♪ he "wsjuho" gotoni: ghvet dy-- the transfer of power. ace washington as at least a dozen national guard are removed from duty because of "inappropriate comments or texts." then -- biagen. the senate holds confirmation hearings for the treasury secretary and critical national security officials amid a time of instability. plus -- the trump legacy. on dinhef ayal o on, we look back at stminiesidant hiimd s and -- ra rethinking clestge. ts' mental .

>> before covid, students were already struggling with anxiety, depression, and loneliness. and that has only been exacerbated. judy: all of that and more on tonight "pbs newshour." ♪ newshour" has been provided by -- ♪ >> architect, bee keeper, mentor. a raymond james financial advisor helps you tailor your life to live your life. >> for 25 years consumer cellular has been offering no contract plans to help people do more of what they like. our u.s. team can do more to consumercellular.tv. >> johnson & johnson.

bnsf railway. >> the john s. and james l. knight foundation, fostering engaged communities. >> and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions -- ♪ >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. judy: we have major stories

three toghpet -- hulow law transfer of power on the eve of the inauguration of joe biden and kamala harris. the u.s. passes a grim milestone of four hundred thousand deaths from covid-19. we will see how those deaths are being recognized tonight in the nation's capitol. 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. alejandro mayork 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 dibuthhangilant ts dsst a

democracy, the tro yeratfeltthy, and everyone present, will not happen again. judy: meantime ensuring the , security of an inauguration like no other continues on an unprecedented scale. tens of thousands of national guard members and security 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. how the capitol complex is being made secure for the inauguration of the 46th president of the united states. amna: beyond the flags and the bunting, the u.s. capitol looks more fortress than festivities. a seven-foot metal fence national mall is closed toe visitors. in and around the complex, national guardsmen keep watch, all to avoid is - it is over.

you better another january 6, wn thousands of rioters, incited by president trump, breached police barricades and broke into thetoi ca the inauguration presents a high-profile opportunity for those seeking to do more harm. heidi beirich: and 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. amna: heidi beirich is the co-founder of the global project the pitol assat, 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 sena majority leader mitch mcconnell. sen. mitch mcconnell: the mob was fed lies. they were provoked by the president and other powerful people. heidi beirich: 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 does not believe in the democratic system, doesn't believe in voting, and basically is against our form of government. some of these folks are violent. amna: the fbi has fielded more than 140,000 tips, opened more than 200 suspect files, and arrested more than 100 people. fbi director chris wray briefed vice president pence last week. chris wray: right now, we're tracking calls for potential armed protests and activity leading up to the inauguration. tim gallagher: get these people off the street. that is a great disruption strategy. amna: former fbi 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. tim gallagher: the difference between what happened on the 6th and the inauguration is that the inauguration is a national special security event, and this had been planned for several months. 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 that 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. amna: the u.s. secret service has essentially cut off access to downtown washington, including the whithouse and the capitol. experts say all of these measures, the arre t tstroheop will all help to deter inauguration threats here in measures could push the threat to other places. tim gallagher: bad actors will figure out where the event is going to take palace, where the perimeters will be put up, and pre-staging weapons, whether ght tside the perimeter tomers, create a diversionary device, where they could possible draw out forces that should be on the riter. concern of a so-called insider

attack by a member of the armed services, after several were arrested following the capitol attack. the fbi announced it's vetting each of the 25,000 national guardsmen deployed for inauguration security. tuesday morning, two national guard members were removed from the post, reportedly because of ties to right-wing extremist groups. lt. gen. daniel hokanson: let me be clear. extremism is not tolerated in any branch of the united states military. amna: but beirich says th pentagon, like many institutions, has long failed to take seriously extremism in its ranks. heidi beirich: it's pretty late in the game to be figuring out if you have got a committed white supremacist who'a'read inside the security barriers. amna: fears of inauguration day violence also have state capitols across the country on high alert. more than a dozen have activated their own national guard. but the fbi's previous warning of potentially violent activity atading up to the tiguin d byhaboass attende heavily armed members of the boogaloo boys, a right-wing

extremist group, but remained peacul. here's one of their members, 22-year-old timothy teagan. timothy teagan: the 6th changed everything for us. it made us worried about coming out here. the fbi stopped by my work three days ago to talko me about coming out here. amna:eirich says online chatter shows many of these groups are now hesitant to mobilize for inauguration day with the same force they did on january 6. heidi beirich: on the one hand, it's a positive that lots and lots of these groups are probably not going to show up on yet the big threat, just like it january 20. was in pittsburgh at the tree of life synagogue or the el paso at the 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 beamcanausav' he wer' for galla0 years ago was on the fbi team responding to the flight 93 crash site, today's threat is m rd to process.

gallher: in 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. amna: 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. sen. kamala harris: so, i know this inauguration day may look a little different from years past, a lot different, but let's take moment, let's all take a moment to celebrate, and then let's get to work building the america we know is possible. amna:liev of their inauguration-related duties have been sent home 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 has confirmed that 10 additional national guard troops have also been removed from their inauguration-related duties, not, officials say, because any of inauguration-specific threat, but, rather, they say, because of other reasons, suggesting perhaps the fbi 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 chancen the eve of the historicinrati t. judy: certainly very different from the january 6. thank you, and you will be reporting for us tomorrow on the of thesewashington. ve been saying president-elect biden focuses on other crises like the covid pandemic which has claimed 400,000 lives in thisountry and continues t inflict major damage to the economy. those concerns were the primaryr

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 i $1.9 trillion economic package. >> we 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 .ti meantime, the top three national security officials nodtemiy pr bideneselec,t-t too. for this, i want to bring in

nick schifrin. tell us how fears of extremism we have heard amna reporting on austin's?ago, extremism in enouk:ld:nsee atth sn fissrse tk secretary of the first lack secretary to defend in combat and a theater of war. he said he would combat extremism and discrimination. >> we also owe our people a working environment free of discrimination, hate and harassment. edfi cwi, rmonif to rid our ranks of racists 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. nick: atin told thery s of when he was a lieutenant colonel his unit found somebody who was an extremist. he said the signs were there all t lng, we just did not know w koo apply lessons he learned at that point to today. judy: we know lloyd austin was a four star general until he retired in 2016. he would need a to serve as civilian secretary of defense. how did he address that today? nick: democrats in the house and senate opposed the last waiver to retire general james mattis. to assuage those fears, austin today said he would work hand in glove with the state department, and appoint civilians to senior roles and emwer them to make decisis.on

the safety and security of our democracy demands competent civilian ctrol of our armed forces, the subordination of i intend to surround myself with civian leaders who will enable healthy civil-military relations, grounded in meaningful oversight. i think the peo in the room and contributing to decision-making, it makes all the difference in the world. nick: many democrats who voted against the last waiver indicated they would vote for this in both the house and senate. judy:eari today for national security ic oiaffl, haines, nominated toe director of national intelligence. tell us how that came in. nick: hainesmphasized a

centrist approach to intelligence, as evidenced by who she had introduce her. former director of national intelligence and former republican senator dan coats. haines is a lawyer, former senior official in the obama administration, and she said intelligence been politicized under the trump administration and shead h would turn that around. >> that we provide objective analysis that we don't let , politics play a role in our work is critical. it has been my experience that that is what the institution is designed to do and intended to do. it is fundamental to good policy decision-making. if policymakers 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 to make the decisions that they need to make in order to protect the country and pursue our interests. nick: haines also said while it's not the intelligence

community's primary job, she would assist the fbi and dhs in assessing the threat posed by qanon. judy: a third important hearing today for secretary of state tony blinken. what did he , -- tell us what was emphasized? nick: blinken emphasized rebuilding alliances. he channeled his boss. he's been with biden for decades, in the senate and the white house, and then became deputy secretary of state under obama. he reiterated the plan to reenter the iran nuclear deal, so long as iran followed through on its promise to reverse recent nuclear decisions. >> ifran comes back into compliance, we would, too. but, we would use that as a platform with our allies and partners, on the same side as 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 and iran's destabilizing activitiesl be extremely difficult. on other topics he praised trump administration policies such as confronting beijing as he reiterated with lindsay graham. >> secretary pompeo designated the chinese communist party having engaged in genocide regarding the uyghur muslim population. do you agree? >> that is my judgment as well. you agree? . y>>es to gotart i appreciate that. do you believe the chinese communist party misled the world abouthe coronavirus? >> i do. >> what price if any should they pay? >> they did not give access when it mattered most, in the early

days of this virus. had they done so, it's possible the course of the virus would have en dfe, anweld have dealt with it sooner and more effectively. my sense senator going forward, n wongulcud kbe v oery focusedn preventative. nick: on that first topic the state department today designated beijing had committed genocide against the uighurs, a muslim minority in western china. i spoke to the current state department ambassador, kelly curry. i started by asking her if the state department could prove beijing's actions constituted genocide, and the legly required intent to destroy the uighurs. >> we have seen what they do when they are trying to destroy a group. this is a little different because it does not involve the

mass killings you would see in rwanda. this is true, but we are seeing an intention to destroy a group. we have seen the chinese communist rty officials talk about the uighurs 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 u om the field onehayo b them all, when talking about uighurs within the chinese state. the language from the chinese communist party's leadership has been pretty ic these fronts. when you put that together with the acts that they have committed, specifically the forced sterilization, the forced abortion, theced earth for womee systematic efforts they have taken to ensure compliance with these coercive population

control measures that have been in place for the past three the secretary came to the conclusion genocide was the appropriate designation. nick: 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 in china? >> 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 coitmmy. the united states has leveled sanctions against perpetrators in this context. dummunist party members. we have sanctioned entities such as the production and construction corporation, which we believe support the architecture of repression in china. we have taken actions such as the recent withhold release

order, which essentially bans the import of cotton and tomato products into the united states we believe 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 ha done here in the united states. nick: why today of all days? if the goal is to galvanize international community,announce 24 inauguration could lead some people to say this is more about politics than 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. believe me, if we cld madehese decisions sooner, we woeuld h have. we also believe this is an issue that has strong bipartisan support. we believe this is an issue that will continue to resonate and should resonate outside of politics. nick: do you believe that by doing this the day before inauguration, you are boxing the biden administration in or helping them galvanize international opinion? it's up to the biden >> it's up to the biden administration how they take this determination and what they do with it. nick: has the state department n atsiseimioy pooday's requirements on the u.s. government moving forward? >> these are not legal decisions. last week, 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 tsthf

justice. if they wanted to bring up charges under u.s. statutes, they are able to do that. what this does is give us an additional tool to use in the implementation of our foreign policy objectives and 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 in xinjiang and are moving to ac nick: ambassador, thank you. >> thank you. ♪ stephanie: i am stephani sy with newshour west. we will return teo the show aftr the rest of these headlines. with only a few hours remaining in the trump presidency, his final decisions may bear lses

covering 685 square miles in the arctic national wildlife refuge. in cybersecurity the president issued an executive order his advisor says closes a loophole tat made u.s. infrastructure vulnerable to foreign attacks. the president ordered the declassification of documents related to the fbi's pressure probe during the 2016 presidential campaign. the u.s. reached 400,000 deaths from covid-19, 1/4 of those occurring in the last month. a panel commissioned by the world health organization criticized the agency for not declaring a global emergency sooner. one panel member, former si priderent the w.h.o. needs more enforcement power. >> states are looking at w.h.o., for coordination and guidance, but are not equipping

it witthh access, or the funding needed to provide that. stephanie: president-elect biden had an emotional departure from his home state of delaware today on the eve of his inauguration at aational guard headquarters named for his older son beau, who died of brain cancer in 2015. pres.- elect biden: it is deeply personal that our next journey to washington starts here, a place that defines the very best of who we are as americans. excuse the emotion, but when i die, delaware will be written on my heart. stephanie: later, the bidens arrived outside washington. they will spend the night at

blair house before moving into the white house tomorrow. mr. biden will offer a sweeping immigration bill after being sworn in, expected to provide an eight year path to citizenship to some 11 million americans living in the u.s. illegally. one said 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 of office and senator chuck schumer confirmed today he wants to keep it that w. >> there will be an impeachment trial in the u.s. senate. there be a vote on convicting the president of high crimes and misdemeanors. if convicted, there will be a vote on barring him from running again. stephanie: a federal appeals court today struck down president trump's rollback of emissions curbs for -- coal

fire power plants. they said it was a misreading of the law. stilted,, we examine -- still to come, we examine the lasting legacy of the trump presidency. and those lost to covid-19 are memorialized at the national mall. healthalment struggles among college students rise dramatically amid the pandemic. >> this is the pbs newshour from weta studios in washington and from the west at the walter cronkite bureau at arizona state university. judy congress looked ahead today, talk of pardons was a permanent part of the final day of the trump administration. our yamiche alcindor and lisa desjardins join me now. so, hello to both of you. youir. te know, traditionally,rsatn abu

eson aut what president trump may do. what are you learning about that? yamiche: washington and the nation sits on edge waiting to e s se ictatpeo ex ted abe i have been talking to white house officials all day. they tell me that 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 silver, a disgraced new york assemblyman, and even rapper lil wayne, who was convicted of a gun charge. another thing to note is that the president, experts say, has really broken with tradition when it comes to pardons. he has not gone through the traditional process of going through the department of justice to vet pardons often. they also say that he's been a president, more than other presidents, who's leaned in on pardoning people who are close

to him or who serve some sort of political messaging. he has pardoned border patrol agents who were convicted of unjustifiably shooting undocumented immigrants. he has also pardoned charles kushner, the father of jared kushner, his son-in-law. another thing, the president could also issue pardons that are not revealed. experts call them in some ways secret pardons. constitution says y-- the prese to reveal who he's pardoned, there's some feeling, some worry that 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 that pardon was actually issued. there is no indication that the president is going to issue some sort of pardons like that, but it is something to watch as we await this pardons list. judy: 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. yamiche: president trump is

leaving office much like he started office, and that's steeped in controversy and breaking traditions. the president is going to be the first president since 1869 not to go to his successor's swearing-in. the last president to do so was andrew johnson, who skipped ulysses s. grant's inauguration. the president has said that he's going to have his sort of own departure party at joint base andrews. there is talk of there possibly being a 21-gun salute, a color guard, a red carpet, all sorts of pomp and circumstance. one person that won't be there, even though there are a lot of people invited, including people who have criticized the president, vice president pence. nos office confirmed tonightthd g to h preissi gdeointo trump's party. that is a window into the last days here of the trump presidency, where pence has had to do things, like talk about the coronavirus and visit troops, while president trump has not taken questions or been seen in public in days. one other thing.

president trump leaves office with his legacy really, really tarnished. in the last few days, he has not apologized or said anything about the capitol hill siege. there are people angry at the president leaving the office like this. judy: finally, to you, lisa, we know the senate tomorrow is going to change hands, as we're reporting. democrats will be in the majority. they have a lot on their plate. one of the big items is impeachment. what do we know about how that will work? lisa: there are many decisions to be made. first, whether impeachment will happen simultaneously with, before or after confirmation of many of the biden appointees. there is a chance some cabinet officials could be confirmed as soon tomorrow in the senate. but that would take unanimous consent and we do not expe that. tonight, the leaders of the republican and democratic party in the senate, chuck schumer and mitch mcconnell, have 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 pricofe enesidect- the truth is, a lot of this has to be worked out. judy: fascinating. a lot of change at the same time. lisa desjardins, yamiche alcindor, thank you both. ♪ judy: as the sun sets on president trump's final full day in office, a new poll shows he leaves with just 37% of americans approving of his presidency, while 57% disapproved of his performance, nearly a record. today, president trump remains defiant. in his prerecorded farewell

address, he -- pres. trump: all americans were horrified by the assault on our capitol. political violence is an attack everything we cherish as americans. it can never be tolerated. we must unify around shared values and rise above partisan rancor and forge common destiny. while i hand wer over to a new administration wednesday, i want you to know the movement we started is only just beginning. there has never been anything like it. the belief a nation must serve its citizens will not dwindle, but only grow stronger by the day. judy: for a bigger look at mr. trump's four years and the white house, we turn to peter, a senior fellow at a policy center in washington and contributing opinion writer for "the new york

times." he served in the last three republican administrations, president reagan and both presidents bush. thank you for joining us again on the "wshour." we are hearing president trump going out of office sayi it is a big success, deploring what happened at the capitol two weeks ago. what is the legacy he is leaving? peter: tnks for having me. the legacy is carnage, death and ruin. it has not been a success. it has been almost across-the-board of failure. our histor ol aft h incited political violence on january 6o president has breached before. it will leave a searing impression on the moral imagination ofhe cliap p t storn

inevitability of it ending this way. judy: you wrote a four years agy whe ereu is unlikely to be contained by norms and customs or even laws and the constitution. how did that bear itself? o peter: think it bore itself t almost every single day. e impeachment. he violated norms in every single direction, civic, political. there was a savagery to our politics because of him. he was a battering ram against reality and our institutions. he has left our nation riven, broken into warring political

tribes. wi wre that, it was one of the easier things to see. he was a person who was so easy-to-read. this was a person with sociopathic tendencies. of people, particularly in the repuican party, which i have been a part of my entire life, i served in three republican administrations, the degree to which republicans were blinded to him and his malignancy, willfully or simply blind, it will leave a stain on the party. certainly there is a stain on the trump legacy. judy: you are very much a conservative. you were telling us today you agree with many ofis h in tpotsene economic policy, sf his foreign-policy. you are giving him credit for some of the changes he made in

policy and the law. peter: in some areas. his record is not what his supporters insist on. i am of a conservat philosophy. they chose hivise aldici appoint the supreme court and federal level. i thought they were good. people i trust, deregulation policies were successful. i agreed with him when he moved to the embassy from tel aviv to jerusalem. israel was recognized. i would say operation warp speed in terms of vaccinations. it was not trump himself, but francis collins, ande oth autil ntif min. they oversaw that along with pharmaceutical companies. there was some success. there w overwhelm i

mishandling in every other area of the pandemic. 400,000 deaths. by the end of february, probably half a million. maybe half of those deaths were unnecessary because of the way trump handled it. that is extraordinary human carnage. it did not have to be this way. judy: ieresting 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. what do you think he will be most remembered for? the pandemic and this attack on the u.s. capitol? peter: i think so. the capitol will be the single pl pdeemeeor.em rbe capstone tos presidency. there was nothing unexpected about that. he egged them on.

in terms of a single policy, it would have to be the pandemic. no president could have escaped unscathed because of this pandemic. every country has lost lives. but i think he so epically mishandled it in so many ways, attacking scientists, masks, social distancing, the hydroxychloroquine insanity. beyond that, i wanted to say one other thing. this will be with us for a long time. we are in an epistemic crisis. there has been an assault on truth and reality. that trump has led, and his party has been a part of. we live in a world where people are living in different moral unseivs. we do not have a common set of facts or reality. when you lose that, it is difficult to put it together

again. if you don't, a free country cannot continue. ultimately, your politics breakdown and society breaks down because there is no common ground, no ability to persuade people or have dialogue. trump did that with his conspiracy theories. it was not just allies. it was thiintentional assault on reality which not only spreads lies but creates disorientation in the public that has tremendously damaging long-term effects. i worry about that. joe biden has a lot of tasks before him. figuring out how to put that back together seems to be high on the list. judy: looking back and ahead, thank you. peter: thanks for having me. ♪ judy: day's events at the

nation's capitol concluded with a ceremony to recognize the human toll of the pandemic. president-elect biden and vice president-elect harris spoke at the national mall to honor the lives lost from the pandemic. it featured music, remarks and lights around the reflecting poolth ae >> twilight hou ar,ist th our beloved nation reverently pauses in supplication to remember and 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 they have left behind.

may it be a resounding gesture of gratitude for all those who have cared v t fmsiche otif tthheir 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. my abiding hope, my abiding prayer, is that we emerge from this ordeal with a new wism, to cherish simple moments, to imagine new possibities, and to open our hearts just a little bit more, to one another. it is now my great honor to introduce lori marie key.

lori is a nurse at saint mercy church outside detroit. her community was hit hard when the virus struck. lori was assigned to the covid unit. lori 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 their loss with that same hymn, amazing grace. lori: ♪ amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me

i once was lost, but now i am found was blind, but now i see ♪ pres.- elect biden: to heal, we must remember, sometimes it is hard to remember, but that is how we heal. it is important to do that as a nation. that is why we are here today. uset us shine the lights in the darkness along the sacred pool of reflection, remember all we lost. >> ♪ i heard there was a secret chord that david played and it

pleased the lord you don't really care for music, do ya it goes like this, the fourth, the fifth, the minor fall, the major lift, the baffled king composing hallelujah hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ ♪ judy: what a beautiful sight. what beautiful music. but such a painful moment. ♪

judy: finally tonight, we look at how the pandemic is affecting the mental health of college students. students have long been prone to stress, anxiety and depression. four americans between the ages of 18 and 24 report poor mental health due to the pandemic. this is part of our ongoing series, rethinking college. a warning,thsuect of suicihide.t >> the nights leading up to it had shown there would be a culmination. that night i was worried i was going to do something i might regret. reporter: 19-year-old victoria was alone the night she almost gave up everything. alone in a three bedroom apartment in austin near the univerty of texas campus. no friends, her roommates stayed

home fall semester, no family, hundreds of miles away. panic led her to stop taking her antidepresnt, and her good grades were slipping away. unsure where to turn, she dialed her school's crisis hotline. >> i told them i am feeling bad, not doing well in classes, i would like someone to lk to. repo: on the she h toldalhour me, i would like to hang up and know everything will be ok, but based on what we were talking about tonight, i would like to send the campus mental health officers over just to check and make sure everything is ok. she decided to make some changes because she was not ok. many students are not right now. drop a pin on a map of the u.s. and the story is the same,

heightened diet -- isolation, anxiety, depression, until health crises, courtesy of a college experience stripped of tradition, campus life and structure, on top of a pandemic. >> it seems like a faraway concept. >> no matter who you are, it really sucks. >> it has messed with my head. >> it is hard to sleep at night because you sit in your apartment all day. >> almost all my friends have gone to therapy since the semester started. reporter: more than 560,000 undergraduate students did not enroll this fall. even in normal times, those who report mental health struggles are twice as likely to drop out of school. there are stressors for those studying remotely. >> it is exhausting. zoom fatigue is real. reporter: for those making the trek into classrooms -- >> since i commute a lot, i

tried to be as careful as possible. a few people i know who have gotten the virus have been really sick. they were near death. reporter: one in four americans between the ages of 18 and 24 reported considering suicide in the last 30 days. nearly 70% of college presidents say student mental health ranks among their top concerns. ot of l a us it is been elfeing like a l>> incredible c. reporter: the vice provost for campus wellness and crisis intervention at usc. >> students were already struggling with anxiety, depression and loneliness. that has only been exacerbated. reporter: before the pandemic, 65% of college students were wrestling with anxiety, 30% with a mental health condition, 10%

with thoughts of suicide. 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 before. covid isolation has made it worse. >> we are a trima bs. collegl e is a place where many people find their tribe. 80% of students around the country say covid has negatively impacted their mental health, spiritual health and career aspirations. reporter: young people like jasmine, a junior at university of california northridge, says students feel they are in this alone, emotionally and academically. >> it has been rough this semester. >> i don't feel i am learning. >> we came to learn and network and now we are only getting learning. people are saying, i am turning in assignments without knowing

if the information is staying with me. reporter: ohio university usually packed with students, now deserted. one of the biggest schools in the nation, student plans have been altered i the tens of thousands. they will not get those experiences back. thct tt had plans,m get over the plans changed? >> the first thing we do is validate the student's feelings as real. what you are talking about is loss. i would say to the student, instead of focusing on things being normal again, focus on creating your new normal. we can proactively be a part of what we want the future to be. >> did you meet your goals? how do you feel after this fulsome mr. online? reporter: most schools offer

counseling for students, but virtual and in person visits against expectations have been flat or down for many schools. >>versies are concerned about what is happening in home environments, remote environments, a broad. -- abroad. what are we not seeing? reporter: victoria says spring semester at texas could be a repeat of fall. not much has changed about her situation. >> i have been seeing my therapist and it has been a good experience. i got back on my antidepressants. reporter: she plans to take fewer classes and find more time for fun. >> i want to spend time on the things i enjoy. i love music, playing instruments. hopefully next semester i can push myself to do things i know i will enjoy. we will see. reporter: she will take i

easier on herself and take the days one at a time until things ckt ba n tol.or ma judy: if you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide prevention lifeline is available 24 hours a day. call 1-800-273-8255. heal itallment next week, we look at how schools ar programs to boost skillse and allow students to gt short-term credentials for work. one other important note from the world of higher education, the college board announced they will drop the optional essay part of the sat's and end sat subject tests altogether. both changes take effect in june. on an uplifting note, we want to wish you happy birthday to one of our "newshour" founding

fathers. robin mcneil turns 90 years young today. happy birthday, robin. we love you. that is the "newshour" for tonight. in 130 u ajo.s eastern for live coveragre nathga of joe biden and kamala harris -- inauguration of joe biden and kamala harris. >> major funding for the "pbs newshour" has been provided by -- ♪ >> consumer cellular. johnson & johnson. bnsf railway. financial services firm, raymond james. 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 ibthssy rp bcoioe public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ♪ >> this is the "pbs newshour" west from weta studios in bureau at the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. ♪ ♪

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