tv PBS News Hour PBS January 12, 2021 3:00pm-4:00pm PST
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captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening. i'm judyoodruff. on the "newshour" tonight, chaos and consequences-- the house urges a reluctant vice president to invoke the 25th amendment, setting the stage for impeachment proceedings. we speak with leaders from both sides about this moment. then, getting the vaccine-- the glacial pace of the u.s.' inoculatiocampaign raises questions about iorities and unrealistic expectations. and rethinking college-- the many economic hardships wrought by the pandemic disproportionately affect students of color at colleges nationwide. >> anything that takes your attention away from going to class, studying, spending time
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with the material, ends up being a factor that could really impact your ability to continue as a student. >> woodruff: all that and more on tonight's "pbs newshour." >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> architect. bee-keeper. mentor. a raymond james financial advisor tailors advice to help you live your life. life, well-planned. our u.s.-based customer service team is on hand to help. to lrn more, go to consumercellular.tv
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>> bnsf railway. >> the john s. and james l. aight foundatn. fostering inform engaged communities. more at kf.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions: and individuals. this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: president trump is
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projecting defiance faces his greatest political perilce yet-- an unpnted second impeachment. he denied any responsibility today for the riot that engulfed the halls of congress last week. white use correspondent yamiche alcindor reports. >> reporter: the nation still reeling. and president trump with no regrets. the president emerged in public for the first time since extrist supporters stormed t capito he rejected all talk of involuntarremoval or a second impeachment. >> it's really a continuation of the greatest witch hunt in the history of politics. it's ridiculous. it's absolutely ridiculous. schumer to continue on this path, i think it's causing tremendous danger to our country and it's causing tremendous anger. i want no violence. >> reporter: at his rally last wednesday, president trump urged the crowd to march to the capitol. he's since been denounced for inciting the mob. but today, he insisted his words had been "totally appropriate." that brought new condemnation
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from the senate's top democrat, schumer.>> what trump did today- blaming others for w caused-- is a pathological technique used by the worst of dictators.us trump the anger, he causes the divisiveness, hfo nts the violence and blames others for it. that is despicable. donald trump should not hold office one day longer.>> eporter: house democrats agree. tonight, they will vote on a resolution calling for vice president pence to invoke thend 25th amendmentemove the president from office. the resolutiontates, "these insurrectionary protests were wily advertised and broadl encouraged by president trump." today, the house rules committee debatethe measure. on full display: deep partisanship. marynd congressman jamie raskin and democrats demanded action. >> it's up to the ce president, and we're not trying
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to usurp his authority in any way. we're trying to tellim that the time of the 25th emergency has arrived,t has come to our doorstep, it has invaded our chamber. they can help to lead us out of the nightme we have been plunged into by this sequence of events.te >> rep but republicans-- including ohio congressman jim jordan-- echoed the president's claims of a "witch hunt." >> let's be clear: democrats president trump from office since he won the election in 2016.d they faith the russia investigation, they failed with the mueller investigation, and ey failed with their fir impeachment investigation. so, here we are again.ep >> rter: jordan also refused to say whether president-elect biden won the election fairly. for his part, vice president pence has signaled he is not amendment.g the 25th instead, last night, he and the president met after danot speaking. they reportedly agreed to wor" together forthe remainder of their rm."
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if that's the case, house democrats say tomorrow they'll vote on impeachment. at theame time, more details emerged about present trump's real-time response to the assault" the capitol." the washington post" repted that the president ignored pleas for help from lawmakers. instead, he chose to wat the violence unfold on t and a report by "axios" said he blamed anti-fascists-- or" antifa"-- for the violence. there is nevidence to back up that claim, but defenders of the president keep repeating it. the hunt for those who assaulted the capitol is also in full swing. >> f.b.i. has a long memory. if we find outou were part.
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meanwhile, state capitols are bring for new violence. the f.b.i. indicated that in the coming days there could nationwide protests by armed groups. a in michigaorney general dana nessel says the state capitol is still "not safe."th at comes despite a new rule firearms.he open carry of day, the f.b.i. also met with other federal agencies and pentagon leadership oninaugurat. and, senators received a briefing from the secrvice and the departments of defense and homeland security. back at the s. capitol, yet re fallout. three lawmakers have now tested positive for the coron. they were part of a group hunkering down during the capil siege with republicans who not wearing masks. video shows some even refusing masks handed out during the lockdown. and, the predent also faces fallout of a different kind-- from big business. today, deutsche bank, e biggest lender to hianies, said it will have no more dealings with him. >> woodruff: yamiche joins me now for more, along with our
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congressional correspondent, lisa desjardins. hello to both of you. so much happening today. lisa, i'm going to start with you. new developments nohe house moves closer to that second impeachment process. tell us what you're learning. >> some extraordinary developments in just the past hour, judy. cathe number-three repubin the house, liz c heneas announced she will vote for impeachment, reading from her statemen she wrote, "the president of the united states summoned this mob, assembledd this mob, cove intervened, but did not." also another house republican, john contacto of new york, is also voting for impeachment. he wrote, "it cannot be inored that president trump encouraged this insurrection." at the same time, "the new york times" is reporting another powerful republican, mitch mcconnell, the senate republican leader, is on board the idea of impeachment, andt does not wo speak to president trump any more. that is major news. and i can tell you, mitch mcconnell and those around him are some of the mostciplined people in washington.
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for that news to leak out is significant. finally, i have to say the mood at the capitol, as you saw in yamiche's piece, is very tense. those supp are ramping up their arguments, as you heard. but it does seem this crack in e republican party is opening up into a chasm of this issue, and some of the president's allies, including house leader,e blican leader, kevin mccarthy, are now giving permission to members to vote their conscience on this issue. that's a verbig deal. one more thing, judy-- is vote could move long quickly. i'm told house republicans do not have any plans to throw procedural hurdle hurdles in way tomorrow on the road t impeachment. >> woodruff: these are p gigantitical developments, lisa. thank you very much. to be covering this all starting tomorrow morning here live, and you'll be at the capitol for us. separately, to you, yamiche, the f.b.i. did hold that briefing today. tell us more about what they are
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saying about what happened last week. >> well, today, the f.b.i. and federal authorities made it vry clear that they are planning to track down and charge anyone connected to the siege on the capitol. they say they are treatin this like an international, that is pretty remarkable. they say they are looking at so many diffent people. they say that they are expecting that this is going to be hundreds of cases. right now, they have about 170 cases opened. they've charged about 70 people so far. theyay that the chrges range from felony murder all the way up to simple or all the way don to simple treasss. they say they're looking at theft of national security, they're look at tht of mail. they have already been in dallas and jacksonville and cleveland, rounding people up for thith made it very clear if people were involved in this, you could and will be chaotrged. r ing to note, though, even though it's been about almost a week since this siege thon the capitolpeople that
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were briefing today, they the head of homeland security. so there's really a big question stilof whether or not th top, top federal officials, whether they're at some point going to come before the public to speak out. >> woodruff: fascinating, all of it. and we y knomiche, you're also following what is going on at the white house. you were reorting the predent denying any responsibility for what happened. b but you haen talking to people. what is he saying privately? what is he knowno believe privately about how much responsibility he has for all this? >> despite a bipartisan push now to impeach president trump, he's saying he has no regherets. also spreading disinformation, and still saying things that are simply false inr public and invate. the president today said that he believes that everything that he id on wednesday before these people came and attacked our its. cap was totally appropriate. but let's remind people that he
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said the wo "fight," or "fighting" in that speech more than 20 times, and he told people to march on the cap and then went back to the security of the white house and watched all the violence play out on tv. he's also spreading the disinformation that this was really not his supporters but that it was antifa, antifascists, a group he's called outdnd really maall sorts of information up about. the f.i. is saying there's no evidence of that, that this was not antifa. in fact, this was trump. were at the capitol.rters who they were wearing his name. they were wearing his logos so what you see here is president trump trying to deflect and deny he has any connection to this. another thing to note is the president today office the southern border and he said thee 25th ament, he doesn't have any risk of being hurt by that. so he feels as though the only way he will be puished punisheds through impeachment, not by vice president pence taking any sort >> woodruff: all right, so we thank both of you fr more
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exllent reporting. yamiche, lisa, thank you both. >> woodruff: representative val demings is a member of the judiciary and homeland security committees and she js now.de congresswomangs thank you very much for being with us again. it's clear things are moving very quickly. what is your understanding right now of the disposition in theen house t comes to the impeachment vote? >> wel you'dy, it's great to be back with you. and, look, this past week has just been an unbelievable week, starting with what happened, the attack on thcapitol on last wednesday. you know, it would be great if
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president-- or vice president trump would invoke the 25th amendment where he could remove the president immediately which we really need to happen. obviously, it doesn't appear he has an appetite for that. but the house is ready to move with impeachment. of course, tonight, we will vote on the resolution, asking vice president pence to invoke the25 amendment. we don't expect him to do that. we're ready to move with with impeachment. >> woodruff: you were very involved in the impeachment the, the first impeachment process against president trump, a little over a year ago. hois this one going to be different? is it easier? is it harder? >> well, judy, it's really about holding th president accountable. you know, everybody counts, but everybody is accous able. no onebove the law. we know how the imenpeac trial, hearing and trial went last year. the president should have been held accountable.
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he w not. but let's fast forward to last wednesday. wewere engaged in certifying the electoral votes, which is a part of the peaceful nsition of power. while we were-- membeere attacked by an angry mob that was incited by president trump. the president knew or he should have known that his actions and his words and the actions and words of her enablers would have incited his followers to violence, which we clearly saw. what's theifference? five people died last wednesday including a u.s. capitol police officer, who was just trying to do his job, to keep the capitol safe and to keep us safe. >> woodruff: and what do you say to the arguments that are out there among some republicans shat he's only got, what, seven-- eight daeft in office as president. i what good do serve to make this move against him?
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c i go bak, judy, to the vice president could remove him immediately, and a portion of the cabinet. they have chosenot to do that mpkn but, yoow, but us fulfilling our constitutional responsibility has nothing to do with the clock. the president incited a riot. he incited people to try to come to the capditol a overthrow the government, to prevent us from doing ouwork. he has to be held accountable for that. this is about accountability. and since the vicpresident will not invoke the 25 amendment, that leaves us with impeachment. we're going to live up oour constitutional responsibility, and we will be having that vote on tomorrow. >> woodruff: and si democrats are in the majority, it sounds as if there's nothing to stop the impeachment vo
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from passing. i do want to also ask you,m congresswoman gs, about what happened last week. based on what you've been learning, doo you nw believe that there was inside help for the rioters, either from law enforcement or from membe of congress for what happened last wednesday? >> well, first of all, let me say nihat thed states capitol police, those officers on the front lines, did an amazing job, considering they were understaffed, did not have adequate resources or support aom other agencies. they did azing job. however, once the capitol was breached, it does appear that some of the rioters knew exawhcy e they were going. there were officers, as you've heard earlier, that are unmarked. there are many members who don't know where those offices are. but the rit on thers certainly knew where to go. so we're going to be lootoking verything. as you know, there are several investigations going on.
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and we have ootok at every person who may have hadin someto do with coordinating this vicious and violent attack. >> woodruff: what do you lieve the consequences should be for members of congress who might have been involved, or the members of congress who spoke at the rally, encouraging the crowd, who showed up in washington last week? >> you mean members who said things like, "taking names, and kicking ass"? i think if you look at or during the rall thende before immediately the crowd marched down to the capitol and tried to do just that, breaching the capitol. you heard the threats against the vice president and others. and so, certainly, any member of congress, starting with them, who may have pcipated in this effort to overthrow the
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government, five people dead, one ofe thm a police officer, certainly must be held accountable, along with the president of the united states. >> woodruff: and what does that mean requested holding them accountable"? which should happen? >> the investigation has to movc forward so wn understand exactly what role they played. we knothere will be internal investigations from the committee on ethic opinions there will also be, as you knowi criminal invtions that are ongoing. so once testimony comes in, wiinesses come forward, wat the video, learning exactly what role any memober of cngress played, they should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law, if they violated anyaws. >> woodruff: congresswoman val demmings. we certainly going watching very closely tomorrow as this historic second move to impeach president trump takes
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place. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> woodruff: as you just are hear dg, >> woodrufocrats are nearly unanimous in their decision to impeach president trump a second time. the question is what about congressman tom reed is among other things the cochair of the problems solvers caucus, and he joins me now.re congressmad, thank you very much for joining us. where do things stand right now? we are hearing there are at least two republican house members who say they will voe to impeach, congressman kftco yew york, congresswoman che of wyoming, and of course congressman kinzinger, who already said he would vote impeach? >> where are you on this? >> thanks foraving me on, judy. i am adamantly opposed to impeachment. i issued an op-ed. this is a very concerning tifome our country, and this is not
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just about the events of january 6. this ialso about our constitution and what impeachment means in regards to when someone is impeached and what that means to the institution coness, the institution of the executive branch. free speech issues that areonal involved here that need to be vetted. and snap impchment to me is something that is a rush to judgment. we need those investigations. and that's why i'm offering an alternative path in regards tour ceas an appropriate remedy at this point in time, and then continue down this path to see whatever accountable measures need to be deployed, if any. >> woodruff: well, what about the comments by oth republicans in the house, like congresswoman cheney, who say because of the president's direct role ingi encou and inciting what happened at the capitol, he should be removed? >> i do respect all my ocolleagues on both sidthe aisle. i think i've demonstrated, i hope, to my colleagues, as well as to the cuntry in our
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involvement over the years of being a proud repubcan. but working with proud democrats especially on matters ofes, and conscience. and i think my colleague liz vote of conscience.at this is a this is about the constitution. s this one of those deep vohates that w to really reflect upon. i respect her conclusion, but i, obviously, disagree with it. and it's based on my read of the constitution, my oath to the constitution, and, also, the snap impeachment of what it will do toure impeachments. what it will do to our due process rights. what will it do to our constitutional free speech rights? even deplorable comments have to be tooked at in regar the protections the constitution provides for free speech. >> woodruff: are you surprised at the reporting that the senate majority leader mitc mcconnell is now in favor of impeaching the president? >> you know, i've n these reports, and i have not seen commentary directly from mitch mcconnell. and i think that is also the frenzy. and i try to be a reasoned
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member of contgress. y to take a deep breath and know firsthand or the evidence that's been presented to me. and i tnk these reports on the majority leader are coming from aides and other folks and things like that. rather than comment on news reports,specially at this critical time in our country's history, i try to take aas ed response and let mitch mcconnell speak for himself. let liz cheney speak for rself. and most importantly try to listen and talk with the american people. country.he time to unite the now is the time to calm the country, not add the flames of division, not addto further commentary, and especially commentary that may be misreported, that may be erroneous. i'll let each member speak fo themselves. >> woodruff: and i know a lot of people certainly agree with you about uniting the country. i do want to ask you, though, there are reports that, among house republicans, your leadership is not lobbyingmb s to oppose impeachment. what directions are you getting for thhe leadership ofparty
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in the house? >> you know, we had a lengthy conversation the other day with a conference meetingnd just-- i think they recognize-- and rightfully st- this is a e of conscience. this is a vote based on constitutional principles. and when it comes to that, in the republican party they believe in, that is something i respect. are proud republicans. we are proud of our beliefe, structnd we have the ability to respect our colleagues in regards to the t issues theke, conclusions based on their conscience. now,o colleagues who may thinking how do i use this for political advantage? as i said on the issue o the electoral colle vote to my colleagues, if you're playing politics with this, now is not the time for this. this is a time to rise. this is the time to lead the american prime and guide the american people, not withl political culations but what is right based on the constitution and your heart and your conscience.uf >> woo i hear you
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speaking about censure,co ressman. what do you know president trump's future should be in the republican party? >> you kno i i think a los going to depend on how we get between now and january 20. i think we'll have to keep a very close eye on it. but the future in the repubcan party with president trump i think the ideas and pieol that he has inspired is something that we're going to have continuation of a debate and be parof. but i think, you know, what we really have to keep an eye on is how do we get between now and the 20th to see where that legacy goes. day, i just encourage the the president. and remember, i was one of the first eight to endorse him. i know him asn idividual. and i encourage him, at this point in time, get us through a peaceful transition to the 20th. no more violence. lower the temperature north rise it. >> woodruff: excuse me. are you saying you're-- it's haimportant to watch whapens between now and the 20th because you're concerned that ho
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ma something? >> i think he has the ability fl, obviously, nce millions of americans. and so, i think we're all very sensitive. and we're getting reports of additional violence potentially that's coming out. we're getting f.b.i. repveorts. yoseen public reports on that. and i think it's important just to see how evyone reacts right now. and that's why i'm also opposed to snap impeachment because believe that's going to add to the potential incitement of violence, that people respond to that because we're rushing to this judgment. so i encourage peoplde both of the aisle, all colleagues, now is not the time now is the ti to lower temperature in america and try to unite thcountry. obviously, what the president does between now and the stweth a very important piece of time to judge what fut hure ro'll have in the republican arty, any. >> woodruff: so, just in a quick sentence, what do you want the president right now to say to the american people, if anything? >> i would hope the president
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would reaffirm his commitment to a peaceful transfer of power to present-elect bien becoming president biden on the 20th. and to lowe the tmperature. everyone needs to lower the temperature, and do not encourage any type of additional violence. >> woodruff: representative tom reed of new york. we thank you very much for joining us. >> thank you, judy. >> woodruff: in the day's other news, president trump traveled to texas to showcase his t signature border wall eiys before he is due to leave office. he stopped outside the city of alamo, touting the project. most of the construction replaced outdated barriers already in place along that stretch. on the pandemic: the trump administration now says it's
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releasing all available vaccine to speed up inoculations. president-elect biden had called for just that step. the seetary of health and human services, alex azar, said today that faster production guarantees enough vaccine for first and second doses. >> we can now ship all of the doses that had been held in physical reserve, with second doses being supplied by dosesco ng off of manufacturing lines with quality control. going forward, each week doses available will be released to first cover the needed second doses, and then cover the needec first ations. >> woodruff: federal officials also announced that as oon january 26 aflying to the u.s. will have to have a negative covid test three days of flying. awe'll focus on all of ther the news summary. two n on federal death row have tested positive for
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covid-19, and a federal judge has halted their executions set for this week. separately, another judge stopped the first federal execution of a woman in nearly 70 years. he ordered a competency hearing. federal executions resumed last year after 17 years without one. president-elect biden is expected to oppose them. >> women must visit doctors or clinicians in person totain an abortion pill. the rule could be reversed when the biden adstration takes office. the supreme court of india the supreme court ia today halted the implementation of agricultural laws that prompted farmers to blockade new delhi. for weeks, thousands have camped on major highways, their income. laws will cut some say today's court action is
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not enough>> translated ): all farmers respect the supreme court, but i find the supreme court's policy wrong. the put on hold the laws and they think the farmers will leave this protest site. this will never happen, because we demand the repeal of the laws. >> woodruff: the court today ordered that a committee of tiexperts be created to nee a solution. back in this country, twitr has suspended more than 70,000 accounts linked to the far right "q-anon" conspiracy theory. that's in the wake of lastn week's assaulte u.s. capitol. the social media giant says it acting against online behavior that "has the potential to lead to offline harm." on wall street, stocks had a relatively quiet day. the dow jones industrial average gained 60 points to close at 31,068. e nasdaq rose 36 points. and the s&p 500 added a single
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point. and casino magnate and republican mega-donor sheldon adelson has died after a long illness. he was a billionaire who gave hundreds of millions of dollars to republican politicians, including president trump. he was also a strong pro-israel voice, and pushed for relocating oe u.s. embassy in israel jerusalem in 2018. sheldon adelson was 87 years old. still to come on the "newshour," the glacial pace of the u.s.' vaccine campaignaises questions; the leaders of unicef and the world food program discuss a challenging year ahead; and the economic hardships wrought by the pandemic disproportionately affect colleger.tudents of co
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>> woodruff: "operation warp speed" may have produced effective covid vaccines in record time, but adminisring them has been another matter. the c.d.c. says only about nineillion of the more than 25 million doses distributed have actually been given. as john yang reports, the trump administration today made big changes to the program. >> reporter: judy, health and human services secretary alex azar announced the changes: the administration is releasing all available doses. it had held back roughly half because it's a two-shot vaccine, but officials are now confident it's urging states to vaccinate anyone 65 or older and anyone with an underlying med condition that could threatenth their life i get covid. it will send more doses to states that are vaccinatingor peoplequickly, and it will
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encourage states to set up more places to get the ccine. this com announcement later this week from president-elect joe biden on his vaccination plans. jennifer nuzzo is an epidemiologist at the ronavirus source center at johns hopks university. thanks so much for being with us. why make these changes, or why was it nearcefor the officials to make these changes now? and were these theight changes to make? >> well, i think these changes reflect the fact that people ar frustrated that vaccines aren't rolling out as quickly as had been promised. you know, initially, we had heard by the end of the year, 20 million americans would be vvaccinated, and we arry far away from having achieved that goal. so, you know, the approach that was initially taken, which would be to gi the vaccine to the highest priority group, you know, i think is still ango importan, but it's a very slow, methodical step-wise goit, an not going to achieve
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the vaccination numbers that i think people were ve much expecting. >> yang: is there a risk? are there potenti downsides to this new strategy? >> sure, well, one of the risks is just as we open it up broadly we lose the ability to target at still limitedccine supplies we have for the people that we think are either at hight risk due to exposure. and you can understand why that was an initial priority in a l of places. yet, at the same time, there are still a lot of people, particularly those 65 older who are at greatest risk of becoming hospitafrzed and dying this virus. so you can see the real tension and tradeoffs there. >> yang: you know, we're sort of at an inflection point with the change o administrations, a chance to rethink this whole strategy, and perhaps make evenh biggernges. are there things in particular that you would urge the biden administration or his people who ute coming in to think abo approaching this program
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differently? >> well, up until now, we've basically just focused on developing the vaccine and, you know, the federal spfns to develop the vaccine and just sort of hand it of states, give them some high-level guidance but basically say, "good luck." that, clearly, has not achieved wh we needed to achieve. so now i think there is an opportunity to say how can we have a national strategy? what federal resources can be brought to bear to help states with this veciy aus goal of trying to, you know, conduct the rgest vaccination campaign this country has ever done in i think recognizing that the federal government can't just, you know, take a light touch on this issue and really needs to dig in and help because the sooner we get all states protected the sooner our lives can get back to normal, we can restore our economy, et cetera. >> yang: you work with healthcare workers at wp johns hopkins, and i wonder if you cay helppeople like myself understand what seems to be an oddity.
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the fact that tre, at least anecdotally, a large reluctant to takes vaccine.s help us understand that. >> this is something we e every year, healthcare workers, though they work in facilities thatre, you knw, surrounded by science, they're regular people, too, and they areec suto the same disinformation campaigns that are, you know, waging against ye american public to t to discourage them against getting vaccinated. so it's very much something that we have to-- should have anticipated and should have planned for how to boostnf ence and to educate and to encourage people, not only about the importance of getting vaccinated, the safety of vaccines and the benefits of getting vaccinated, but also,h again, about threat that this virus poses. and that's another dimensionth is somewhat new. seasonal influenza isn't typically politicized the same level covid-19 has. you have people who openly y the existence of the scpriers deny it as a threat to them. and if people fall in those categories, u can imagine why
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they might not be so willing to get vaccinated. >> yang: how concerned are you that a year into this-- or almost a year in- to thiis nation still hasn't been able to sort of stem the roller coaster effect of cases, of new cases? >> we are at thie worst pont that we've ever been. the case numbers continue to accelerate. thu.s. adds about aillion casessa least every four days. so that is extraordinary growth in cases. and you would think by this pot we would have a better strategy for trying to control the virus. it's great that we have vaccines. it's a scientific gift that we have a vaccine now, but as youse ca the vaccines are rolling out slowly. in the meantime, we still have toesue the other measures we have been trying to use for the last year to control the spread. we have to increase or testing and make sure those who test positive can stay ho we need to do contact tracing so we understand in what enviroent this virusis transmitti. and we need to make sure anyone
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who has contcted the cases are able to stay home. those efforts have ground to a halt, and given want fact thaavt we't yet seen the full effects of what the holiday gatherings will likely do to the acceleration to our case numbers upon. >>: jennifer nuzzo, thank you very much. >> thanks for having me. te woodruff: now, as the u states endures the rage of the post-election and the ravages oe the pandemicurn our sights overseas, and to the ongoing calamities of covid-19, hunger, deprivation, and the plights of children. a herea nawaz with two leaders working to solve these beises. >> reporter: evere the pandemic, feeding the world's hungry and helping childrein
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need were enormous tasks. the coronavirus made those groups even more vulnerable. global conflicts have driven millio from their homes, spreading illness and famine in their wake-- and impoverished nations are finding themselves at the mercy of wealthy ones, the world works to find its way out of the pandemic. joining me now are two heads of united nations agencies who dedicate their work to addressing those challenges. david beasley is the executive direct of the world food program, and henrietta fore is the executive director of unicef, the u.n.'s children's fund. welcome to you both. and thank you for making the time. david beasley, i want to start with you, because when welast spoke, you were warning that the number of people on the brink of starvation worldwide had risen to 270 million during the pandemic. you were calling on the world's wealthiest, on the billionaires, to step up, to shot w thathey care. s it gotten any better or just worse? >> well, it's gotten worse in mo different ways. and, you know, the bad news is
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the number of people, including children, as henrita can so eloquently state, the number that is rising on the brinj of arvation has risen from 135 million to 270 mile.on peo and the sad fact is ther there s $400 trillion worth of wealth. and just in the past many nths, literally during the pandemic, billionaires made $5.2 billion in icreased wealth pe day. and all we are asking for is $5 billion to avert famine arthound world. and i don't think that's too much to ask.en >>rietta, you have also been raising warning flags,bo specifically what children are going through. unicef issued a report in november olast year about a lost generation of children worbled wide. what did you mean by that? >> so we have rising inequality. we have a disessing amount of new families that are falling into poverty. and because of that, we worry a great deal about children.
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it is now become a child rights crisis. they are missing out on education. they are often going hungry. ask it means that many children will be losing out on the future we had anticipated as a world. and if you lose the children, you lose youfuture of the world. it's something we have to attend to. three are many, many chi right now that are suffering. and we can do something about it. one of the alarming stats from that lost generation report waethat-- and this is at end of last year-- almost 600 across dozens of cuntrywideted school closures. that'slet equivalent of 33%, one-third, of enrolled students on the planet. henrietta, some of those gaps that existed ore are getting wider. can they be clo, d? >> we think they can be. but you're absolutely right, amna. this is a part of history we've never seen before with 1.6 billion children were out of
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school during the pandemic. and many schools have not and what this means for a child is that they miss their future. they miss the ability to learn. they miss their friends. they miss their ability to have a school meal, to have health at a school, a safe place from violence. and what we have now as a world is enough technologies and enough understanding that we need remote ande dista learning that we can do something about it. we have a once-in-a-generatio opportunity to connect every school and every learner in the wo education. and we should do that. we can get this done in thtnex three to four years. so we shouldn't have to deal with this as ald wor we could overcome it. it real opportunity for us. >> david beasley, you mentioned putting that call out to the world's richest and trying to get themo step up. what will it take? what would it take now, in the coming and months, to meet the rsed, as it exists right new,
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before it gets w >> the governments are really spread thin right now, amna. trthey are really uggling. so we're not asking the billionaires to stip every single year, but this year is truly a hunger pandemic with a covid pa and if the billionaires will step up, what can happen is that we will avert famine-- in other words, mass starvation-- we wil avert destabilization and mass migration. and that will cost trillions of dollars. economies will collapse, and w peopl suffer around the world. so we're really asking the world's bilionaires, please, just this one time, step up and help us. show the world u care and let the world know that we truly are in this togaether and wen get through it together. >> and, henrietta, you and david ntve both seen this on the fro li you travel the world all the time, safelys you can, to see it. ia trkt i understand, last year. but there's this crisis that we are all dealing with which is, of course, the pandemic. and i want to ask you about these plans that unicef has
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outlined to transport potentially 850 tons of covid-19 vaccines per month on behalf of cove axe, the global initiate toif ensure th vaccine go to all, including those with the greatest need. that has to a massive logistical operation. >> amna, it is. we havcurrently $2 billion vaccines that go through our doors, and that's for regular childhood immunizations, important immunizations against, let's say, measles, and polio. but with covid, we are no anticipating another 2 billion vaccines will come through our doors for 2021. and need to get these approved. we need to get them allocated we need to get them into the countries. and we need to make sure that the countries have good cold chains, that they have ways to train their healthcare workers, that they have good allocation systems, and that they have good
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education, public warns abo what vaccines are, who they're for, and in what order, and where you get on. but vaccines can save lives, but this is a massiv massive operat. looking at the countries that are w, or lower-middle-income countries, very important that this light at the end of the tune as we call the vaccines -- it is i ligt ht thaines on everyone so we have to be able to allocate them to all countrie >> if you don't mind before you go, i understand you're both here in your capacities as united nations officials but i want to hear briefly fruon the moments of unrest here back home? you have both sved in political leadership here. david, i'll start with you. as you're out on the front linth servin world's neediest and trying to bring them back from the brnk, what's it ben like to watch the political violence back here? >> well, you know, henriet and i are out on the front lines and destabilized nation nations andd we see a lot of thisthe world so
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destabilization but when you see that on your own homefront, it's heartbreaking. i think the people in america need to settle down a little bit. we need to appreciate what we have. for.ave so much to be thankful d, you know, the greatest teaching on earth is love your neighbor as yourself, love your neighbor as yor equal. we need to really-- america is such an amazing nation. it gives usb $3.7illion to help feed people around the world. so, you know, america is great because america is good. if america ever ceases to be w good, amerill cease to be great. what happened last week was not good nor great. but i-- i'm one of those that believes the sun is rising, ande e going to have a great day and future heafd us. people need to cotome gether. henrietta and i will do everything we can to make surepe that that ha. >> henrietta, what about you? what's been your rectan to the news here? >> building on david, one of the things i hope for in the futuree is tha really use american knowhow. many of us have come fr the
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business sector and do realize the strength of technology and of people, of ideas and of the productes and services that we have in america. this is the time when th ca really be put to use in the world. ore world has a crisis bef it. and if there's anyone who is industry and american knowhow. so if we can pair that wth american ideas and ideals with our leadership around the world, it will help everyone. and it means that we can bring a new era of how to look at humanity and how to look at civilization. >> messages of optimism i think we could all use right now. that is henrietta fore, executive director of unicef, and david beasley, executive director of the world food programme. thank you to you buh. >> thank .
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>>oodruff: let's turn to a different impact of covid-- on higher education. typically during a recession, community college enrollment goes up as unemployed workers start looking for new skills-- but that is not happening now. it could mean trouble for the economy going forward, particularly for low-income students. hari sreenivasan has our story, part of our ongoing series" rethinking college." >> everybody goes through those days where they just feel like, "well, maybe i should just stop. maybe i should just give up. maybe i shou just say it's not even worth it." >> reporter: it's been one of one of those yearsrew crowley, he's been trying to focus on his studies at columbus state community college, butis mom died of cancer recently. he hoped to make more time forwo school by reducing his hours at wal-mart. >>m, tried to explain to the "well, i need to cut back some of my time so i'll be able t study."
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and they didn't really agree with me on that. >> reporter: so, he says, they let him go. w >>ch kind of led me to be homeless. >> reporter: crowley doesn't want you to feel sorry for him. he stuck it out-- even sayhe maintained a's and b's while living in a shelter during a pandic, but he came close to being part of a troubling statistic this fall. community colleges have seen enrollment plummet 10.1% rlcompared to last year, n 21% among freshman and almost a 30% drop for freshman who are either black, hispanic or native american, in each group. the total loss at public two- year schools? more than 540,000 fewer students comped to last fall. put another way: more than the population of atlanta. >> our students have "life," right? >> reporter: desiree polk-bland, columbus s for student affairs, says some of her colleagues took it as a red flag when crowley began to participate less in his classes. thhi persuaded him to share troubles.
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then they got him a job at this campus-based food pantry and found him permanent housing.ll >>f these factors interfere with being a successful student. anything that takes your totention away from going class, studying, spending time a factor that coullynds up being impact your ability to continue as a student. >> reporter: 56% perf black and hispanic students have reported that covid-19 is "very likely" or "likely"uto force themf school, compared to 44% of whites. the national student clearinghouse research center, which tracks college enrollment, ys the drop among freshm students in particular this fall was "unprecedented." doug shapiro is the executive research director. >> these are truly staggering drops just in terms of the quantities, the size of the declines. college enrollments generally have been slowly shrinking every year pretty much since the end of the great recession, but it's
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never been more than one or two percentage points. we've ner seen anything like this, that is so large, and so >> reporter: only 13% of students who drop out return to college, according to the group. vu these are often the most erable and disadvantaged students who will have real difficulties ever getting back on track educationally, if they >> reporter: there are the logistical challenges, like what liliana pa sfox faces. hoooling and caring for her six-year-old daughter, m without h as a quiet space to sdy-- that is when the internet connection actually works. >> is of, like, the internet dropping, not connecting right away, having to move around the house able to get signal. and then also, like,y y daughter orsband sometimes using the hot spot, we share it. >> reporter: then there are the deeper inequalities the pandemic laid bare. >> my father passed away due to covid-19 while he was in the >> reporter: tyler lop's hospital with multclerosis when the pandemic struck.
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he died of covid-19 in the spring. lopez tried to cnnel his grief into schoolwork. he's a sophomore studying jazz drumming at new jersey city university. >> multiple times i thought about quitting, i thought about just"forget it all." >> reporter: music kept him moving forward. >> that's what prevented it. my love for music and everything. it is hard, but the love outweighs the stress. what they can to kudents doing enrolled. lopez's school, new jersey city university, is a campus where the majority of students are minorities and many are from the lowest income bracket. the school provided loaner laptops and wifi for home-bound studies, in-person classes for visual or gh-touch programs, open dorms and libraries for those who nee thd socially distanced sports teams operating on as. limited ba but in a year like this, it hasn't always been enough, say jodi bailey, the school's assoate vice president of
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student affairs. some students ve simply disappeared. >> i worry about them because of rent, and i worry about them because of food.t and i worry abem bause of the medical issues that their families have. we know that low-income and minority families in general don't seek out medical assistance as qukly as they hould for a variety of reasons. covid... covid could tear their famies apart. i worry for them. >> i was like, "okay, if my friends are doing it, then we should all take a break together." >> reporter: melanie alvarez, a senior at california state university at northrge, has felt nearly all of the pressure points-- and one more. she was the first to graduate high school in her family. the first to go to college. all eyes have been on her. >> when the pandemic happened, i were all looking to me, like,r okay, what is she going to do? is she going to drop out, is she going to stay in college? and it was hard to tell my brother, you know, you have to push through, because i also felt at one point that i didn't want to continue anymore. >> reporter: alvarez says close
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taken a break in recent months, but she decided to continue. the stakes seemed too high. >> my family is always in the back of my mind, and my parents have always told me there's nothing that we can inherit to you,ther than the education, other than motivation there's nothing that we can give to you. so, my parent's motivation to go to school was always number one, and i'm always looking out forib my youngerngs. they are definitely following in my footsteps. >> reporter: her brother communitynrolled college. so, for now, alvarez says, she'll keep moving. the question is how gny others wi stopped in their tracks. for the pbs newshour, i'm hari sreevasan. >> woodruff: 75% of traditional college-age students report poor mental health tied to the pandemic. werl examine the impact in "rethinking college" series, next tuesday. and that's the newshour fo tonight. i'm judy woodruff. join us online and starting at 9:00 a.m. eastern for our special live covere of the second impeachment vote in the
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u.s. house for president trump. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you, please stay safe and see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> consumer cellular. >> financial services firm raymond james. >> carnegie corporation of new york. supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement, anthe advancement international peace and security. at carnegie.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions >> this program was made
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hello everyone, and to amanpour and company. here's what's cing up. >> rhetoric has real consequences, and people ed. ivic war in the party of trump. what do republicans say abo holding him accountable and rebuilding the gop?n congresswoancy mace joins me. then from the other side of the aisle, house democrats move on impeachment. montana senat jon tester speaks to our walter isaacson about punishing this assault on democracy. plus, trump cut off from social media. his polical life blood. too little too late? i ask tech journalist kara -isher. nd final >> all done, doctor. [ cheering ]
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