captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight: covid relief. the battle begins in the u.s. senate over president biden's nearly $2 trillion coronavirus relief package. then, one on one. secretary of state tony blinken explains why u.s. foreign policy must work to improve the lives of americans at home. and, the price of an education. we explore ideas for tackling the financial burden of student loans. >> people who tend to owe this debt are people who have generational disadvantage. it creates a modern-day sharecropper when your income has to be allocated to paying your previous debts forever. >> woodruff: all that and more,

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>> woodruff: there were a number of threats highlighted on capitol hill today. in the u.s. senate, the economic crisis takes center stage, as debate begins on how to provide relief and ease the pain for millions of americans. there were also warnings about the possibility of new violence this week, while security officials raid new questions about what went wrong on january 6. to help walk us through the latest, our congressional correspondent lisa desjardin and our foreign affairs correspondent, nick schifrin. hello to both of you, and lisa, to you first, this massive covid relief bill, it is now in the senate. tell us the latest. >> reporter: well, judy, we're expecting this to start moving tomorrow, now. the senate is waiting for the final price tag from the congressional budget office before it can move ahead through its budget process. there was news today. democrats made a deal with themselves.

moderates were concern this bill went too far and there's now an agreement to shave down the number of americans who would get those $1,400 direct payment checks. this agreement would mean that americans making up to $75,000 would get the full check. but now it would phase out and only those kind of get a limited amount up to $80,000 instead of the upper $100,000, and there's also a similar limit for families. so that deal is moving along, and we think we're going to see probably final votes in the senate in the next two, three days. >> woodruff: so, li, important time for that legislation, but there's also, separately, this threat, as we mentioned, hanging over the capitol, worry about violence. tomorrow, specifically. what is that all about? >> reporter: that's right. there has been word from capitol police today. i want to show an alert that the capitol police sent out today. they said, we have obtained

intelligence that shows a possible plot to breach the capitol by an identified militia group thursday march 4th. the f.b.i. said it sent out an alert. we don't know the extent of this intelligence, but after jan january 6, capitol officials are more transparent and aggressive. we know there's a very large fence around the capitol for many blocks and national guard troops there that were not there before, also. in addition tonight, the house of representatives has adjourned early for the week -- they haven't adjourned yet but are moving up business so they will adjourn later tonight. they were planning to vote tomorrow and, instead, will move their business till tonight. they say that's because they can do it, but also my sources say this is part to do with the march 4 threat. the senate, as i said, will be in session tomorrow. i think this is capitol police and others being more cautious than they were ahead of

january 6. we don't expect large crowds but apparently there is some kind of intelligence about a march 4 threat connected to the rumors it is an inauguration day because march 4 was the first inauguration day for the first 150 years or so of this country, and it is no longer. >> woodruff: those are just rumors, but they are out there, and all of this is concerning. separately, nick, today on capitol hill, you had the head of the d.c. national guard alongside a department of defense official testifying about the military response on january 6. what did we learn from that? >> the focus was on a fateful and crucial three-hour delay. the pentagon first received a request for the d.c. national guard at 1:34 p.m. from d.c. mayor murial bowser, but the acting secretary of defense chris miller did not approve that request until 4:32 p.m., that is three hours later.

senators and others accuse the pentagon of responding too slowly and handcuffing the d.c. national guard. to understand that, take a listen to general william walker describing the urgent request from compleef chief stephen sund and to rob portman pointing out how a pentagon memo before january 6 had already slowed that request down. >> chief sund, his voice cracking with emotion, indicated that there was a dire emergency at the capitol, and he requested the immediate assistance of as many available national guardsmen that i could muster. >> the january 5 letter required the secretary of the army to approve the movement of deployed guardsmen from one traffic control point to another. did you find that unusual? >> 19 years, i never had that before happen. >> reporter: senators repeatedly ask the senior dod official why the pentagon handcuffed the d.c. national guard and responded so slowly.

the official admitted what many senior officials admitted to me at the time, that the military didn't want to get a repeat or didn't want to get dragged into suppressing protests as it did back in june when the protests were black lives matter protestos. the military also points out the d.c. national guard simply isn't designed to respond so quickly. but other senators point out, judy, the military did get dragged into the june protests by trump's detractors, but stayed away somehow when the protestors were pro-trump. >> woodruff: and in connection with all this, nick, there were questions today about extremism inside the u.s. military, and the defense department issued a report about that today. tell us about that. >> reporter: yeah, the pentagon made public this report and it made some disturbing admissions. it admits dod is facing a threat from domestic extremists,

quote individuals with extremist affiliations are a concern to u.s. national security and white supremacy and white nationalism pose a threat to good order and discipline within the military. the report claims military has been effective at streaming extreme ideology but the pentagon says they never screened enough to know whether it has a problem and used outside investigators because the being does not have its own data on this. defense secretary lloyd austin said this is a priority and ordered the services to stand down so commanders could dulses extremism and collect intelligence. but senior intelligence officials add might have to the services have failed to tackle this problem in the past. >> woodruff: a lot going on in washington today. thank you both for keeping us yupto date. nick schifrin, lisa desjardins,

thank you. >> woodruff: in the day's other news, president biden blasted state officials who are loosening covid restrictions. republican governors in texas and mississippi lifted mask mandates on tuesday. at the white house, mr. biden said, it is a big mistake. we are on the cusp of being able to fundamentally change the nature of this disease because the way in which we're able to get vaccines in people's arms. and the last thing-- the last thing we need, is a neanderthal thinking that in the meantime, "everything is fine, take off your mask, forget it." it still matters. >> woodruff: mississippi governor tate reeves fired back in a tweet that said, "we should trust americans, not insult them." the u.s. house of representatives moved this

evening to pass some of the biggest election changes in decades. democrats said the bill would open up voting, reform campaign finance, and curb political gerrymandering. republicans charged that it would fuel corruption. they debated much of the day. >> we should be defending everybody's right to vote, everybody's right to participate against all the schemes to undermine voting rights. and we should make sure that everybody knows who is putting money into the political system. >> election laws should make it easy to vote and hard to cheat. but this bill would not only make it easy to cheat, but it would effectively make it legal to cheat. at a time when half of americans lost confidence in the integrity of our elections, this bill will only drive distrust and division higher. >> woodruff: in the senate, the legislation would need 60 votes to overcome a republican filibuster. the senate finance committee deadlocked along party lines today on xavier becerra's nomination for secretary of

health and human services. republicans objected to his defense of abortion rights, but he is still expected to be confirmed by the full senate. last night, neera tanden withdrew as nominee for budget chief. she faced opsition in both parties over scathing comments about lawmakers. in myanmar, local reports say at least 34 protesters were shot dead, as security forces stepped up a violent crackdown. demonstrators in yangon set off fire extinguishers and smoke grenades for cover. on sunday, 18 protesters were killed in the city. rockets struck a base in western iraq today, and the pentagon says one american contractor died of a heart attack. the rockets targeted an installation in anbar province that houses u.s. and coalition troops. the pentagon said it would not shy away from retaliating, once it determines who staged the attack.

>> we're going to let the investigation go. we're going to see where that takes us, and if there is a need to further respond, we'll do that, as i've said, in a manner of-- of our own choosing. >> woodruff: last week, a u.s. air raid hit iranian-backed fighters in the region, in response to a previous attack. back in this country, the u.s. border patrol now says 13 people who died in a california highway crash had just been smuggled in from mexico. all told, 44 migrants crammed into two large s.u.v.s came through a hole cut in the border fence early tuesday. one of the vehicles was hit by a tractor-trailer a short time lat. new york governor andrew cuomo said today he will not resign over allegations that he sexually harassed three women-- but he issued a new apology. in albany, cuomo said he never meant to offend anyone, and has learned an important lesson.

>> i now understand that i acted in a way that made people feel uncomfortable. it was unintential and i truly and deeply apologize for it. >> woodruff: the democratic governor also said that he will fully cooperate with an investigation by the state attorney general. the texas utilities commission ordered cuts today to sky-high power fees from last month's winter storm emergency. that brought relief for power providers, but there was no vote on shielding consumers from the price hikes. meanwhile, much of jackson, mississippi's water supply remained out of action after bitter cold severely damaged the system. facebook says it will lift a ban on political and social-issue ads, effective tomorrow. the company imposed the ban after last year's presidential

election. it said it wanted to block the spread of misinformation. and on wall street, new worries about interest rates and inflation hit tech stocks, and the broader market. the dow jones industrial average lost 121 points to close at 31,270. the nasdaq fell 361 points-- more than 2.5%-- and the s&p 500 slipped 50 points. still to come on the newshour: how the u.s. is redefining its image abroad, with secretary of state antony blinken. why millions of americans remain hesitant to receive the covid vaccine. how to ease the financial burden of student loan debt. and, much more.

>> woodruff: in his first speech as secretary of state, antony blinken today unveiled the biden administration's top foreign policy priorities. at the top of that list? containing covid-19. and he made a point of making foreign policy part of domestic policy. and secretary blinken joins us now. secretary of state tony blinken, welcome to the "newshour". thank you very much for joining us. the world looks a lot more complicated today, i think it's fair to say, than it did just a few months ago. there are problems bubbling up just about everywhere, and in your statement today, you made a clear focus on american workers right here at home. explain how that connects to what the u.s. challenges are around the world. >> first, judy, it's great to be with you, thank you so much for having me.

what i tried to do today is to really lay out the president's priority that our foreign policy has to have the american people first and foremost in mind and he's basically asked us to make sure, in anything we're doing around the world, the first question we ask ourselves is how is this going to make life a bitle more better, more secure, more prosperous, more hopeful for our fellow citizens, and, of course, the economic aspect is critical to that. but this has to be a foreign policy grounded in making a real difference in the lives of americans. that's the fst question we ask ourselves. >> woodruff: you said today that the first priority has to be around covid 19, making sure that the world addresses it. but as we know, the country where it originated, china, has not been transparent and, right now, china is taking the lead in supplying vaccines to poorer countries. so i know many people are looking at this and wondering if

the u.s. is seeding its leadership in covid to -- creeing its leadership in covid to china which your administration is calling the chief threat to the united states in the coming years. >> well, you're right, judy, that china has not been fully and effectively transparent either at the start of this crisis when it mattered most or even today, as investigations are going forward trying to get to the bottom of what happened. it is vitally important that we see real transparency, real access from international experts where it counts, we see real information sharing, not just with regard to the past but critically going forward to make sure we avoid another pandemic in the future. we and the united states is leaning in dealing on both at home where we're making very significant progress -- you heard the president address that just yesterday -- but also around the world, we've joined this covax arrangement, we're contributing billions of dollars to creating greater access to

vaccines, and i think, as the months go on and as we vaccinate our own people and make sure every american is protected, we'll also be engaged in helping the world get vaccinated because at the end to have the day we will not be fully secure until the world is vaccinated, not just americans. >> woodruff: another china question, mr. secretary. the u.s. has said china is guilty of genocide when it comes to the uighur minority polation in that country. if that's the case, what should the penalty be? china denies it, but what should the penalty be for that? >> when it comes to specific issues like the uighurs, i think there are a number of things we can and should be focused on. we have to make sure products and technology exported to china whether by us or anyone else can't be used for repressing their minority populations. similarly, if products are made as a result of forced labor including from shin jing, we

shouldn't be buying those and getting other countries to do the same, and we should make sure the world is speaking out in one voice to opposition to what's happened. >> woodruff: so much to ask you about, mr. secretary. i'm going to try to fly through several more parts of the world. but iran is next. as you know, just a few days after the united states launched an attack on iranian-backed militias in syria because of their attack on u.s. forces galessed in iraq, iranian-backed militias have again today fired a rocket attack on u.s. forces at a base in iraq, another attack by them. what should the penalty be for iran? how should they pay the price for this? >> well, gulled, we've made very clear, president biden's made very clear, that his first and most important obligation is to protect the lives and safety of

americans as well as our partners, and in the case of the earlier attacks, the fers thing we did -- the first thing we did was to make sure we understood who was responsible, and that took some time, and then we worked very closely with our iraqi partners to make that determination, and then to take clear action to demonstrate these things could not go forward with impunity. now you're right, we have another attack in the last 24 hours. the first thing we have to do is get to the bottom of it and find out to the best of our ability who is responsible, and i think the president has been very clear that we will take appropriate action in a place and at the time of our choosing. >> woodruff: will that have any bearing on the attempt by the united states to get iran back to the negotiating table when it comes to the iran nuclear talks, and is the u.s. prepared to relieve iran of some sanctions in order to get them back? >> so with regard to the nuclear talks, when we pulled out of the

nuclear agreement, the so-called j.c.p.o.a., that it put iran's nuclear program in a box. iran started to break out from that box, and it is now in a position where it is closer to having the ability to produce fissile material for a nuclear weapon on short order, in a matter of months. the agreement had phed it past a year. so we have real interest in trying to put iran back in the box and diplomacy is the way to do it. we made clear the path to diplomacy is of. the european union, one to have the parties to the original agreement, invited all our other parties -- european partners, russia, china, iran and us -- to come to start to talk about the possible return to the nuclear agreement. we said yes, iran said no. we'll see what they do going forward. we have been clear that the path to diplomacy is open, the ball is in iran's court to decide if it agrees. >> woodruff: but yes or no, the u.s. considering lifting

sanctions? >> we have been very clear that iran has to come back into compliance with its obligation under the nuclear agreement and, if it does, we'll do the same thing, and that would involve, if they do it, some sanctions relief. but again, we're a long ways away from that. unfortunately, iran is moving in the wrong direction. it continues to take steps to lift the various constraints of the agreement and is making its program more, not less dangerous. first and foremost, we want to see iran come back into compliance with is obligations. >> woodruff: saudi arabia, the u.s. intelligence report issued a few days ago putting responsibility on the crown prince mohammed bin salman for authorizing, directing the killing of, the murledder of journalist jamal khashoggi. the administration halls imposed sanctions but not o on the crown

prince himself. president biden said during the campaign that saudi arabia would be a pariah, based on what happened. has he blinked on this? >> let's look at what we did. first of all, as you noted, we put out a report that was not written yesterday, it's been there for well over a year. we released it, and that made clear, as you said, the responsibility for the heinous murder of mr. khashoggi. obviously, this has been reported before, it's not that there were any very new facts in there that hadn't been reported, but it makes a big difference when that comes out with the full empray mad of the united states government sz behind it. that's important. we sanctioned some of the people directly involved in the killing of mr. khashoggi, and critically we also denied visas to about 76 saudis also involved. and maybe most important, going

forward -- because as much as this is about accountability for the past, it's trying to do everything we can to make sure this never happens in the future khashoggi ban that basically says, at the direction of a foreign government, if an individual does anything to harass, surveil or harm a political opponent of that country in the united states, that person will not set foot in our country, and that applies not just to saudi arabia, it applies to the entire world. so i think there are clear, demonthstive actions that we've taken thatot only shed a light on what happened in the past but put us in a stronger position going forward to prevent it from ever happening again. >> woodruff: but when you combine that, however, with not holding him personally responsible, with not imposing sanctions against russia's president vladimir putin for the poisoning and the imprisoning again of the lead opposition

leaderra licksy navalny -- alexei navalny, does that send a signal the u.s. is waffling when it comes to abusing human rights, that human rights are not the priority that this administration says they are? >> whether we like it or not, we don't choose saudi arabia's leaders, they do, and the crown prince is likely to be in a position of leadership for years, decades to come. we've gone back to clear regular order. the president engaged with the king, and various cabinet sectors have engaged with their counterparts. we deal, unfortunately, every single day with leaders of countries who are responsible for actions we find either objectionable or abhorrent, whether it's vladimir putin, whher it's xi jinping, whether it's any others on a lon list of peopli could name. but we find ways to deal with them, and the question i think we have to ask ourselves -- and we did ask ourselves -- is in

terms of advancing not just our interests but our values, are we better off rupturing the relationship with saudi arabia or recalibrating it, as we did. in terms of ending the war in yemen, are we better off having recalibrating the relationship or rupturing it? i think the answer is clear. >> woodruff: final question, afghanistan. as you know the u.s. is scheduled to pull troops finally out of that country after 20 years of war in less than 60 days. today the white house made public what it calls its interim national security strategic guidance document which says amongout other things t united states should not and will not engage in forever wars that have cost thousands of lives and trillions of dollars. we'll work to responsibly end america's longest war in afghanistan while ensuring that that country does not again become a safe haven for terrorist attacks against the united states. what does that mean exactly in terms of keeping troops there? >> well, that's exactly what

we're looking at now, and we haven't made any decisions about the may 1 deadline to withdraw the remaining roughly 2,500 troops that are in afghanistan, as well as, of course, partner troops, n.a.t.o. forms that are there. we're in very close consultation with our n.a.t.o. allies, with all of the countries in the region, and what we're looking at very carefully is what further progress can and must be made on the agreements that, for example, we reached with the taliban under the previous vegas and the taliban and the -- previous administration and the taliban and the government of afghanistan are working on to see if conditions could be in place for a durable peace. all of those things are what we're looking at. we're making the effort to advance them, but right now we're reviewing the question of our troop presence and we're doing it in full consultation coordination with our allies. >> woodruff: secretary of

state tony blinken with a very full plate. thank you. >> thanks, judy. >> woodruff: thank you so much for joining us. >> great to be with you. thank you. >> woodruff: although the u.s. should have enough vaccine for all adults by the end of may, it may take longer to inoculate enough americans to provide adequate protection. there are many reasons for that. but key among them? lingering concerns and skepticism about the vaccine. amna nawaz picks the story up from here. >> reporter: that's right, judy, we put out a call out to our viewers asking the questions they have about the covid 19 vaccine. we're going to try to get to as many of them as possible, and to help us do that we're joined by dr. kimberly manning, professor of medicine at emory university where she's also associate vice chair of diversity, equity and inclusion and based at grady

hospital in atlanta, georgia. dr. manning, thank you so much for being here. >> thanks for having me. >> reporter: so let's jump to some of these questions. before we do, there has been news in the last day i want to get your reaction to. this was a decision yesterday by tes governor greg abbott to lift the statewide mask mandate and reopen businesses 100%. what's your reaction to that? >> well, i think my reaction to that is, of course, in the context of who i am as a physician who works at a safety net hospital in an urban area, also a person who's black and who is among the group that has been most disproportionately impacted or among the groups that have been most disproportionality impacted by covid 19, and it makes me feel sad to imagine that, with the new variants that are now circulating and how much more contagious they can be, i'm concerned that more people will become sick and people need to get back to work, but people need toive, and it is really a

tough space to be in, but i think the hard right, you know, is to continue to protect people's health, and that is through wearing masks. >> reporter: of course we'll follow the news in texas for weeks to come. i'm sure you won't be surprised to learn there were a lot of questions, a lot centered around trust. we're hearing this question more than any other. why should i trust a vaccine that was produced so quickly. a lot of people are saying, look, there are other viruses, things like h.i.v. that we don't have a vaccine to. why should i trust this one? what do you say to that? >> the first thing i do is acknowledge that. people have every right to be concerned about sort of the big system, if you will. if the concern is about how fast the vaccine was developed, i think we should first say you're right, most vaccines are developed much more slowly than this. however, we have to recognize that in this pandemic this virus was moving quickly and a lot of the technology, or, say, the

mrna vaccines were already underway, already happening, and this pandemic presented an opportunity to move things along. no important scientific steps were skipped. people were right, it was quick, but asking your questions from reputable sources i think is a good place to start. >> reporter: you mentioned mrna technology, we're getting a lot of questions about the details. let's unpack those. a lot of people are asking about the side effects, somef the questions about what the vaccine actually does to your body. michael from chicago, 62 years old, asks does the vaccine trigger the likelihood of any other auto immune disease, others are wondering if the vaccine changes your dna. what do we know about these? >> there are different types of antibodies and it does not trigger an auto immune uptick, if you will, but i can understand the concern, and i do think it's important to start by acknowledging people's real, true concerns. let me tell you a little bit

about how the vaccine works. the vaccine is developed to create an antibody response to the spike protein. so the mrna is just a little shippette of the genetic code on the mrna code for that spike protein. so what does that mean? it means that, when you get the vaccine, it's kind of wrapped up in this lipped layer that comes into your cell, and when that little piece of mrna comes into your cell, it doesn't go into your nucleus or rewrite your genetic information, but it's like a little contractor that comes out and says okay, let me give some instructions and the instructions are let's make spike protein. so your body makes the spike protein, not the whole virus, and then your body recognizes that as foreign and you develop an immune response, and that immune response gets saved up and stored and hangs out and waits so that, if you get actual covid infection, it recognizes

that spike protein on the outside, and that's what allows your body to kind of swarnl in and take care of -- swarm in and take care of it. so it's not rewriting your dna, i can certainly see how some think that, but the vaccines come in at the mrna level and does not rewrite who you are. >> reporter: questions about how effective is the vaccine, how long is it effective for, will we need a booster every year, do we have answers to these questions yet? >> i wish we did. the truth is we don't know. one of our experts i just heard say in a news byte today really talking about how we're really in a race between these variants and getting people vaccinated. so as an example, when you think about how people need toet a flu vaccine every year, that is because the flu, it mutates every year. the only way that a virus can mutate is if it has a live host, and, so, as this infecti

continues to spread, that creates more opportunities for it to mutate. so if we find that the covid virus has mutated so much such that our vaccines are not effective, then, yeah, we would need to develop a new vaccine and you would have to get revaccinated. as far as boosters go, we really don't have that data yet. as we know, you know, these were developed fairly recently. >> one of the things we do know, of course, is that the pandemic has disproportionately affected a number of communities, black, latino and native americans in particular, and we have a number of questions about the inequitable distribution of vaccines. kaye in kansas wants to know when that will change. if our library book mobile can bring books to our area, why can't we have a vaccine mobile to bring vaccines to us? >> we are all public health

people and i love these ideas and concerns that are being raised. i think they're absolutely right and i'm in full agreement with. i think one of the exciting pieces to bring to this is that vaccine development and storage has been a real speed breaker, if you will, for vaccine distribution, i do think that's one piece of it. as we know, we now have emergency use authorization for the johnson & johnson vaccine, which will be easier to store, easier to make, and will likely have larger numbers of that vaccine. so i do think things will start to swing upward from that standpoint. but, yeah, as far as this disease goes and vaccine distribution, it just really uncovers and brings into relief the health disparities that we have been talking about for years now, right. covid really brought that to light and i think this vaccine distribution process does that as well. >> reporter: folks certainly have a lot of questions and concerns.

dr. kimberly manning, i cannot thank you enough for coming to address them. hope you will come back and answer more. thank you for your time. >> thank you. > woodruff: as washington debates how to provide economic aid during the pandemic, many say one critical component should be part of future deals: forgiving student debt. but deteining how much could or should be forgiven is a complicated question. paul solman looks at the pressure to make changes for our series, "making sense." >> reporter: scott rennie earned a bachelors and a masters degree. he's been paying ever since. >> in 2006, i had $80,000 of student loan debt. 2021, i've never missed a student loan payment. my credit is over 800. and i still owe $68,000. >> reporter: a dozen years after graduation, syeeduh shabozz is

even deeper in the hole. >> i have upwards of $100,000 in debt at this point. >> reporter: just two of the almost 45 million americans saddled with student loan debt, $1.7 trillion worth, more than double what's owed on credit cards, with an average load of $28,000. >> we shouldn't have to take out so much money to fund an education, you know, my generation as millennials, and the generation before and generations after us, we were told that the only way to get ahead and to make a name for ourselves and to have a life was to go to college. >> reporter: last march, congress put a freeze on student loan payments, extended by president trump to december and president biden through next fall. but, some democrats in congress are pushing for $50,000 in peenrelief. senator elizabeth warren: >> canceling student loan debt is the single most effective executive action that president biden can take to kickstart this economy.

>> reporter: president biden, however, supports a lower amount. >> i'm prepared to write off the $10,000 debt, but not $50,000. >> reporter: scott rennie's four-year and advanced degrees in environmental education earned him a pittance. >> i've never been able to find a full-time job with my master's degree in my field. i've never had it in 15 years. >> reporter: he's led nature tours, taught english in china, making sure students knew how to >> professor asome!acher... >> reporter: ...and he made music. ♪ ♪ ♪ his job now? handyman. last year, he earned about $27,000. >> so with my advanced degree, i-- i go to people's houses and i fix things for them. it's very honest work, and i--

but it's not what i went to school for. it's not what i want to be doing. it's what i do. it's what i can do to survive. >> reporter: rennie thought he had scrounged up enough to buy land to run student outdoor programs on, but... >> reporter: despite having 30% down, despite having a credit score over 800, my bank and two other lenders said no. and they said no to me because of my student loan debt, because of my debt-to-income ratio. that was the point where i decided, no more, i'm done. ♪ we're overeducated and undercapitalized ♪ i've forgotten what it's like not to be poor ♪ >> reporter: rennie is part of a protest organized by "the debt collective." >> have no fear, debt collective is here! >> reporter: rennie and fellow travelers like "debt mom" have pledged to stop paying, period. they're part of a group founded a decade ago during "occupy wall street." >> reporter: freelance writer shabozz shares a 450-square-foot apartment with her seven-year- old son and her partner, who's unemployed and also has student debt. where are you talking to me from?

>> i am in my bathroom! thanks to the pandemic, my son is home all the time, and so this is the only quietlace i can do interviews. >> reporter: shabozz can't afford anything bigger. since graduating into the recession of '08-'09, she's only had low-wage jobs. >> and so all of my money goes to just keeping a roof over our heads, making sure my son has everything that he needs as he grows. >> reporter: but, not paying off her student loans means they're still accruing interest. the exact total? she doesn't know. >> i stopped looking because i know there's nothing i can do about it, and i already have enough anxiety over it, that if i knew, i would just have even more anxiety over it. >> reporter: policy professor naomi zoedee argues that debt is penalizing shabozz, and millions like her, for going to college. >> it's the federal government that holds the vast majority of the student loan debt. it reaches into people's bank

accounts every month, taking a median $200, on average, $400. >> reporter: but the people who took on the debt took it on knowingly, willingly. >> well, so, yes, this is true largely because an education is kind of necessary to succeeding in the society that we've built. >> reporter: two-thirds of student debtors are women, who also face a gender wage gap that makes it harder to pay off their loans. and, says zoedee, black grads owe more than their white classmates. 12 years after graduation, almost half owe more than they'd borrowed. >> it's people who tend to owe this debt are people who have generational disadvantage. they're going to carry the greatest burden. it creates a modern-day sharecropper when your income has to be allocated to paying your previous debts forever. >> reporter: there is another side to this, however: the biggest beneficiaries of student debt forgiveness would be relatively higher earners. economist constantine yonellis. >> people who go to college end up earning more than those who

don't go to college. people who end up going to graduate or professional school, earn more than people who just got a bachelor's degree, so people who borrow more tend to earn more. >> reporter: and save more, and do less to boost the economy. >> if we gave more of that money to very poor people, say, high school dropouts, they're much more likely to spend that money than doctors and lawyers and other high-income people. >> reporter: yonellis thinks that income-driven repayment plans better target borrowers who need help. >> these are plans in which borrowers pay 10% or 15% of their income, above 150% of the poverty line. and then after 20 or 25 years, depending on the specific type of plan, remaining debt gets forgiven. >> reporter: but how about students who attended for-profit schools? they've taken on an average $39,000 in debt, and nearly half default within 12 years. pre-pandemic, new york

university's sabrina howell described their plight. >> lower graduation rates, lower loan repayment rates, and it's important to note that federally guaranteed student loans are not discharged in bankruptcy. so, wages can be garnished indefinitely if the student doesn't repay. >> reporter: so for them, and for syeeduh shuhbozz at least, the $10,000 in student debt forgiveness promoted by president biden wouldn't do much. >> that would not even scratch the surface for me. >> reporter: nor would it stifle scott rennie's protest. >> that's not good enough, you know. thanks, joe. thanks, mr. president. but it's not enough. we need full cancellation of this debt. >> reporter: which is-- and please forgive us for so obviously writing to the footage-- the song scott rennie and his friends promise to keep singing for quite awhile. for the pbs newshour, paul solman.

>> woodruff: stay with us. we'll be back shortly with dolly paon's new version of an old classic that's meant to inspire us all to get the vaccine. but first, take a moment to hear from your local pbs station. it's a chance to offer your support, which helps keep programs like ours on the air. >> woodruff: for those stations staying with us-- the pandemic has transformed how we interact with food, from the economic hit on restaurants closing their kitchens, to many of us being forced to cook more at home. black chefs and cuisine are often overlooked, but they serve a significant role in shaping our culinary culture. jeffrey brown speaks with chef and restaurateur marcus samuelsson about his book "the rise."

this encore look is part of our arts and culture series, "canvas." >> brown: red rooster in harlem. a skeleton staff prepares for another day of socially distanced diners and takeout orders. the restaurant, a vibrant homage to black food, art and culture, is the creation of ethiopian- born chef marcus samuelsson, who, at age 50, has come a very long way. >> jeff, you have to-- first, when you have a journey like mine, you have to acknowledge privilege and luck. i was born in a hut that is smaller than two restaurant tables in my restaurant. i had tuberculosis, me and my sister. my mother died. but she took us to a swedish hospital, that then a nurse had empathy for us and took us in, that then set us up for adoption. >> brown: samuelsson would grow up in sweden, train in top european kitchens, work in and then start his own restaurants

here in the us he became a citizen in 2004. in an age of celebrity chefs, he's a star, including as host of the pbs series "no passport required." there, he explores american cities, not through their most famous restaurants, but in neighborhood places that capture the energy and tastes of immigrant communities. >> when i look at this food i see brazil, right? this looks a pierogi. this looks like empanada. >> brown: his new book, a mix of history, biography, and 150 recipes, is a celebration of black cooking and cooks and the incredible diversity within that community. it's called "the rise." >> "the rise," for me, is really an opportunity to tell and share the story about black excellence and contribution to the american landscape, to talk about authorship, create memories, hopefully, that people cooked around it, not just african americans, but all of us, and then also really create an

aspirational level, so people want to go into our industry. >> brown: why is the larger history, and the variety, why is that so little known? >> well, i think, like, first of all, america's history at large is written very much from a european lens, right? the more we learn about who contributed, the more respect and understanding we will have with one another. we can all agree that this is the year to have a conversation about race, class and identity. and when we talk about those things in terms of political or in religious context, it always gets to a hostile environment. food is actually a way for us to go into the holiday season, cook from a book, talk about us as americans, as wider americans, and enjoy each other. >> brown: one emphasis here? the powerful role of women. like leah chase. the famed creole chef, whose new orleans restaurant dooky chase served since the 1940s as what samuelsson calls a safe black

haven for its community. chase died last year at ageesda. >> one of the things that i feel so privileged that we could do was really to talk about the complexity around blackness, that it's not just one thing, right? i'm going to give you an example, nyesha arrington in california. she's african american and korean, right? she grew up with a korean grandmother that just spoke to her in korean. and she's black and she's a california chef. so her food, she's exploding on the scene. it's mashama bailey in savannah that worked in new york, but went back, did the reverse migration. and then you have someone like edouardo jordan in seattle. so, the black chefs in this country are all over the country. that's why i want to have many stories. >> brown: have the black chefs and individuals been there always and weren't recognized? or is it a matter of new opportunities? >> well, i think it's a combination of all of it.

i also think that, because of internet and because of food coming in more to pop culture, black chefs can now broadcast themselves in a way. so there's less gatekeepers, which makes it a much more even playing field. >> brown: now, of course, the pandemic is threatening restaurants and hospitality workers everywhere. in march, samuelsson shut down red rooster and another of his restaurants in newark, new jersey. he also delayed the opening of a new red rooster in miami's overtown neighborhood. instead, over the next several weeks, and with the help of jose andres' world central kitchen, these locations were transformed into community kitchens, feeding front-line workers and increasingly those most in need. red rooster harlem reopened at the end of september, but at a much smaller capacity. and samuelsson knows a new shutdown may be near. how serious an impact is it having on your industry? >> it impacts the service industry much harder than any

other industry. and in that service industry, a majority of the people that work in that are black, bipoc, or people of color that are already disenfranchised and already covid-hit in an inproportional way, in terms of infection and death rates. >> brown: clearly, though, many restaurants are not going to make it. is there any way to rethink what it's all about, what you do, how you reach people? >> i think you said a very good word there. we have to rethink. and in interrupted times like now, innovation will come out of that. and it's going to take a collective of the brightest, but also showing empathy from the people who have something. >> brown: and the story in his new book, he hopes, of work going on around the country by chefs, food writers and activists can show us how food has helped shape our past and offer a positive way forward.

>> wouldn't it be great to be able to have a conversation about us as a multicultural america and eat in a multicultural way, and love and enjoy one another? >> brown: for the pbs newshour, i'm jeffrey brown. >> woodruff: finally tonight, a message from country star dolly parton. parton-- who helped fund the moderna vaccine-- received her covid-19 shot tuesday, getting what she called “a dose of her own medicine.” in a video posted to social media, she encourages us all to do the same. >> well, hey, it's me! i'm finally going to get my vaccine! i'm so excited. i've been waiting a while. i'm old enough to get it, and i'm smart enough to get it. so i'm very happy that i'm going to get my moderna shot today. and i wanted to tell everybody that you should get out there

and do it, too. i even changed one of my songs to fit the occasion. it goes... ♪ "vaccine, vaccine (♪ "jolene" ♪) vaccine, vaccine ♪ i'm beggin' of you please don't hesitate ♪ vaccine, vaccine vaccine, vaccine ♪ 'cause once you're dead then that's a bit too late. ♪ ( laughs ) i know i'm trying to be funny now, but i'm dead serious about the vaccine. i think we all want to get back to normal, whatever that is, and that would be a great shot in the arm, wouldn't it? if we could get back to that. but anyhow, i just wanted to encourage everybody, because the sooner we get to feeling better, the sooner we are going to get back to being normal. so i just want to say to all of you cowards out there, don't be such a chicken squat. get out there and get your shot. anyway, that's my message to you. so i am going to call on my friend, dr. naji abumrad, who works in research here at vanderbilt, that's where i am today.

and he's gonna pop me in my arm, and so i'm going to call him in-- i'm gonna mask up first, though, because i have a pretty good distance from me and the camera. so i'm gonna put this on. and get that on. get my hair back around, so i look good. you know we gotta look good. okay, dr. abumrad, get in here and give me a shot! >> you think you got it? >> i got it. >> okay! that didn't hurt! just stung a little bit, but that was from the alcohol pad, i think? >> yeah. >> okay, all right. hey-- i did it! i did it! >> woodruff: and on the pbs newshour online, an interview with singer and actress andra day. she sat down with us before winning a golden globe for her portrayal of billie holiday in the film, "the united states v. billie holiday." you can find that discussion on our website,

www.pbs.org/newshour. and that is the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. join us online, and again here tomorrow evening. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you, please stay safe, and we'll see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> for 25 years, consumer cellular's goal has been to provide wireless service that helps people communicate and connect. we offer a variety of no-contract plans, and our u.s.-based customer service team can help find one that fits you. to learn more, visit www.consumercellular.tv. >> fidelity wealth management. >> johnson & johnson. >> bnsf railway. >> the ford foundation. working with visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide.

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hello, everyone and welcome to "amanpour." here's what's coming up. >> the president has made clear that he's focused on making sure vaccines are available to every american. that's our focus. >> with the u.s. focus at home cash-strapped cuba defies the odds to produce its own vaccine. the soft power of vaccine diplomacy. plus -- >> when i'm writing a novel, i want it to have an emotional connection with people. that's one of my great priorities. >> nobel prize winner kaz well isiguru talks with his new novel "clara and the son" and why his own wife and daughter had his toughest critics. >> then -- the average person, the average family has really fallen behind and this is our attempt to pluem