have civics education and education that tells an accurate story showing america's sins and gries. that'sbviously how trump is talking about it. he's talking about a counter ideology. nonetheless, i think the issue is a powerful one i think people look around and see america is a land of genocide andlavery. it is but it's not all that. so they see america and the patriotism they hold dear being run down, and i think this has always been a coperre part of trump's message, and he's not -- ipoliticay, he's notrazy to unfurl it again. >> woodruff: and pingcp on what david said, mark, there was, just yesterday, a bipartisan piece of legislation introduced in the congress to promote civic education in a way the opposite of what the

president is talking about. but do you think the president can be effective with this tack, this emphasis? >> i don't, judy. i mean, i think it's a propaganda he's posing. are ere pcast of in academia? no question abut it. presenting the country founded by remarkable individuals who had flausws, serlaws, but have been a self-correcting couny, and we continue tha process. eth been painful, it's been bloody, it'seen slow, but the that's of america, in myan judgment, and i really -- i really look at this and say tht the effort by rosa delaro, a democrat from connecticut, and

tom pole, republican from amacare, on civic education on capitol hill is a serious effort. it is important. for students and all americans to understand the obligations as well is thecredible rights of being an american citizen. >> woodruff: no qestion we all need to be thinking a lot more about education. it's decided at the local ,vel but every american is invested. we're going to let one of you ge lephone. mark shields, david brooks, thank you. >> woodruff: and now, we continue our tribute to those lost to covid-19. it is our 23rd friday doing this, as the united states approaches a grim milestone of tonight, we recognize five more.

yolanda coar lived by the mantra "be exceptional," her husband said. she worked her way up to become a nurse manager in augusta, georgia. when she died at 40, she was studying for her master's in nursing. while at the hospital, she met her husband of nearly 10 years. rney quickly bonded over their sorority and fray memberships. lively and outgoing, yolanda never sat still. she loved the outdoors and attending baseball games with her two sons nina popova lived to dance. born in russia and raised in paris, her talent took her to new york in 1939 when she joined the original ballet russe. throughout her career, nina performed on broadway, danced with what is today the american ballet theatre, and served as the artistic director of the houston ballet. her daughter said nina had a

strong personality. she was 97 years old. growing up in tuscaloosa, alyson matthews donned bows and pearls, but was an expert in alaba football. following in the family business, she went to law school, bunever practiced-- she wasn't able to give up her career as a medical social worker in a nursing home. crimson tide, the r-oldthe 18ll in love with an auburn fan. they married in after nearly 20 years together. bernard fils-aimé committed his life to activism for immigrant the native of haita student activist in new york when he met his wife of more than 40 years. together, they moved tmiami and helped create the haitian refugee center in the 1980s. h in 2000, bernaped launch a company to provide cell phone

services through haiti. still, he always had time for his family, his son said. the 67-year-old was warm, gave sage advice, and frequently smiled ear-to-ear. felicia florine campbell was always looking for adventure and risk, her ughter said. the wisconsin native briefly served in the marines, moved to las vegas and wrote her dissertation on gambling, and embarked on a 30-day trek in pakistan in her early 50s. felia's daughter described h as funny, opinionated and strong. the longest-serving professor at the university of nevada- las vegas, felicia was preparing to teach this fall, at 89 years old. and we want to thank family members of all these who sharewi their storie us. our hearts go out to you and everyone who has lost loved ones through this pandemic.

>> woodruff: if you are a healer, where do those who heal turn when they tmselves may need healing? in the case of a number of medical workers around the couny, they turn to music. as part of a new series focusing on the connection between arts and health, jeffrey brn went to newton, massachusetts recently to see how doors are regenerating their spirits, and becoming better providers. part of our ongoing arts and culture coverage, "canvas." ♪ ♪ >> brown: it's called the "national virtual medicalor estra"-- 60 medical professionals and students from around the country, musicians all, who come togeer to perform in the way that is suddenly the new normal: in the digital world. ♪ ♪ but on a recent day, eight of them, led by conductor john

masko, were live and in person for us, playing parts of works by several composers at a socially-distanced backyd gathering. this is a rare chance to hear these medical musito playd for together. for some of them, the music is also a kind of healing in a ti of trauma. one was violist dr. michael cho, who's beenn the frontlines of the pandemic. >> i saw a lot of really, really sick people.se my specialty ing sick people. that part of it, i was used to. just the-- the number of people in that condition, i think that was just-- it was just, you know, mind-boggling. >> brown: a pulmonary and critical care physician at aligham and women's hospit in boston, cho has been caring for patients most need of ventilators to help them >> there is a lot gedy. there is a lot of-- i can remember, for example, one of the worst things i think abe pandemic is seeing

family members, right? so, husband and wife both come in. a woman and her nephew, ck at the same time. and maybe they both succumb to the illness. i mean, those kinds of things are just horrible to think about. and, to have my colleagues and my co-workers and my friends and my family and music is what ♪eeps me resilient through all this. ♪ >> brown: for many medical professionals like michael cho, music came before medi, and continues to play an enormous role in their lives. the past decade has seen stea rise in the number of so-called "medical orchestras" l over the country-- now numbering more than 20, non- professional but very high quality. ♪ ♪ one of the oldest, founded in 1984 by members of the harvard medical school, is the longwoodp syhony orchestra in boston. ♪ ♪ pediatrician lisa wong has served as its president, and violinist. >> i think the attention to detail and our traing for looking for beauty and working hard to make that happen is the

same between being a musician and being a doctor. >> brown: she's now cared for several generations of children in the boston area, anremains fascinated by the deep conns between music and medicine, the fact that so many doctors played instruments as children and still do-- "scales to slpels: doctors who practice the healing arts of music and medicine."♪ ♪ there's the act of close "listening"-- to the strings of a fellow musician, or the murmur of a patient's heart. there's the need forat concenn and striving for excellence in both. there's even neurological conntivity, she says. playing music in childhood helps wire an "information highway" in e brain. >> once those highways are ciestablished, you can putce through that, you can put medicine through that, you know, you develop the brain diffently. so what the neuro-scientists are finding is, the brain of a musician looksifferent than a brain ofomeone who hasn't

played music. ♪ ♪ >> brown: there's also a growing help patients direr music to during the panmic, longwood number of local hospitals.side a ♪ ♪ and wong helped form the "boston hope" hospital music project-- medical and other musicians performing for covid patients. now, she says, the group wants to find even more ways to help fellow frontline medical workers, including offering music lessons and performances. >> just offering them sort of an array of things that they can do to heal that way, and to get them a little bit away from, just, the day-to-day challenges of the medicine itself. >> brown: and why is that so needed now? what have you seen? >> exhaustion. sadness. hopelessness. and they want to be healing. you know, this is what post-c traumaress is. so, we're looking ahead that the

next numbeof years, i think it's going to take a long time for our profession to heal. ♪ ♪r >> brown: fow, the national virtual medical orchestra is providing a select group from taround the country a pla heal and connect with some larger purpose. >> when you work witdical orchestra, you really get that frspective that we are he spiritual fulfillment and we're here to enjoy ourselves. >> brown: you feelthhat? >> i fee bause they feel that, yes. ♪ ♪ >> brown: it was started this spring b28-year-old john maso, the son ofwo physicians but not one himself, who's worked with medical musicians as music director of the providence medical orchestra. it, like arts groups everywhere, shut down in the pandemic. >> i started to hear very quickly from people about how it was simultaneously happening that their stress levels were rising astronomically in their professional lives, and that the vital outlet they had for, you know, relieving that, and for using a different part of their

brain, was now gone. >> brown: finding that most digital platforms don't allow for quality recordings of large groups, masko has found a new way into producing in virtual space: he sends musicians a video of himself conducting a the individuals record themselves, send in their video, and then re-work their parts based masko's email notes. then, the 60 individual "voices" are put together by professiona audio and viproducers.li >> group ours are really innovating this nee of way in music-making, which, even when we get back to perfoveing regular usic, can feed backnto that and, you know, expand the sphere of music- making. >> brown: raise your hand if you're happy to be p music with fellow human beings? >> two hands up!

>> it's hard and it's necessary >> brown: for now, these musicians are left with this kind of distanced gathering, along with a deep understanding of the connections between art and medicine-- including whenit the healers themselves in need. >> it's hard and it's necessaryt to know ou need to heal. it's necessary to be able to become revitalized so that you have enough energy to go back out. and that's the whole thing about the arts-- that will revitalize opportunity to really appreciate beauty. and once that's filled, then you n-- can give it back. >> brown: you're alive again, in a sense. >> absolutely. ng brown: and there is not like live music for that. for the pbs newshour, i'm jeffrey brown in newton, massachusetts. >> woodruff: thank you jeff. we love that. ord that is the newshour f tonight. i'm judy woodruff. have a great weekend. thank you, please stay safe, and good night.

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