judy: 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 two trillion dollar coronavirus aid 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.

judy: all that and more on tonight's "pbs newshour." announcer: major funding for the "pbs newshour" has been provided by -- ♪ >> moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us.

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judy: there were a number of threats highlighted on l 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 raised new questions about what went wrong on january 6. to help walk us through the latest, our congressional correspondent lisa desjardins and national security correspondent nick schifrin. hello to both of you. lisa, this massive covid relief bill is now in the senate. tell us the latest. lisa: we are 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 with its budget process. there was some news today.

democrats made a deal with themselves. moderates were concerned this bill went too far. there is now an agreement to shave down those americans who would get the $1400 direct payment check. this means americans making up to $75,000 would get the full check and it would phase out and only those will get a limited amount of two $80,000. -- limited amount up to $80,000. we will probably see final votes in the senate in the next 2-3 da ys. judy: important time for that legislation but there is also separately this threat hanging over the capital, worrying about violence tomorrow specifically. what is that about? lisa: there has been word from capitol police. i want to show an alert that

capitol police set out today. it says, we have obtained intelligence of a possible plot to breach the capital by a militia group on thursday, march 4. we do not know the extent of this intelligence. officials are being more transparent than ever and more aggressive. we do know that there is a very large fence aund the capital -- around the capitol for many blocks and national guard troops who were not there before. tonight, the house of representatives are moving up their business so they will adjourn later tonight. they were planning to vote tomorrow and instead will move their business to tonight. that is because they said they can do it but this is part to do with the march for threat. the senate will be in session tomorrow. this is being more cautious than

they were on january 6. we are not expecting large crowds but there is intelligence of a march 4 threat connected to the rumors that it is an inaugurationay. march 4 was inauguration day for the first 150 years of this country. judy: those are just rumors but they are out there. nick, today on capitol hill you had the head of the d.c. capital guard alongside a department of defense official testifying about the military response on january 6. what did we learn from that? nick: the focus was on a crucial three hour delay. the first received a request for the d.c. national guard at 1:34 p.m.

they did not approve the request until 4:32 p.m., three hours later. they accused the pentagon of handcuffing the d.c. national guard. take a listen to general william walker describing the urgent request from capitol police chief steven sund. >> chief sund, his voice cracking with emotion, indicated that there was a dire emergency at the capital. he requested the immediate assistance from as many available national guardsmen as i could muster. >> required the secretary of the army for the removal of the guardsmen from one traffic control point to another. did you find that unusual? >> 19 years, i never had that before half. nick: nick: senators repeatedly asked a senior dod official why

the pentagon responded so slowly. the official admitted what many senior officials admitted to be at the time, that the military did not want to get dragged into suppressing protests as it did back in june when the protests were black lives matter protesters. he also pointed out that the d.c. national guard is simply not designed to response openly. others pointed out that the military did get dragged in to the june protest state away somehow when the protesters were pro-ump. judy: in connection to all of this, there were questions today about extremism inside the u.s. military. and the pentagon has released a report today. nick: the pentagon made public this report. it admits that dod is facing a threat from domestic extremists.

"extremists with military experience are a concern for national security." and that white order and -- white nationalism poses a threat within the military. experts i talked to say the pentagon has never examined extremism enough to know whether it actually has a problem and that the report used outside investigators simply because the pentagon does not have data on this. forcing the services to stand down for a day so that commanders could discuss extremism and collect intelligence. senior military officials have simply failed to tackle this problem in the past. judy: a lot going on in washington today. thank you both for keeping us up-to-date.

stephani i am stephanie sy at newshour west. we'll return to judy woodruff and the full program after the latest headlines. president biden denounced decisions some state leaders are making to loosen covid restrictions. republican governors in texas and mississippi lifted mask mandates on tuesday. at the white house, mr. biden said it's a big mistake. pres. biden: we are on the cusp of being able to fundamentally change the nature of this disease because of 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. stephanie: the mississippi governor fired back in a tweet

that said, "we should trust americans, not insult them." a new report reveals that former transportation secretary elaine chao was referred for possible criminal investigation by her department's watchdog for potential misuse of office. the inspector general made the preliminary findings after a yearlong review, but the justice department under then-president trump declined to pursue a formal investigation. chao has denied any wrongdoing. the u.s. house of representatives moved this evening to pass some of the biggest electi changes in decades. democrats said the bill would open up voting, reform campaign finance, and curb political gerrymandering. republicans charged it would fuel corruption. they debated much of the day. rep. raskin: 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.

rep. barr: 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. stephanie: 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. 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 said one american contractor died of a heart attack. the rockets targeted an installation in anbar province that houses u.s. and coalition

forces. 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. stephanie: last week, a u.s. air raid hit iranian-backed fighters in the region, in reonse to a previous attack. 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 2 large suv'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 later. new york governor andrew cuomo said today he will not resign over allegations that he sexually harassed 3 women, but he issued a new apology. in albany, cuomo said he never

meant to offend anyone, and has learned an important lesson. gov. cuomo: i now understand that i acted in a way that made people feel uncomfortable. it was unintentional and i truly and deeply apologize for it. stephanie: the democratic governor also said 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. still to come on the pbs newshour, how the u.s. is redefining its image abroad with secretary of state tony 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. >> this is the pbs newshour from weta studios in washington and from the west at the walter kwok's school of journalism at arizona state university. judy: in his first speech as secretary of state, antony blinken today unveiled the biden administration's top foreign policy priorities. topping that list, containing covid and melding foreign policy with domestic policy. i spoke with secretary blinken moments ago. secretary of state tony blinken,

welcome to the newshour. thank you for joining us. the world looks a lot more complicated today i think it is fair to say than just a few months ago. there are problems public up just about everywhere. in your statement today, you made a clear focus on american workers here at home explain how this connects to challenges around the world. sec. blinken: what i tried to do today is layout the president's priority that our foreign policy has to have american people first and foremost in mind. he has basically asked us, anything we are doing around the world, the question we ask first ourselves is how this will make life a little bit better, more prosperous, more hopeful for our fellow citizens.

of course the economic aspect is critical to that. this has to be a foreign policy grounded in making life better for americans. judy: you said today that first priority has to be around covid-19, making sure that the world addresses it. as we know, the country where it originated, china, has not been transparent. right now, china is taking the lead in supplying vaccines to poorer countries. the united states has ceded leadership to china, which your current -- which your ministrati is calling the chief threat to the united states. yamiche: -- stephanie: you are --sec. blinken: you are right that china has not been fully

transparent. it is vitally important that we see full transparency, access to experts where it counts, and real information sharing. going forward to make sure we can avoid another pandemic in the future. the united states is leaning in both at home where we are making specific progress, but also around the world. we have joined this covax arrangement. we are contributing billions of dollars in contributing greater access to vaccines. i think as months go on and we faxing our own people, we will also be engaged in helping the world get vaccinated. at the end of the day, will not be secure until the world is vaccinated. judy: some of said that china is

guilty of genocide when it comes to the uighyur population in that country. if that is the case -- china denies it -- but what should the penalty be? sec. blinken: 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 can't be used for exporting -- for exploiting populations. products made by forced labor, we should not be buying those. of course, we should make sure that the world is speaking out with one voice in opposition to what is happening. judy: so much to ask you about, mr. secretary. iran is next. a few days after the united states launched an attack on

iranian backed missiles -- iranian backed militias after their attack in iraq, iranian backed militias have 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? sec. blinken: president biden has been very clear that his first mission is to protect the lives of our people and partners. the first thing was to find out who is responsible. then we worked very closely with our iraqi partners to make that determination and to take clear action to demonstrate that these things should not go forward with impunity. we have another attack in the

last when he four hours. the first thing we have to do is to get to the bottom of it and figure out who is responsible. that the president has been very clear that we will take appropriate action at the place and time of our choosing. judy: will that have any bearing on the attempt by the united states to get iran back to the negotiating table for the iran nuclear talks. is the u.s. prepared to relief iran of some sanctions? sec. blinken: with regard to nuclear talks, when we pulled out of the agreement, the jcpoa, input iran into a box. iran started to break out of that box and now in a position where it is closer to producing material for a nuclear weapon in short order. in a few months. the agreement had put it past a year. so we have real interest in putting iran back in that box

and diplomacy is the path to do it. the european union invited all the other parties, our european partners, russia, china, iran, and us to come to start to talk about return to nuclear agreement. we said yes and iran said no, and we will see what iran will do forward. the path diplomacy is open. the ball is in iran's court. judy: yes or no, the u.s. considering lifting sanctions? sec. blinken: we have been very clear that iran has to come back into compliance under its obligations in the nuclear agreement. if they do it, that would involve some sanctions relief. unfortunately, iran is moving in the wrong direction and continues to take steps and making its program more dangerous, not less dangerous.

first and foremost, we want to see you ran come back into compliance with its obligations. judy: saudi arabia, a lot of attention there. the u.s. intelgence community report released a few days ago and the responsibility on the crown prince mohammad bin salman for authorizing, directing the killing, the murder of the journalist jamal khashoggi. the administration has imposed sanctions but not 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? sec. blinken: weep out a report -- we put out a report that was not written yesterday. it has been there for a year. we released it. it puts the responsibility for the heinous murder of mr.

khashoggi. it is not that there were any new facts that had not been reported, but it makes a big difference when that comes out with the full him from a tour -- the full of the united states government. critically, we also denied visas to about 76 saudis involved. going forward, as much as this is about accountability for the past, it is about doing everyday we can to make sure this is not we put in place a new rule, the khashoggi band. if at the direion of a foreign government, an individual does anything to harass, surveillance, or harm a political opponent of that country in the united states, that person will not set foot in

our country. that implies not just to saudi arabia, but to the entire world. i think there are clear steps that have put us in a strong position going forward to prevent it from happening again. judy: when you combine that with not holding him personally accountable, with not imposing sanctions against russia's president vladimir putin for the poisoning and imprisoning again of the lead opposition leader alexei navalny, does that send a signal that 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? sec. blinken: whether we like it or not, we do not choose saudi arabia's leaders. they do. the crown prince is likely to be

in a position of leadership for years, decades to come. cabinet secretary's have engaged with their counterparts. we deal every day with leaders of countries who are responsible for actions we find objectionable or aborted. whether it is vladimir putin -- objectionable or abhorrent. whether it is vladimir putin, xi jinping. in terms of advancing not just our interest, are we better off rupturing the relationship with saudi arabia or recalibrating? i think the answer is clear. judy: afghanistan. the u.s. is scheduled to pull troops out of that country after 20 years of war.

today, the white house made public what it is calling its interim national security strategic guidance document which says the united states should not and will not engage in "forever ws" which have caused thousands of lives and trillions of dollars per will work to end. the war in afghanistan -- trillions of dollars. we will work to end the war in afghanistan. what does that mean in terms of keeping troops there? sec. blinken: that is what we are looking at now. we have not made any divisions -- any decisions about the may 1 deadline. as well as of course partner troops, nato forces that are there. we are in very close consultation with nato allies, with all the countries in the region. and we are looking at very carefully as what further

progress can and must be made on agreements that for example we reached with the taliban, antigovernment afghanistan are working on, to see if the conditions can be in place for a durable peace. we are making the effort to advance them. right now, we are reviewing the question of our troop presence and we are doing in full consultation and coordination with our allies. judy: secretary of state tony blinken with a very full plate. take you for joining us. sec. blinken: great to be with you. thank you. ♪ judy: although the u.s. should have enough covid vaccine on hand 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. amna: we put a call out to our viewers, asking all 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. she is the professor of medicine at emory university, where she's also associate vice chair of diversity, equity and inclusion. and she's based at grady hospital in atlanta, georgia. dr. manning, thanks so much for being here. so let's jump to some of these questions before we do. there has been some news in the last day. i want to get your reaction to this. there was a decision just yesterday by the texas governor, greg abbott, to lift the statewide mandate and also reopen businesses 100%. what's your reaction to that?

dr. manning: 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 is black and who is among the group that has been most disproportionaly impacted or among the groups that have been most disproportionately impacted by covid-19. and itakes me feel sad to imagine that with a 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 to live. and it is really a tough space to be in. but i think that the the hard right is to continue to protect people's health, and that's through wearing masks. amna: of course, we'll be following the news out of texas in the weeks to come. but let's get to some of these questions because i'm sure you will be surprised to learn there were a lot. a lot of them centered around this issue of trust. we're hearing this question and more than any other.

why should i trust a vaccine that that was produced so please? -- so quickly? a lot of people are saying, look, there's other viruses, things like hiv that we don't have a vaccine for. why should i trust this one? what do you say to that? amna: 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 for, say, the mrna vaccines was already underway, was already happening. and this pandemic presented an opportunity to move things along. no important scientific steps were skipped. but people are right, it was quick but asking your questions from reputable sources, i think is a good place to start. amna: you mentioned that a technology. we're getting a lot of questions about some of these details. so let's unpack those that a lot of

people are asking about the side effects, some of the questions about what the vaccine actually does to your body. and michael from chicago is 62 years old. he asks, does the vaccine for covid-19 trigger the likelihood of any autoimmune disease? another related question, people are wondering if the vaccine actually changes your dna. what do we know about these? amna: there are different types of antibodies and it does not trigger an autoimmune sort of 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 concern. the vaccine is developed to create an antibody response to the spike protei so the mrna is just a little snippet of the genetic code on the mrna code for that spike protein. and so what does that mean? it means that when you get the vaccine, it's kind of wrapped up in this lipid layer. it comes into your cell and when

that little piece of mrna comes to yourself, it doesn't go in your nucleus, it doesn't rewrite your genetic information. but when it gets in there, it's like a little contractor that comes out and says, ok, let me give some instructions. and the instructions, i'm going to give -- going to make this spike protein. so your body actually starts to make the spike protein, not the whole virus, just the spike protein. and then your body then recognizes that is foreign and you develop an immune response and that immune response gets saved up and stored and just kind of hangs out and waits for so that if you get actual cold -- actual covid-19 infection, it recognizes that spike protein on the outside. and that's what allows your body to kind of swarm in and take care of it. so it's not rewriting your dna. i can certainly see how someone thinks that. but the rna vaccines come in at the rna level and it does not rewrite who you are. amna: so a lot of people also have questions about how effective the vaccine is. liz from colorado wants to know,

how long is it effective for? saleem from michigan is wondering, will they need a poster every year? do we have answers to these questions yet? dr. mannin i wish we did. the truth is that we don't know. one of our experts i just heard saying in a news bite today, really talking about how we're really in a race between these variants and and getting people vaccinated. so as an example, when you think about how people need to get a flu vaccine every year, that is because the flu mutates every year. the only way that a virus can mutate is if it has a live post. and so as this infection 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 are our vaccines are not effective, then, yeah, you would we would need to develop a new vaccine and you'd 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.

amna: 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 equitable distribution of vaccines. kay in kansas wants to know when that will change. beth in california is saying, if our library bookmobile can bring books to our area, why can't we have vaccine mobiles to get vaccines where they need to go? what do you say to that, dr. maing? amna: i say that, you know, we -- dr. manning: i say that, you know, we are all public health people, and i love these ideas and these concerns that are being raised. i think they're absolutely right and i'm in full agreement. 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. and as we know, we now have emergency use authorization for the johnson and johnson vaccine, which will be easier to store, easier to make, and will likely

will have larger numbers of that vaccine. so i do think things will start to swing upward from that standpoint. but, yeah, you know, 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 four -- talking about for years now. covid really brought that to light. and i think this vaccine distribution process does that as well. amna: well, folks certainly have a lot of questions and a lot of concerns. dr. kimberly manning, we cannot thank you enough for taking the time to address them, and then we hope you come back and take some more time soon. thank you for your time. dr. manning: thank you. ♪ judy: 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 determining 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". paul: scott rennie earned a bachelors and a masters degree. he's been paying ever since. >> in 2006, i had 80 grand of student loan debt. in 2021, i've never missed a student loan payment, my credit is over 800, and i still owe $68,000. paul: a dozen years after graduation, syeeduh shabozz is even deeper in the hole. >> i have upwards of $100,000 in debt at this point. paul: just two of the almost 45 million americans saddled with stent loan debt -- $1.7 trillion dollars worth, re 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. paul: 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 permanent relief. senator elizabeth warren among them. sen. warren: canceling student loan debt is the single most effective executive action that president biden can take to kickstart this economy. paul: president biden, however, supports a lower amount. pres. biden: i'm prepared to write off the $10,000 debt, but not $50,000. paul: scott rennie's 4-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.

paul: has led ne ur tanglichina,aking re stuknow to compliment their teacher. >> professor awesome! paul: and he made music. his job now, handyman. last year, he earned about $27,000. >> with my advanced degree, i go to people's houses and i fix things for them. it is very honest work but it's not what i went to school for. it's not what i want to be doing. it's what i can do to survive. paul: rennie thought he had scrounged up enough to buy land to run student outdoor programs . but -- >> despite having 30 percent down, despite having a credit score over 800, my bank and two other leers 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. >> ♪ overeducated and

undercapitalized i have forgotten what it's like not to be poor ♪ paul: rennie is part of a protest organized by the debt collective. >> have no fear, debt collective is here! i debt mom. ampaul: rennie and fellow travelers like debt mom have pledged to stop paying period. they are part of a group founded a decade ago during occupy wall street. freelance writer shabozz shares a 450-square-foot apartment with her 7-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 quiet place i can do interviews. paul: shabozz can't afford anything bigger. since graduating into the recession of 2008-2009, she has only had low-wage jobs.

>> and so all of my money goes to just keeping a roof over our our heads, making sure my son has everything that he needs as he grows. paul: but not paying off her student loans means they are 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. paul: policy professor naomi zoedee argues that debt is penalizing shabozz, and millions like her, for going to college. >> it is 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 two hundred, on average four hundred dollars. paul: but the people who took on the debt took it on knowingly, willingly. >> yes, this is true largely because an education is kind of necessary to succeeding in the society that we've built. paul: 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. paul: -- >> 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. paul: 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. paul: 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.

paul: 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 twenty or twey five years, depending on the specific type of plan, remaining debt gets forgiven. paul: 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 dischargeable in bankruptcy. so, wages can be garnished indefinitely if the student doesn't repay. paul:o 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. paul: nor would it stifle scott rennie's protest. >> that's not good enough, you know. thanks, mr. president. but it's not enough. we need full cancelation of this debt. paul: which is -- and please forgive us for so obviously wrting to the footage -- the song scott rennie and his friends promise to keep singing for quite a while. for the pbs newshour, paul solman. ♪ judy: we will be back shortly with dolly parton'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 suppor

judy: finally tonight, a message

from country star dolly parton. , who helped fund the development of the moderna vaccine, received her shot on tuesday. in a video posted to social media, she encourages us all to do the same. dolly: 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. ♪ vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine i'm begging of you, please don't hesitate vaccine, vaccine 'cuz once you're dead, that's a

bit too late ♪ ♪ 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 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. ok, dr. naji, get in here and give me a shot.

you think you got it? >> i got it. dolly: ok. that didn't hurt, just stung a little bit but that was from the alcohol pad i think? ok. i did it! judy: the one and only dolly parton. i am still trying to figure out what a chicken squat is. 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 versus billie holiday." you can find that discussion on our website, pbs.org/newshour. that is the newshour for tonight. join us online and again here tomorrow evening. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you. please stay safe and see you announcer: major funding for the "pbs newshour" has been provided by -- >> for 25 years, consumer

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♪ ♪ (wrestlers grunting) narrator: it's one of the largest organs in your body you can't live without. yet many people desperately want to lose their fat. but fat's been given a bad rap. we think of fat as being an evil substance, but fat is life. sylvia tara: fat is critical to our health. it is releasing a whole host of hormones important for our bones, for our brains, for our reproductive organs. fat is actually a very sophisticated endocrine organ. daniel lieberman: for millions of years, people who were able to hold on to their fat had a selective advantage. and now all of a sudden, we've asked people to get rid of their fat. but our bodies never evo. narrator: so, what happens when we have too much fat?

diabetes, cholesterol issues, heart issues.