captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening, i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, the transfer of power-- an unprecedented security apparatus is now in place in washington as at least a dozen national guard are removed from duty because of "inapproriate comments or texts." then, the biden agenda: the senate holds confirmation hearings for critical national security officials amid instability at home and abroad. plus, the pardon power-- pardons as his administration's legacy begins to take shape. and, rethinking college-- the many disruptions and stressors

brought on by the pandemic take a toll on college students' mental health. >> before covid, students were already struggling with anxiety, depression, and loneliness. and that has only been exacerbated. >> 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 reps can help you choose a plan based on how much you use your phone, nothing more, nothing less. to learn more, go to consumercellular.tv

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>> woodruff: we have three major stories tonight: how law enforcement and the military are working to secure a peaceful transfer of power on the eve of the inauguration of joe biden and kamala harris. the u.s. passes the grim milestone of 400,000 deaths for covid-19. we will see how those deaths are being recognized tonight in the nation's capital. and a marathon of confirmation hearings for president-elect biden's incoming cabinet began today. senators heard from five crucial nominees, amid security concerns on the eve of the inauguration. the choice to head the department of homeland security, alejandro mayorkas, vowed to prevent a repeat of the attack that gripped the u.s. capitol. >> if i should have the honor of being confirmed, i will do everything i can to ensure that

the tragic loss of life, the assault on law enforcement, the desecration of the building that stands as one of the three pillars of our democracy, and the terror felt by you felt, your colleagues, staff, and everyone present, will not happen again. >> woodruff: meantime, ensuring the security of an inauguration like no other continues on an unprecedented scale: tens of thousands of national guard members and security personnel have turned downtown washington into a fortress, less than two weeks after a mob of insurrectionists attacked the u.s. capitol. and all of this amid a raging pandemic. amna nawaz has this report on how the capitol complex is being made secure for the inauguration of the 46th president of the united states. >> nawaz: beyond the flags and the bunting, the u.s. capitol looks more fortress than festivities. a seven-foot metal fence surrounds capitol hill.

the national mall is closed to visitors. in and around the complex, national guardsmen keep watch. all to avoid this... >> it's over! you better run cops! >> nawaz: ...another january 6th, when thousands of rioters, incited by president trump, breached police barricades and broke into the capitol. the inauguration presents a high-profile opportunity for those seeking to do more harm... >> there are probably some out there who think that there is no bigger moment in american politics with more cameras turned on to commit an act of violence. >> nawaz: heidi beirich is the cofounder of the global project against hate and extremism. the capitol assault, she says, brought together previously disparate groups like white supremacists, conspiracy theorists, and anti-government militants, all finding common cause in their support for president trump. and the president spurred them to action, said senate majority leader mitch mcconnell. >> the mob was fed lies. they were provoked by the president and other powerful

people. >> the nature of the threat that we face in the united states now with all these extreme right factions joining up together is we have a movement in the country that doesn't believe in the democratic system, doesn't believe in voting, and basically is against our form of government. and some of these folks are violent. >> nawaz: the f.b.i. has so far fielded more than 140,000 tips, opened more than 200 suspect files, and arrested more than 100 people. f.b.i. director chris wray briefed vice president pence last week. >> right now, we're tracking calls for potential armed protests and activity leading up to the inauguration. >> get these people off the street. that's a great disruption strategy. >> nawaz: former f.b.i. special agent tim gallagher is now managing director at kroll, a risk management firm. he led intelligence-gathering for the 2009 inauguration of barack obama. >> the difference between what happened on the 6th and the inauguration is that the inauguration is a national special security event and this has been planned for several

months. and because of that, there are many resources that are available to law enforcement and intelligence which were not available on the 6th. the national guard presence, the concentric rings of security, the checkpoints are being set up right now. they were set up an extra week in advance to not give bad actors an opportunity to pre- stage and to put their plans into place. >> nawaz: the u.s.ecret service has cut off access to downtown washington, including the white house and capitol. and experts say the arrests, the troops, the barriers, they'll all help deter inauguration threats here in d.c. but they worry those measures could also push the threats toward other places. >> bad actors will figure out where the event is going to take palace, where the perimeters will be put up, in pre-staging weapons, whether that be pipes, bricks, hammers, you name it, or if they put it right outside the perimeter, you know, to create a diversionary device where they

could possible draw out forces that should be on the perimeter. >> nawaz: added to that is the new concern of a so-called“ insider attack” by a member of the armed services, afr several were arrested following the capitol attack. the f.b.i. announced it's vetting each of the 25,000 national guardsman deployed for inauguration security. on tuesday morning, two national guard members were removed from the post, reportedly because of ties to right wing extremist groups. >> let me be clear: extremism is not tolerated in any branch of the united states military. >> nawaz: but beirich says the pentagon, like many institutions, has long failed to take seriously extremism in its ranks. >> it's pretty late in the game to be figuring out if u've got a committed white supremacists who's already inside the security barriers. >> nawaz: fears of inauguration day violence also have state capitals across the country on high alert. more than a dozen have activated their own national guard. but the f.b.i.'s previous warning of potentially violent activity leading up to the

inauguration has not borne out. a sunday protest at the michigan statehouse was attended by heavily armed members of the“ boogaloo bois,” a right-wing extremist group, but remained peaceful. here's one of their members, 22- year-old timothy teagan: >> the 6th changed everything for us. it made us really worried about coming out here. the f.b.i. stopped by my work three days ago to talk to me about coming out here. >> nawaz: beirich says online chatter shows many of these groups are now hesitant to mobilize for inauguration day with the same force they did on january 6th. >> on the one hand, its a positive that lots and lots of these groups are probably not going to show up on january 20th. and yet the big threat, just like it was in pittsburgh at the tree of life synagogue or the el paso walmart, is a lone shooter. but the problem here is that we have a lot of radicalized people in the united states because of years and years of being exposed to these ideas. the threat is not going to go away just because we're having a change in administration. >> nawaz: for gallagher, who, 20

years ago, was on the f.b.i. team responding to the flight 93 crash site, today's threat is hard to process. >> the individuals on that plane took down that plane to save the u.s. capitol. fast forward 20 years, we have u.s. citizens, americans, attacking that very capitol that was saved by those individuals who sacrificed their lives on 9/11. >> nawaz: the biden harris team has been getting regular briefings on inauguration day threats. and despite concerns, are committed to maintaining much of the tradition. in a video message, harris urged supporters to savor the ceremony. >> i know this inauguration day may look a little different from years past, a lot different, but let's take a moment. let's all take a moment to celebrate and then let's get to work building the america we know is possible. >> reporter: those two national guard troops who were relieved of their inauguration-related diewghts have been sent ohm from here in washington, d.c., and officials say they were removed because of

inappropriate texts and comments. one of those had been flagged within the chain of command, another by an anonymous tip. on top of that, our colleague nick schifrin have confirmed ten additional national guard troops have also been removed from their inauguration-related duties, not, officials say, because any of inauguration-specific threat, but they say, rather, because of other reasons, suggesting perhaps the f.b.i. vetting process revealed some kind of concerns. judy, all of this, though, shows just how seriously they're taking security here and how security officials are not willing to take any chance on the eve of the historic inauguration tomorrow. judy. >> woodruff: certainly very different from january the 6 6th. amna nawaz, thank you, and you will be reporting tomorrow for us on the mall in washington. thank you. so all of these preparations >> woodruff: all of these preparations come as president- elect biden prepares to focus on other major crises-- the covid pandemic that has claimed

400,000 lives in this country and continues to inflict major damage to the economy. those concerns were the primary focus of a separate confirmation hearing today, this for janet yellen, mr. biden's choice for treasury secretary. the former chair of the federal reserve told some skeptical republican senators why she believes it is important to act now and pass a $1.9 trillion economic package. >> we're going to need more aid to distribute the vaccine, to reopen schools, to help states keep firefighters and teachers on the job. with interest rates at historic lows, the smartest thing we can do is act big. in the long run, i believe the benefits will far outweigh costs, especially if we care about helping people who have been struggling for a very long time. >> woodruff: the top three

security officials nominated by president-elect biden had their hearings today, too. i bring in nick schifrin. lloyd austin is the secretary of defense designate. first of all, tell us how fears of extremism that we heard amna reporting on just a moment ago, extremism in the military come up during his senate session. >> reporter: yeah, judy, lloyd austin addressed that right at the top of his opening statement. remember that austin would be the first black secretary of defense. he was the first black officer to command the division in combat and a theater of war, and today he said he would fight not only right-wing extremism but also discrimination. >> we also owe our people a working vitamin free of discrimination, hate and harassment, and if confirmed, i will fight hard to stamp out sexual assault and to rid our ranks of racist and extremists and to create a climate where everyone fit and willing has the opportunity to serve this

country with dignity. the job of the department of defense is to keep america safe from our enemies, but we can't do that if some of those enemies lie within our own ranks. >> reporter: austin told the story of when he was a lieutenant colonel his unit found somebody who was an creamist, and he said the signs were there all along, we just didn't know what to look at. he said he would apply the lessons he learned at that point to today. >> woodruff: and, nick, we know lloyd austin was a four-star general, until he retired in -- in 2016. he would need a waiver in order to serve as a civilian secretary of defense. how did he address that today? >> reporter: yeah, judy, as you know, democrats in both the house and senate opposed the last waiver to retire general james mattis. to assuage those fears, austin said he would work hand in glove

with the state department and appoint civilians to senior roles and empower them to make decisions. >> the safety and security of our democracy demands competent civilian control of our armed forces, the subordination of military power to the civil. i intend to surround myself with and empower experienced, capable civilian leaders who will enable healthy civil military relations grounded in meaningful oversight. and, so, i think the people in the room and contributing to the decision-making, it makes all the difference in the world. >> reporter: and many democrats who voted against the last waiver, judy, already indicated they will vote for this waiver in both the house and the senate. >> woodruff: and, nick, another important confirmation hearing today for high national security official is for avenuel

haynes, nominated for director of national intelligence. >> reporter: hayes sent the sized an almost traditionallest approach to intelligence to whom he had introduce her former republican senator dan coates. haynes is a lawyer, former seen your official in the obama administration and she said intelligence had been politicized under the trump administration and she would turn that around. >> we provide objective analysis that we don't lay politics play a role in our work is critical, and it has been my experience that that is what the institution is designed to do and intended to do and it's fundamental to good policy decision-making because if policy-makers like yourself and others throughout the government don't have that unvarnished analysis, they don't have sufficient information, they don't have the best information that we can provide them in order for them to make the decisions they need to make in

order to protect the country and pursue our interests. >> reporter: haynes said while it wasn't the intelligence community's primary job, she would assist the f.b.i. and d.h.s. in assessing the threat posed by q anon. >> woodruff: and, nick, a third important hearing today, and this one for the nominee to be secretary of state, tony blinken, tell us what was emphasized there. >> reporter: yeah, blinken emphasized rebuilding alliances, as he put it, and he's channeling his boss there. blinken has been with biden for decades in the senate and the white house before blinken became the deputy secretary of state. today he reiterated their plan to reenter the iran nuclear deal so long as iran follows through on its promises to reverse recent nucar decisions. >> the president-elect believes if iran comes back into compliance, we would, too. but we would use that as a platform with our allies and partners who would, once again,

be on the same side with us, to seek a longer and stronger agreement and also, as you and the chairman have rightly pointed out, to capture these other issues, particularly with regard to missiles a iran's destabilizing activities. >> reporter: experts tell me that's going to be extremely difficult, judy. on other topics he actually praised the trump administration especially the princicle of confronting beijing as he reiterated with republican senator lindsey graham. >> secretary pompeo seesnated the chinese party as having engaged in genocide regarding the uighur muslim population. do you agree with that. >> that would be my judgment as well. >> you do agree? es. we're on a good start here. so this -- really, i just very much appreciate that. do you believe that the chinese communist party misled the world about the coronavirus? >> i do.

what price, if any, should they pay? >> they did not give access when it mattered most in the early day of this virus. had they done so, it's possible that the course of the virus would have been different and we could have dealt with it sooner and more effectively. any sense, senator, going forward is that what we should be focusing on -- i know people talk about the punitive -- i would be very focused on the preventative. >> reporter: on that first topic, the state department today designated beijing had committed genocide and crimes against humanity against the uighurs, a muslim minority in western china. earlier today, i got to talk to current state department ambassador-at-large for g ambassador at large for global women's issues kelly currie, and i started by asking her whether the state department could prove beijing's acts constituted genocide, and that it had the legally required “intent to destroy” theyghurs. >> we've seen what they do when they when they're trying to

destroy a group. and this is something a litt bit different because it does not involve the kind of mass killings that you would see in, say, rwanda or srebrenica. this is true, but we are seeing an ability we are seeing an intention to destroy a group. we've seen the chinese communist party's officials talk about the uyghurs and these other groups as tumors, malignant tumors that have to be removed to make statements about how you can't just pluck all the weeds from the field one by one. you have to use chemicals to kill them all when talking about uyghurs within the chinese state. and so the language from the chinese communist party's leadership has been pretty explicit on some of these fronts. when you put that together with the acts that they have committed, specifically the forced sterilization, the forced abortion that forc birth

control of uyghur women and the efforts, the systematic efforts that they have taken to ensure compliance with these coercive population control measures that have been in place for the past three years. then we were the secretary came to the conclusion that genocide was the appropriate designation. >> schifrin: what do you believe are the practical implications of using these terms, genocide, crimes against humanity, after, as you said, there's been so much documentation of what's been happening, chinja? >> well, while there is tremendous documentation and most of it is in open source material, but what we have not seen is what we believe is the appropriate response on the part of the international community, the united states has leveled sanctions against perpetrators. in this context, we sanctioned individual communist party members. we have sanctioned entities such as the production and construction corporation, which

we believe support the architecture of repression in china. and we've also taken actions such as the recent withhold release order, which essentially bans the import of cotton and tomato products into the united states that originate in xinjiang. we believe that by making these determinations and the secretary believes that by making these determinations, we can help to get the world's attention and get them to respond in similar ways to what we have done here in the united states. >> schifrin: why today of all days, if the goal is to galvanize international community, as you just pointed out. are you worried that making this announcement literally twenty four hours before inauguration could lead some people to say this is more about politics and policy? >> we have really worked hard to keep these decisions above politics and outside of politics by focusing on the facts and on the information. unfortunately, these are lengthy

and exhaustive processes and we've been able to complete them in relatively recent days and take decisions for the secretary. and believe me, if we could have made these decisions sooner, we would have. i think that we've also we also believe that this is an issue that has strong bipartisan support. and so we believe that this is an issue that will continue to resonate and should resonate outside of politics. >> schifrin: do you believe that by doing this the day before inauguration, you are boxing the biden administration in or helping them galvanize international opinion? >> well, it's up to the biden administration how they take this determination and what they do with it. >> schifrin: has the state department concluded that today's designation imposes any legal requirements on the u.s. government moving forward. >> these are not legal decisions. last week, if you if the department of homeland security wanted to exclude someone that

they believed was guilty of genocide, they had the legal authority to do that, whether it was in this context or any other. the same with the department of justice, that they wanted to bring up charges under u.s. statutes, they're able to do that. what this does do is give us an additional tool to use in the implementation of our foreign policy objectives and the ability to advance those objectives, particularly with our partners around the world who we continue to work with to try to build out the coalition of countries that have recognized the gravity of the situation and change and are moving to act. >> schifrin: ambassador , thank you very much. >> thank you, nick. >> woodruff: in the day's other news, the u.s. reached 400,000 deaths from covid-19, nearly equal to the number of americans

killed in world war ii. meanwhile, a panel commissioned by the world health organization criticized the agency for not declaring a global emergency sooner. one panel member, former liberian president ellen johnson-sirleaf, said the w.h.o. needs more enforcement power. >> member states are looking at w.h.o. for leadership, coordination and guidance, but are not equipping it with the authority, the access or the funding needed to provide that. >> woodruff: the panel also criticized china and other nations for failing to act earlier on the pandemic. president-elect biden had an emotional departure from delaware today, on the eve of his inauguration. it happened at a national guard headquarters named for his

eldest son beau,ho died of brain cancer in 2015. mr. biden noted the significance, then choked up. >> it's deeply personal that our next journey to washington starts here. a place that defines the very best of who we are as amerans. well, excuse the emotion, but... ...when i die, delaware will be written on my heart. >> woodruff: later, the bidens arrived at joint base andrews, outside washington. they will spend the night at blair house, the president's official guest residence, before moving into the white house tomorrow. mr. biden will offer a sweeping immigration bill, right after being sworn in. it's expected to provide an eight-year path to citizenship for some 11 million people living in the u.s. illegally.

the nominee for secretary of homeland security, alejandro mayorkis, said today the plan would fix a broken system. the incoming senate majority leader says an impeachment trial of president trump will be a priority, once democrats take control tomorrow. by then, mr. trump will be out office, and senator chuck schumer confirmed today that he wants to keep it that way. >> there will be a impeachment trial in the united states senate. there will be a vote on convicting the president for high crimes and misdemeanors, and if the president is convicted there will be vote on barring him from running again. >> woodruff: before a trial can begin, house speaker nancy pelosi has to send over the impeachment article, charging mr. trump with inciting an insurrection. she has not said when that will happen. a federal appeals court today struck down president trump's rollback of obama-era emissions caps for coal-fired power

plants. the three-judge panel found its replacement was illegal, and sent it back to the drawing and, on wall street, stocks rose on hopes for new economic stimulus in a biden administration. the dow jones industrial average gained 116 points to close at 30,930. the nasdaq rose 198 points, and, the s&p 500 added 30 points. still to come on the newshour: outgoing president trump is expected to issue dozens of pardons as his legacy begins to take shape. the hundreds of thousands of americans lost to covid-19 are memorialized on the national mall. and mental health struggles among college students rise dramatically amid the ongoing pandemic.

>> woodruff: while congress looked ahead today toward governing under a president biden, talk of pardons was a prominent part of this final day for the trump administration. our yamiche alcindor and lisa desjardins join me now. so hello to both of you, and to you first, yamiche -- we know traditionally presidents go out of office with a lot of conversation about pardons and commutation, and there's been speculation about what president trump may do. what are you learning about that? >> reporter: well, washington and really the nation sits on edge waiting to see what is expected to be a long list of people pardoned by president trump. now i have been talking to white house officials all day, and they tell me they do not believe president trump is going to pardon himself or members of his family but he is looking at an array of people including steve bannon, a former top white house official and someone who helped

trump win in 2016 as well as sheldon, a disgraced assemblyman, and rapper lil' wayne, convicted of a gun charge. the president has broken with tradition when it comes to pardons. he has not gone through the department of justice to vet pardons. they also say he's been a president more than others who's leaned in on pardoning people who are close to him or serve some sort of political messaging. he's pardoned border patrol agents convicted of unjustifiably shooting undocumented immigrants. he pardoned charles kushner, the father of jared kushner, his son-in-law. the other thng, the president could also issue pardons that aren't revealed, secret pardons. these pardons, because the constitution says the president doesn't have to reveal who he's pardoning, there some worry about the president could pardon himself and we wouldn't know. legal experts aren't sure whether or not the biden

administration would be able to see if the pardon was issued. there's no indication the president is going to issue some sort of pardon like that but it is something to watch as we await the pardon list. >> woodruff: and yamiche, we know the president is not going to be attending the inauguration of president-elect joe biden tomorrow, but he is planning his own celebration as he leaves office. tell us about that. >> reporter: that's right, president trump is leaving office, much like he started office, and that's steeped in controversy and breaking traditions. here the president is going to be the first president since 1869 not to go to his successor's swearing in. the last person to do so is andrew johnson who skipped ulysses s. grant's inauguration. the president is said to have his own party at base andrews, a color guard, 21 gun salute, pomp and circumstance.

vice president pence confirmed he is going to the inauguration of president-elect biden and not going to president trump's party. that is some ways a window into the last days of the trump presidency where pepsi has had to talk about the coronavirus and visit troops while president trump has not taken questions or been seen in public in days. president trump leaves office with his legacy tarnished. in the last few days the president has not apologized or said anything about the capitol siege. others are angry about the president leaving the office like this. >> woodruff: and finally, to you, lisa, we know the senate, tomorrow, will change hands as we're reporting, the democrats will be in the majority. they've got a lot on their plate. one of the big items, of course, right away is impeament. what do we know about how that's going to work? >> reporter: well, there are many decisions to be made, first whether impeachment will happen

simultaneously with, before or after confirmation of of many of the biden appointees. there's a chance some cabinet officials could be confirmed as soon as tomorrow in the senate but that would take unanimous consent, and we don't expect that. tonight the leaders in the republican and democrat party in the senate, chuck schumer and mitch mcconnell, hav been meeting to try to figure out a power sharing deal because tomorrow, starting then, the senate will be 50/50 with the democrats in charge only because of vice president elect hairs when she's national guard. but the truth is a lot of this has to be worked out. >> woodruff: fascinating. lisa desjardins, yamiche alcindor, thank you both. >> woodruff: as the sun sets on

president trump's final full day in office, a new pbs newshour/npr/marist poll shows that he leaves office with just 38% of americans approving of his presidency. but 57% disapprove of his job performance, nearly a record. even today, president trump remains defiant. in his pre-recorded farewell address, he touted the successes of his presidency and deplored the attack on the capitol two weeks ago. >> all americans were horrified by the assault on oucapitol. political violence is an attack on everything we cherish as americans. it can never be tolerated. now, as i prepare to hand power now as i prepare to hand power over to a new administration at noon on wednesday, i want you to know that the movement we started is only just beginning. there's never been anything like

it. >> woodruff: for a bigger look at mr. trump's four years in the white house, we turn to peter wehner. he is a senior fellow at the ethics and public policy center in washington and a contributing opinion writer for the "new york times." he also served in the last three republican administrations, presidents reagan and both bushes. peter wehner, thank you very much for being with us and for joining us again on the "newshour". we're hearing president trump go out of office saying it's been a big success, deploring what happened at the capitol two weeks ago. what is the legacy he's leaving? >> thanks for having me on, judy. i think the legacy is carnage and death and a lot of ruin, and it hasn't been a success, i think it's been almost across the board a failure. i think he's probably in the appalachian of the worst president in our history, and i

must say hearing him condemn political violence after he incited political violence on januy 6 and unleash his insurrectionest mob on the capitol, that breached a line no president has ever breached before and i think it's going to leave a searing impression on the moral imagination of the public and i think it was a capstone to the trump presidency. there was almost an inevitability to it ending this way or something like this. >> woodruff: you wrote a column almost exactly four years to today where you said he's unlikely to be contained by norms and customs and the law and the constitution. how did that bear itself out? >> i think it bore itself out almost every day in some way. it certainly bore itself out in the impeachment. he was a lawless president, and he violated norms in every

single direction, civic and political. there was a savagery to our politics because of him. he was a battering ram against reality and against our institutions, and he's left our nation riven. basically, we've broken up into warring political tribes. and i will say, you know, when i wrote that, it was one of the easier things to see. he was a person who was so -- who was so easy to read. this is a person with sociopathic tendencies, and i just think a lot of people, particularly people in the republican party, which i have been a part of my entire political life -- as you said i served in three administrations -- but the degree to which people were either liftly blind to him i think will leave a crimson stain on the party. certainly there's a crimson

stain on the trump legacy. >> woodruff: you are very much, pete wehner, a conservative. you were telling us today you agree with many of his appointments to the federal courts, economic policy, some of his foreign policy. you're giving him credit for some of the policy and the changes he made in policy and the law. >> yeah, in some areas. you know, i don't think his record is anything like his supporters insist on, but i will say his judicial appointments, i am conservative, judicial philosophy, and i think federal society basically chose his appointments on the supreme court and federal levels and they were really good, and people i trust in the business world felt his deregulation policies were successful. i agree when he moved the emtsy from tel aviv to jerusalem. there was some progress in the middle east as it relates to israel and some countries. israel was recognized. even oper operation warp speed n

terms of vaccinations, obviously wasn't trump himself, but francis collins one of the most brilliant scientific minds in the world and a wonderful human being in n.i.h. oversaw that along with these pharmaceutical companies, there's some success there. i will say on the last point, though, it's overwhelmed by the epic mishandling by trump and his administration in every other area on the pandemic. as you reported earlier, 400,000 deaths by the end of february, maybe half of those deaths were unnecessary because to have the way that trump handled it. that is an extraordinary human carnage, and it didn't have to be this way. >> woodruff: and interesting you should use the word "carnage because president trump in his inaugural address spoke of american carnage, how he viewed the country as he was preparing to take over as president. what do you think he will be most remembered for? do you think it's the pandemic and in the final days this

attack on the u.s. caitol? >> i think so. i mean, i think the capitol will be the single incident that people remember because, as i said earlier, there was a kind of capstone to his presidency. there was nothing unexpected about that. he was a person who egged them on and incited them, i think. i think just in terms of a single policy, it would have to be the pandemic. you know, no president could have escaped unscathed, no country could have escaped unscathed because of this pandemic. every country's lot lives. but, again, i think he's so epically mishandled it in so many ways, attacking the scientists, the attacks on masks and social distancing, the hydroxychloroquine insanity. i think beyond that, judy, i just wanted to say one other thing, and this is something that i think is going to be with us for a long, long time and that is we're in a crisis where there has been an assault on truth and reality that trump has

led and his party was a part of and his base was a part of, and we now live in a world in which we just don't have policy difference, people are living in different moral universes, we don't have a common set of facts or reality and, when you lose that, it's very, very difficult to put it back together again, but if you don't put it back together again, a free country can't continue. ultimately your politics breaks down and your society breaks down because there's no common ground, no ability to persuade other people, no ability to have dialogue. trump did that with his conspiracy theories. so it wasn't just the lies. it was this intentional assault on reality which not only spreads lies but creates a kind of disorientation in the public that has tremendously damaging and long-term effts, and i worry about that. you know, joe biden's got a lot of tasks before him, but trying to figure out how to put that

back together or help put that back together seems to me to be high on the list. >> woodruff: pete wehner, looking back and looking ahead, thank you. >> thanks a lot. thanks for having me, judy. >> woodruff: as we reported, the u.s. passed another sad milestone today: 400,000 covid- spoke at a tribute on the national mall to remember the 400,000 lives already lost in the pandemic. it featured music, remarks and 400 light placed around the reflecting pool at the lincoln memorial. the event began with an invocation from the archbishop of washington cardinal wilton gregory. >> at this twilight hour, our beloved nation reverently pauses

in supplication to remember and to pray for the many thousands of people who have died from the coronavirus during this past year. we pray for those who have died and the families and loved ones that they left behind, and may it be a resounding gesture of gratitude for all those who have cared for the victims of this virus and their loved ones. our sorrow unites us to one another, as a single people with compassionate hearts. >> though we may be physically separated, we the american people are united in spirit, and my abiding hope, my abiding prayer is that we emerge from this ordeal with a new wisdom,

to cherish simple moments, to imagine new possibilities, and to open our hearts just a little bit more to one another. it is now my great honor to introduce laurie marie key. laurie is a nurse at st. mary mercy lavonia hospital outside detroit. her community was hit hard when the virus struck and laurie was assigned to the coved unit. laurie is known for singing on the hospital floor and a video of her singing a certain hymn inspired our nation. she joins us this evening to honor those we have lost with that me hymn, amazing grace. ♪ amazing grace ♪ ♪ how sweet the sound ♪

♪ that saved a wretch like me ♪ ♪ i once was lost ♪ ♪ but now i'm found ♪ ♪ was mind, but now i see ♪ >> to heal, we must remember- it's hard sometimes to reember, but that's how we heal. it's important to do that as a nation. that's why we're here today. between sundown and dusk, let us

shine the lights in the darkness along the sacred pool of reflection and remember all of whom we've lost. ♪ i heard there was a secret chord that david played and it pleased the lord ♪ ♪ but you don't really care for music do ya ♪ ♪ it goes like this, the fourth the fifth, the minor fall and the major lift ♪ ♪ the baffled king composing hallelujah ♪ ♪ hallelujah ♪ ♪ hallelujah ♪ ♪ hallelujah ♪ ♪ hal hallelujah ♪

>> woodruff: what a beautiful sight, what beautiful music. at such a painful moment. ♪ ♪ >> woodruff: finally tonight, let's look at how the pandemic is affecting the mental health of college students. students have long been prone to stress, anxiety and depression. according to the c.d.c., three out of four americans between the ages of 18 and 24 report poor mental health tied to the pandemic. hari sreenivasan has our story, part of our ongoing series, "rethinking college." and a warning for some viewers: this story deals with the subject of suicide. >> the nights leading up to it had shown that there was going

to be some sort of culmination. and that night, i was kind of worried that i was going to do something that i might regret. >> sreenivasan: 19-year-old victoria canales was alone the night she almost gave up everything. alone in a three-bedroom apartment in austin, near the university of texas campus. no friends, her roommates stayed home fall semester. no family, they were hundreds of miles away, in laredo. panic led her to stop taking her antidepressant medication. and her good grades were slipping away, too. unsure where else to turn, canales dialed her school's crisis hotline. >> i just told them i'm feeling pretty bad, i'm not doing too well in my classes. i'd kind of just like somebody to talk to. sreenivasan: they kept her on the phone for an hour and a half. >> and then by the end of it, she told me, you know, ¡i would like to just be able to hang up and know that everything's going to be okay, but based on what we were talking about tonight, i'd

like to send the campus mental health officers over, just to go check and make sure everything is okay. >> sreenivasan: they sent someone over, and canales decided in that moment to make some changes... because she wasn't okay. many students aren't right now. drop a pin on a map of the u.s. and the story is much the same. heightened isolation. depression. anxiety. mental health crises. courtesy of a college experience stripped almost entirely of campus life, tradition and structure on top of a pandemic. >> college seems like a really far away concept right now. >> no matter who you are, it really sucks. >> it's really messed with my head in ways i'd never thought possible. >> it's hard to sleep at night because you just in your apartment all day. >> i think almost all of my friends have started going to therapy since this semester started. >> sreenivasan: more than 560,000 undergraduate students didn't enroll this fall compared

to 2019. even in normal times, those who report mental health struggles are nearly twice as likely to drop out of school than their peers. there are stressors for those studying remotely: >> it's very exhausting. definitely zoom fatigue is real. >> sreenivas: and for those making the trek into classrooms: >> since i commute a lot i try to be as careful as possible, especially knowing that a few of the people that i know that have gotten the virus have been really, really sick. some were very near to death. >> sreenivasan: one in four americans between the ages of 18 and 24 reported having seriously considered suicide in the last 30 days, according to the c.d.c. and nearly 70% of college presidents now say student mental health ranks among their top concerns. >> i think for a lot of us, it just feels like a bit of a loss of that experience. >> it's been an incredible challenge. >> sreenivasan: varun soni is the vice provost for campus wellness and crisis intervention

at the university of southern california. >> before covid, students were already struggling with anxiety, depression, and loneliness. and that has only been exacerbated, in my experience, >> sreenivasan: in fact, soni says, before the pandemic, 65% of college students were wrestling with anxiety. 30% with a mental health condition, and 10% with thoughts of suicide. soni says the string of recent american crises, combined with an over-reliance on technology and social media, are making today's young people more anxious than ever before. and covid isolation has made it worse. >> we're tribal people as human beings, we need a tribe, and college is a place where many students find their tribe. and so, i think for a number of students, 80% of students around the country, say that covid has negatively impacted their mental health, their spiritual health, and their career aspirations. >> sreenivasan: young people like jassmine guerrero, a junior at california state university

at northridge, say the main problem is students feel like they're in all of this alone, emotionally and academically. it's been rough this semester. i don't even feel like i'm learning crap. >> we attend campus to learn, and to network, and we're just getting learning. i know a lot of people that say hey, i'm just turning in assignments without even knowing if the information is staying with me, you know? >> sreenivasan: i met up with dr. micky sharma on ohio state university's famous oval, usually packed with students, now largely deserted. here, at one of the biggest schools in the nation, student plans have been altered by the tens of thousands. they won't get those experiences back. sharma directs o.s.u.'s student life counseling and consultation service. how do you help them get over the fact that they had plans, the plans changed? >> so, i think the first thing we do is validate the students' feelings as real. what you're talking about is loss.

i would say to the student, instead of focusing on things being normal again, what i want you to focus on is creating your new normal. but, we can proactively be a part of what we want the future to be. >> so did you meet your goals? how do you feel after this full semester online? >> sreenivasan: most schools offer ment health and academic counseling for students, but virtual and in-person visits, against expectations, have been either flat or down for many schools. and that's another sign of trouble, says varun soni at u.s.c. >> i think all universities are concerned about what's happening in home environments, in remote environments, abroad, because we're not as connected as we used to be. i think what all of my colleagues around the country are wrestling with is: what are we not seeing? >> sreenivasan: victoria canales says spring semester at the university of texas could be a repeat of fall. not much has changed about her situation. >> so i've been seeing my

therapist for maybe like two months now. and it's been a really good experience. i also got back on my antidepressants. >> sreenivasan: she also plans to take fewer classes and find more time for fun. >> i do want to spend more time on the things that i enjoy. i love music, i love playing instruments. so hopefully next semester i'm just going to try and push myself to do the things that i know i will enjoy. and yeah, i don't know, we'll see. >> sreenivasan: she'll take it a little easier on herself, and take the days one at a time, until things get back to normal. for the pbs newshour, i'm hari sreenivasan. >> woodruff: if you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide prevention lifeline help, the national suicide prevention lifeline is available 24 hours a day. call 1-800-273-8255. in the final installment of hari's series next week, he'll look at how schools are providing special programs to boost skills and allow students to get short-term credentials for work.

one other important note from the world of higher education: the college board announced it will drop the optional essay part of the s.a.t.s, and end s.a.t. subject matter tests altogether. both changes will take effect in june. and we want to take a ment to wish a happy birthday to one of our newshour founding fathers. robert macneil turns 90 years young today. happy birthday, robin. we love you. and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. join us tomorrow starting at 10:30 a.m. eastern for special live coverage of the inauguration of joe biden and kamala harris. 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:

>> carnegie corporation of new york. supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement, and the advancement of international peace and security. at carnegie.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station om viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

hello, everyone, and welcome to "amanpour & co." here is what is coming up. >> there's no time to waste. we have to act and we have to act now. >> learning the lessons from the last stimulus, biden's rescue plan for america goes in big and fast. nobel prize-winning economist paul krugman shatters the deficit hype. and what is next for trump's own bank balance and the hype after leaving office. i talk to his niece mary trump, as well as andrea bernstein. plus -- >> in america, there is a strand that is ugly, that is intolerant, that is racist and that is