captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening, i'm judy woodruff. o the newshour tonight, debating the details-- we talk to key lawmakers about the battle in the senate over president biden's covid relief bill. then... >> vote no on hb-531. >> woodruff: ...a fight over election rights: a new bill prompts protests from georgia democrats, as republicans push to limit access to voting. and, under attack-- a surge in crimes targeting asian-americans highlights a wave of discrimination since the start of the pandemic. >> folks are looking for people to blame. and from time immemorial, since asian-americans have been in the americas, asian people have been

blamed and attacked and scapegoated. >> woodruff: all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> well, audrey's expecting... >> twins! >> let me guess, change in plans? >> at fidelity, changing plans is always part of the plan.

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>> woodruff: the united states senate has begun debate on president biden's covid relief package, totaling $1.9 trillion. it runs 628 pages and includes $1,400 payments for most american families, aid for state and local governments, help for schools and much more. vice president harris cast a tie-breaking vote to proceed today, with the 50-50 senate split down party lines. >> the republican leader comes to the floor everyday and mocks this plan, a democratic wishlist, a liberal wishlist, nancy's pelosi's wishlist. this is the american people's wish list. 80% of the american people support what president biden is trying to do. >> this bill is not about fighting covid, it's about a chance in partisan fashion to do things they couldn't do otherwise. they're king an opportunity, my friends on the other side, of

loading this bill up with a liberal shlist, parochial interest, because they can. >> woodruff: the house already passed the bill, also on straight party lines. senate democratic leaders hope to get it approved before monday. we'll talk to senators on both sides, after the news summary. for the first time, the nation is vaccinating an average of more than two million people a day for covid-19. that number, from the c.d.c., is up from 1.3 million a month ago. there was also word today that california will allocate 40% of its vaccine doses to hard-hit, low-income communities. security was high at the u.s. capitol today. officials had reported a possible far-right attack plot, amid claims that former president trump would return to power. all of that put the complex on alert, and the house of representatives canceled today's

session. but, things stayed quiet. meanwhile, capitol police asked for national guard troops to remain deployed there for two more months. president biden says he's ready to sign a sweeping elections bill that house democrats passed last night, if it survives the senate the bill ends voting restrictions and gerrymandering, among other changes. the president said it would repair democracy, but senate republican leader mitch mcconnell argued it's stacked to favor democrats. >> the same party that wants to change senate rules when they lose a vote, pack the supreme court when they lose a case, and throw out the electoral college every time they lose the white house, now wants to forcibly rewrite 50 states election laws from washington. it's unprincipled, it's unwarranted, large portions of it may well be unconstitutional. >> woodruff: house democrats also passed last night major legislation to overhaul policing

nationwide. it's named for george floyd, who died at the hands of minneapolis police, and it bans chokeholds and creates national standards for police behavior. we'll focus on the policing and election bills, later in the program. in myanmar, crowds were back protesting the military coup, a day after security forces killed at least 38 people. police in yangon fired tear gas to disperse demonstrators. in mandalay, people built barricades to protect themselves and impede police from making arrests. opec and allied countries are leaving most of their current oil production cuts in place, for now. their decision today reflected fears that the pandemic could again stall growth and undercut demand for oil. the opec announcement triggered a sharp rise in oil prices. back in this country, the

congressional budget office is forecasting that the federal debt will double in the next 30 years. it says interest rates will rise as the economy recovers, and so will spending on social security and medicare. the forecast does not include the covid relief package now under consideration. the u.s. labor department reports there were 745,000 new claims for unemployment benefits last week, alight increase. and on wall street, stocks sank today after federal reserve chair jerome powell said inflation will increase, temporarily, in the coming months. the dow jones industrial average lost 346 points to close at 30,924. the nasdaq fell 274 points, and the s&p 500 shed 51. still to come on the newshour: the battle in the senate over president biden's covid relief bill with two key lawmakers.

a new election bill in georgia highlights the stark divide on voting access in the wake of the election. economic collapse and a pandemic lockdown cripple the lebanese city of tripoli. and much more. >> woodruff: as the senate moves toward floor debate on this next round of coronavirus stimulus, we get two views, starting with the chamber's number-two republican, senator john thune of south dakota. senator thune thank you for joining us today on the covid relief bill. as you know the sponsors say this is a much-needed boost for people who have been knocked flat by this pandemic, $1400

direct payments to people in the lower and middleincome levels. it would extend unemployment benefits, which are about to expire in ten days. what is your take? >> those are all things i think most of the -- i shouldn't say -- i wouldn't say all but i think most republicans wold agree, could and should be addressed in a co a coronavirus relief bill. not being consulted at all, the democrats are basically doing this one party only, ramming it through in the senate that only requires 51 votes as opposed to 60. we did five relief bills all at the 60-vote threshold, bipartisan under the regular order of the senate. the democrats have opted to do it this way. and i think that you know when it comes the unemployment insurance, when it comes to even the direct checks, when it comes to funding for health care for

vaccines, distribution 3 et cetera, there is a lot of bipartisan support for that. this goes way past that. this is a big wasteful bloated bill and we have tried to work with the democrats to get them to come to the table and negotiate with republicans on a more reasonable, targeted and fiscally responsible approach but so far no results. we're going to try to improve it but in the end my guess is they will have the votes and it comes down to the math. >> woodruff: we know that president biden did meet with a group of reblicans, in fact he met with republicans before he met with democrats before they went to vote on this. but here we are in just the beginning of march, the country is still, the economy is precarious, something like more than half of americans were living paycheck to paycheck even before this pandemic. and this kind of a boost is needed to help workers on the

front lines. teachers, and others, who have literally been knocked flat. >> and i think there is a lot of sympathy for people who are unemployed. that's why both sides agree, there should be an extension of unemployment insurance. the direct checks, the payments that have been talked about, there is bipartisan support of that, republicans and democrats. but the other elements of the bill, $350 billion for state and local governments, we are finding out all cumulative states last year had a revenue decrease of 1/10 of 1%. hardly seems necessary to ship money. new york, illinois, the big states get the lion's share of that money. and you have states south dakota, north carolina, georgia, writing checks to states which really aren't needed.

if you look at the year-over-year revenue. there are specific places where maybe there is some target and instance that might be necessary, we are for target, we are for fiscally responsible, not just a shotgun approach to this that throws a lot of money out there at a time when every one of those dollars is borrowed and we are also worried about inflation increases in the country. >> woodruff: i wanted to quickly ask you about minimum wage. by senate rules you know it was taken outs of this bill. i'm also talking to senator bernie sanders tonight. he wants to see the minimum wage, fedal minimum wage raised to $15 an hour from 7 and a quarter. you said in an interview a few days ago you would earn $6 an hour when you were a teenager. of course that was pointed out that would be $20 an hour in today's dollars. have you had a chance to look more closely to the argument for

federal minimum wage? >> i have, by the way, i did make $6 an hour after i worked at the place for years, i started at $1 an hour and worked my way up. that said, i think there's an argument, you want people to get back on their feet, you want the economy to create jobs. what i suggest is south dakota, for example, we set our own, it's $9.45 an hour. republicans in the senate would be fine if it were like $10. you are asking to more than double it to $15 an hour. a travel state, one of the most hardest hit in the pandemic, are just going to go bankrupt, and south dakota has done look at this state by state, it is a very different economy ton east coast and the west coast, than it is in the middle of country. flexibility in this case makes a lot of sense. bernie's going to tell you it

should be $15 and nothing else, i think there are a lot of republicans and some democrats who would like to see that come down to a number that is lower and more achievable. >> woodruff: senator what would you like to see the federal minimum wage at? >> i'm not necessarily the person to predict that but we have several republican senators who have their own proposals, one of them tom cotton and mitt romney plug it and $10 and pace it to inflation. i think the reason it couldn't be included in this bill it got knocked out because it wasn't germane to the underlying legislation. but there was also democrat opposition to it as well. there are a couple of democrats i know of who have real heartburn over raising it th amount and the impact it could have on the small businesses in their states. >> woodruff: senator john thune of south dakota, thank you, we appreciate it. >> thanks judy.

>> for an >> woodruff: for an opposing perspective on covid relief and the congressional agenda, we're joined by independent senator bernie sanders of vermont. he chairs the senate budget committee. senator sanders, welcome back to the newshour. i was just speaking to the senate republican whip, john thun. i want you to this is of said, this moment, to more than double the minimum wage, is going to put more small businesses out of business. and he said he could support something maybe $10 an hour. but not 15. >> well, first of all, that's what republicans always say. we have not raised the federal minimum wage in congress since 2007. and it is now at a starvation wage of 7.25 an houand that's what they always say. now is not the time. second of all which john should know and i hope he does. we're not talking about raising

the minimum wage right now from 7 panned a quarter to 15. it is a five-year process. 7.25, to 9, to 12.50 and 14 and then in 2025, to 15. so it is something that is long overdue. because judy in my mind, the great economic crisis that we face today is half of our people are living paycheck to paycheck. and many millions of workers are frankly working for starvation wages, raising the minimum wage is what the american people want. it's what we got to do. >> woodruff: senator and as we know it is not part of the covid relief bill. you're going to be trying to introduce it and we're going to follow that very closely. but i do want to turn your attention to the overall covid legislation. as you know, republicans are saying they support the direct payments, most of them seem to, they support the direct payments, they support extending unemployment benefits but they have a real problem they say

with the overall price tag. ey say there is a lot of waste in the bill. what do you say to that? >> i wonder where their diligence and their concern was when -- for the defe deficit whn they gave a trillion dollars in breaks to the large corporations. i wonder where their concern was when they pushed the $740 billion military budget, massive corporate welfare all over this country. look, here is the simple truth and i think most americans understand it: today we are facing a series of crisis, health care, pandemic, academic educational, mental illness. we are faces crises unlike many that we have faced in our lifetimes and working class people all over this country are crying out to congress please hear our pain, hear our children's pain, do something. the bill that we are fighting for right now that hopefully will pass in a few day in my

view, is the most significant piece of legislation for working families that congress has passed in many, many decades. it provides $1400 per person, and for children of working class families. it puts billions of dollars into making sure that we get -- we produce the vaccines and get them out to people as quickly as possible. it will lower, by expanding the trial tax credit, lower childhood poverty by 50% in this country. so this is a 600 page bill. i can't go through all of the details. but it addresses through a significant way the crises facing working families in america right nowp. >> woodruff: senator as you know another point the republicans are making right now is there are hns of billions of dollars still in the pipeline from relief legislation that congress passed in 2020 and even earlier in 2021.

they're saying, let's get that money spent before we spend this additional money. >> it doesn't quite work like that. some of the money is not capable of being spent right now. you don't pass legislation and say in two weeks you are going to spend all the money. some of it is designed to be spent over a period of years. look in all due respect to my republican colleagues, right now as i speak to you, they are forcing a reading of a 600 page bill, that will require nine, ten hours of wasted time. the american people perceive correctly that we are in an urgent moment. we ought to move as quickly as we have, that is what president biden wants. ey are on the floor right now wasting senate time, ten hours, reading a bill in order to obstruct our progress. i'm afraid that you know i have to be honest with you and say that mitch mcconnell and the republicans are much more interested in obstructionism and

making sure that president biden does not push through his agenda than they are in really dealing with the problems facing the american people. >> woodruff: senator, one final argument, they are making, is that a lot of this money would go hundreds of billions to state and local governments that they say don't really need it. they say if you look at the revenue state and local governments had last year, it was -- just a very small decrease. not anything like the number, the amount of money that this bill would give them. how do you respond to that? >> i respond by telling you that to the best of my knowledge, state and municipal governments have laid off well over a million workers in the last year. so we're talking about firefighters, teachers, police officers, municipal workers. and in this moment, when we face so many health and economic and educational crises, you need

career people at the state and local and federal level to be able to deal with these crises. just getting outs unemployment checks requires an enormous amount of manpower. so, you know, i don't accept that argument. i think state and local governments are in need of help and we should provide it to them. >> woodruff: senator bernie sanders, chairman of the senate budget committee and senator we'll continue to follow this closely and talk to you as the process goes along. thank you very much. >> thank you very much. >> woodruff: republican state legislatures across the country are moving rapidly to pass new voting laws, amid former president donald trump's continued false claims of election fraud. lisa desjardins takes us to one battlegrou state and explains

the raging debate. >> vote no on hb-531. >> desjardins: in georgia this week, the sounds of american democracy still struggling. and over an essential trait-- voting itself. >> this is what democracy looks like. >> desjardins: outside the state house, protesters chant about access, fearful their ability to vote is under threat. inside, the republican-led legislature says the issue is security, pushing sweeping bills to rewrite state voting laws, blaming 2020. >> if you didn't see confusion this year, i don't know what you saw. >> desjardins: georgia's lower chamber, the house, has already passed hb-531, which cuts down early voting on weekends, adds id requirements and shortens the time to get an absentee ballot. the state senate is also considering: ending no-excuse absentee voting and automatic voter registration at the d.m.v.

deba has been sharply polarized. >> house bill 531 will greatly improve our election processes for all voters. >> hb 531 is textbook voter suppression. >> voter suppression is racist. voter suppression is white supremacy. >> desjardins: this after record turnout flipped georgia blue for president joe biden and in two close u.s. senate races. it was a surge of civic engagement, like from james hammond, who signed up as a first time poll manager. >> i went from in less than a year being the guy that just comes in, presses the button to make sure that i did i voice my vote to being the person to make sure that the election is actually carried out fairly and equitably for all of the residents in the area. >> desjardins: he says he saw passionate voters, and a dispassionate, secure system. >> there was very little room for you to have voter fraud. >> desjardins: courts agreed, rejecting then-president donald trump's campaign assertions of

fraud. from republican secretary state brad raffensburger, same conclusion. >> we've never found systemic fraud, not enough to overturn the election. >> desjardins: and yet at a conservative conference in orlando on sunday, mister trump again falsely raised the idea of fraud. >> we should eliminate the insanity of the mass and very corrupt mail-in voting. and republicans have to do something about it. >> desjardins: republicans across the country are heeding the call. some 250 election law bills in 43 states, concentrated most in swing states trump lost. the brennan nter for justice is tracking it. its president, michael waldman: >> there's a surge of restrictive voting laws being pushed by legislators three times as many as just two years ago. >> they have the power to change the rules. and they are using that power to pick their own voters. >> desjardins: andrea young heads the a.c.l.u. in georgia. she believes republicans in the state house are attempting a power grab by directly limiting

voting. >> the result in november was an accurate reflection of the votes cast in the state of georgia. and now that system is something that is under attack. there are 50 bills that would unravel the system that that allowed five million georgians to cast ballots. >> desjardins: but republicans cry that this is unfair-- that they want to restore credibility to elections now distrusted by trump voters. state senator butch miller. >> when we have not just dozens but hundreds of people who call me and say, why is it that when i go to vote in person, i have to show a photo i.d., but i can send in a request and just send in my ballot and nobody knows who it is. >> desjardins: do you see evidence that the system is allowing for fraud right now? >> there's clearly inefficiencies. evidence of fraud that would overtake or change the outcome of the election? no. are there inefficiencies?

yes. >> desjardins: but critics scoff, saying the laws would affect some voters far more-- those who are older and those who are black or brown. >> african-americans are less likely to have a government issued photo id. and so we think that that's discriminatory. >> especially in a place like georgia with a deep history of racial restrictions on voting. now, you don't see, you know, dogs and billy clubs, but you see laws that are pretty plainly targeted at black voters. >> desjardins: we asked state senator miller. have you reflected on that history? >> there are wrongs in history that we can't right. that we can't make well. that we can't erase. we will make sure that every voter has access to the ballot box and at the ballot box how we do that is to make sure that we've done it all the i's and cross the t's. >> desjardins: of course

southern jim crow laws literally asked blacks to dot i's and cross t's, to take literacy tests, to vote. we pointed out to senator miller that supporters of those, racist, laws also said they were aimed at election integrity. he disavowed jim crow laws and said this effort is different. >> i don't think there's any obstruction to access. all we have to do is verify that the person is who they claim they are. and that's all. >> desjardins: is that all? one voter's verification is another voter's barrier. in atlanta, poll manager james hammond does not like the general direction he sees. >> every american should have the right to vote and we should not we should not block them from having access at any at any point. >> woodruff: despite similar debates in several states with republican legislatures, house democrats here in washington passed a landmark bill that

would expand voting rights. for more on this and other capitol hill business, i'm joined by our congressional correspondent, lisa desjardins. so lisa hello.tell us what is is legislation passed by the house. >> desjardins: judy, what the house has been doing this week is addressing issues that are really about american identity and as you heard in that piece, who gets power in america. and that starts with hr 1 the for the people act. let's look at the top lines of a very sweeping bill. first of all, this bill would make no excuse voting, basically absentee voting, it would also take on gerrymandering, busy putting independent commissions in every state. partisan line-drawing would end in this bill. it would also force disclosure of dark money donors, anyone who are donates over $10 million to

super-pacs their names would have to be disclosed. using fees and penalty money to try and match some dollars given to some congressionalampaigns. now, this bill is wide sweeping and also has things in it that seem pretty closely targeted to recent times, including it would require all presidential candidates to disclose their tax forms. but you know the question is can this bill which passed the house, can it get anywhere in the senate? and right now it does not look like it. it doesn't seem like any republicans are even considering getting on board. chuck schumer, this is an example of the bill he could break the if i recall buster if he wanted to but could he even get 50 votes it's not clear. this is an example the democrats especially in the house leaning left on an issue they feel is systemic. closely tied as you heard in the piece to the issue of race and what they see happening in state

legislatures across the country right now. >> woodruff: so lisa as you know, the house also passed a piece of legislation last night on policing reform, the george floyd justice in policing act, this in response to the death of george floyd at the hands of police last year in minneapolis. something democrats have been pushing for ever since. tell us what's in that legislation. >> desjardins: this is another absolutely critical topic that this country has been talking about having conversation best but the lawmakers at the federal level have not acted on. this is the house passing a bill it passed again last year, hoping it has a better chance this time. let's remind people what is in the george floyd act, part of it would be national registry of police misconduct. police who are accused or found guilty of use of force, the public would be able to see some of that information. it would end police immunity

also from civil lawsuits. right now civilians cannot sue police officers if they feel their constitutional rights are violated not as individuals. there will be a federal ban on choke holds and no-knock warrants and then this bill would also then try to incentivize local and state police forces to similarly ban those choke holds and the no-knock warrants by tying federal funding to that idea. that is an idea judy as you heard from senator mcconnell earlier in the show that republicans rail against. they think that is overreach and the federal government trying to tell state and local powers what to do. it is a classic example of the federal government using the power of the purse as they have for years. there are 18,000 policing agencies and federal officers, and the house trying to do something on this absolutely critical issue. >> woodruff: and so lisa what -- >> we believe opposing this

bill, leave our communities vulnerable to crime. >> if this legislation had been law of the land several years ago, eric gardner and george floyd would have been alive now, brionna taylor would not be shot in her sleep because no knock warrants would have been unconstitutional. >> woodruff: lisa what is expected when it goes to the senate? >> desjardins: well, it looks like this bill as it was passed in the house probably will not go intact. but there are significant parties in interest on this year. author of a different bill last year he is in negotiations he says he's interested in talking to democrats in the house. they say they are trying to come up with something that everyone can agree on.

i will tell you i had one of my longest conversations ever with lisa murkowski of alaska about this topic. there are certainly a dozen republicans in the senate who want to pass something. can they agree, hard to say but this is an issue that may have a chance in the senate. we'll see. >> woodruff: lisa desjardins followig all of these important issues on capitol hill. lisa, thank you. >> woodruff: protests erupted again this week in lebanon, as a spiraling currency crisis led to violence in the streets. a strict covid-19 lockdown has crushed the economy and meant many lebanese have gone months without income. and, as special correspondent leila molana-allen reports from tripoli, many now are left with

nothing. >> reporter: it's a smoggy tuesday afternoon in lebanon's northern most city tripoli and to families in some of the poorest neighborhoods. for some here it will be the most substantial thing they eat today. as lebanon's economy plummets, local charities are overwhelmed trying to provide for families basic needs and the need is greater than ever. the price of bread has nearly doubled in the last six months. now dm donations are drying up. >> there are a lot of people who call asking for something to eat but we can only provide what we're able to. people have forgotten what meat is here so they usually ask for simple daily needs like bread, even fruit is now a luxury. >> reporter: in 2017, the u.n. reckoned tens of thousands of families here were in severe need. fast forward four years through

a devastating economic crisis and a year of lock downs and more than half lebanon's population living in poverty with tripoli one of the hardest hit areas. tripoli is the poorest city in the country. now it's asking them to stay inside while doing little to help them survive. the cry here has become i'd rather risk coronavirus than starve to death. >> other countries compensate citizens during lock downs. what we have in t tripoli, nothing. drip li is now a -- tripoli is now a beggars city. >> still being subsidized by the government. but there's little left in the state coffers, helped stretch out the remaining funds. once they're scrapped a move expected imineptly, bread prices

could double or even triple again. one family the ibrahims, each of them lost their jobs one by one. the lock down was the final blow, stopping elham's cleaning work. never know where the next meal is coming from. >> there's nothing in it. i only have this and that. on good days i cook rice and lentils. i live off whatever people and god can spare. >> reporter: the fridge doesn't work, she can't afford to use it, even if electricity is possible. here they only get 74 or five hours a day and can't afford costly fuel for a backup generator. a neighbor let them hook up a

single lightbulb to their generate so they could have a little light. >> we didn't even have full stomachs to begin with, everyone is starved and destitute now, i cry every single day, what cels i do. i sleep and wake and sorrow is always with me. >> reporter: many who can, is ignoring the rules altogether. >> we're struggling to survive. how can we shut our businesses for weeks straight? >> reporter: he knows he can be fined or arrested for breaking the rules. but it's a risk he feels he has to take. earning enough to feed his families for another couple of days. >> we're not thieves or terrorists, i want to make ends meet, no one is helping certainly not the government. >> reporter: and that antigovernment acre is boiling out onto the streets.

every night tripoli's central square was faced with protestors against tanks. public buildings were set ablaze. they called for the overthrow of the government. >> they expect us to follow these rules when we're already suffocated by unemployment. the people here have had enough and no longer care about any pandemic. we're already dead. >> reporter: parliament's only response, to deploy even more security forces. one young man was killed, the square where he bled to death, another tripolian killed in the same square. bread work, dignity. but for elham, the time for a better life has come and gone. >> what good came of that?

they're expressing their anger but unfortunately no one is listening. they can settle fire to the entire country but these politicians are still safe in their homes, we are the ones paying the price. >> for newshour, i'm leila molana allen in tripoli. >> woodruff: a recent string of brutal attacks on elderly asian americans, caught on video, has brought new attention to the rise of violence and harassment of asian americans. since the pandemic started, more than 3,000 anti-asian hate incidents have been reported in the u.s. according to the group, stop a.a.p.i. hate. earlier today, amna nawaz hosted a live conversation unpacking the history behind these attacks, concerns in the community, and what happens next.

>> joining me now is helen zia, the author behind the seminal book, asian american dreams the emergence of people. ceo and founder of rise, a nongovernmental civil rights organization. so welcome to you beau both and thank you. helen, what can you say to someone who is frying to understand what's driving this surge we see now? >> i think we have to understand that this as you have said amna, part of the fabric of america, hour asian americans have lived with this ever since we've been in america. i was part of a very similar time in the 1980s when a chinese american man named vincent chen was killed in detroit because japan was being blamed for the economic crisis in america. and today, unfortunately, we are facing something very similar

that now, china is the cause of everything bad in america now. folks are looking for peoe to blame and from time immemorial, since asian americans have been in the americas, people have been blamed and attacked and scapegoated. even with periods of ethnic cleansing, killing eliminating about lynchings, mass attacks. this is not something new. >> amanda, i want to ask this of you, these videos that have been surfacing, attack after attack, what were you thinking after you were watching report after report and video after video coming in? >> honestly i was hurt. when i saw these videos and felt like main street media wasn't covering it i turned to social media. because i think the core issue is about visibility. i think these things are

happening, because people are ignorant. and they're ignorant because they haven't been able to get to know us or they haven't done the work to get to know us. i don't think people are born hateful. i think there are systems in place, tools of oppression that shape peopleo other groups of entire communities. and so throughout this moment my call to action was to humanize us, by getting our stories out there. >> i think it's partly an enforced lack of knowledge. i mean, we have systems. you know, it's part of the systemic racism of depriving all americans inluding asian americans of our own history. i call it mih, missing in history. so it's not like there's this void in our brains. that gets filled with garbage things are like cartoon caricatures of what asian people from asian backgrounds are supposed to be like. and many of those caricatures

are sub-human, not human, animalistic, disease carriers, enemy invaderrers which is a very constant caricature. and so instead of real knowledge about how the treatment of asian americans goes way back and in fact is part of the systemic racism of america that came along with the enslavement of people from africa and the genocide of indigenous people there was the xenophobia, the use and manipulation of american people to be a wedge against other people. and so that is damaging the absence of knowledge is fundamentally the -- you know, the way to keep people fighting each other. >> we've already heard stories about how people are telling their parents or their

grandparents not to go out alone of younger members of the community to escort their parents. what is happening on the ground right now? what is the feeling right now? >> it's a fog of terror quite honestly. when people walk out the door they don't know if they're going to get attacked or. >> where they're going to get attacked. if you hear these stories, they're in grocery stores, people walking on the street living their daily lives. >> what amanda is describing is a community that's gone underground you know throughout this pandemic and with the fears that you both describe. and what that's meant we can see visibly that people are not going to their doctors. they're not getting meds. they're not getting tested. they're afraid to get vaccines. this is in the middle of a pandemic so this is a terrible situation of a community that's been driven underground by a fear of real attacks that are happening. >> helen is there enough being done to address this right now?

we've seen president biden address this from the highest office in the land. from the new york city police department, what else needs to be done? >> in the bigger picture, we have to be asking for real change that education happens, the real america of what we look like today also has to be taught. taught in you know schools k-12, that hollywood really needs to get it together and all this talk about hollywood so white, and stuff like that, includes the omission of people who look like, you know, not what they imagine america to be. >> the problem is invisibility. therefore, the solution has to be informed, thoughtful, visibility. it's so important that when we do this, we remember that justice is not that in order for us to move forward together, we are stronger together across

solidarity, across different issues. because justice is a fabric that has threads from all different communities. >> thank you so much to both of you for joining us today. thats helen zia and amanda nguyen. for anyone who want to watch the full unedited conversation can you go to pbs.org/newshour. >> woodruff: stay with us for a look at what you will discover on the newshour tomorrow and online right now. 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: the pandemic is forcing new habits, or in some cases, returning to old ones, like reading. jeffrey brown takes a look at the plight of independent bookstores, struggling to stay afloat in this challenging economy. this encore look is part of our arts and culture series, canvas >> brown: another day in the life of an independent bookstore in the time of pandemic: packing orders, customers at the curb-- and on this day, a few allowed in. and constant phone calls. >> sometimes the first question is, "are you open?" and we say, "well, kind of, sort of, maybe-- what can we do for you?" >> brown: in fact, source booksellers in detroit's midtown is open, just not in the way it used to be. it's a tiny store, 900 square feet, owned and operated by 83-year-old janet webster jones and her daughter alyson jones

taylor. janet had worked in the detroit public schools as teacher and administrator for 40 years. beginning in 1989, she built on her love of books-- first selling them at local bazaars, fairs and churches, later as part of a women's business collective, finally opening the store here in 2013. it's a highly-curated selection. mostly non-fiction: history, health, books by and about women, art-- things they love and want to share with customers. you're your own algorithm, in a way. >> you got that right! ( laughs ) >> we try. we hope that our books, even if it's a storybook or a fiction book, it gives a history in a story that you may not get otherwise. >> brown: this was a place all about personal interaction-- until march, when the store was closed and business disrupted. out of necessity, mother and daughter changed it up.

>> we did not have a store online, a website where yo could buy things before. and so this is absolutely new. and wead to learn all of the shipping, receiving-- >> the packaging! >> --yes, packaging. different things that we were not doing before. >> brown: by going online, they found a wider audience, with sales as far as maine, washington state, and abroad. they also went old school, taking to the phoneso reach individual customers. as a black-owned business, they saw the heightened interest in social justice issues translate into new relationships with businesses seeking large orders of books for their employees. and it continues to evolve. >> many times, people co in and talk about having a business and they tell me "i dream of this," and i say, "i did not dream this. opportunity and courage put this business together over a period of time." >> brown: opportunity and courage at any time is required, right?

what about with a pandemic? >> with the pandemic, the opportunity came for us to shut down and change, and we had the courage to just shift, and the possibility, because we had grown in our capacity to do thingsn the store. >> brown: these are perilous times for independent bookstores. according to a recent study by the american booksellers association, more than one indie has closed each week since the pandemic began, and 20% across the country are in danger of closing. renowned stores like strand in new york and vroman's in los angeles have said their survival is at stake. everywhere, once-popular author appearances and book club gatherings are virtual, and many stores continue to do curbside-only business. >> a lot depends on your community and how much they appreciate you. >> brown: at 43-year-old watermark books in wichita, the cafe is closed, but the store itself is open to customers.

owner sarah bagby had to lay off employees and shorten store hours, but a move to online sales has helped make up for other losses. bagby, who bought the store in 1996, has been in this business long enough to survive past crises, and sees this one as again forcing stores like hers to focus on their core business. >> it's funny-- when the box stores opened, typically, independent stores became better business people, or they closed. now, with this pandemic, we are better business people again. we've limited our time open. we have taken away the fat, basically, that wasn't generating revenue. and we are just selling books. >> brown: and they are part of a new effort to take on the elephant in any roomful of books: amazon. the fact is, book sales have risen during the pandemic. people are home reading more, teaching their children. but it's amazon that's benefited

most. a campaign called "boxed out" was launched by the a.b.a. at several stores around the country, including watermark. >> our messaging is just, "think about where you're shopping." that's the real message, is, a purchase, if you love your local businesses, you really have to support them with your money. you can't just love them and think everybody else is taking care of them. >> brown: source booksellers in detroit is also part of the campaign, and mother and daughter are hyper-conscious of the "local" role they play in a community that has continued to support them-- whether through small development grants or through checks from loyal individuals. >> human beings need relationships on every level of their lives. and so that's why we were very dedicated to having a bookstore that would foster relationships. i have people coming in the store, oftentimes-- don't we, alyson?-- saying, "i know i can get this from"... i won't say the word. ..."but i wanted to buy it from you." and we're very grateful for that.

>> brown: but is it sustainable? >> we don't know how sustainable anything is. we don't even know-- and i'll say this as an old person-- we don't even know if our life is sustainable. so we have to live on the faith and the hope and the purpose of serving in the community as best we can. of responding to the needs that come to us because of outside forces, being clear with our own d.n.a. what it is we have decided is our offering to the community. and going forward. that's the best we can do. >> brown: read a good book lately? bought a good book lately? if you're lucky, you might find one justown the street. for the pbs newshour, i'm jeffrey brown. >> woodruff: on the newshour tomorrow, treasury secretary janet yellen joins me for an interview about the latest on

the job numbers and wages, president biden's plans to revive the economy, and whether the stimulus package he's seeking is what's needed for the months aad. and tonight on the pbs newshour online, a few of the important conversations we are having this week. on our website, we hear from business owners of color about the unequal distribution of covid relief to small businesses and recent changes that may make loans more accessible. and we took your questions on the surge in anti-asian hate crimes happening across the country and how you can help in your community. find both at pbs.org/newshour. and on instagram, how much schooling children have lost during the pandemic? a new report shows that for 168 million students in 14 countries, schools have been closed for nearly an entire year. learn more by following us on

instagram at newshour. and that's 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 see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> consumer cellular understands that not everyone needs an unlimited wireless plan. our u.s.-based customer service reps can help you choose a plan based on how much you use your learn more, go toe, nothing consumercellular.tv >> the ford foundation. working with visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide.

>> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and friends of the newshour. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

hello, everyone, and welcome to "amanpour & company." here's what's coming up. >> we're not simply picking up where we left off, as if the past four years didn't happen. >> secretary of state blinken sets out amera's new global strategy. we take a close look at the longest war in afghanistan and the little-known story of a female kurdish militia who helped defeat isis. we talk to retired general john allen and gayle tzermach lemmon, author of "the daughters of kobani." plus -- >> you can't run a revolution. >> the life and murder of black panther leader fred hampton. shaka king, director of "judas