captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening, i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, gettinh vaccine-- a key decision on whether the u.s. will start getting shots next week, ass covid cad deaths rise relentlessly then, challenging the vote-- president trump and his allies' efforts to thwart democracy face rejection in the courts but are now asking the highest court for help. and, searching for justice-- our series continues with a look at how dr testing in alabama holds former prisoners back from creating a new life. all that and more on t's pbs newshour.

>> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> grandparents. >> we want to put money asideso for them, change in plans. >> all right, let's see what we can adjust >> we'd be closer to the twins. >> change plans. >> okay. >> mom, are you painting again? you could sell these. >> let me guess, change in plans? >> at fidelity, changing plans is always part of the plan.

>> carnegie corporation of new york. supporting innovations in education, democratic ment, and the advancemen of international peace and security. at carnegie.org. it >> andthe ongoing support of these institutions: and individuals. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting.by anontributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: as the u.s. covid-

19 death toll topped 291,000, a panel of outside advisers to the food and drug administration met >> they apruz the emergency use of a pfizer vaccine for those 60 or older. its highly anticipated f.d.a. approval would its highly-anticated f.d.a. proval would mean the biggest vaccination campaign in u.s. history could get underway in a matter of days. amna nawaz has the latest. .>> the american public demands and deserves a gorous, comprehensive, and independent review of the data. >> in a day-long virtual meeting, an advisory panel to the food and truck administration voted to recommend pfizer's candidate for ergency approval. an f.d.a. review already found it to be 95% effective. >> based on the totality of scientific evidence availhele, toenefits of pfizer vaccine outweigh the risks.

>>ntoday's public debate the safety with outside science and health experts was meant to build confidence in the process, discussing issues like whether trial paticipants who received a placebo should be offered a vaccine once approved. >> some participants at higherth risk will want vaccine as soon as it becomes available to them. >> and potential newisks will of the vaccine, like a few casel ofergic reaction reported in britain. >> there are people who carry t i pens who are going to believe now thaey can't get this vaccinat th's a lot of people. >> a majority of americans already stand behind it. a poll found 61% said they wou get vaccinated up since september. this morning, f.d.a. commissioner dr. stephen han ansed to appeal to americ with skepticism. >> i have 100% confidence, and i think the american public should as well, with respect to our

review of the safety and efficacy of the vaccines. >> federal regulators could authorize a vaccine for distribution as early as friday, clearing the way for an unprecedented inoculation process. health and human services secretary alex azar. >>he product wouldship within 24 hours. but here's the important thing: 20 million americans could be vaccinated just before the endt ofs month, in december. total of 50 million americans could be vaccinated by the end of january. >> welcome news in states like virginia, where governor ralph northam today imposed new restrictions. >> case numbers have been rising they're now at record-high they'rer now than they hivels. ever have been during this entire pandemic. >> the u.s. reported a new high of 3,000 deaths in last 24 hou alone, and hospilizations reached a record 106,000.

overwhelmed front line health care workers are hoping the vaccine will alleviate some of that pressure. >> personally, i cannot roll up my sleeve fast enough to get this vaccination. >> but dr. jones, a physician, epidemiologist, and past president of the american public health asstion, warns the vaccine should not replace basic steps,stike masking, cing, and hand washing. >> it's a very good thing, but it's not going to be e answe even in six months. so right now, i am planning to keep my mask aon fornother yearthrough december of 20 twun. >> for another year? >> right now what, we have to dy is moshe public health stuff. that's the stuff that we have been able to do all along,t we did not fully implement. >> all this amid new concerns about political pressure on the c.d.c. congssman jim clyburn today said a c.d.c. employee raised concerns about efforts by the trump administration to destroy evidence of interference in the pandemic response. still,

many are hoping the first doses of a pfizer vaine could be wgiven out in the u.s. nek and that a vaccine by moderna would follow before the month is out.t ere are real concerns over how quickly the second and third waves of mass vaccinations can happen, and whether ates have what they need. u.s. government's role. and th she's a senior vice president and director of global health at the henry j. kaiser family foundation. >> jennifer kates, welcome back to the newshour. the approval, as we covered is one part of the process. it's gog to be up to the states to receive the vaccine, to deliver it. it's an eno.rmous proce let's ju talk about the funding first. do we know that the states have what they need in order pay under this enormous undertaking? >> hi, it's good to be here. actually, what the states have said is that they don't have the funding necessary yet to do what is an unprecedented effort that we've never had happen in the united states. the amount of funding that they've received-- and this is funding to do distribution, identify vaccinators, hire

people, systems to track the vaccine, communications plans. they received $200 million from the federal governmentor that it's estimated they need about $6-8 billion, maybe more. so they haven't received enoughe mone. >> is there some kind of pipeline they will get the money in other words, doknow they will get what they need to carry this out? money that mig coming froml the federal government this month, but very little. right now, the money that they need is caught up in the stimulus discussions on the hill. it's both the reublican and democratic bills that have been put out there, the packages include several billion dollars for vaccine funding. in fact, that's not a point of contention at all. but it's being held hostage, to some extent, to the large scussions or, you know, debates about the stimulus. and unless that gets passed, they won't get addional funding. there's no other pipeline. >> so let's talk about how redy ey are on all the other fronts. it takes more than just money,

right. do they have storage? do they have the physical things they need to carry out the vaccinations? do they have things to track how the vaccinations are going? are all of those thngs in place? >> it really varies. state have been asked to preparn plansend them to the federal government. we analyzed these plans, and what we found is states are all over the map. they're working really hard but they're working already from a toace of a deficit in terms of their resourceo so. so some states are really ready to do the cold storage, to track doses nature the systems going. others are much more at the beginning of that process, trying to figure it out, not sure how they're going to deliver the vaccine to certain parts of their state. so we're seeing say very, verdey ange of preparedness to take this on. >> so one of the things we've seen roughout the pandemic is how unfinancial it's hit americans. we know black, latino, and native communities have been hit hardest, are more likely to get sick, more likely to die. as states are making the decisions how to deliver it ton certmmunities are they taking stops make sure those

same inequities donay ut over vaccine distribution? >> this is a really critical issue, the equity issue. if t vaccines aret distribute or taken up in a way exacerbate the very problemsd we've already seen. some of the states are oactively looking at this. they have health equity havoc torses. they have put in measures to try their state need extra outreach to. maybe it's about locations of vaccination clinics, that kind of thing. others haven't included thathe information in planning. this will be a really big issue going forhrd, and it may bee kind of thing only the frft, from its vantage point, calook out across the country and ensure equity is being reached and everybody who needs the vaccine is getting it, or at least offered it. >> it's important to note cases are still rising across most of the country. a lot of people are,lying at the vaccnie as sort of the begin of the end of the pandemic. slow virus spread?on in place to

what is that mean for how beffective the vaccine ca >> this is a really critical issue. we know the vaccine will be very effective if we get i to egh people. and in the beginning, it's going to be rationed. we just won'thave enoh supply. so as it's rolled out across the country, we still will need to practice the socialdistancing mitigation measures that all of us are very familiar with-- mas wearinoiding large crowds, doing the things that we all are, frankly, really tired of but need to keep doing to make this work. i think what we'll see is more and more people are x youinated, cases will declie. we will see an impact. it will be a delicate bbs but people need to know it will not be immediate. >> that is jennifer kates from the kaiser family foundation. thank you for being with us. thank you. >> woodruff: in the day's other news, applications for

aemployment aid have spik companies cut more jobs amid the relentless surge in covid-19 infections the u.s. labor departmentpo ed 853,000 people filed jobless claims last week, the most since september. that's up from 716,000 the week icfore. the pandas also taken a toll on the u.s. budget. the treasury department said the deficit ran 25.1% higher in the first two months of this budget year, compared to the same period last year, amid a rise in covid spending. president-elt joe biden continued to build out his incoming administration today. he tapped former national security adviser susan re to lead the white house domestic policy council. and he selected denis mcdonough to serve as the secretary of veterans affairs. mcdonough was chief of staff to former president barack obama.

president trump announced today e at israel and morocco have agreed to normallations. the u.s. brokered deal is the fourth in four monthbetween israel and arab nations. in jerusalem, israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu cheered the agreement, a laid out its terms. w ll resume liaison offices quickly between israel and morocco and work as rapidly as possible to establish full diplomatic relations. we'll also institute direct flights between morocco and israel and israel and morocco, giving this bridge of peace an even more solid foundation.uf >> woo as part of the deal, the u.s. will also recognize morocco's claim oved the dispestern sahara recaon. lebanon'taker prime minister, hassan diab, was charged today with nnce in connection with the beirut port explosion. t'e prosecutor probing aug blast also charged three former ministers.

more than 200 people died and thousands were injured when explosive material stored at the port detonated. the minneapolis city council today unanimously passed a new budget that will shift $8 million from the police partment to violence prevention and other programs. it did not cut the size of the police force. the city has seen a rise in crime amid calls to defund the police, after the police killing of george floyd in may. an investigation by the associated press has uncovered at least six allegations of sexual misconduct involving senior f.b.i. officials over the past five years.ht two were broorward this week by women who say they were seally assaulted by rankin agents. transferred or retired with full pensions a the trump administration tonight carried out the first of fiv executions scheduled before

president-elecbiden takes office in january. former texas gang member brandoo bernard was pueath by lethal injection for the 1999 killing of a religious couple in texas. he was 18 at the time of the crime. president trump resumed federal executions in july after a 17-year pause. the u.s. justice department is suing alabama for failing to protect male inmates in its state prisons. in a statement, the d.o.j. saids the faciliere "...riddled with prisoner-on-prisoner and guard-on-prisoner violence. the violations have led to homicides, rapes, and serious injuries." governor kay ivey called the lawsuit "disappointing." and, stocks were mixed on wall street today. the dow jones industrialverage ,9st 69 points to close at . the nasdaq rose 67 points, and the s&p 500 slipped nearly five.

still to come on the newshour: why president trump's challenges to the vote fail in court. what to know about the criminal investigation into hunter biden. rcw drug tests hold back those leaving prison sng for a better life. and much more. >> woodruff: a lawsuit filed earlier this week by the texas atrney general asks the supreme court to delay ceification of election results in four states-- georgia, michigan, wisconsin ann lvania, where president- elect joe biden won last month. president trump and 17 states, all with republican attorneys

general, have signed onto the case, which has little chance of being heard by the justices. the lieutenant governor ofgi geor geoff duncan, who is a member of the republican party, joins me now from atlanta. mr. duan, thank you very much for joining us. despite what the critics are saying, is it possie that there's merit in this wsuits and that the justices will take it up? >> well, i've talked to ouren attorneyal, and certainly he's looked at the case, and, you know, really doesn't seem ho any merit at this point. we've gone through all the t recountsee, actually-- to verify our results here in georgia, so it certainly does not look like there's any standing here in the state of georgia for that lawsuits. >> woodruff: well, this suit is asking the supreme court not to allow georgia and these other states to go ahead with at thll-- what it says are unlawfull election results, unless they are redcprud ratiy the state legislature. is that something thld happen? >> well, certainly, that's not

the intent of our elections here yn georgia. we put that, in opinion, out to the will of the people. they have spoken. unfortunately, the person i but that's what we've done. and we've been able to verify now three times thadt count, an certainly we're going to continue to stand behind that. >> woodruff: well, lieutenant governor duncan, now, it's not only these attorneys general that we mentioned and president trump, who has joined it. there are now 106 republican members of the u.s. house of representatives who have joined in a lawsuits. and they represent-- we looked it up-- roughly 75million americans, if you add up the population in all of their districts. they are joining in, in a supportive brief saying this la-- they see unconstitutional irreties around the election. that's a pretty powerful group of people who are saying what you did ine georgia dosn't hold up under the law. >> yeah, certainly, we've worked hard tput a legal, fair election on, and, you know, as i mentioned several times, we've

had several recounts to verify that. but, you know, i think there's going to be hundreds of thousands, if not millions of coming days and weeks that realize they've been duped. theye been duped by mountains of misinformation. a small group of folks have been willinto put out sinformation based on fractions or slivers of the facts or truth and spun it out there to large crowds and said,"hey, look, we don't like the outcome of this election so we're going to stirhe pot." and it's just not-- judy, to be honest with you, it's not american. s not democracy. this is not our finest moment, and my hope is that we quickly move past this. >> woodruff: you used the word "duped" and says information that is not fact rul. president trump is leading the charge, isn't he? >> i certainly has not been a fan of misinformation that has flowed out of everywhere, everything the president's twitter account. y woo worked hard here. i was proud of his four years of conservative leadership, but it's time to move on. and our mission is twofold: one

is to make sure we get senator loeffler and senator perdue reelected. about the brand, the g.o.p. 2.0, where we go from here. my concern is that we need to focus looking ahead to where the tone and quality of our voice is more important than the volume i think that's really what america wants republicans to do going forward. >> woodruff: i'm trying to understand how-- when you sa the president is-- and others supporting him-are dupg e information out thhating false you're saying people are goi to recognize shortly is notat false-- these elections were sound, that they were legallconducted, how you c square that with supporting him. i'm trying to understand ho this-- is this an example he's setting that you would hope other pridents would follow. >> no, certainly not. i'm concerned about the level of misi bormation. i'n very vocal about this for weeks. but, you know, this is at

separate faom firkt as we move fiction. and these are some tough times. i'm encouraged. i talked about hundreds of thousands of folks that are going to wake up and realize d they've beed. i think that's already starting to happen. some of the folks i have sent away to go research their facts or verify the five-second soundbite or facebook boast they saw, are starting to come back and say, "i did what you said? i researched it. and it isn't false, thank for asking me to do that." i hope ppens all across america. selfishly, i want kelly loeffler and david perdue to win january 5, and any of this information- ther algorithm, no playbook out there that says this helps hem win this reelection bid that's so important for our party. understand how you expect people to believe the election process can be trusted when the president and 106 members of th ho representatives and all these attorneys general judge 17

states are saying there's something wrong with the system in your-- in your state of georgia, pennsylvania, and so on. i mean, how do you sca-- again, how do you square that? >> well, for me, i think the lawsuits feels a lot like a solution in search of a problem. m proud of the secretary of state brad raffenceeg burger and his team. we he all workedard and all four of vus voted foenr pres trump. and, unfortunately, he didn't win. but that doesn't change our job descriptions, judy. we still have to go ahead and put on a legal, fair election and that is january 5. i think it's important to recognize, there's no perfect election going babeck to the nning of time, but certainly we have not seen a single ounce of systemaic or organized ud. and that's important. and i'm proud of that, judy. i'm proud as the lieutenant governor of this state, even though the person i supported didn't win, i'm proud to be able to stand behind those election results. >> woodruff: and finally, i know you're saying you think people are going to turn around shortly in their opinion, but

right now, 70% of republicans are telling pollsters, including in our poll that was done just a euple of days ago, that think the election was fraudulent, andthat president trump actually won reelection. >> well, and i understand. i've seen those results. and, judy, to be honest with you, more importy than focusing on being reelected, i'm going to focus on doing the ght thing. long term, i think that plays out well for us, just because i what we were elected to do. >> woodruff: georgia's lieutenant governor, geoff duncan, we thank you very much for joining us. >> thank you. >> woodruff: yesterday president-elect biden's son, hunter biden, released statement disclosing that the u.s. attorney's office in hidelaware is investigatin taxes. our yamiche alcior has more.

>> alcindor: to explorthe federal investigations into hunter biden i'm joined by katie benner who covers the department of justice for the "new york times." thanks so much for being here. what more do we know about what federal authorities are looking into? and how, if at all, could hunter sure. broken the law? we know that this case began in 2018 when investigators in theey u.s. atto office in delaware started looking into possible money laundering charges against hunter biden. and we know that as the d, theigation progres money laundering investigation began to dwindle. lyey weren't sure they were refinding anything there. but it did seem hunter biden had taken in a great deal of income and not appropriately paid taxes on it. they felt there was a strong tax fraud or charge or two that could be brought. we saw that explode into public view this week when investigators subpoenaed mr. biden and one of his associates and the biden campaign to come out with public statements saying that they had received contact from the u.s. attorney's

office. >> alcindor: how, if at al, is president-elect joe biden implicated here? and how might these investigations iact his presidency, particularly the role between the white house an the department of justice? >> yeah, absolutely. now, it doesn't seem that joe biden, president-elect joe biden, himself, is implicated at all. and earlier is year, attorney general bill barr said that he had no indication that joe investigation, either.was under but we do know that there are allegations thent hunter bid has long used his father's name to try to advance his ownbu ness interests, and whether or not that skirted an ethical or legal line, isems investigators are trying to figure out. but it does raise incredibly white house and whoever isng chosen to be the next attorney general because that person wi have to basically run an investigation into the president's son. it makes that choice of attorney general a pick that was already going to be incredibly scrutinized, really, really, really under a microscope.

>> alcindo you noted, e nter biden has long been someone people hen looking at. what more do we know about why we're learning about this now? blemwhat kind of legal pro has hunter biden had in the past? >> sure, you know, ihink one of the reasons we're learning about it now is the decision to serve subpoenas. we believe it was as manyas 10 people received subpoenas this week. endous number, and it's sort of step that is likely to leak into the press. it seems hunter biden decided that because it was likely to leak into the press, he wastu going to ly come out and publicly state it himself. we been it because of him also, you can imagine there was a lull leading up to the election in that kind of move ce departmentus would be loathe, especially after 2016 and everything that happened with hilary clinton and the investigation into her e-mail server, to take any step that would have spilled out into the open and actually impacted the election. you can imagine there s a real lull in this investigation that probably began in the late suer and lasted through the election and through the time

when the president was called for joe biden.wo thatld allow prosecutors to continue their work. >> alcindor: and in the few seconds we have left here, how much do we been how politics played into this? president trump and his allies have long made hunter biden a target. what more do we know about what what's going on here? >> absolutely. we than hunter biden has a troubled past. had run-ins with w before.ho has he's been accused of drug use d.u.i.s. we know he was involved in a very difficult divorce, the lien on his house came t in the documents. he's sth an easy targe for joe biden's foes and his political foes because he has had so many upon problems. it's kind of open season on hunter biden. but we also know thathis case began under former attorney general jeff sessions, so you cannot say this is something that bill barr, who is accused

of being one of the prt sident's closlies personally, began, but it's certainly something he overes now. >> alcindor: certainly an investigation we'll keep our eye on. thank you so much, katie benner, of the "new york times." >> thanks so much, yamiche. >> woodruff: we take a moment now to speak to two new members of congress d how they want to govern. lisa desjardins has that. >> desjardins: both of these soon-to-be house members managed to winheir districts away from the other party. republican congresswoman-elect ashley hinson will represent iowa's 1st congressional district starting in a few weeks. and democratic congresoman- elect carolyn bourdeaux will represent georgia's 7th district. congratulations on both of you, and thank you for joining us in this conversatioyo i want to as first of all, tell us a little bit about your district and why do you think they elected you? firsto you,

congresswoman-elect hinson. >> thank you, lisa, fvor hag us today on. it's great to share the screen with carolyn. we have suburban areas,ee thr very populous counties and then 17 very rural counties.i what ithrough the campaign was i did a lot of listening. i'm a mom witnh a miiscpran mortgage, i drove throughout all those counties, hnnecting wit people about the kitchen table issues that they felt like nngress wasn't getting e. and i think as a result of this campaign, i was able to come in with a big to-do list, that i know we all haven ths time heading into congress. but i think those issues arer making sure businesses are seeing relief, our families are tle to be successful and have a good life, andy to get that life back to normal as soon as possible. >> congresswoman lk bordeaux.mu >> thank you sh for having me here. the seventh district of georgia is the northeast suburbs of atlanta. and i talked a lot abt my

bipartisan background, and i have worked on helpinglance the state budget during the great recession, worked with both parties on budgets that passed by broad and biptin majorities. so really have a background as a problem solver. and this is a very, very diverse counity, a very diverse district. about 25% of the people in this district were born outside of this country and so the challenge was to really reach out to these diverse commities, to sit and listen carefully to what thei problemproblems are, and to hava dialogue with them about how to work together to solve some of >problems. essential problems. >> let's talk about covid. you both say they want to be commonsense politicians and reach across the aisle. right now, we are in the middle ofidlock over what to do over covid relief. i want to hear from both of you on what you think party leaders are doing wrong right now, including your party leaders. let's start with you congresswoman-elect bordeaux. >> justhis morning, i was ia zoom that was bipartisan and

bicameral. i think a lot of the momentum behind this late pacage is coming from groups like "the problem solvers" caucus, and thu commonsense ons in the senate. these are people who started artisan with the bip coalition, started with the grassroots may be of the house and the senate to come up with the place where's we canll agree. and i was very, very moved to see that, to be a part of it, and to hear both sides talk with such passion about how we need to help the amican peopl right now in this moment of crisis. >> congesswoman-elect hinson. >> i think congresswoman-elect bordeaux hit the nail on the head. coming together ishat we need to see our elected leaders to go, whether or not they're in leadership positions in the congress or senate orus newcomers coming in. wat's clearly what peoplt to see more of. i think looking at the list, finding the areas that we agree and moving forward with

that is exactly what people expe us to be doing right now, because they're tired of monkey they want relief.they want to gs back to normal and they expect us to come to the table and get that done. share, interestin enough,of you suboth won your elections by about 10,000 votes out of 400,000 cast, relatively close votes. but, cogresswoman-elect hinson, president-elect biden won.that you haven't called him "president-elect biden" evghn the won by a larger margin nationally than you did. why not say that? >> right now, my race was called on election-- or shortly after the election. there are no contests with my election results. i supported president trump. i continue to support president. hd i thougshould win another term. but vice president biden is still reeiving briefings. the g.s.a. is moving forward with that transition. as i saihe should be able to get those briefings. but president trump deserves tol beto move forward with the court process as he sees fit. that'shis right.

and it's also vice president biden's right to be able to move forward with the transition. think both things can happen at the same time, and we need to let that pl out. our electors will cast their see resion quily.i think we will >> i don't think anyone is calling for president trump to have fewer abilities to contest the elections. but this election wa called for president-elect biden. you're a journalist by trade. how can we see this not being politics when all of the nuers are-- and all of the court cases have gone in president-elect biden's favor. >> tre is a lot of politics being played, i would say on both sides of the aisle here. what we really need to be focusing on is getting our job done. that's what i've been focusing on last couple of weeks, getting my office in orde. i know congresswoman-elect bon eaux mentioned she's beon lots of zoom. same wire. we're tryi to do everything we can to get organized so we can hit the ground runnin running ak

for ours diicts because that's what they expect. >> congresswoman-elect bordeaux, yo were the only democrat to flip a house seat. why do you tnk it is the democrats were not able to convince isters. >> thia district where there's been a lot of demographic change andrs diy. in 2018, when i was running, i was engaging people who just had gnever been enaged before. when i ran in the primy on june 9, 85,000 people voted in the democratic primary, up from 30,000 in 2018, over 50% had never voted in a democratic imary before. and then we turned around again in november, and 30% had ver ted or hadn't voted in 2016. so we had a lot of demographic in this campaign.e built on it >> i'm going to ask a different typef question now.re as you getdy to come to washington, what's your greatest fear about being able to do this job in a way that doeright by

your constituents? congresswoman-elect hinson?'m >> so i know ne of 435 voices, so i think my bingest fear is how-- it's naating how do i really get so i do have a strong voice for iowa's first district. we're a small state. i want to make sura'e iow delegation is still strong, even though we are a small state. that's my biggest ar, trying to figure out how my one of 435 counts and is amplied so state has a strong voice in congress. >> i think it is cooinuing confront thegridlock that we see in washington. i really want to work and see positive progress on issues in washington whether i'm in a leadership role or i'm part of a coalition that's pushing things forward. people in the district without health insurance. that was before covid hit. so i just-- i don't want to go up there and notanything done and not be able to actually accomplish some things on behalf of people.

>> representatives-ele a ashley hins carolyn bourdeaux, thank you so much. >> thank you. >> thank you, sa. t woodruff: it is yet another critical momtween the u.k. and europe. here's nick schifrin. >> schifrin: brexit, iran, u.s.- european relations, it's all on the agenda in brusselsere in washington. and someone at the censsr of that disn is philippe etienne, the ambassador of frce to the united states. ambassador, welcome to the newshour. let's talk about brexit, for a second. the three majoissues preventing a deal: fishing rights, legal oversight, aned th so-called fair play the u.k. need to meet. has france taken a maximalist position preventing a deal? >> well, thanks, nic for having me.

indeed, as far as the negotiation, brexist negotiation is concerned, we are in race against the clock. france is all united among the 27 member states. we have one negotiator for the.. whole of e as you said, we have three issues, which are still to be settled. those are both tec technical and politically quite sensitive. the most important one in temsr of economic effect is what you call-- what we can call the vel playing field so that competition is fair in access to rkets. but also, we have the governance. what can we do? what could we do? what should we do if we disagree and the fisheries. ve>> schifrin: will impd relations with a biden administration mean that europe goes back on promises and discussion on increasing europe self-reliance, on

increasing european defense ending? >> wve to increase our defense spending. it was a request by all recent american administrations, trump administration, obama administration. we need to-- we need to spend more for our defese. and the u.s. needs ropeans, european allies, which are stronger, which areble to take their part, their sha. we are doing that. we ar increasing nationally our budget, france in particular, but not only france. and we are also developing defense capacities, defense instruments at the level of european union. >> schifrin: one of the major policies that the u.s. and europe will work together under a biden administration is iran nuclear deal, of course. is it sufficient if the iranians return to compliance in the ira nuclear deal, and t u.s.

joins? or do you want the biden administation to try and g concessions before lifting sanctions? >> you know, our position has always been, and our property has made it clear already three years ago, that we have to keep the g.c.p.o.a., it's a constant position by france, the united kingdom, and germany, the so-called e-3, because we need the g.c.p.o.a. forfighting t proliferation of nuclear weapons. on the other end, we recognized analwe haveays recognized that there are other issues in the regional security issues, ballistic issues, which have to be treated, to be looked at. and we think that what is now beingiscussed, both u.s. and iran getting back into compliance with the g.c.p.on. a., is really a very important step. >> schifrin: but do you fear at all that if the u.s. returns

to compliance and iran retus to compliance, the u.s. will trump administration's sanctions of over 1,500 peoe and institutions that have helped push the iranian economy really to the brink? >> well, nick, what were looking at right now is iranso s no more in compliance with the g.c.p.on. a., and the situation is more and more risky in terms of proliferation. >> schifrin: it is almost the fifth anniversary of thearis climate accords. re-enter the accords.e u.s. will what difference does it make if joe biden follows through on his pron january 20? >> well, it makes a big too, like in other domains,he, american leadership, because it's a global challeng and we need the u.s. to address this global challenge. the comeback of the united states the appointment of somebody like john kerry, who has been one of the most active

negotiators of the paris climate agreement, all of this is positive for the work, which is very important, which we have to do in the future. >> schifrin: global emissions are expected to dropthis year. but as you know, that's expected be temporary. a new u.n. report says wealthier countries need to triple their pledges in order to limit the earth's warming. isn't that the reality of the threat we all face, even more than the u.s. or the europeans have adnitted o far? >> we hae always been, i think, honest. we have recognized that we must increase our efforts. and, by the way, the paris agreement is also about each partner, each contry, all countries united in this agreement. i' said that we step by step reviewed the national commitments and we need increase tho national commitments. the european nations have increased their f

contribution to the green climate fund. we have on erection: carbonty neutran 2050. and one which the european leaders will be discussing today or tomorrow in brusselsis about ambition of the european union. so it is not only about words. it's about really actions. >> schifrin: philippe etienne, france's ambassador to the united states. thank you very much. >> i thank you, nick. ngank you very much for ha me. >> woodruff: now, a look at the pitfalls of drug tesn alabama. john yang reports for our series, "searching for justice." >> yang: judy, across the country random drug testing is required for many people charged or convicted of crimes involving drugs or alcohol.

but a newshour and al.com investigation found that one cstate'system, alabama' trap people with high fees, difficult scheduling and unreliable tests. al.com investigative reporter ashley remkus and independent journalist and former newshour e produczabeth flock reported the story and join us now. you both. and ashley, welcomto ashley, i'd like to start with you. how does this system work? it's called the color code. why does it have that name and >> that's correct. and color code, essentially the uiy it works is that someone who is rd to do this court ordered drug testing would begn as a color. now, that color could be teal, it could be watermelon, it could be brown or orange. there's a variety of different colors are assigned based on how often someone will be tested now when their colorhes called. soit's chosen on those days, they havto report for a mandatory drug test.

>> yang: and where they have to go may not be close by, corr yt? >> yea're definitely right. i mean, we've had reports of people walking for hrs sometimes to make it to their drug tests. >> yang: and as a matter of fact, liz, you told the story in your in the story about frank cobb, one of the participants in this program, who had to go a yrge distance to his testing. >> yea know, these court ordered drug tests don't always work with clients to make it the easiest. frank cobb is one man we interviewed in northeast alabama. his drug tests were about 25 miles away from wherorked. and as a reminder, these are call calling folks at random. a lot of employers aren't too happy when you get called out of work at odd times without warning. frank didn't have a car and actually couldn't save up to buy one, he said, in part because of the high cost of his drug tests, which were $40 each time. he tested sometimes multiple times a week, plus a monitoring fee, adding up to more than one

hundred or several hundr dollars a month. he couldn't save up to a car to get car, so he sometimes walked to his drug test 25 miles away and hitchhiking until someone finally gave him a ridof the remaindehe way, you know, and he told us as well abougetting fired from one j as a welder because he missed he got to work latendn order to atn early morning drug test. so it really setup people to be in this catch-22 situation where they need a job in order to pay for these tests. but then once they get a job, they find it difficult to attend the drug tests. >> yang: ashley, when yotalk to the officials who run this program, why do they say they've set it up this way why do they say they have this? you have to you have to pay for your own tests. and at the same time, they make it sometimes hard to keep a jobr so you can payour own tests. >> well, actually, one of the issues here in the state is that there's not one central agency that actually runs colorteode ing. it's generally handled on the local level from county to county. there are different rules.

there is one state agency that generally oversees some of the offices that run color code, but nobody's really setting state standards for how color code is carried d how people are charged for that. >> yang: and actually, given that there's no sort of uniform one over overseeing body to this, do the fees vary from eyunty to county? >> yes, o. we heard reports of tests ranging from in one instance, wepending on the program you in, in birmingham, you may not be charged for a test or you may pay as little as $10. whereas in other counties, for just the basic urine tests, we were hearing reportsp he tests were $60. >> yang: liz, what does this tell us about how the sort of the chalnges that confront people as they come out of incarceration? >> yeah, i think a big queion on many criminal justice reform advocates minds righnow is how we can prevent recidivism and help people when they're cing out of jail or prison to not go back. one thing that i think we und

here is that this program was intend to be a positive diversion program. it was really started color coded drug testing to keep people out of jail in prisons which were overcrowded in alabama. so the intentions were good. but what we've landed on now, according to participants, is something that really isn't realiic for a lot of people i terms of affording these tests, really getting back on their feet, keeping a job, doing what they need to do in order to stay sober, stay clean. and if that's the case, then are we doing more harm than good th this so-called diversion program? and a lot of the numbers that we got as well about how many people are graduating from this program suggests that a lot of people aren't necessarily graduating out of the drug frank cobb has been in and out of jail and prison five times since he's been on the program. so is this really keeping people out? and what needs to change

>> yang: elizabeth flock and ashley rimkus, thank you very much. you can see the story at pbs newshour and at al.com. thanks smuch. >> woodruff: this is a time where cooking takes center stage. often overlooked are black chefs and cuisine. jeffrey brown reports for our arts and culture series, canvas. >> brown: red rooster in harlem: a skeleton staff prepares for another day of socially- distanced diners and take-out orders. the restaurant, a vibrant homage to black food, art and culture, is the creation of ethiopian- born chef marcus samuelsson who, at age 50, has come a ry long way. >> jeffr, when you have a journey like mine, you have to acknowledge privilege and luck. i was born in a hut that is

smaller than two restaurant tables in my restaurant. i had tuberculosis, me and my mster. her died. but she took us to a swedish empathy for us and took us in, that then set us up for adoption. >> brown: samuelsson would growr up in swedenn in top european kitchens, work in and anen start his own restaurts here in thu.s.ti he became a n in 2004. in an age of celebrity chefs, he's star: including as host of the pbs series, "no passport required." there, he explores american cities not through their most r fataurants but in neighborhood places that capture the energy and tastes of immigrant communities. >> when i look at this fooi see brazil, this looks a pierogi, this looks like an empanada. >> brown: his new book, a mix of history, biography, and 150 recipes, is a celebration of black cooking and cooks, and the

incredible diversity within that community. it's called "the rise". >> "the rise" for me is really an opportunity to tellnd share the story about black excellence and contribution to the american landscape. toalk about authorship, create memories, hopefully, that people cooked around, not just african- americans, but all of us, d then also really create an aspirational level so people >> brown: why is the largery. thstory, and the variety, why is so little known? >> well i think first of all,er a's history at large is written very much from a european lens, right? the more we learn about who contributed, the more respect and understandinwe will have with one another we can all agree that this iso the yearve a conversation about race, class and identity. and when we talk about those things in terms of political or religious context, it always gets to a hostile environment.

food is actually a way for us to go into the liday season, cook from a book, talk about us as americans, as a wider america, and enjoy each other. >> brown: one emphasis here: the powerful role ofomen like leah chase. the famed creole chef whose new orleans restaurant "dooky cha" served since the 1940s as what samuelsson calls a "safe black haven" for its community. these days, samuelsson sees a6. new explosion of talent. >> one of the things that i feei soleged that we could do was really talk about the complexity around blackness, that it's not just one thing. i'm going to give you an example: nyesha arrington in california.am she's african-ican and korean, right? grandmother that joke ton her in korean. and she's black and she's a california chef. so her food-- she's exploding on the scene. worked in new york but wentthat

back, did the reverse migration. and then you have someone like edouardo jordan in slattle. so the chefs in this country are alover the that's why i want e many stories. >> brown: have the black chefs and individuals been always and weren't recognized? or iit a matter of new opportunities? >> well, i think it's a combinatn of all of it. i also think that because of the internet and because of food urcoming in more to pop cu black chefs can now broadcast themselves in a way, so less gatekeepers, which makes it a much more even playing field. >> brown: now,f course, the pandemic is threatening restaurants and hospitality workers everywhere. in march samuelsson shut down d rooster and another of his restaurants in newark, new jersey. he also delayed the opening of a new red rooster in mia's overtown neighborhood. instead, over the next several weeks, and with the help of se andres' "world central kitchen""

these locations were transformed into community kitchens, feeding frontline workers, and increasingly, those most in need. d rooster harlem re-opened at the end of september, but at a much smaller capacity. and samuelsson knows a new utdown may be near serious an impact is it t ving on your industry? >>pacts the service industry much harder than any inher industry. anhe service industry a majority of the people that work in that e black, bipoc, people of color that are already disenfranchised and alreadyhi coviin an in-proportional way in terms of infection and death rates. >> brown: clearly, though, many restaurants are not going to make it. is there any way to re-think what you do, how you reach people? >> i thi you said a very good word, that we have to re-think, and in an interrupd times like now, innovation will come out of that. and it's going to ke a

collective of the brightest, but also showing empathy from th >> brown: and the story in his new book, he hopes, of work going on around the country by chefs, food writers and activists, can show us how food has helped shape our past and offer a posive way forward. >> we are walking into the heliday season here, this might be one of the to holidays seasons we've experienced as a nation collectively. ne we're going to cook in way. we might cook through zoom or through skype. wouldn't it be great to be able to have conversations about us as a multicultural america and east in a multicultural way. >> brown: for the pbs newshour, i'm jeffrey brown. >> woodruff: food looks fabulous. let's hope as many of these restaurants as possible get open again as quickly as possible. and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. join us online and aere tomorrow evening.

for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you, please stay safe, and see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs bnewshour has been provid >> architect. bee-keeper. mentor. a raymond james financial advisor tailors advice to help you live your life. life, well-planned. >> you can do the things you like to do with a wireless plan designed for you. wi consumer cellular.ta. learn more at consumercellular.tv >> the ford foundation. working with visionaries on thso frontlines oal change worldwide.

>> and foundation.d p. sloan >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and friends of the newshour. ra >> this prwas made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ecaptioning sponsy newshour productions, llc captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

hello,everyone. welcome to "amanpour & co." here's what's coming up. >> i haven't been working since december. i can't find ajob. they cut out my unemployment. it's a big deal. >> as europe moves closer to a stimulus deal, americans bok, what us? we talk on congresswoman katie po w bettert is holding up covid relief. and -- >> i have to tell you, it is looking very, very difficult at the moment. >> the clock ticks down as the u.k. tries to strike a last ditch e.u. deal. one of the youngest leaders, the austrian chancelloroi us.