can get the tools they need to be ready for anything. oh we're ready. ♪ captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight: making his case. president biden aims to sell americans on the new covid relief law by hitting the road, with a stop in pennsylvania. then, border crisis. the homeland security chief warns attempted migrant crossings will hit a 20-year high, as congress takes up contentious immigration legislation. plus, getting the vaccine. several european countries halt the use of one inoculation amid another wave of infections. and, under attack. the asian american community is on edge after a year marked by a

dramatic rise in hate crimes and xenophobia. all that and more, on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funng 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. >> johnson & johnson. >> bnsf railway. >> fidelity wealth management. >> the john s. and james l. knight foundation. fostering informed and engaged communities. more at kf.org.

>> and with the ongoing support of these institutions: and individuals. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: president biden is on the road today, aiming to sell his covid relief law to the american public. first stop, pennsylvania, with a visit to a black-owned flooring business near philadelphia, highlighting the aid that his administration is providing through small business loans and stimulus checks.

>> we're in a position where we're bringing immediate relief. $1,400 to 85% of the american public. i said yesterday, we're going to get 100 million shots in people's arms in the first 60 days of my administration, and 100 million checks out. 100 milliopeople are going to be getting-- not a joke-- a check for $1,400, which could change their lives. >> woodruff: here to break down the white house sales pitch, our yamiche alcindor. this is the second day of what the white house is calling their "help is here" tour. tell us what they're trying to accomplish. >> yamiche: that's right, president biden, as well as a number of white house officials are eager to take a victory lap after having the $1.9 trillion package become law. and they're eager to try to explain the details of

the bill to the broader public. this is dubbed the "help is here tour" and it could be dubbed the "shots in arm and money in pockets" tour. and what we've heard from them as they've been criss-crossing the united states talking about it. this tour comes as president biden said in 2009, he felt like president obama was too humble in explaining the economic stimulus package that hay passed, and they want to take full credit for what is happening with this bill. i want to put up a map so you can see where people are heading. yesterday we saw the vice president and the second gentleman go to las vegas. and then in new jersey, we saw jill biden go, and she visited an elementary school. and today joe biden was in chester, visiting the black-owned flooring

company, and they received the p.p.p., and they'll qualify for some other grants under the new bill. and you saw the vice president, as well as the second gentleman, go to colorado. they went and did a listening session for small business owners. tomorrow the first lady is heading to n new hampshire, and the second gentleman will be in new mexico. and friday we'll have the president and vice president in atlanta, georgia, the newly blue state, and they'll want to talk about what they did and how they accomplished this. and they want to bolster their next item on the agenda, which might be infrastructure and immigration, and they want to say look what we did and what we can do for this country. >> woodruff: yamiche, tell us a little more about how this fits into the larger political goals of the administration, and what are the republicans doing to push back? >> yamiche: democrats are looking at this $1.9 trillion package and saying this is not just a political messaging tool, but a tool that could get us re-elected in 2022, as, of course, the

mid-mid-termelections approach. i had a pretty lench thee conversation with janie harrison, and told me the d.n.c. and democrats are going to be much more progressive in making sure their base stays excited and eager, and thinks about how this bill affects their lives. on the republican side, we see a number of lawmakers doing two things: one, calling this bill bloated, that it is full with a bunch of democratic items that has nothing to do with the pandemic. and they're trying to change the subjec we saw a number of lawmakers going to the border, talking about the challenges, and the biden administration is struggling with the spike in the unaccompanied minors coming to the borders. the democrats say this bill will be transformational and it is the bethey're willing to make. >> woodruff: we'll hear a little later in the program what they are facing at the border.

yamiche alcindor covering the white house, thank you, yamiche. >> yamiche: thanks so much. >> woodruff: in the day's other news, sweden halted use of astrazenica's covid vaccine, the latest european nation to do so, as regulators investigate an alleged blood clot risk. but in amsterdam, the head of the european medicines agency said there is no evidence of a direct link. >> while the investigation is ongoing, currently, we are still firmly convinced that the benefits of the astra-zeneca vaccine in preventing covid-, with its associated risk of hospitalization and death, outweigh the risks of these side effects. >> woodruff: astrazenica and the world health organization say a few dozen cases of blood clots have been reported in the european union and britain. that is out of 17 million

vaccinations. and, here in the united states, mississippi today became the second state to expand vaccination eligibility to all adults. u.s. intelligence agencies say that russia and iran tried to undermine the 2020 presidential election by spreading misinformation. that conclusion came in a new report released today by the office of the director of national intelligence. but it found no evidence that foreign actors changed votes or disrupted the voting process. the united states has fired new criticism at china, in the first trip abroad by top members of the biden cabinet. secretary of ste antony blinken and defense secretary lloyd austin met their counterparts in japan today. blinken accused beijing of undermining stability in asia. >> we're united in the vision of a free and open indo-pacific region, where countries follow

the rules, cooperate whenever they can, and resolve their differences peacefully. and in particular, we will push back if necessary when china uses coercion or aggression to get its way. >> woodruff: meanwhile, the sister of north korea's leader issued a warning of her own. kim yo-jong said the u.s. should not make trouble if "it wants to sleep in peace" for the next four years. secretaries blinken and austin travel to south korea tomorrow. gunmen in niger have killed 58 civilians returning from a market. the assault happened yesterday in the western tillaberi region, where 100 people were killed in a series of attacks in january. there was no immediate claim of responsibility, but extremists linked to the islamic state are active in that area. archaeologists in israel have discovered dozens of new dead sea scroll fragments. they contain biblical text that dates to the first century. the fragments, displayed today,

were found in a desert cave south of jerusalem. it is believed that they were likely hidden during a jewish revolt against the roman empire. the original dead sea scrolls were found in the 1940s and '50s. back in this country, purdue pharma has filed a $10 billion plan to emerge from bankruptcy and resolve lawsuits over the opioid epidemic. purdue's owners, the sackler family, would contribute $4 billion over a decade. the settlement would also steer future profits to the plaintiffs. but, multiple states that sued say it does not go far enough. the u.s. senate confirmed another one of president biden's nominees today. isabel guzman will oversee the small business administration. she will play a major role in implementing the president's covid relief bill. stocks were mixed on wall street today. the dow jones industrial average lost 127 points to close at

32,826. the nasdaq rose 12 points, and the s&p 500 slipped six. and, britain's prince philip returned to windsor castle today after being hospitalized for a month. the husband of queen elizabeth is 99 years old. he was treated for an infection, and underwent a heart procedure. still to come on the newshour: the u.s. house prepares to take up contentious immigration legislation. some european countries halt the use of a vaccine, despite a wave of infections. how the economic relief law narrows the equity gap for farmers of color. and, much more. >> woodruff: the u.s. secretary

of homeland security warned today that the migrant surge at the southern border is on track to reach a 20-year high. alejandro mayorkas said the majority of those being expelled are single adults, but unaccompanied children are not being turned back. all this is playing out while the house of representatives plans to vote on immigration legislation this week. democratic congressman henry cuellar's district is located on the southern border, and he joins me now. congressman, very good to have you with us. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> woodruff: when you hear that eye-popping forecast by the homeland security secretary for the biden administration, coupled with what we heard yesterday from the republican house leader kevin mccarthy, that there is a crisis on the border, it gets our attention. how bad is this situation there? >> you know, we still are not at the high levels that we had in the surge

of 2019, under president trump. at that time, for example, may of 2019 was 144,000 people that came in. last month we hit 100,000. but what makes it a little more difficult is that we're in the middle of a pandemic. about 83% are single adults. those people have been returned under what we call title 42. it's the kids that are coming in that we are going to take care of. once they're here, we're going to take care of them like if they're our own kids. >> woodruff: well, you say it's getting a little bit worse, but these numbers are, as we're hearing from the homeland curity secretary, about to hit a 20-year high. we know that thousands of these children are now -- you're having the country -- the united states is having to find a home for them. why isn't the policy there to manage this situation right now?

>> well, you know, this is something that, you know, some people act surprised and they shouldn't be surprised. look, we've seen a surge in 2014. we saw a surge in 2019. and we should have learned lessons on how we work, we get fema down there and we take care of those kids. for us on the border, we don't just go and visit the border. we live there. we've seen this before. and people need to understand from the lessons arned, we ought to just manage that particular situation on the border. >> woodruff: what needs to be done right now, congressman, to deal with this? >> well, a couple of things. one, once the kids are here, we're going to take care of the kids. number one. number two, title 42, which is being used for public health, we're returning the adults back, and even some family units back. and the other thing is we've got to get the right

message. you know, when you say don't come now, come later, that message, in my opinion, is not a very good message. we have to be very clear as to what we mean on the border. because the president, or the administration's message is not getting through. i'll tell you what is getting through, because i've asked people this question: one, the friends and the cousins' network, hey, guess what, we're coming across. we got over here, you come over. this century time to do it. and then you have the drug cartels that are aggressively marketing, so any time they get somebody, they make money. so those two messages are being heard. and this message don't come now, come later, is not being heard in central america or mexico. >> woodruff: what should the biden administration do, is my question. right now the administration is allowing unaccompanied teenagers

and children to stay here, many families with young children to stay here. that message is getting across to people in central america south of the border. >> right. and i was at a centrix cal caliso spring, and i asked them that message. and they said we keep seeing tv messages and images of people in central america coming across. and so they see that image. as i told the former home land secretary for president obama, you have to show images that you're returning people, show that you're returning the adults back. because if all they see is people coming across into the united states, yes, that's what they're going to believe and here. look, let me put it this way: when the president of mexico calls the president of the united states the migrant president and

giving hope for people to come across, that tells you that latin-america is seeing a very different or hearing a very different medication from what we're -- mm what we're trying to portray. >> woodruff: you said the biden administration hadn't listened to them. you said you went to them back and january, told them some things they needed to do. you said they weren't listening. are they listening to you now? you said when they sept a delegation to the last weekend, they didn't talk to members of congress. >> well, they didn't. in fact, i think it was within a week of january the 20th, i was already telling the white house, the people that i know there, i want you to pay tention. this is happening, this is happening. pay attention to this. so even within a week of the inauguration, i was telling my contacts at the white house pay attention to what is happening. again, if you don't handle this quickly and in the right way, it is going to get out of hand.

and what is going to happen, you're going to have republicans just saying the democrats are weak on border security. and when we vote on the green plan this week, i promise you, that's what you're going to hear from the republicans on the floor to vote against immigration reform. >> woodruff: and what does that mean in terms of legislation this week? >> well, i mean, i believe we have the votes to pass the green mack and the guest worker plan. if you notice, the comprehensive immigration reform, how do you deal with the 11 million or 12 million, it is not on the floor. two of the supporters there, at least among the democrats -- what we're going to do is the dream mac and the guest worker plan, which is peace meal. but you'll hear republicans on the floor say, yeah, i went down there to the border. we saw this border out of control, and they're going to say that over and over and over again.

>> woodruff: a lot of questions. a lot of questions. congressman henry cuellar, thank you very much. >> thank you so much. >> woodruff: a growing number of european countries are suspending their use of the astrazeneca covid vaccine, one of three used on the continent. william brangham looks at the concerns driving those decisions, and how public health officials see it. >> brangham: judy, a group of nations, including germany, france, italy, and spain, stopped using the shots after reports of blood clots and other problems among a small number of people who apparently were given the vaccine. astrazeneca says there's no evidence of a link, and says these are isolated cases--

just 35 out of over 17 million vaccinations so far. the company argues these are the same numbers you'd find among the general population. for some context on all of this, i'm joined by dr. kirsten bibbins-domingo. she's a physician, epidemiologist, and professor and chair of epidemiology and biostatistics at the university of california, san francisco. >> dr. bibbins-domingo, great to have you on the "news hour." before we talk about some of these alleged side effects, i think we should stress that this is not a shot. the astrazeneca vaccine is not being administered in the u.s., so nobody here is getting these shots just yet. they're waiting for f.d.a. approval. but european nations and elsewhere are using this shot, and these concerns have come up. can you tell us, what is it that has arisen that is so troubling? >> doctor: there are a small number of cases, somewhat over 30 cases, in norway of blood clots. blood clo tse generally common in the general

population. and there are some particular features about these blood clots. they were also associated with low platelets and let to some pretty severe consequences. but a small number. and i think the problem for vaccination compaigns and for new vaccines is that when you vaccinate millions of people, it's hard to tell whether a small number of cases of something that can happen anyway without a vaccine is because of the vaccine or just because it happened because things like blood clots happen in the general public. >> so you could have people getting backaches after getting their shots and make an association, but it may have no bearing witnesses so far. is that your sense of what is going on here? >> doctor: that's exactly right. and it is a challenge, because as you said, we're vaccinating millions and millions of people, and people tend to attribute something that happens to the vaccine that they had. i think what we have o do to do with a new vaccine is we

have to monitor. that is, in fact, what these countries are doing and the european medical regulatory bodies are doing. they're monitoring for these rare events, and they're trying to understand them and doing the investigation about whether what has happened in norway is, in fact, causely related to the vaccine. the reality is small numbers of cases, and if you just look at the numbers, the numbers don't suggest this is more than what we would expect in a population of this size being vaccinated. there are other evidence from other countries that where we don't see these types of blood clots at a number we'd anticipate greater than what we would anticipate. but i think it is good to be cautious. i think the only concern is whether the rapid suspension of all of the vaccination efforts in europe is warranted, or whether we should do these types of investigations while still proceeding with the vaccinations. and that's where i think some of the controversy

comes in right now. >> just as you're noting, the europeans are seeing an uptake in cases. we know the variants are galloping all over the world. this seems a particularly inopportune time to take one of our best weapons so far and put it back on the shelf, even temporarily. >> doctor: that's exactly right. i think it is important for us in the u.s. we've had a fairly good rollout of our vaccination compaigns, and across the country, our numbers of case are relatively low, at least controlled. in europ cases are actually surging. their vaccination rollout has been slower than in the u.s., probably about 10% of the european population has received the first dose. and so it is concerning when we take one of our most affective tools and put the back in the toolbox and say we're not going to use it anymore. i think that's the tension of what is going on in europe. >> the european medicine agency said they're

working with astrazeneca to scrutinize all of the data. do have you a sense of how long this might last? let's say they give the drug the all-clear, how quickly do you think the shots will be administered again of the astrazeneca drug? >> doctor: sure. i think one of the things they will look at is the actual numbers of these types of events in the countries like norway that actually has pulled this, as well as all of the many places where astrazeneca is being administered in europe. they're going to look if there are rates of blood clots that are higher than one would expect. they're probably going to scrutinize the lots and whether this is something related to a particular lot of the vaccine, as opposed to something widespread, related to astrazeneca in general. i think there, as we said -- there is an urgency to get a safe vaccine into the neral public in europe and everywhere across the country, and astrazeneca is an important tool.

i think as soon as there is an all-clear, people will want to resume vaccinating immediately. i believe the challenge is whether public perception about the halts of these compaigns will now lead to more hesitancy around actually accepting this particular vaccine. >> exactly. dr. kirsten bibbins-domingo from san francisco, thank you so much for being here. >> doctor: thanks for having me. >> woodruff: the covid relief and economic package is a massive bill that has a far- reaching impact in ways that many americans don't know about yet. one provision calls for debt relief for black farmers. farmers of color in this country have long been denied access to government funding. lisa desjardins looks at that record, and what the new legislation does to address it. >> desjardins: judy, the new law allocates $5 billion to farmers of color. most of that money would wipe out their federally-backed debt by paying 120% of their federal farm loans. the u.s.d.a. has told the newshour that it would help

about 14,000 of those farmers, providing about $175,000 in relief on average. the struggles of black farmers are especially acute. john boyd is a fourth-generation farmer himself in southern virginia, and the president of the national black farmers association. >> let's start right away. how would this money help pblack farmers? >> it will give them a jump start in their farming operation. first and foremost, this measure is historic in nature. it provides $5 billion, $4 billion for debt relief and other incentives, and $1 billion for outreach and really look at the issues of discrimination at the united states department of agriculture. something i was trying to do for about 30 years. so this is a huge step in the right direction, especially for congress and for the agriculture department.

>> you are a fourth generationarmer, and you're talking about historic discrimination from the u.s. department of agriculture in particular. we're talking about loans denied, loans underfunded. can you take us through how that actually worked for individual farmers like you? what did you experience? >> basically, we are many black farmers who experienced discrimination at the united states department of agriculture. and as a farmer, i had my loan application torn and tossed in a trash can. i've been spat on by the person responsible for making farm loans in my county here in virginia. so discrimination was very, very pervasive, where many black farmers were just flatout denied an application. and they would come into the office, and the local official would say, we don't have any money available. when white farmers came in, they would process their loans in less than 30 days. and for black farmers, it

took 387 days on average to process our loans. >> i have to circle back. you were spat at by a federal official? >> yes. chewing tobacco juice, he spat on my shirt. and when they came out, the usda supervisor investated him, they asked him, did you spat on mr. borge's shirt, and he said, yes, he accidentally missed his spat can. and they asked him if he had problems making loans to black farmers, they only made two that year, and he said, yes, think they're lazy and look for a paycheck on friday. that's the type of discriminatory demean that prevented black farmers from prospering in this country, when we were denied access to credit based on race. so he would only see black farmers on wednesday. so we named it black wednesday in our county. all of our vetters had

9:00 a.m. on wednesday, so and so. and he would speak loudly and boastfully and downward towards black farmers, calling them "boy." so these people were preachers and deacons and leaders in our community, and this man was referring to him as a boy. and how he wasn't going to lend us any of his money. if you quote me right, i believe it is the government's -- the taxpayers' money, not his money. that's the type of discrimination we were facing, not just in my county, but this was a national epidemic. and i would like to call it a national disgrace, an embarrassment to our country that we live in. >> you know, the statistics are just really hard to grasp. black farmers from 1910 to 1997 lost 90% of their acreage. i wonder, do you think this money will actually reverse the problem? will it expand the number

of farmers of color, or will this stem the tide and stop things from getting worse? >> i'm hopeful we will have some time to regroup. so a farmer can have his debt removed or forgiven, and that gives that farmer a little bit of time to look at his farming operation, revamp, regroup, and it also gives us an opportunity to stop some of the foreclosures that have been happening against black farmers. so we'll be ae to keep more black farmers on the farm and give them an opportunity to rebuild their farming operation. that's what i've been after the whole time with my advocacy work. >> what do you say to white farmers who see this as reverse discrimination and say they're struggling, also? >> and i can hear somebody saying that. you know, but $29 billion that went out under the previous administration, the trump administration, black farmers and farmers

of color virtually accessed billions and billions of dollars of loans -- black farmers have been left out of the equation for decades. what do you call that, is my question to them? and why, when they hear about this discrimination, why didn't some of those farmers speak out and say, you know what, we do need to treat black farmers with dignity and respect. that's my question. i'm not against them receiving the loans, when mother nature shows her beautiful face a in floods and all of these things. we want the same things. if you were treating black farmers fairly and equally, we wouldn't need a special bill here in 2021. >> john boyd, thank you for joining us. >> thank you for having me. >> woodruff: now to the rise in

attacks against asian americans across the country. hate crimes against asian americans in major u.s. cities surged by nearly 150% in 2020-- even as overall hate crimes fell. stephanie sy has the story. >> sy: fresh produce, hot pastries, curbside conversations. the familiar sights and sounds of a bustling morning in oakland's chinatown-- now, pierced by a palpable tension. volunteers in bright orange vests dot the streets, fanning out on day-long patrols, after a spate of attacks rattled the community. longtime oakland resident kazuko hishida said the patrols help. >> and of course i feel a little safer myself. it's all about keeping an eye out for each other. i had a major meltdown on february 17, when i heard the latest incident. i couldn't deal anymore. >> sy: the most high-profile

attack happened in january in the heart of chinatown. a 91-year-old man was captured on video being shoved to the ground. the violence got worse around the lunar new year in february, when elders are known to carry envelopes of cash. it's another elder, 75-year-old joe ma, who started the safety patrols. >> ( translated ): there are a lot of different ethnicities in oakland chatown, and usually it's very harmonious. but with coronavirus and the economic situation, people are getting desperate. >> sy: mao started walking the streets last march, when >> i can name... kung flu. >> sy: then-president trump repeatedly highlighted the origins of the pandemic. >> our war against the chinese virus. all different names. wuhan flu. >> sy: kim tran researches issues of race and social justice movements. she remembers when she noticed a

national trend. >> there was a burmese family in texas who was stabbed inside of a sam's club. and that really changed how i engaged with being in public. so we started changing whether or not i would walk the dog alone. my mom has stopped going to the a.t.m. by herself. and there is a very palpable climate of fear. >> i was walking on the sidewalk down that street, and it happened just right over there. >> sy: that fear hadn't yet hit iona cheng in late december of last year. she was running errands near her apartment in downtown oakland. >> and as soon as they got close to me, they grabbed me and pulled mto the ground. >> sy: she was left bruised, and badly shaken. the police officer who responded to cheng saw race as a factor right away. >> she told me i was the first asian american woman attacked that evening, and that they were attacking multiple asian american women. we were being pegged as a vulnerable group for an easy target. i think, because of various cultural reasons, i think

there's reluctance to speak out. and to, you know, be stoic, right, and not try to cause trouble. >> sy: the racial motivations behind many of these attacks are unclear, but the group stop a.a.p.i. hate has logged nearly 4,000 anti-asian incidents since the start of the pandemic. an assault in san francisco, that killed 84-year-old vichar ratanapakdee. another in oakland just last week, that left 75-year-old pak ho dead. but most of the incidents are verbal assaults, which cheng says she's been through as well. >> i was running past an intersection. a car had come up, and the man in the car yelled "coronavirus" at me. i was really upset. i was hurt. i was angry. >> sy: back in chinatown, sakhone lasaphangthong begins making the rounds at 6:00 every morning, greeting elders on their morning walks, and scrubbing the graffiti that's

been scrawled on the walls of businesses overnight. now, more than ever, he stays vigilant while he works. >> there's a store across the street with all the boxes. somebody tried to run her over before, and i was just across the street and i chased them away. >> sy: he's a "community ambassador"-- a position funded by the oakland chinatown chamber of commerce, and one that put lasaphangthong on a new path when he was released from prison. >> seeing the grandmas and grandpas doing tai chi and walking and minding their business, trying to live out the rest of their ves in peace, that's what makes me want to protect them. >> sy: shop owners in chinatown welcome the volunteer patrols, but say they're no replacement for police, who often take too long to arrive on the scene. during our time here, we saw very little evidence of police here in chinatown. leronne armstrong is oakland's police chief. >> i believe that these are crimes of opportunity.

>> sy: he says the rise in anti- asian violence mirrors a drastic spike in violent crime and homicides throughout the city. he points to poverty in the area, which the pandemic has only worsened. >> but that doesn't take away the fact that there are people that have been victimized. and so, while we might talk about numbers, numbers at the end of the day are human beings. these are people. >> sy: armstrong says the department has taken steps to increase security for asian americans, like placing a chinese-speaking liaison in chinatown. but others say the issue has deeper roots that can't be addressed with more policing. the rise in anti-asian sentiment has highlighted racial tensions that existed long before the pandemic. >> there is a nasty american impulse to pit us against each other. and it goes at one of the most obvious moments is the 1992 uprisings in los angeles. >> sy: korean businesses versus african americans oppressed by police. >> yeah, and there has been real harm. but there's also been these really cool moments of

solidarity that have happened. if you look at the way that "asians for black lives" showed up in 2014, 2015, we can turn also to black folks running campaigns to fundraise in chinatown. >> sy: that solidarity was on display on the streets of chinatown. but tran says this moment reveals a deeper truth: that asian americans have long been left out of the conversation around racism in america. >> there's white folks, there's black folks, and we really have failed to talk about anyone who is not in one of those two groups. what we're seeing now is, asian americans are a surprise in terms of the racial discourse of this country, and it's because of that failure, it's because we've really only had the conversation in this one way where it's a racial binary. i'm really hopeful that this moment means that we will have a continued conversation about what it's like to be an asian

american as a racialized community in america. >> sy: it's been months since iona cheng was mugged near her home in oakland. how are you feeling these days? what's your sense of safety? >> i still would prefer not to go out by myself. and that makes me angry, at some point, because i feel like i'm an independent person. i feel like i'm strong. i hope at some point i will not have to feel that way in my own neighborhood. >> sy: fear's grip on cheng, and other asian americs, holds tight for now, even as hopes rise that with the recent violence, asian americans will be embraced by a wider racial reckoning. for the pbs newshour, i'm stephanie sy in oakland, california. >> woodruff: and now to a clash of religion and culture in the

catholic church. pope francis previously supported the civil legalization of same sex unions, but yesterday, he delivered a message declaring that priests cannot bless same sex unions. amna nawaz explores reaction to this decision. >> nawaz: judy, the pope said the church should welcome and bless l.g.b.t.q. members. but, he upheld old church teachings on this key question. in a statement, the pope said the church "cannot bless sin," and referred to same sex unions as "illicit," and also "not ordered to god's plan." back in 2013, the pope first made global headlines when speaking about gay priests, he said, "who i am to judge?" father bryan massingale is a professor of theological and social ethics at fordham university. and he joins me now. father massingale, welcome to the "newhour" and thanks for making the time. let's begin with your reaction. when you heard about this response from pope francis, what did you think? >> when i first heard the announcement, i was very

disappointed. i was very saddened, but i was not surprised. the announcement continues a kind of pattern that we've seen from pope francis pontificate when it comes to dealing with issues of same-sex morality. he was to extend a hand of welcome and compassion to members of this community, but he wants to do so within the framework of traditional sexual teaching. so he wants gays and lesbians to be treated with compassion, with sensitivity, with respect, but he also wants to draw the line of not changing any of the traditional sexual beliefs or doctrines of the catholic church. so given those kind of parameters, the announcement yesterday was not a surprise, but it was disappointing considering that this pope has done more than any of his predecsors to extend a hand of welcome and tenderness and support for the members of the lgbtq community, but he is

trying to do it within his framework, which circumscribed how far that welcome can extend. >> nawaz: what kind of message do you think that sends? when you talk about what some people may find it a confusing message. saying all people are welcome, and who are we to judge, but on the other hand -- >> well, i think there is confusion. in other words, what the church is trying to do is to try to balance this tight-rope. i think it is an instance of the kind of tension that we see in trying to be welcoming, but then you're trying to do it within a framework which holds that people's intimate expressions of love are sinful. so how ca you extend welcome and compassion while at the same time condemning acts of love as sin? i think this is something that every religious denomination has had to struggle with as they're wrestling with new insights to the human

sexuality. how far can one really go in reconciling new knowledge and new insight and experience within traditional frameworks? i think that's precisely the tension that the catholic church finds itself in right now. >> nawaz: do you worry it could turn people away from the catholic church? >> i don't worry about it. i'm very frightened of that possibility. i know for a fact that there are many gay and lesbian former catholics, who have left the church precisely because their love could not be blessed and recognized by the church. i worry about what this means for the students i teach at fordham. yesterday in class, we discussed this briefly, and all of my students to a person said they just didn't understand what the problem is. many of them know and have friends who are gay and lesbian. some have attended some same-sex weddings. there are many catholics who are members of their families who are involved

in same-sex relationships and they see the positive value that these relationships bring to their loved ones' lives. and so for the church to blanketedly say these are sinful, yet in the same document it says they have positive elements that need to be valued and appreciated, that is a pretty confusing message to get across to the ordinary person in the pew. how can something be positive, valued, and appreciated, and yet be sinful? and i think many people find it not only confusing, but dismaying and, frankly, a little bit insulting, and so they go elsewhere for their spiritual needs. >> nawaz: father massingale, while i have you, i need to ask you about another big story related to the catholic church, an announcement fr the jesuit order of priests, saying they're making a $100 million commitment to benefit the descendents to the slaved people that the church once own owned.

what did you make of this announcement? >> i'm extremely excited about this initiative. this is really unprecedented, to have a joint effort of the descendents of the enslaved people and the descendents of the enslaves come together to address the remnants of enslavement and the continuing effects upon american society. i think it is groundbreaking because the society of jesus was not tzthe only religious order entangled in this enslavement of african slaves. so i think for the judges to come forward in this initiative, this can be a model not only for other groups in the catholic church, but it can be a model in the american

society, about how to address thelingering stain on the american conscience. i think it is groundbreaking. and the other thing that is exciting is they're recasting what reparations mean. so often in our society we hear reparations and we think who is going to get how much money. they're taking a broader view and saying that reparations means repair. how do we repair the systemic degenerate that america has done in society. this could be potentially groundbreaking and it is very, very exciting and long overdue. >> nawaz: father massingale of fordham university, thank you so much is for making the time. >> thank you. >> woodruff: today in myanmar, security services killed at least two protestors, after killing more than 50 on sunday-- the single most violent day since the military took power in

a february coup. nick schifrin speaks to a myanmar ambassador who opposed the coup, and reports how the daily duel between demonstrators and the military is becoming deadlier. and, a warning: many of these images are disturbing. >> schifrin: in today's myanmar, mothers bury their sons. kyi kyi khin's child was named min khant soe. security forces killed him this weekend. the family, one of hundreds who since the coup, are forced to grieve. >> ( translated ): how brutal, what they did to my son. i want to ask them face to face if they have a heart. don't they have children, like i have? >> schifrin: to protest in myanmar is to risk your life. in north myanmar, one protestor was carried away with a head wound. of the more than 150 killed so far, about one-fifth have been shot in the head. in yangon, a resident filmed cell phone video of a protestor

shot, his body dragged away by the shooters. myanmar's security services are shooting into crowds of demonstrators, many armed only with construction helmets. ( gunfire ) but many demonstrators are fighting back-- like this one, who posted gopro video firing a firework at police, then running away from live ammunition. and, the u.n.'s top human rights body reports security services have detained more than 2,000 people. >> we are deeply disturbed that the crackdown continues to intensify, and we again call on the military to stop killing and detaining protesters. >> schifrin: for six weeks, myanmar has been under a nationwide state of emergency. the february 1 coup installed army leader min aung hlaing for at least a year, and detained democratic leaders including aung sung suu kyi. she faces charges that could lead to years of imprisonment. but on sunday, f the first time, the ruling junta declared martial law in parts of yangon. demonstrators fear that could lead to even more violence, against a protest movement that shows no signs of waning.

thousands of government employees have joined a civil disobedience movement, resisting by refusing to work for the military. >> ( translated ): i think our civil disobedience movement is efficient because the government officers are joining the protest. we need to keep going to get rid of the military dictatorship. >> schifrin: pro-democracy leaders not under arrest have created what they call the legitimate, civilian authority, whose vice president is mahn win khaing than. he spoke for the first time this weekend from a secret location, and called for myanmar's dozens of ethnic minorities to unite. >> ( translated ): in order to form a federal democracy, which all ethnic brothers, who have been suffering various kinds of oppressions from the dictatorship for decades, really desired, this revolution is the chance we can put our efforts together. >> schifrin: the biden administration has sanctioned military officials and their families, and is allowing

myanmar citizens in the u.s. to apply to remain. but, many demonstrators and human rights advocates want the u.s. and international community to go further. >> they haven't gone after the major sources of revenue, and they also haven't gone after the banks that continue to finance th regime and allow it to import weapons and continue to pay the soldiers and make and arrange deals with cronies that keep its coalition intact. >> schifrin: kelley currie is a former u.s. ambassador who's worked on myanmar for 25 years. she says the myanmar military has its fingers in every aspect of myanmar's economy, and has used holding companies as veneers for international investors. >> as long as they have sources of revenue, including revenue from oil and gas and from gemstones and timber, and these-- especially these extractive industries, as long as they are able to tap into those revenues and then tap into foreign exchange accounts, they can maintain a certain level of survival. once they start to lose those resources and lose at least access to some of these

financial streams, then it makes it much harder for people to continue to stick with them. >> we need for the strongest possible action from the international community. >> schifrin: kyaw moe tun was myanmar's ambassador to the u.n., until the military tried to fire him last month, after he denounced the coup, and ended a speech holding up three fingers-- the symbol of the democracy movement, taken from the novels and movies, "the hunger games." in an interview, he said he sees myanmar's democrats in the tradition of american democracy. >> i think that is the time that we all have to work together to end a military coup, to end the military regime in the country, and to make the prevailing of democracy in the country. the government that we want to see is of the people, by the people, for the people. that is what we want to see. >> schifrin: after your speech, the myanmar military fired you, or they tried to fire you. are you still myanmar's

ambassador to the u.n.? >> i rain the permanent representative of myanmar to the united nations. i am representing the civilian government, elected by the people. that is what i'm representing. >> schifrin: on sunday, myanmar's military declared martial law in parts of yangon, the country's largest city. it is the first time that they have done that since the coup. do you fear that the military is about to inflict even more violence? >> that is worrisome for all of us, but we-- we have to continue our-- our disagreement with the military regime, our disappointment with the military regime. and we have to work together to end the military coup in myanmar. >> schifrin: to accomplish that, the democracy movement has three pillars: the protestors who risk their lives; the civil disobedience movement; and the lawmakers who created an alternative, civilian authority, known as the c.p.r.h. >> c.r.p.h. can bring democracy

back to the country, can bring the state power to the people. so that is why we need the recognition from the international community on the c.p.r.h. >> schifrin: he urged the biden administration's to recognize the c.p.r.h., and target the military's revenues. >> i do appreciate the support extended by the u.s. administration. but at the same time, you rightly pointed out that we still need stronger, more action. with regard to the cutting of financial flows into the military, it is really needed now. that kind of action will give a lot, a lot of pressure on the military regime. we need to have the coalition, like the group of like-minded countries, to come up with the targeted sanction-- that is, a coordinated one, that is tougher one, especially financial flows,

to be looking at it, and cut it as soon as possible. cut it right away. when we are talking about the >> schifrin: myanmar's ethnic minorities, including the rohingya, are calling not only for the coup to be reversed, but a new kind of democracy to be instilled-- a more inclusive democracy that gives them some autonomy. what do you think the future of myanmar democracy should look like? >> that is what we are looking for, is the federal union. we all have to be equal. we all have to enjoy all the basic, fundamental rights or the human right that we all have to enjoy. there should be no, no kind of discrimination. >> schifrin: ambassador kyaw moe tun, thank you very much. >> i would like to end by saying, democracy must prevail in myanmar. our fight must win. ( speaking burmese ) thank you so much. >> woodruff: so important to hear these voices. thank you, nick schifrin.

and we close tonight at the national cathedral in washington, d.c. we close at washington, d.c.'s national cathedral, long a site of unity for the country, where faith and public health leaders are coming together to promote and provide covid vaccines. it is part of a nationwi effort to combat false information around getting a shot. and that is the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. please stay safe, and we'll see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> fidelity wealth management. >> consumer cellular. >> johnson & johnson. >> bnsf railway. >> carnegie corporation of new york. supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement, and the advancement of international peace and security.

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

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