judy: good evening. i am judy woodruff. on the "newshour," extremism in america. the director of the fbi sounds the alarm on the growing threat of domestic terrorism. >> january 6 was not an isolated event. the problem of domestic terrorism has been metastasizing for a long time. judy: then, the court and the vote. the supreme court hears challenges to voting laws in a key battleground state that could have a major impact on future elections. and, getting the vaccine. india struggles to reach its ambitious inoculation goals

among widespread hesitancy and misinformation. >> there is the misconception that herd immunity has already arrived. judy: newshour. ♪ >> major funding for the pbs "newshour" has been provided by. >> for 25 years, consumer cellular's goal has been to provide service that helps people communicate and connect. we offer a variety of plans, and our customer service team can help find you one that fits you. >> johnson & johnson. bnsf railway. ♪ >> the john s. and james l.

knight foundation. >> 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: for the first time since the january insurrection, fbi

director christopher wray faced lawmakers, reflecting on the capitol attack and the growing challenge of domestic terrorism. >> dramatic video of the january 6 attack and the words of officers who were there. after watching fbi director christopher wray's own words were unequivocal. >> i was appalled like you at the violence and destruction we saw that day, behavior that we at the fbi view as domestic terrorism. >> the hearing focused on january 5 fbi intelligence warning of internet chatter calling for war at the capital. wray called the intelligence uncorroborated but said his agents properly forwarded it within an hour. >> we did communicate that information in a timely fashion to capitol police and not one,

not to, but three different ways. i do not consider what happened on january 6 to be an acceptable result, and that is why we are looking at, how can the process be improved? >> gary cordero with the center for a new american security previously worked in u.s. intelligence, and she does not see this as an intelligence failure. >> this was primarily a security failure, and it's possible it was simply a lack of understanding on the part of the security personnel at the capital of the severity of the threat that was coming at them. >> the hearing comes as the fbi makes nearly daily arrests related to the riot. nearly 300 people with charges ranging from trespassing to conspiracy against the government.

this charges that he and other proud boys raised money and gathered protective gearks w ea.ahe communicate and purposefully dressed incognito, no proud boys colors or clothing. this was to help with their plan to turn others in the crowd who they called normies to join them in viont attack, wray says this is the rising threat, extremists with splintered motives. >> more and more the ideologies are less and less coherent, less and less linear, less and less easy to pin down. >> yet they are able to launch what he calls inspired attacks, on january 6, turning large groups of people to violence.ke >>li they don't have formal membership and organization.

they don't have clear command and control in the way in al qaeda cell might have, and that makes it that much more challenging. >> republican sot to expand the conversation about extremism to talk about anarchist groups on the left. >> we must call extremism wherever it happens across the board left to right. >> democrats pushed back at the notion of multiple sides. >> do you have any evidence that the capitol attack was organized by fake trump protesters? >> we have not seen evidence of that. >> what he does see is a specific threat skyrocketing now. >> the number of arrests of wracially motivatio areed v whu would categorize as white supremacists was almost triple the year it was in my first year as director. >> wray says there is also a

rise in militia extremism. >>asoundg th alarm that the domestic violent extremist threat is substantial and on par if not exceeding what we used to think about in terms of a foreign terrorist or international terrorist threat. >> h herof wcie alesotisith --r officials from the pentagon continue tomorrow. i am lisa des jardins. ♪ i am stephanie sy at please stand b -- at "newshour." the department of defense said tonight it is facing a threat from domestic extremists. the pentagon warned that domestic extremists had attempted to recruit military personnel and encouraged their

members to join the military to gain combat and technical experience. the dod has begun to implement new vetting prox to sit for military applicants. texas lifted its mask mandate, the big estate to take that step. republican governor abbott ended limits on indoor dining. mississippi and louisiana relaxed their covid curbs. president biden says the nation should have enough of a vaccine supply for every adult american by the end of may. his statement was two months earlier than the previous estimate. the president directed states to make a priority of vaccinating teachers. democrats in the u.s. senate insisted they will pass a covid relief bill totaling $1.9 trillion even with no republican support. party leaders chuck schumer and mitch mcconnell spoke at separate events. >> we know that job number one

is pass this bill. we will begin consideration of the american rescue plan as early as tomorrow, and we will have the votes we need to pass the bill. >> we will be fighting this in every way that we can. it is my hope that at the end, senate republicans will unanimously oppose it like house republicans did. >> vice president harris would break the tie if the senate votes along party lines. the white house has withdrawn president biden's nominee to lead the office of management and budget. neera tanden was opposed by key senators due to comments she made on social media. in a statement, biden said he looked forward to having her serve in the administration in a different role. gina raimondo one convert -- won confirmation as commerce secretary. in afghanistan, three media workers, all women, were shot

dead today by gun men. they were walking home from a radio and tv station where they changed the soundtrack of programs into afghan languages. women have increasingly begun targets. hundreds of girls kidnapped from a school in nigeria are free again. regional officials said they offered amnesty to the captors. the 270 nine girls packed into a government building awaiting medical checks. some told harrowing tales of their mass kidnapping last week. >> we were sleeping when suddenly we started hearing gunshots. everybody fled, and there were just two of us left. the other girl is from my town. she said, i swear i will not leave the bed. they were pointing guns at our heads. stephanie: at least 13 people died in a highway crash in rural southern california. a tractor-trailer smashed into an suv carrying 25 people near

the mexican border. authorities say some of the victims may have been farmworkers. a third woman has accused andrew cuomo of making unwanted advances. she said cuomo asked to kiss her at a wedding in 2019 after they met. two former staffers have claimed the governor sexually harassed at them. six dr. seuss books will no longer be published because of racist and insensitive injury -- imagery. they include "and to think i saw it on mulberry street" among others. the publishers said portrayals of africans and asians are hurtful and wrong. the author died in 1991. still to come on the "newshour," the supreme court hears challenges to voting laws that could have major implications on elections. lawmakers in both parties push for monthly payments to parents through tax credits.

india struggles with the amid widespread hesitancy and misinformation, plus much more. >> this is the pbs "newshour" from w eta studios in washington and from the west, the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. judy: state legislatures across the country are trying to rewrite voting laws after the contentious 2020 election. as john yang reports, a supreme court case argued today will determine how courts those new laws. john: last november, arizona was a battleground in the presidential race, its narrow backing of president biden the first time the state had gone democratic in 24 years. today, it was again a battleground as the supreme

court heard a challenge to arizona election laws. last year, an appeals court struck down both of them as violating the voting rights act by discriminating against minority voters. >> it has often been referred to as the right church, wrong pew. john: tammy was an election official in arizona's maricopa county. >> you will have multiple precincts in a school gymnasium. if you get in the wrong line, you are going to get a different ballot then potentially the one you would've received in your home precinct. john: patrick found in the 2012 election, a higher percentage of maricopa county voters affected by the law were hispanic. the other challenged law makes it a crime for anyone other than a family member or caregiver to deliver a voter's mail-in ballot. critics call the practice of

community activists collecting ballots ballot harvesting. it was among the practices president trump railed against. >> there is such fraud and abuse, and you know about harvesting where the harvest the ballots and go and grab them and go to peoples houses and say, sign here. john: election experts say there is little evidence the practice leads to fraud. in arizona, most voters cast mail-in ballots, but many native americans don't have delivery service at their homes. >> needing to go into town can be a problem, but if you can give it to your neighbor across the street or the next hoag in monument valley, that's incredible. john: today's oral arguments turned on what standard the court should apply to determine as to whether election law discriminates.

chief justice john roberts pressed arizona republican party attorney garvin. >> is it maximizing participation or equalizing it? that only comes up when you have disparate results, and why should there be disparate results if you can avoid them? >> it would eliminate all the valuable antifraud concerns implicated in the ban on ballot harvesting. the question is not what is wrong with it. the question is why that a system that imposes no unfairness on the group should be changed simply because they find a different method of voting more convenient. john: opponents a the question is whether a laws result in lower minority participation, justice alito asking if that is too broad. >> what concerns me is your position is going to make every voting rule vulnerable to attack

. people who are poor and less well educated on balance probably will find it more difficult to comply with just about every voting rule than people who are more affluent and have had the benefit of more education. john: the decision could affect more than just the arizona laws. it is the first case since the court struck down a key provision of the voting rights act in 2013. >> the supreme court is giving guidance to lower courts. section two of the voting rights act is sort of the last tool standing. the supreme court could make it easier to challenge laws that are potentially discriminatory. it could make it harder, or somewhere in between. it was hard to tell today. john: legislatures are working on election laws that could be

challenged in court. >> at this point, we can look at any state in the nation and find examples either in the courtroom or the state house where election reforms and policies are being taken into consideration. john: attorney carvin answered judge coney barrett's question about what is at stake. >> what is the interest of the arizona rnc in keeping out of precinct voter disqualification rules on the books? >> it puts us at a competitive disadvantage.politics john: decision is expected by summer. i am john yang. ♪ judy: the u.s. senate is considering a one point $9

trillion package for covid and economic related relief. one section provides assistance to families wi children by expanding tax credits. many families could receive a $3000 tax credit per child between the ages of six and 17 years old. parents with children younger than six could get $3600 a year. in a moment, yamiche alcindor takes a look at the details, but first, let's hear from parents who say they are looking for help. >> my name is karen smith, and i am in baltimore. i have three kids. they are 8, 6, and five. >> my name is joseph curry. i have two kids. we lived in west palm beach, florida. >> my name is melissa cunningham. i have one son, travis. >> we were getting by on a

couple dollars. >> i am the primary caregiver in the home, so i had to decide to leave my job and consult. my household income has been cut in half. it is already not where i would want it to be. >> prior to the pandemic, i would work days, and my son would go to afterschool wreck, and i could go to work. once the pandemic hit, those supports went away. i'm trying to manage working overnight and have my family member watch, while i am at work. that has been challenging. >> the biggest need for the family is the rent. the kids grow out of their clothes. unemployment, without the extra

you get, we would be homeless. >> finding places i can take all three kids is extremely difficult. >> i get some stuff for the six-year-old, and she's grateful. even if it's a dollar coloring book, she lights up like a light bulb, whi is the coolest thing , but i know she knows. she asked for a soccer ball the other day and the dollar general, and i couldn't buy it for her. >> i think that is what most people are focused on. this is not money going for shopping. this is money that will catch you up on bills. >> if you don't have family and friends who are well off to help, you are done.

you are literally just surviving. going to 300 or whatever for the kids, that would help. it's a good start is what it is for families. >> the toll on parents, you feel like you are failing at everything. you aren't 100% at work. your house is a mess. it's too much. >> it's very difficult for me to know i can't provide for my kids. i should take them to disney world or take them on any trip, and because of the pandemic, that is probably not going to happen for a long time, and that dwells on me. >> we need healthy, functioning parents to raise healthy,

functioning children. we are dealing with it at the democrat is creating stress. people are having difficulty making ends meet, and those things all have a lasting effect. we need to start this conversation so we can move to better outcomes for all families. yamiche: the new bill passed by democrats in the house is aimed at reducing childhood poverty. the current tax credit is capped at $2000 a year. this bill would expand that credit by $1000 or more. it phases out at higher income limits, and the expansion only lasts for a year. senator met romney is proposing his own plan. let's focus on all of this with our guest. she studies these issues. think you for being here. what is the state of childhood

poverty in the united states, and how has the pandemic impacted that? >> it's not good. in 2021, there are 14% of children living in poverty. that is roughly one in every seven children or 10 million total. this is a change from pre-pandemic when the rate was 11%. the pandemic not only revert -- increased poverty but reversed that trend. yamiche: what impact do you think president biden's plan could have on childhood poverty, especially when we look at black and brown communities who often face disproportionate levels. >> the way that the tax is structured right now, the lowest income families don't get the full benefit. if you don't work, you get no benefit. then you have to learn -- earn quite a bit of money.

your refund is capped at $1400 per child instead of $2000 per child. the biden proposal would extend the full value of the credit to families with children, even if they are low income. that means we could cut that number of children in poverty in half. yamiche: what do you see as the critical differences between the biden-harris plan and the plan put out by senator romney? >> one has support and one does not. in practical terms, we have a childhood tax credit. the irs is already in touch with all of these families. ssa is not in contact with families with children regularly. long term, a child allowance makes sense, but if you are trying to deliver benefits quickly, the irs has an advantage. yamiche: you said long-term it

might make sense, but i'm wonding if you could discuss the prospects of a long-term tax credit when we think about the critics of some of these proposals, some people saying they want to see a work requirement with senator rubio of florida being one of the critics. >> it's not clear to me that a childhood allowance has long-term feasibility, but it is true once you stick something in the tax system, it can be hard to remove it. if democrats are able to put this refundable child tax credit into law, it does seem likely that benefits will extend in additional years. yamiche: you might not think it is feasible. i wonder as we think about the impact this could have on black and brown children, could you talk more about the fact that

the wealth gap is growing and growing? >> one of the problems with the way the tax credit is structured is that it is tied to work. we know there is a legacy of black and brown families facing higher unemployment. that is particularly true now in this pandemic. if we want to reduce that gap, we have to focus on policies that deliver benefits to all children, not just children who have families who are working enough hours to get the ful benefits. yamiche: thank you so much, critical issues to talk about. ♪ judy: as countries across the globe scramble for covid-19 vaccines, india has access to

millions of doses with plans to vaccinate 300 million people by august, but hesitancy and skepticism are hampering efforts with the country reaching just 14illion people since the drive began a month and a half ago. our special correspondent reports. >> india, home to 1.3 billion people, has been devastated by covid-19. more than 11 million cases, 150,000 dead. the government says the actual outbreak might be much larger, reporting one in five people or 218 million indians already had a covid-19. it is the world's second worst country behind the united states. in january, india launched the world's largest immunization drive, but not everyone thinks it is worth the shot.

most evenings are spent convincing those who should get vaccinated. >> i am pretty sure that reactions and all of that will be minimal. whatever benefits it will offer against the covid virus versus the side effect of the vaccine itself, that needs to be looked at. >> his son, a covid-19 doctor who has been vaccinated since day one, has been trying to change his father's mind for weeks. 46 indians have died since getting vaccinated. the government says they are not linked to the vaccine. nevertheless, these reports made some people doubt safety. they say after he got his first

dose of the vaccine in the u.s.. he says his parents realized that some people sometimes can have adverse reactions to vaccines, but this is one of many factors making his father uncomfortable. >> this is what contributes to my dad being hesitant. i hope he will have changed his mind. >> beyond living room discussions, hesitancy is a problem across the coury. since india started administering the second dose two weeks ago, half of the front-line workers and 40% of health-care workers have not shown up. despite not reaching any essential workers, india says it will target 270 million senior citizens and those at risk. this vaccination center is ready to give people shots every day. frontline sanitation workers say

they have to battle resistance. she is now eligible to get the vaccine free of cost. neighborhoods have been easy targets for the virus. despite the threat of covid-19, her family is unsure about the benefits of the vaccine. >> how did it go? >> it was fine, like any other injection. >> she says she spent days trying to convince her own mother that the vaccine is safe. >> my mother didn't want me to get vaccinated at all. people told her people can die after getting the shot or i can get really sick and have to be hospitalized. >> indians can't choose which vaccine they will get.

there are millions of these tiny vials at india's disposal. other centers have deployed covaxin. prime minister modi has repeatedly defended this decision and on monday chose to get vaccinated with covaxin instead of the oxford astrazeneca shop. >> scientists approved the vaccines after being sure of their impact. don't pay heed to rumors. >> experts claim the hasty approval and lack of transparency about vaccines is fueling hesitancy, and they say daily cases falling to less than 15,000 has led to a false sense of complacency. >> there is the misconception that herd immunity has already arrived, and not only is the worst behind us, but the threat is vanishing. >> india has managed to reach

just 4% of the total indians so far with better turnout at rural centers than urban once. sanjar lives with 11 family members on the outskirts of mumbai. sanitation worker in the police department, he says he is happy to be the first in his village to get the jab even if it means traveling a great distance to get to the closest vaccination center. >> once i get the vaccine, i don't have to worry anymore. i can travel safely. i don't have to accidentally worry about infecting my family. >> while two thirds of the population lives in rural india, it is in crowded cities where public health experts say the virus is the biggest threat and where social distancing norms are no longer being strictly followed. with cases surging again, experts are calling for a faster rollout of the vaccines. india is in a unique position

because of its pharmaceutical injury. not only has it been able to manufacture enough to meet its own requirements, but also export millions of doses to more than 20 countries in latin america, africa, the middle east, and southeast asia. the government says as a responsible ally, india wants to help the world fight covid-19 even as it fights to vaccinate its own population. sanjay says the government should let anyone who is willing to get the vaccine take the shot. he said he and his entire family would be more than willing to lead the way. judy: american civil-rights activist and corporate pioneer vernon jordan has died. a family statement said he

passed monday night in washington. for decades, he was a leading advocate for black americans and a mentor to those who came after him. >> good morning. judy: april 2017, vernon jordan speaks at howard university reflecting on the life that took him from civil rights lawyer to corporate america to presidential confidant. >> it is tempting to believe that our problems are particular, and that our situation is unprecedented. i've come to say to you, we've been here before. our journey also teaches us that endurance is not enough. listen, we do not sing we shall endure. we sing, we shall overcome. judy: jordan's journey began in

a segregated public housing project in atlanta. , and from there, to depaul university in indiana, then to howard law school where he was cap divided -- captivated by civil rights lawyers, and upon gruation, back to atlanta. >> i came home out of some sense of mission. >> jordan was part of the legal team that helped desegregate the university of georgia. he escorted the schools first two black students past a hostile crowd on their first day. >> vernon was very serious and determined. he was focused on his mission. judy: he also worked on voter registration drives across the south before assuming leadership of the united negro college

fund. in 1971, he moved to the national urban league where he served as president for 10 years. >> democracy, justice, and equality shall not exist for white folks only. judy: he survived an assassination attempt in fort wayne, indiana. the next year, he moved to a prominent washington law firm. it proved groundbreaking. >> vernon over here is in corporate america making the revolution. >> fern and served on the boards of fortune 500 companies and men toward younger african-americans, but he also stayed involved in national politics and was especially close to president bill clinton as an informal advisor. >> i never saw him turn down an

opportunity to try to help a young person who needed help, including to give advice. judy: during the clinton impeachment, jordan denied allegations he helped monica lewinsky find a job to buy her silence about her affair with the president. in later years, he remained active in corporate and political life and a confid a of presidentn clinton and obama. tto further explore his legacy from civil-rights to politics to business, charlotte hunter golf is "newshour"'s special correspondent, and vernon jordan did escort her 60 years ago when she desegregated the university of georgia. ursula burns is a senior advisor at tenney and, a consulting firm. she previously served as ceo of xerox. charlene a hunr gault, you've

known vernon jordan for so many years. you've made a history together. give us a glimpse of him when you first met hi >> it's funny because he treated me like a little kid. he wasn't that much older than me, but he was a very serious legal assistant to consul smartly -- constance molly who were lead lawyers in the case. i just remember that he was focused. he was the youngest lawyer involved in the case, but they use to send him down to athens, georgia to try and find someone who had applied to the university of georgia at the same time i had a, had the same credentials, yet got in and i didn't.

he and a bunch of assistants went through thousands of documents, and he finally was the one who found the critical document. judy: he did make the transition. he went on to be involved in voting rights and civil-rights, and then he made the transition to the private sector. he had a presence about him that could make him fit in in any setting. how do you explain that? ursula: he was so comfortable and who he was. so consistent, so confident in his own skin that he literally floated into places and presented vernon jordan, and it was always the same. in a suit, slacks, a polo shirt, he's like a big oak tree who put

himself around you. i met him in the corporate space, and i was thinking about it. he was not a political person. he was not a legal person or finance person. he was all of them. i saw him operate in all of those fears without a break. he was unbelievably consistent and unbelievably strong. judy: and he was seen in the black community as somebody who was enormously successful, had done what he had done for voting rights, civil-rights, and stood out as a symbol. charlayne: i would encourage people to read his book "vernon can read." he goes into great detail about how he developed to that armor. it was his mother who was this

wonderful person who helped to mold him. he was first class, and she guided him even when were waiting on white people. she taught him, you stand on the shoulders of giants, and it was those lessons he passed along to the younger generation. you stand on the shoulders of giants, and you can be a giant if you believe in yourself. judy: pick up on what she said if you would. as a mentor to so many, how did he do that?

ursula: he was consistent and clear that to whom much was given, much is expected. literally every important moment in my life, my daughter's birth, important moments in my career, my husband's eventual death, every single thing in my life from the time that i met him was vernon was there, every important moment. how do you do that? how do you be so complete a friend? he was present. he was serious about friendship. he was serious about providing me and people like me shoulders to stand on. he was serious about having the expectation.

this is the most important person. he did it so gracefully and so seamlessly that i keep wondering, how do you do this so well, so easily? i try my best to emulate him because he is the perfect example of a friend. >> he did it by faith. that is how he did everything ursula just described. that's how i am keeping my sorrow in check. i've heard him preach enough from various pulpits on various occasions about the great meeting in the promised land, and i really do believe that he is a happy camper in the great camp meeting. judy: if there was a legacy, what is the legacy?

urla: total giving of oneself to other people, literally without hesitation. if he grabbed on to you were his , and he took care of you. he gave you assunce to keep pushing forward. he believed that there was better to come. he was probably the best friend i've ever had in my life. i will miss him. judy: he was a friend to so many people. ursula burns, charlayne hunter gault, thank you so much. vernon jordan, larger-than-life. we will be back shortly with the call for how poetry can ease isolation, but first, take a moment to hear from your local pbs station.

judy: in this time of uncertainty and isolation, poet tess taylor shares her humble opinion that turning to verse can provide solace. her recent book is "rift zone," and this essay is part of our canvas series. >> sharing breath with people outside our immediate family is a big no-no these days, and as a result, a lot of us are lonely. i mean, what meaningful human activity doesn't require sharing breath? offering a hug, singing in a church choir, laughing with a friend, seeing a play. try spending some time each day with a poem. don't worry too much about what anything means at first. instead just tried to find the poem speaking inside of you. i have a friend who says encountering a poem is like being detained by an interesting party guest as it it inaugurates a fascinating conversation. here is gwendolyn brooks' poem,

my dreams, my works must wait until after hell, i hold my hon he and store my bread in little jars and cinets of my will. i label clearly each latch and lid. i am very hungry. i am incomplete. who is speaking here? what kind of narrator is this? the charged rhyme signals someone whose life has been contained and detained too long, and i also hear the poem give voice to my own pent-up feelings. i feel differently companioned by elizabeth bishop's poem "at the fish houses," which begins, although it is a cold evening down by one of the fish houses, an old man sits netting, his net in the grooming almost invisible, a dark purple brown, and his shuttle worn and polished.

this poem has the cadence of slow, neighborly storytelling. speaking the poem, i feel my breath grow even, tipping gently like the sea at dusk. the poem helps me slow down, become more deliberate. herein lies the magic of a poem. yes, another person wrote it, but when you jump inside the poem's rhythms, you become the poem's instrument. at a time when we are cut off from other people, poems allow this conversational intimacy. we inhabit them. they inhabit us, and in the process, we can feel larger, more awake, more social. stephanie: that's the "newshour" for tonight. i'm stephanie sy. have a good evening. >> major funding for the pbs "newshour" has been provided by -- ♪ >> consumer cellular.

johnson & johnson. bnsf railway. carnegie corporation of new york supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement, and the advancement of international peace and security. 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 by viewers like you. thank you. this is pbs "newshour" west from weta studios in washington and

from our bureau at arizona state university.

- [narrator] expxplore new worlds and new ideas through programs like this, made available for everyone through contributions to your pbstation from viewers like you. thank you. - hello i'm paula kerger, president of pbs. our goal in public television is to bring you a wide array of perspectives and voices in history, science and the arts. today we are so pleased to present henry louis gates jr. uncovering america which celebrates one of our most impactful historians. professor gates is an award winning filmmaker, literary scholar, journalist and cultural critic who helps us discover our shared history by revealing surprising connections across time and place. this insightful look at an extraordinary man is made possible because of your financial support. thank you so much. - professor gates, well he's an amazing, amazing guy.