captioning snsored by ll newshour productions, >> woodruff: good evening, i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour night, pardoned-- president trump grants his former national security adviser michael flynn a full pardon spite his guilty plea for lying to the f.b.i. then, bleak new numbers-- covid- 19 cases and deaths break records as millions of americans travel for the thanksgiving holiday. plus, president-elect biden calls for national unity as president trump and his team persist in making false claims that he won the election and, fighting the pandemic-- the navajo nation struggles with rising covid cases and limited hospital access. we speak to doctors on the front >> in the state of new mexico,

native americans account for 41% make up 10% of the state's population. this is inequality killing native people. >> woodruff: all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for t pbs newshour has be provided by: ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >

> the lemelson foundation. committed to improving lives through invention, in the u.s. and developing countries. on the web at lemelson.org. >> supported by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. more information at macfound.org >> and with the ongoing support of tse institutions:

>> this program was thde possible bcorporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: the covid-19 pandemic in the u.s. has etched grave new headlines on this thanksgivi eve. in the latest 24 hoursmore than 2,000 people died, nationwide. more than 260,000 have died to date. for the first time, well over two million people were infected in the last two weeks. and, hospitals admitted a record 87,000 people on tuesday. still, crowds filled airports around the country today, despite official appeals to stay home and avoid large gatherings. >> it's better to have a zoom

thanksgiving than an i.c.u. christmas. it's true and i want you tok thout that as you're making your decisions, not just for thursday, but fr b friday, for the weekend that comes and during the whole time that chicago remains under thats stay-at-home ay. >> woodruff: elsewhere, state officials in minnesota are tnding national guard uni nursing homes and long-term care facilities to help with staffing shortages. in the presidential transition, twin headlines tonight: president-elect joe biden urging trump wipes out a criminal conviction for an old ally, michael itynn. house correspondent yamiche alcindor reports. >> my fellow americans, thanksgiving is a special time in america. >> alcindor: with the transition gettg into full swing, the president-elect took a brief pause today to mark the thanksgiving holiday. from wilmington, delaware, he

the nation, proje hope asss to the nation faces more hard months of the pandemic. >> america's not going to lose this war, we'll get our lives back. life is going to return to normal i promise you, this will happen i promise you. > alcindor: and, in his strongest terms yet, he stood up for the electoral process. >> our democracy was tested this year and what we learned was this. the people of this nation were up to the task. in america we have full and fair and free elections and then we honor the results. the people of this nation won't stand for anything else. >> alcindor: at the same time, a president trump, as he continued his fight against the election's integrity. in gettysburg, pennsylvania, redblican state lawmakers h a meeting on election irregulariti. the president called in with more false claims, denying the election's legelimacy.

>> thition was lost by the democrats. they cheated it was a fraudulent election. a very important mom the history of our country. they're bad people, people that don't love our country. >> alcindor: sll, the white house is also preparing for president trump to leave, and there are signs th he may help key allies on the way out. among them, his former national security adviser michael flynn. the president announced his pardon this afternoon on twitter. flynn pled guilty to lying to the f.b.i. about his conversations with a russian diplomat. all this, a day after president trump finally authorized intelligence agencies to begi briefing his successor on classified information.th e briefings are set to begin monday.om that as president-elect biden formally announced his national security team.ns he po roll out his

economic team next week, as new jobless claims rose this week to 778,000. >> i have a very ambitious, very progressive agenda. and it's going to take really strong leaders in the house and senate to get it done. >> alcindor: last night, mr. biden touched on his cabinet picks in an nbc interview. he hinted that he wants leading progressives like senators elizabeth warren and bernieer sandto stay on capitol hill. he also said the era of trump's isolationism w over. >> president trump has changed the landscape. its become america first, which meant america alone. wenind ourselves in a posit where our alliances are being frayed, that's why i found people who join the administration and keep the points that represent the spectrum of thamerican people as well as the spectrum of the democratic party. >> alcindor: leaders abroad are signaling that they hope the incoming administration will make good on that promise.

today, chinese president xi jinping officially congratulated mr. biden in a statement sayin"" promoting healthy and stable development of china and u.s. relations... serves the fundamental interests of the people in both countries." with the world watching, the changing of the guard at the white house continues. >> woodruff: and yamiche joins me now., miche, as you've just reported, the president today pardoned his former national security advisor michael flynn. remind us why this case has been so important to president trump. >> reporter: well, president trump pardoning michael flynn, who he fired, really is the president going orrward with this effto try to discredit the meller investigation that investigation that was looking into russian interferencen the 2016 election. ident had been saying over and over again was that his administration, including michael flynn, teyt ere targeted unfairly as part of that investigation and it was all a hoaelx. so miclynn pled guilty twice to lying to the f.b.i.,

and the things -- to statements that was about was his conversations with the russiandi omat sergei kislyak. he was talking to that russan diplomat about the obama administration imposing sanctions on russia as a reuls of the russia meddling in thect 2016 eln. he was trying to raise the idea that president trump would have a closer relationship withru ia. we also saw the department of justice drop charges against michael flynn.a that cased been moving through the course with the president saying michael flynn irhad been treated unfa. this changes with the prident pardoning him. we sould note there's a lot of backlash to this. speaker pelosi says this proves president trump doesn't believe in the rule of w. house judiciary chair nadler said it was an unprecedented stain on president trump legacy. en woodruff: we also had the prestoday, as you

reported, yamiche, calling into this session of republicans in pennsylvania, again repeating winner of the election, it was stolen from him and, separately, joe biden ging a thanksgiving address, speaking about what he wants to do. what if we leaed today from joe biden? >> reporter: well, this was quite a split screen, with president trump continuing to make the case that he was treated unfairly, that democrats cheated him out of an election victory. he called into this sort of unwieldy meeting of g.o.p. lawmakers in pennsylvania, his personal attorney rudy giuliani was there, and theid prt at one point was literally on speakerphone with a member of his legal team holding nee p up to a microphone to a cheering crowd of g.o.p. supporters of the president. just a few minutes after that, we saw sort of stately address by president-elect bide wh was calmer, where he was more, in some ways, delivering what you would sees from a pent traditionally saying that we as americans need to come together to fight the

virus, just completely different tones. i should also note we should noa h the space for the president to be possibly pardoning more people because as he makes the claims he was cheated out of the election, he's cated out of his legacy and continue to be victimized. we should watch that as wll. >> woodruff: yamiche alcindor covering the ongoin and outgoing >> woodruff: and for a closer look at president trump's high profe pardon, i'm joined by devlin barrett of the "washington post," who has been covering t flynn case. so devlin barrett, thank you for joining us. s mind us about the orig this. michael flynn was president trump's first pick to be his national security advisor, and things inraveled very quickly after that. >> very quickly, fact, so quickly that, when the f.b.i. agener went to iew michael flynn about his conversation

with the russianambassador in january of 2017, movers were still unpking boxes in the white house around them. it was that early in the admiasstration. itthe very first days. and the agents asked him abo those conversations and what happened was that flynn denied diaussing those things and couple of other issues. but the reality wasislyak, the ambassador's conversations were captured on f.b.i. wiretaps, so conversations, ands, i those think, frustrating and alarmi a ot of law enforcement officials that flynn was not fohcoming about those conversations. >> woodruff: so, if evidence was so cleart that he did something that he said he hadn't done, why wasn't -- what took is case so long? why has it been dragging out as long as it? has >> well, it's a three-year legal saga, and it began almost three

years today. we're nearly at the three-year anniversary of flynn's guilty plea. what happened was he pled guilty and agreed to cooperate with sp, ial counsel bob muelld that was a big moment in that investigation because you had someone in the circle who was going to tell prosecutors whaou he knew the conversations with trump and his close advisors. but as time went on, flynn became something of a cause se leb on the right and he cause of a lot of focus of anger toward the f.b.i. who in then mind of y conservatives, the f.b.i. was targeting flynn and others around trump unfairly. so after his cooperation was largely over and tone with, h got new lawyers and decided to fight the case and tried to rescripped his guilty plea, and that set off a very long battle that really hasn't been resolved, although the pardon may end up resolving it on its own.

so that created this member of congress long court battle that is still ongoing upuntil we saw the announcement of the pardon today. >> woodruff: as you loint out, g and messy saga. to what extent, devlin barrett, does thisdermine the justice department and its entire the russiavestigation?cluding >> well, we're told by folks who wanted to see the charges -- the case against flynn dropped entirely, meaning folkwho are ultimately sympathetic to flynn's arguments, that they would have rather have let the court process play out in the hopes that a judge would agree with them thatthey are entitled and allowed to drop the case.n the parort circuits that. i don't think the judge will just accept that quietly. eexpect the judge in t case will have something to say on the subject, no ma wtthat, but it really does speak to, you know, the difficulties withinju thstice department and how these political cases involving president trump and ite house have really created deep

fissures inside e department and a degree of distrust between the career officials and the political officials that, you know, is going to be one of the big challenges for the incoming biden administration to solve. >> woodruff: and it'sg, interestou say, that the president's pardon may not be the end of this. i think, typically, when a prident grants a pardon, that's the end of the line. are you saying something -- what are you saying could happen now? >> to be clear, i thin-- i suspect the judge in the case will not accept the pardon silently. i think the judge will still dieak to his underst of what happened here and what should have happened here. but, look, a pardon is a pardon and the president's power to pardon is very broad the case -- flynn's legal jeopardy may well be over with this. i do think, however, to yamiche's point, we could very well see a bunch more pardons. if you look at the statement that the white hse put out this evening about this pardon, you could apply that same

rationale to the investigation, prosecution and guilty pas of plenty of other folks around the esident including paul manafort, george papadopoulos. if you follow that logic, there are probably other pardons coming before he leaves offie. woodruff: in other words, watch this space. devlin barrett of "the washington post," thu very much. >> thanks for having me. rl woodruff: president-elect biden made news r this week when he announced key members of his national security team. missing from that line-up: his choice for secretary of defense. nick schifrin joins us now with the latest. so, hello, nick. one ofhe names that had been mentioned for secretary of defense for the defense secretary was michele flournoy. reminds who she is and what the thinking was about her potential to be named.

>> yeah, michele flournoy, judy, is still very much the leading candidate to be secretary of defense. she would be the first female secretary of defense. she receives widespread praises special for mentoring of young women. she has extensive pentagon experience, number three under the obama adinistration. but there is criticism we've heard in recent days of her over policy by people on both sides of the aisle, who thi th.s. has been too reliant on the military. these critics want to see military withdrawals, removal of support for the saudi-led war in prmen, and they are concerned about flournoy'vious support for military intervention. so take a listen to wisp low wheeler, a long-time former capitol hill aide. >> she obviously has a lot of experience inside the pentagon and knows how the building operates, buwrshe's been ong

almost every time, and it doesn't look like sh's changed her views very much. we've had disasters in afghanistan, iraq, libya, syria, based on this regime change agenda, andeth been a realst di for our country. >> reporter: flournoy's defenders say her record as a hawk is more mixed and say she has bipartisan support n.s.c., secretary of defensermer department, state department official under george w. bush, she says that flournoy is not in complete alignment with biden's other pics, and tt's a good thing. >> if her view is slightly fferent than avril haines or jake sullivan or tony blinken, that will actually make the administration stro nger. ving diversity of perspectives shodn't make us

believe that that's bad for edlicymaking or that this talecongenial am can't find a way to common ground. >> woodruff: now, nick, you we also telling us there were questions being raised about michele fl's ties to the defense industry. >> report: yeah, flournoy started a think tank that relies on support for dense firms. she also started a strategic consulting firm with secretary of state nomee tony blinken, whose clients are not public. but, judy, more than the clients, more th support her, her critics say that her approach to pentagon manar, pentagon procurement, even pentagon weapons testing reflects the defense industry's agenda. >> we need to exercise checks and balances and make sure th agenda doesn't send money down the drain and poorly equip our

forces, and she's made clear that she wants to reduce those checks and balances, notmake them stronger. that that defense industry say experience gives her key insight into running a department, judy, whose budget is $740 billion a year. they also say her connections not only with the defense industry but also with silicon valley, ually will help the u.s. maintain technological edge. >> the work that michele has be doing in the last several years has been to try and connect american businesses, particularly innovative, high-tech businesses to the defense enterprise, and that's ever more important. so if you want the americare military toain a technological edge over our competitors, you need to be out trying to find a way to bringus

americanesses into defense work. >> reporter: and one last thing to new york state judy biden is simply not as close to flouoy as the other senior officials on national security that he's already announced. >> woodruff: reminder of what a vigorous debate there can behind the scenes on these critical appointments. we will continue to watch it, i know you will. nick schifrin, thank you. >> reporter: thank you very much. >> woodruff: in the day's othere news, a deadliired in ethiopia, for leaders in a rebellious northern region to surrender. ethiopia's military has massed tanks and guns around tigray's

capital city, and warned of an all-out assault. the country's prime minister today rejected international calls for dialogue, and warned against any interferrom outside. thng kong's chief executive says territory has regained stability, thanks to a national security law imposed by china last june. the measure effectively criminalized most dissent, but today, carrie lam told city lawmakers that it put an end to protests and chaos. >> ( translated ): over the past four months or so, the law has been remarkably effective in restoring stabily. advocacies of 'hong kong independence' and collusions with external forces havey ciogressivbsided. after a year of unrest with fear for personal safety, enjoy their basic rights and freedoms according to the law. >> woodruff: pro-democracy activists in hong kong say the law s eroded freedom of spee

and autonomy fm beijing. back in this country, wall street faltered, on news of rising unemployment claims. the dow jones industrial a73rage lostoints to close below 30,000, a day after breaking that barrier for the first tim the nasdaq rose 57 points, but, the s&p 500 fell five points. former world bank entnote today: james wolfensohn died in new york, after suffering pneumonia. he spent years in finance and politics and chaired the kennedy center before mong to the world bank in 1995. there, he attacked corruption and promoted debt relief. james wolfensohn was 86 years old. maradona has died of a heart he won a world cup title for the

argentines in 1986. against england, maradona scored the infamous "hand of god" goal when he illegally punched the ball in. but minutes later, he showed why he may have been the best ever, gliding past defenders on a scintillating run toward another goal. in later years, he battled cocaine use and health problems. diego maradona was 60 years old. still to come on the newshour: the navajo nation ruggles with rising covid cases and limited hospital access. we visit minneapolis to see how policing has changed in the wake of george floyd's death.d ch more.

>> woodruff: the navajo nation is in a health emergency, as covid-19 cases spike for a second time. strict curfews and a mandatory oask policy have only gone far in stopping transmission on the largest tral reservation in the country. stephanie sy spoke to two doctors on the frontlines treating navajo patients, even as hospital capacity runs out. >> sy: the navajo nation, home to more than 170,000 navajo, is currently under a strict lockdown that doesn't end until december 6th. that means non-essential workers must stay at home unless there's an emergency or an immediate need for food. since covid found its way to the vast territory wch spans parts of three states, more than 600 navajo have died of cod.

and in recent days, daily positive covid cases reachedn all time high. the navajo president, jonathan nez, says the uncontrolled spread of the virus is impacting all communities on the navajo nation, including gallup, new mexico, where dr. daniel mays has been shoing it at the ital where he works. dr. mays is a fellow with the university of california, san francisco's heal program, which has helped to provide health care on the navajo15ation since dr. mays, thank you so much for joining us. describe what you're seeing, where you are. there, the way other places are seeing? >> absolutely. wh we're seeing is both a assurge in new ces, new diagnoses of covid-19, as well as hospitalizations.what we sawa wave. what we're looking at right nowe looks tsunami. >> sy: i know that in thof spring, a lootels on the

navajo nation were being used to isolate covid positive patients from the rest of.heir househol is it true that those hotel rooms are now being used as sort msof a de facto hospital r >> yes, this is a huge source of stress, but the reality is the health system here in gallup and many o pthts nearby is just too weak to begin with, when you introduce a pandemic like this, it puts too much strain. we're putting people in the hotel who should be in the hospital. i think our biggest need right w is staffing and space to provide care.a if we could gege influx of support for those things, i think we'd have a lot better outcomes and we would save lives. >> sy: are you also in order to free up more beds, perhaps having to release people earlier than you might ordinarily want to? >> absolutely. we are having to discharge patients at a much more aggressive rate, sending people home, for exampl and having to

many folks in the navajo nation don't have great home infrastructure, unfortunately, and that's due to decades, over a century of socioonomic when we're trying to think about a safe home discharge plan, we run into barriers sothtimes all way down to someone not having electricity for the oxygen machine.ar therchronic issues facing native people both here and navajo nation as w the surrounding pueblo tribes and across the united states. right no mexico, native americans account for 23% of cered cases. 41% of covid deaths, but they only make up 10% of the state's population. and th's not a statistical anomaly. this is inequality, killing native people and that that is something that nee to be responded to immediately to prevent more loss of lif >> s dr. daniel mays with the university of california, san francisco, joining us from gallup, new mexico. thank you, dr. mays. >> thank you.

>> sy: we turn now to dr. sophina calderon, thty chief of staff at a tribal hospital in tuba city, which serves of 6,000 square mile area on the northern arizona side o the navajo nation. dr. calderon, thank you so much r joining us. i know your hospital has been at capacity since m when that area had one of the highest covid-19 infection rates in the entire country. are you experiencing another >> yes, definitely, there is another surge going on right now, worse in numbert now compared to what we were experiencing in the spring. sowe re really buckle down working very hard to really get ahead of this. but it's becoming quite overbearing and it's the numbers are increasing every day. >> sy: i know that a nursing shortage is a chronic problem at rural hospitals, including yours. is that a continuing issue?a >> we do havry huge nursing shortage. back in the spring, we wereth

surging whilrest of the united states was okay. and we were able to get a lot of nursing help from all over the united state but now it's a hugproblem because everywhere across the u.s. is surging and we can't pull nurses from other places where they're already . >> sy: the navajo government, as you know, dr. calderon, has enacted very strict protocolsg. for gather there aren't a lot of bars and nightclubs and restaurants on the navajo nation anyway, and there's even very good contact tracing compared to other places. so what do you attribute the continued transmission of this virus on the navajo nation to? >> so most oacour contact g is leading us to see terms of family clusters and family gatheris. so birthday parties, funerals, especially here in the navajo nation, funerals are very, very close knit and peoe gather in small spaces and grievtogether on a continual basis several nights in a row.

and it's just sort of a traditional way that we carry out and mourn. and so there are a lot of gatherings still happening. >> sy: is part of the problem that folks are still going off the navajo nation where protocols aren't as strict and b comik into those family gatherings and bringing the virus with them? >> yes, i do believe so. we don't have extensively large grocery stores and places to get supplies for things for our homes and for our families. so we have to leave the reservatiosometimes and be able to do some of our shopping off the navajo nation. all the restaurants are open still off the navajo nation. and you find it a little bit harmless to be able to eat in a restaurant and then come back home back to the navajo nation and then not know that you might have brought the virus back. >> sy: you are navajo and of course and you were actually w rn in the same hospital where you are physician. dr. calderon, how has that helped you understand the health care challenges currently facing

the navajo nation? >> it's been very, very instrumental for me to understand where the community is coming from and a lot of the fear that the community faces. it's been very important to me and very usefue to understand both aspects of both traditional navajo medicine and n medicine and to sort o deliver messages and education to the community in a way that >> sy: dr. sophina calderon, the deputy chief of staff of touba regional medical center. thank you.nk >> tou. >> woodruff: six months ago edday, george floyd was ki under the knee of a minneapolis policefficer, triggering

protests in cities across america. the minneapolis police department is facing calls for its abolition while struggling with high attrition and low mora, as violent crime is on the rise. special correspondent fred dero sam larings us up to date, this report part ofs ries agents for change. >> reportet the memorial to george floyd, which drew tens of thousands of visitors in the warm months, the foliage has begun to wilt in a crisp minnesota fall-- symbolic, perhaps, of an exhausting six months in this city. it'seen more than exhausting for dan refaya, whose auto body shop is a block north of the memorial. ly>> we really, really, re suffer suffering because the situation. i mean, my business is down like 50 to 60%. b >> reporter:ricades make it hard to get in, he says. but there's a much bigger reason: >> most of the customers scared to come this are r orter: they're scared?

residents and business owners say there's been a spike in t violent crime memorial area and acrosyathe city. reimself was assaulted during a robbery at his shop eft him unconscious and hospitalized. some might think the answer would be more police ithe area but to the volunteers who maintain this site it's not an option. we ran into eliza wesley, who calls herself the gatekeeper of the north end. >> the police is not allowed to and we're not letting them in. >> reporter: hostility toward the police is still widely evident in graffiti, a reminder th the unrest that engulfe city in may, taking out several buildings including the thirdce porecinct, which remains boarded up. the minneapolis police department has remained in crisis since may. about 150 of the department's 800-odd officers have quit, retired or taken personal or

disability leaves, sever reportedly for post traumatic stress disorder. so acute is the staffing shortage that the chief has t sougtemporarily hire officers from other jurisdictions. >> i'm saying we need more resources today. and right now.>> reporter: meet, $500,000 from e city councilht e r the added help to address whatlled an unprecedented surge in crime this year. t >> as ay, 74 homicides, as well as getting close to over roughly 500 of our community members who've been shot and woundein our city, as well as a significant increase in car- jackings across the city. >> reporter: the request, though a tiny sum, was only narrowly approved by a ci council that has been at loggerheads with the police department. >> this council is going to dismantle this police department. >> reporter: the slogan "defund lie police," which would become a politicatning rod nationally, first came to

prominence after floyd's killing, when nine council members, a majority, vowed to eate alternative approaches to public safety: more ntal c healthnselors and violence prevention programs, fewer patrol cops. their efforts have been slowed by legislative and legal hurdles. >> i think that increasing the number of police on the ground immediately is comfort food. >> reporter: councilman jeremiah ellison represents the city's predominantly black northside. one of the defund faction, he voted against the chief's emerncy request. >> it makes some peopl like you're doing something even though you're not, and it, but it doesn't actuallimprove the material lives of the people i my ward, for example, who are on the receiving end of this upticv lence that we're >> reporter: north minneapolis community activist alisa clemons disagrees. >> wneed the police in our community. >> reporter: clemons' organization, a mother's love, tries to de-escalate violence

and mentor young families in crisis, particularly single mothers. this past weekend hep and others distributed masks, toiletries and safety lirature outside a grocery store. >> we have to be cautious about covid. >> reporter: as an african american and former cop, clemons has a more nuanced view of the minneapolis police department, which has a long history of community-including severalk officer-involved shootings. >> putting all cops under one umbrella i think is wrong. there's enough cops that should not be wearing a uniform talt impactthe good that cops do. >> reporter: and thoit's a luxury these days with staffing shortages, she says her community needs more beat police ficers, not just those w respond in a crisis. >> the worst thing you can do is have cops just be 911 responders. because that means you're going

to see people at their worst every day in your career. you are not going to have time to build lationships. >> reporter: clemons herself decided to leave policing to build those relationships. >> in all honesty, i got sick of putting in young people in the back of a squad car and i wanted people, reach fami.reach young >> would you like a ham too? >> reporter: among those she's reached is cavana sims, for whon she purchased giving staples. >> we found her in tragedy, which is sadly where we find a lot of people. >> reporter: sim son, demetrius and two friends were recently killed as thefled police and crashed the vehicle they had violently carjacked >> just started working, he was real energetic. liked to be with friends and

family. i wanted him to see more than what i seen growing up. i wanted himcc want him to d. a construction labsays sheks as has no idea what led her son astray. and clemons says she's not alone among parents struggli cope-particularly as the pandemic has closed school buildings and rec centers for their children. >> theneed mentors inside the house and outside the house. a lot of times a l of parents stay silent because they don't want to be jemged. we want o be able to call and say i'm seeing some changes ind, and i need some help. >> reporter: that is that village that everybodyabeeps talking out. she adds that with the floydth killing, with pandemic, that village somehow feels larger today as the entire city grapples with a spike in crime. for the many business ruggling to rebuild from the rubble es last may's ut there are

other worries: new covid restrictions and next spring the trial of the four former police officers charged in the killing of george floyd. for the pbs newshour, this is fred de sam lazaro in minnpolis. >> woodruff: fred's reporting is a partnership with the undertold stories project at the nuniversity of st thomas, minnesota. >> woodruff: and now, the final installment of our series exploring mexico's vibrant arts. and culture sc jeffrey brown spoke to chef gabriela camara who sees the country's cuisine as a powerful force in mexico and beyond. she was recently named to time magazine's list of this year's 100 most influential people.

this story was shot bere the pandemic as part of our ongoings coverage of ar and culture, canvas. >> take it with your handly because it usureaks. it's very brittle, okay? it's a tostada, it's a fried tortilla. >> brown: lunchtime ino city-- time for a taste of a signature dish of the reaurant, "contramar"the raw tuna tostada. ch and ownerabriela cama started ntramar 22 years ago here in mexico city's ¡roma' district, very far from the coast, but with a sidea based on her memories of time at ue beach. >> it's mexicaally food that you would associate with mexico, eating either in markets or on a beach side palapa, which contramar tried to recreate. >> brown: that was the original idea? yup. >> brown: and that meant f everhingsh, as we saw in the kitchen prep before opening: the tuna loin being cut for those famous tostadas.t

oysters also j from th coast, various other fish and shrimp. course the salsas and limes.of all of it sourced through regular suppliers, many of them local, who farm or fish sustainably. none of this was the norm when she started out. traditional restaurant. >> brown: yeah, i mean, you accept tradition, right? >> and i embrace it and i d spect it. feel that anybody who wants to cook mexican food should knot, you know, traditions and the food. but then you have to do your own thing and you have to be creative and you have to make sure that you're able to use certain ingredients in successful ways, that you can do it.ra >> brown: ca is plenty successful-- her restaurant, the subject of a recent netflix documentary, is one of t city's most popular. and she's among a handful of international celebrity chefs to teach in the well knn "master class" online education series.

her recent cookbook, "my mexico city kitchen" is subtitled," recipes and convictions." she is, as she writes: "not your typical mexican girl": the child of a mexican father, an educator, and italian mother, an art historian. '60s hippies, in her telling, who loved to eat but weren't much on cooking.¡ gabi' as she was called spentch some of hedhood in the u.s., and as a girl in mexico learned to make her own fresh tortillas. many years later, in her restaurant, we saw the masa or cornased dough, being rolled for that day's consumption. i asked camara, who by the way never had formal training as a restaurant until she opened her own, what americans get wrong about mexican food. >> mexican gastronomy is so wide that i think that what you have in the united states is an interpretation or a few things that have made their way tw.re some

>> brown: yeah, but just one little aspect of. >> but i think thae,the knowledg think it's broadening greatly in the past years. >> brown: it's not just taco moll anymore. >> it's very muc than taco bell now. hayou know, even in places are far from the border, it's muchore than taco bell. >> brown: camara has been part of that chan, opening a restaurant called ¡cala', in san francisco in 2015. in the meantime, she's watched mexico city become a foodie and culture destination. >> i'm not surprised, because art and food in mexico isl. wonder i just feel it has to do with globalization and social media and the awareness of how much richness there is in mexico when it's so close to the united states. >> brown: you go back and forth across the border, you know how americs look at mexico. i'm coming from a news program: we're usually here reporting, not on food, on drug cartels, violence, corruption. >> totally. but it's also truemexico is culturally extremely more rich than mt americans realize.

and i feel that this fascination with mexican food also has to do with the fascination of the few people who have discovered it and then feethey want to share it to the world or they want to share it with the world or their world. >> brown: at the same time, camara is keenly aware that the economics of food and agriculture have a deep impact on inequities in her country. >> yes. y have a destroyed countr where we can't find good heirloom corn produced in regions that historically have been producing corn for, since time immemoriath >> brown: an's gone away? >> that's been really damaged in the past 40 years. and we're importing a lot of corn from the united states. we're impoing corn, single op, industrialized corn. that isn't as nutritious and it doesn't give people the opportunity to work. people who have had to migrate to the cities here or in the united state >> brown: so you see, there is a direct tie between fn,d and migrator example? >> and the well-being of the population of a country general. yes, absolutely. >> brown: we're sitting in your

wonderful restaurant. it's not super expensive, but it's more expensive than many people here can come to. >> so much more, totally. >> brown: and you have these very strong feelings about supporting the country and bringi up the growth and getting rid of the inequities in mexico. how do you balance those >> well, i have rich people come and eat food that less privileged people cook and get very well paid for. and farmers grow and get very well-paiand fisheries bring in responsibly and get very well paid for. so i think that you're not going to eliminate everything. and i do think a lot about how to make, for example, food more high quality and accessible in schools or in certain communities. but in terms of the restaurant but the only way you make big ideas happen is if you make them happen in actual contexts and u need to start somewhere.

so i think the only change that one can actually make is the eachange you can make, for >> brown: right here at the table. >> y, at the table. that's why it's so revolutionary. i never imined being an activist. and now in my caer as a restaurateur i realize how much activism i do in everyay of my just normal work. >> brown: changing the world, perhaps, one fling lunch at a time. ffr the pbs newshour, i'm y brown in mexico city. >> woodruff: and a brief update: while gabriela camara's san francisco restaurant "cala" remains closed due to the pandemic, contramar has re- opened.al she so has a new restaurant opening soon in mexico city.

>> woodruff: as we reported, public health officials are concerned too many people traveled this holiday week to be with loved ones. but air travel is still 60% below where it was at this time last year. tens of millions have decided to stay home. before the holiday begins, we gathered voices from around the thuntry to hear their thoughts about approachinksgiving differently this year. >> hello, i'm maria treminio- ramirez. >> i phil wright. >> my name is gerry adams. >> i'm jacqui falluca. >> i'm nicfalluca. >> my name is selena. >> i'm deborah potter. >> my name is drjay patel. i'in southwestern wisconsin and i'm a critical care physician. >> thanksgiving at our house nges year to year, depending on how many family members are in town, andf course, in the past we've had as many as 20-25 people. >> sometimes we'll do sometimes we'll do other things

at are special to us, we like to do hot pot. >> i'm a widow, and ly i would be with my family and friends and my husband was a great chef. i was sort of the sous chef. >> i'm usually the volunteer who kind of watches the kids becaus whm ok with playing monopoly with the kids or play,g risk with them because well, i always cheat. >> usually my family gets together every year, there's probably about 40-45 people there, usually at my aunt's house. >> this year, we'll be eating at home and we'll be talking with my familyly virtually hopef ird i'll be cooking my own dishes for the time. i'm planning to cookwhanes de pollh is a sandwich that we make el salvador. >> we're going to reacto everybody that couldn't be with , whether it's a facetime or just a phone call or whatever.

it's just very important that everyone stays healthy, we've m made it thy months now, we certainldon't want to jeopardize it. >> i would hate toither be a vector or potentially get my grandparents sick. i don't think i could ever sorgive myself for doing thing like that. i also want to be extremely cautious myself because i have a small baby, new baby here, about five months old, you know we don't live around family, whose going to take care of our son. >> it is one of the things tha s in my personuation in life becomes the most valuable thing i got. i'm on oxygen, i'm on dialysis. i have lots of hlth issues. i don't get too much anymore. living for these fily moments are the best reasons why i want to stay alive. this year we can't take that

chance. k >>w it's around the corner, you know, but i think buckling down and sort of doing our work right now, so much so that we haven'had a chance to ally sort of think about the holiday season, at least at least i haven't. >> we're under stay at home orders, so i decided to get a thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings from aocal farm store and its locally owned. and then i thought, well, jeez, this is going to be too much food for me. so i thought about my friends that have been sick lately and i thought, i'm going to pick up these my friends on the day before thanksgiving so they'll ve an easy time. >> both my husband and i are very active in the community, so i work as a nurse and heas to travel for work, so we didn't think it would be safe to be a arou of the extended family. we were actually going to announce that we're expecting our first child. i wanted to be there to tell my whole family at once. so hopefully they're watching this and they'll get to see.

>> thanksgiving and other holidays are there for us to just kind of reflect upon the year. and, you know, i wondehat could be used, this can be used as an opportunity to reflect upon the impact of our actions this time of year. >> it's better to sacrifice one nkanksgiving for many other future happier tivings. >> we're fortunate in that everybody is healthy and taken care of. j itt that we won't be together, but that's not the end of the world. >> woodruff:ough disions. d congratulations on the baby announcement. you heard it here. on the "newshour" online, william brangham on the newshour online, william brangham talks to a michigan grandmother and her granddaughter about their political differences and their advice to families navigating similar divisions this holiday season. that's in the latest episode of our podcast, "america interrupted." find it on our website, pbs.org/newshour, wherever

you get your podcasts. and before we go, a special note about tomorrow's program. with the coronavirus taking the lives of over a quarter of a million americans this year, this thanksgiving holiday will be very different for all of us and especially for thousands of our friends and neighbors who s have one lved one at their table.mo ow on the newshour we will pay special tribute to some of ves cut short by covid-1 we hope you will join us. and that's the nshour for tonight. but before we go, i want to take a moment to express my thanks. first, to my many colleagues here at the newshour, who have given their all in this extraordinary year of news, worked lo hours, sought answers to countless questions, and tried to make each report as accurate, fair and meaningful as all with the goal ping

you, the american people, informed.vi and to you, ouers, for staying loyal to the newshour in a time of upheavaln american politics and journalism. we kw you have many places t turn for news and information, and were so grateful to you for putting your trust in us. we never take that for granted. with that, i'm judy woodruffou i hopeave a wonderful thanksgiving. please join us online, and again here tomorrow. st safe, and we'll see you soon. t>> major funding f pbs newshour has been provided by: >> you can do the things you like to do with a wireless plan designed for you. with talk, text and data. consumer cellular. learn more at consumercellular.tv >> before we talk about your

investments-- what's new? >> well, audrey's expeg... >> twins! >> grandparents. >> we want to put money aside for them, so, change in plans. >> change in plans. fidelity, changing plan is always part of the plan. >> the ford foundation. working with visfrnaries on the tlines of social change worldwide. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions. and individu >> this program was made possible by the corporation for nsblic broadcasting. and by contributo your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.

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hello, everyone, and welcome to "amanpour & company here's what's coming up. >> well, when we think about how to engage china and the competition it poses, challenge that it poses, we really have th start ws because in many ways s it's about us. >> meet america's newest top diplomat, but what kind of world will the new administration amherit? i ask former u.sssador to the eu anthony gardner and former british foreign secretary david miliband. and -->> ender equality has to be more than an aspiration. s >> the message is change mayors from six of the world's great cities join forces for gender equality. the leaders of london d mexico city join me with their new initiative. then -- >> the people you' criticizing are as compliced