judy: good evening. i am judy woodruff. on "the newshour," president biden aims to sell americans on the 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. . 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 funding for the "pbs newshour" has been provided by -- >> for 25 years, consumer cellular school has been to provide wireless service that helps people communicate and connect. our u.s.-based customer service team can help find a plan that fits you. >> johnson & johnson. bnsf railway. ♪ >> the john s. and james l. knight foundation. more at kf.org. >> and the ongoing support from

these individuals and institutions. this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. judy: 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 in philadelphia, highlighting the aid his administration is providing through small business loans and

stimulus checks. >> we are in a position where it is going to bring immediate relief, $1400, to 85% of the american public. we are going to get 100 million shots in people's arms in the first 60 days of my administration. 100 million people are going to be getting, not a joke, a check for $1400 that could change their lives. judy: here to break down the sales pitch is our own yamiche alcindor. this is the second day of what the white house is calling their help is here tour. tell us what they are trying to accomplish. yamiche: president biden and white house officials are eager to take a victory lap after having that 1.9 -- 1.9 trillion dollar relief package become law. they are eager to explain the details of the bill to the broader public. thiss dubbed the help is here tour, but it could be dubbed the

shots in arms, money in pockets tour. as we've heard from them crisscrossing the united states talking about it, this tour comes as president biden said in 2009 he felt like president obama was too humble about explaining the economic stimulus he passed. this is democrats wanting to learn from that, what they see as may be a mistake, and making sure they take credit for what is happening. you can see where people are heading this week. yesterday, we saw the vice president, as well as the second gentleman, go to las vegas. they went to a vaccination site. then in new jersey, we saw first lady jill biden, she visited an elementary school. joe was in chester visiting that black owned flooring company. they received a ppp loan. they are going to qualify for other grants under the bill.

you also saw the vice president and second gentleman go to colorado. they did a listening session for small business owners. tomorrow, the first lady is headed to new hampshire. friday, we will have the president and vice president in atlanta, georgia. that is that newly blue state. they want to talk about what they did and how they accomplish this, but they also want to bolster the next item on their agenda. that might be infrastructure or immigration, but they want to say, look what we can do for this country. judy: tell us about how this fits into the larger political goals of the administration, and what are republicans doing to push back? yamiche: democrats are looking at this 1.9 trillion dollar package and saying this is not just a messaging tool, but a tool that could get us reelected in 2022 as those midterm elections approach. it is head spinning we are headed to another election season, but i had a lengthy

conversation with dnc chair jamie harrison, and he told me democrats would be much more aggressive in making sure their base stays excited, eager, and thinks through how this bill affects their lives. on the republican side, what we are seeing is a number of lawmakers doing two things. one, calling this bill bloated, saying it is full of democratic wish list items. the other thing they are doing is trying to change the subject. we saw a number of lawmakers go to the border, talking about the challenges you have. the biden administration is challenging in the spike of -- with thepike of unidentified minors coming to the border. judy: we are going to hear a little more later in the program about what they are facing at the border. yamiche alcindor covering the white house, thank you. yamiche: thanks so much.

stephanie: i am stephanie sy with "newshour" west. we will return to judy woodruff after these headlines. eight people are dead, many of them asian women, after a spate of shootings at three massage parlors in the atlanta-georgia area. a 21-year-old man is in custody. it's not clear if these attacks are racially motivated, but there has been a sha rise in anti-asian violence we will return to later in the program. sweden halted use of astrazeneca is covid vaccine, as regulators investigate an alleged blood four risk, but in amsterdam, the they say there is no evidence of a direct link. >> we are still convinced that the benefits of the astrazeneca vaccine in

preventing covid-19 with the associated risk of hospitalization outweigh the risks of these side effects. stephanie: astrazeneca and the world health organization say a few dozen cases of blood clots have been reported in the european union and britain. here in the united states, mississippi today became the second state to expand vaccination eligibility to all adults. u.s. intelligence agencies say russia and iran tried to undermine the 2020 election by spreading misinformation. that conclusion came in a new report released by the director of the national intelligence, but it found no evidence foreign actors changed votes or disrupted the voting process. the united states has fired criticism at china. in the first trip abroad, secretary of state antony blinken and defense secretary lloyd austin met their counterparts in japan.

blinken accused beijing of undermining stability in asia. >> we are united in the vision of a free and open indo pacific region where countries follow the rules, cooperate when they can and resolve their differences peacefully, and in particular, we will push back when china uses coercion or aggression to get its way. stephanie: 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 traveled to south korea tomorrow. gunman in niger have killed 58 civilians at a market. the assault happened 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 scrolls fragments. they contain biblical texts that date to the first century. the fragments were found in a desert cave south of jerusalem. it's believed they were likely hidden during a jewish revolt against the roman empire. in this country, to people in southern california were killed after a fireworks stash exploded in a residential neighborhood in ontario. the house was set on fire. 50 firefighters were working on dousing the flames three hours after the blast. purdue pharma has filed a $10 billion plan to resolve lawsuits over the opioid epidemic. the sackler family would contribute $4 billion over a decade. the settlement would steer future profits to the plaintiffs, but multiple states

that sood said it does not go far enough. britain's prince philip return to windsor castle after being hospitalized for a month today. the husband of queen elizabeth is 99 years old. he was treated for an infection and underwent a heart procedure. tiger woods tweeted this evening that he is back home and continuing his recovery following a car accident last month. the golfer said he's getting stronger every day. still to, 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 laws narrows the equity gap for farmers of color. and much more. >> this is the "pbs newshour" from the weta studios in washington and arizona state

university. judy: the u.s. secretary 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 that unaccompanied children are not being turned back. all of this is playing out as the house of representives plans to vote on immigration legislation th week. democratic congressman henry cuellar's district is lated on the southern border and he joins me now. thank you so much. 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, it gets our attention. how bad is the situation? rep. cuellar: we still are not

at the high levels we had in the surge of 2019 under president trump. at that time, may of 2019, 144,000 people came in. last month, we hit 100,000, but what makes it more difficult is we are in the middle of a pandemic. about 83% are single adults. those people are being returned under what we call title 42. it's the kids coming that we are going to take. once they are here, we are going to take care of them like they were our own kids. judy: you say it's getting a little bit worse, but these numbers, as we are hearing from the homeland security secretary, are about to hit a 20 year high. we know thousands of these children, the united states is having to find a home for them. why isn't the policy they are to

manage the situation right now -- there to manage the situation right now? rep. cuellar: some people act surprised, and they shouldn't be surprised. we saw a surge in 2014. we saw a surge in 2019. we should have lessons learned on the how we get fema down there and take care of those kids. for us on the border, we don't just go visit the border. we lived there. we've seen this before, and people need to understand we ought to manage that particular situation on the border. judy: what needs to be done right now to deal with this? rep. cuellar: a couple things. once the kids are here, we are going to take care of the kids. number two, title 42, which is being used for public health, we are returning the adults back

and some family units back, and the other thing is we have to get the right message. when you say, don't come now. come later. it's not a very good message. we have to be very clear as to what we mean on the border. the administration's message is not getting through. i will tell you what is getting through. one, the friends and cousins network, hey, guess what? you come over. this is the time to do it. then you have the drug cartels that are aggressively marketing. any time they get somebody, they make money. those two messages are being hurt right now, and this message about don't come now, come later, is not being heard down there in central america or mexico. judy: what should the biden administration do? right now the administration is allowing unaccompanied children and teenagers to stay here.

it's allowing many families with young children to stay here. that message is getting across to people in central america south of the border. rep. cuellar: right. i asked that question of the 16 and 17-year-olds were there. they said, we keep seeing tv images in central america about people coming across. they see that image, and as i told the former secretary jeh johnson, former homeland secretary for president obama, you've got to show some images that you are returning people. show that you are returning the adults. show that you are returning people back. if they see people coming across into the united states, yes, that is what they are going to believe and hr. when the president of mexico calls the president of the united states the migrant

president, giving hope for people to come across, that tells you that latin america is hearing a very different message from what we are trying to portray. judy: you have said, congressman -- you said the biden administration hadn't listened to you, you said you went to them back in january, told them some things they needed to do. are they listening to you now? you said when they sent a delegation to the border last weekend, they didn't talk to members of congress. rep. cuellar: they didn't. in the week of january the 20th, i was telling the white house, i want you to pay attention. this is happening. even within a week from the inauguration, i was telling my contacts at the white house, pay attention to what is happening. if you don't handle this quickly and in the right way, it's going

to get out of hand, and you are going to have republicans just say the democrats are weak on border security, and when we vote on the dream act this week, i promise you that is what you are going to hear from the republicans on the floor to vote against immigration reform. judy: what does that mean in terms of legislation this week? rep. cuellar: i believe we have the votes to pass the dream act and a guestworker plan. if you noticed, the comprehensive immigration reform, how do you deal with the 11 million, 12 million, is not on the floor. what we are going to do is do the dream act and the guestworker plan, which are piecemeal, but i promise you you are going to hear republicans on the floor say, i went down there to the border. we saw this out of control, and

they are going to sayhat over and over and over again. judy: a lot of questions. congressman henry cuellar, thank you very much. rep. cuellar: thank you so much. judy: a growing number of european countries are suspending their use of the astrazeneca vaccine, one of three used on the continent, and one of the most promising to combat the global pandemic because of cost and easier storage. william brangham looks at the concerns driving the decisions and how public health officials see it. william: a group of european 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 got the vexing. astrazeneca says there is no evidence of a link and says

these are isolated cases, just 35 out of 17 million vaccinations. the company argues these are the same numbers you would find among the general population. for some context, i am joined by a physician, epidemiologist, and professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the university of california san francisco. great to have you on the newshour. before we talk about some of these alleged side effects, i think we should stress this is not a shot, it is not being administered in the u.s. nobody is getting these shots just yet. they are waiting for fda approval, but european nations are using this shot. what is it that has arisen that is so troubling? >> there is a small number of cases, over 30 cases in norway,

of blood clots. blood clots are common in the general population, and there are some features about these blood clots that were associated with low platelets that lead to some pretty severe consequences, but a small number, and i think the problem for vaccination campaigns and new vaccines is that when you vaccinate millions of people, it is 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 happens. william: you could have people getting back aches after their shots and make an association, but it may have no bearing whatsoever. is that your sense of what is going on? >> that's exactly right, and it is a challenge because we are vaccinating millions of people, and people tend to attribute something that is happening to the vaccine.

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

that is where some of the controversy comes in. william: just as you are noting, europeans are seeing an uptick in cases. we know these variants are galloping all over the world, and this seems an inopportune time to take one of our best weapons so far and put it bk on the shelf temporarily. >> that's exactly right, and i think it is important for those of us in the u.s., we've had a fairly good rollout of our vaccination campaign, and our numbers of cases are relatively low right now. in europe, cases are actually searching. there vaccination rollout has been slower than in the u.s. probably about 10% of european populations have received the first dose. it's concerning when we take one of our most effective tools and put it back in the toolbox and say, we aren't going to use it anymore, and i think that is the tension in what is going on in europe. william: the european medicine

agency said they are working with astrazeneca to scrutinize the data. do you have a sense from past investigations like this how long this might last. let's just say they give the drug the all clear. how quickly do you think shots could be administered again? >> one of the things they will look at is the actual numbers of these types of events in the countries like norway that have pulled this, as well as the many places where astrazeneca is being administered in europe. they are going to look at whether there are rates of blood clots higher than elsewhere. they are probably going to scrutinize the lots and see if it's related to one of the lots as opposed to something widespread with astrazeneca in general. there's an urgency to get a safe vaccine into the general public, and astrazeneca is an important tool.

until there is an all clear, people want to resume vaccinating immediately. i think the challenge is whether the public perception will lead to more hesitancy about accepting this vaccine. william: thank you very much for being here. >> thanks for having me. judy: the covid relief law is massive with far-reaching impact. it includes debt relief for america's black farmers, long denied government funding. lisa de chardin reports. lisa: the new law allocates $5 billion for farmers of color. most of that aims to erase their debt by paying 120% of their federally backed farm loans. the usda tells "newshour" that

would help some 14,000 farmers, providing $175,000 in relief on average. the struggles of black farmers have been particularly acute. john would is a farmer in southwest virginia, and he himself is the head of the national black farmers association. let's start right away. how would this money help black farmers? john: it's going to give them a jumpstart in their farming operation. first and foremost. this measure is historic in nature. it provides $5 billion for debt relief and $1 billion for outreach -- outreach. this is a huge step in the right direction, especially for congress, and the agate

department. lisa: you are a fourth-generation farmer. you're talking about discrimination from the u.s. department of agriculture. we are talking about loans denied, loans underfunded. can you talk us through how that actually worked for individual farmers like you? lisa: basically, -- john: basically, many black farmers experienced blatant discrimination. i had my loan application torn and tossed in a trashcan. i've been spat on the person responsible for making farm loans in my county, here in mecklenburg county, virginia. discrimination was very pervasive, many black farmers flat out denied an application. they would come to the office, and the official would say, we don't have money available. when white farmers came in, they would process their loans in

less than 30 days. it took hundreds of days on average. judy: i have to circle back. you were spat at by a federal official? john: he was chewing tobacco juice and spat on my shirt. when they came out and investigated him, they asked him, did you spit on his shirt? he said, yes, he accidentally missed his sitoon. they asked him if he had problems giving loans to black farmers, and he said, yes, i think they are lazy and look for a paycheck on friday. that is the discrimination by demeanor that prevented black farmers from prospering in this country when we were denied access to credit based on this. he would only see black farmers

on wednesday, so we called it a black wednesday. he would speak loudly and boastfully down towards elderly black farmers and say "boy." this kind of supervisor was referring to a preacher "boy" and how he wasn't going to lend us any of his money. i believe it's the government's money, not his money. that's the type of discrimination we were facing, not just in my county, but this was a national epidemic. i would like to call it a national disgrace and an embarrassment for the country we live in. lisa: the statistics are hard to grasp. black farmers in this country from 1910 to 1997 lost 90% of their acreage. 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? john: i'm hopeful we will have some time to regroup, so a farmer can have his debt removed forgiven. it gives that farmer a little bit of time to look at his farming operation, revamp, regroup. it also gives us an opportunity to stop some of the foreclosures that have been happening for us black farmers. we'll be able to keep more black farmers on the farm and give them the opportunity to rebuild their farming operation. lisa: what do you say to white farmers who see this as reverse to skirmish in and say they are struggling also -- reverse discrimination and say they are struggling also? john: the $29 billion that went out under the previous administration, black farmers

and farmers of color, virtually absent. billions of dollars of loans and subsidies and debt forgiveness. black farmers have been left out of the equation for decades. what do you call that, is my question, and when they heard about this , why didn't they speak out and say, you need to treat black farmers justly? we want the same thing. if you are treating black farmers fairly andqually, we wouldn't need a special bill in the year 2021. lisa: thank you for joining us.

judy: 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. stephanie: fresh produce, hot pastries, curbside conversations, the familiar sounds in oakland's chinatown, now pierced by a palpable tension. volunteers in bright orange vests fan out on daylong patrols after a spate of attacks rattled the community. this longtime oakland resident said the patrols help. >> of course, i feel a little safer myself. it's all about looking out for each other. i had a major meltdown on february 17 when i heard the

latest incidents. stephanie: 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 during lunar new year when elders are known to carry envelopes of cash. it was another elder who started the safety patrols. >> there are a lot of different ethnicities, and usually it is very harmonious, but with coronavirus and the economic situation, people are getting desperate. stephanie: he started walking the street last march. >> i can name kung flu. stephanie: then president trump highlighted the origins of the pandemic. >> the chinese vibrant spi -- virus. stephanie: kim tran studies issues of race and social justice movements. she remembers when she noticed a

trend. >> there was a burmese family in texas stabbed inside of a sam's club, and that changed with how i engage in public. we started changing whether or not i would walk the dog alone. my mom has stopped going to the atm by herself. there is a very palpable climate of fear. >> i was walking on the sidewalk, and it happened right over there. stephanie: that fear had not hit diana chang in late december of last year. she was running errands near her apartment in downtown oakland. >> as soon as they got close to me, they pulled me to the ground. stephanie: she was left bruised and badly shaken. the police officer who respond saw a race as a factor right away. >> she told me she was the first asian-american woman attacked that evening, and they were attacking multiple asian-american women. >> we were being pegged as a vulnerable group, as an easy target.

because of cultural reasons, there is reluctance he to speak out a to be stoic, to not try to cause trouble. stephanie: the racial motivations behind many of these attacks are unclear, but the group stopped aapi hate has logged nearly 4000 anti-asian incidents since the start of the pandemic. an assault in san francisco. another in oakland just last week that left a 75-year-old dead. most of the incidents are verbal assaults, which chang says she's been through, as well. a car came up, and the man in the car yelled "coronavirus" at me. it was hurtful. i was angry. stephanie: back in chinatown, this man begins making the rounds at 6:00 every morning

creating elders on their morning walks. and scrubbing the graffiti that has been scrawled on the walls of businesses overnig. now more than ever, he stays vigilant while he works. >> there is a store across the street with all the boxes. somebody tried to run her over before. i was just across the street, and i chased them away. stephanie: he's a community ambassador, a position funded by the oakland chinatown chamber of commerce. >> seeing the grandmas and grandpas doing their tai chi and walk-in, just trying to live out their life in peace, that is what makes me want to protect them. stephanie: shop owners say they welcome the volunteer patrols, but they are no substitute for law enforcement, and they say police have taken too long to respond to incidents. during our time, we saw very little police presence in chinatown. >> i believe these are crimes of

opportunity. stephanie: oakland's police chief says the rise in anti-asian violence mirrors a rise in crime across the city. he points to poverty, which the pandemic has only worsened. >> what that doesn't take away from is the fact that people have been victimized. numbers at the end of the day are human beings. stephanie: 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 cannot be addressed with more policing. the rise in anti-asian sentiment highlights racial sentiments that existed long before the pandemic. >> there is an american impulse to pit us against each other. one of the most obvious moments is the 1992 uprisings in los angeles. stephanie: korean businesses against african-americans

oppressed by police. >> there has been real harm, but there have also been these 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 to black folks running campaigns to fund raise in chinatown. stephanie: that solidarity was on display on the streets of chinatown, but tran says this moment reveals a deeper truth, that americans -- asian americans have often been left out of the conversation of racism in america. >> there's black folks and white folks, and we have failed to not talk about anybody in those two groups. what we are seeing now is asian americans are a surprise in terms of the racial discourse of this country. it's because of that failure. it's because we've only had the conversation in this one way where it is a racial binary. i am really hopeful that this

moment means we will have a continued conversation about what it is like to be in asian-american as a racialized community. stephanie: it has been months since chang was mugged by her home in oakland. what is your sense of safety? >> i still prefer not to go out by myself, and that makes me angry. i feel like i'm an independent person. i feel like i'm strong, and i hope at some point i will not have to feel that way where i don't feel safe in my neighborhood. stephanie: fears grip on chang even as hopes rise that with the recent violence, asian americans will be embraced with a wider racial reckoning. for the "newshour," i am stephanie sy in oakland, california. ♪ judy: now, to a clash of

religion and culture in the catholic church. pope francis has voiced support for civil legalization of same-sex unions, but yesterday declared that priests cannot bless same-sex marriage. omni vaux explores reaction to this decision. >> the pope said the church should welcome and bless lgbtq members, but he upheld church teachings on this question. the pope said the church cannot bless in and referred to same-sex unions as illicit and not ordered to god's plan. in 2013, the pope made global headlines when speaking about gay priests. he said, who am i to judge? a professor of theological and social ethics at fordham university joins me know. welcome to "the newshour." 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 we've seen for pope francis throughout his pen to get -- pontificate. he wants to extend a welcome hand to members of this community, but he wants to do so within a framework of traditional sexual teaching. he wants gays and lesbians to be treated with compassion and respect, but he wants to draw the line at not changing any of the traditional sexual beliefs of the catholic church. given those parameters, the announcement yesterday was not a surprise, but it was disappointing considering that this pope has done more than any of his predecessors to extend a hand of welcome tenderness and support to members of the lgbtq

community. he's trying to do it within this framework that circumscribes how far that can extend. stephanie: what kind of message do you think that sends? when you talk about it, some people may find it a confusing message. he's saying all people are welcome, and on the other hand, he is saying these same-sex unions are a sin. >> one of the reactions is confusion. what the church is trying to do is try to balance this, and i think it's an instance of the tension we see in trying to be welcoming, but then you are trying to do it in a framework that holds that people's intimate expressions of love are sinful. how can 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 are

wrestling with new insights into human sexuality. how far can one go in reconciling new knowledge and new insight and experience within traditional frameworks? that is precisely the tension that the catholic church finds itself in. >> do you worry it could turn people away from the catholic church? >> i don't worry about it. i am frightened of that possibility. i know 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 -- the students i teach at fordham, we discussed of in class briefly, and all of my students to a person said they didn't understand what the problem is. many of them have friends that are gay and lesbian. many of them have attended same-sex weddings. there are many catholics who have members of their families

involved in same-sex relationships, and they see the positive value that these relationships bring to their loved ones. for the church to blank at least say that these are sinful, while yet at the same time, and the same document, it says they have positive elements that need to be valued and appreciated, that's a pretty confusing message to try to get across to the ordinary person in the pew. how could somebody be positive and valued and appreciated and yet be sinful? many people find that not only confusing but dismaying and frankly a little bit insulting, so they go elsewhere for their spiritual needs. >> i need to ask you about another big story related to the catholic church, and that was an announcement from the jesuit order of priests saying they are making a $100 million fundraising commitment to benefit the descendents of un-slaved people that the church once owned and to promote racial

reconciliation. you've written about the power of the church to combat racism. what did you make of this announcement? >> i'm extremely excited about this. this is unprecedented. we have a joint effort of the descendents of enslaved people and the descendents of the enslavers to come together in a common project to address the remnants of enslavement and its continuing effects on the american society. i think this is groundbreaking because the society of jesus is not the only religious order that was entangled with this tragedy of africanized slavery. there are many other religious groups that owned slaves. for the jesuits to come forward, this could be a model for american society on how to

address this lingering stain on the american conscience. the other thing that is exciting , we are recasting our understanding of what reparations mean. so often, we think about, who is going to get how much money? they are taking a broader view and saying, reparation means repair. how do we repair the systemic damage that enslavement has done to american society? it's very exciting and long overdue. >> father, it was a pleasure speaking with you. thank you for making the time. ♪ judy: today in myanmar, security services killed at least two protesters after killing more than 50 sunday, the single most

violent days since the military took power in february. nick schifrin speaks to a myanmar ambassador who opposed the coup and reports on how the daily duel between demonstrators and the military is becoming deadlier. a warning, many of these images are disturbing. nick: in today's myanmar, mothers bury their sons. this woman's son was killed this weekend by security forces, the family one of hundreds since the coup forced to grieve. >> 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? nick: to protest in myanmar is to risk your life. of the more than 150 killed so far, about 1/5 have been shot in the head.

myanmar security services are shooting into crowds of demonstrators, many armed only with construction helmets, but many demonstrators are fighting back, like this one who posted a go pro video firing a firework at police and then runningway from live ammunition. the un's top human rights body has reported security services have detained over 2000 people. >> we are concerned of crackdown continues to intensify, and we call on the military to stop killing and detaining protesters. >> for six weeks, myanmar has been under a national emergency. the february coup installed a military leader and maintained democratic leaders. aung san suu kyi faces charges that could lead to years in prison. demonstrators fear martial law

could lead to more violence against a protest movement that shows no signs of waning. thousands of government employees have joined a civil disobedience movement resisting or refusing to work for the military. >> i think our civil disobedience movement is efficient because the government officers are asking to join the protests, and the junta has to k them to go to work. we need to keep going with other protests on the streets to get rid of the military dictatorship from our country. nick: pro-democracy leaders not under arrest have created what they consider the legitimate authority. his vice president spoke from a secret location and called for myanmar's dozens of ethnic minorities to unite. >> 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.

nick: the biden administration has sanction military officials and their families and is allowing myanmar's citizens in the u.s. to apply to remain, but many demonstrators want the u.s. and international community to go furer. >> they have not gone after the major sources of revenue, and they have not gone after the banks that continue to finance this regime and allow them to import weapons and continue to pay the soldiers and arrange deals with cronies that keep its coalition intact. nick: kelly curry is a former u.s. ambassador who has worked on myanmar for 25 years. she says the myanmar military has its fingers in every aspect of myanmar's economy. >> as long as they have sources of revenue, including revenue from oil and gas and gemstones and timber, especially these extracted industries, and then tap into foreign-exchange accounts, they can maintain a certain level of survival.

once they lose those resources and lose access to some of these financial streams, then it makes it much harder for people to continue to stick with them. >> we need strong as possible action from the international community. nick: myanmar's ambassador to the u.n. ended a speech holding up three fingers, the symbol of the democracy movement taken from the movies "the hunger games." he sees myanmar's democracy in the tradition of american democracy. >> i think it's the time where we all have to work together to end the military coup, end the regime in the country, and make democracy prevailing in the country. the government we want to see is of the people, by the people, for the people. that is what we want to see. nick:fter your speech, the

myanmar military trd to fire you. are you still myanmar's ambassador to the human? >> i remain the representative from myanmar to the united nations. i am representing the civilian government elected by the people. that is what i am representing. nick: on sunday, myanmar's military declared national -- martial law. it's the first time they've done that since the coup. do you fear the military is about to inflict even more violence? >> that is worrisome for all of us, but we have to continue our disagreement with the military regime, our disappointment with the regime, and we have to work together to end the military coup. nick: to accomplish that, the democracy movement has three pillars. protesters who risk their lives,

the civil disobedience movement, and lawmakers who created the alternative civilian authority. >> it can bring democracy back to the country, can bring the states power to the people. that's why we need recognition from the international community. nick: he urged the biden community to 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 we still need stronger, more action with regard to cash flow into the military. that kind of action will give a lot of pressure on the military regime.

went to look at it and cut it as soon as possible. nick: myanmar's ethnic minorities 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? >> we are looking for a federal union. there should be no kind of discrimination. nick: thank you very much. >> i would like to end by saying democracy must prevail in myanmar. our fight must win. thank you so much. judy: so important to hear these voices.

we closed tonight at the national cathedral in washington, d.c. faith and public health leaders are coming together this evening to promote and provide covid vaccines as part of a nationwide effort to combat false information around getting a shot. that's the "newshour" for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. please stay safe, and we will see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs "newshour" has been provided by -- >> consumer cellular. johnson & johnson. bnsf railway. 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. this is pbs "newshour" west from wbta studios in washington and from our bureau at walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university.

emergency planning for kids. we can't predict when an emergency will happen. so that's why it's important to make a plan with your parents. here are a few tips to stay safe. know how to get in touch with your family. write down phone numbers for your parents, siblings and neighbors.

pick a place to m >> pati narrates: los cabos, m mexico. down at the southern tip of the baja peninsula, one of mexico's most popular tourist destinations is also one of its newest cities. but there's a unique history here that dates back centuries. >> the pirates used to come and hide right there in the bay of cabo san lucas. >> i'm following this chef and food historian off the beaten path to find traces of that european pirate influence still ive today. it's the same technique as pizza! i'm taki that european influence into my kitchen too with a mouthwatering, cheesy, veggie-loaded mexican lasagne. look at all those layers! and a crispy and plump shrimp salad topped with the tastiest roasted vegetable vinaigrette.