captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight: the biden agenda. the president faces questions on immigration and voting rights, as he doubles the vaccine goal, in the first official news conference of his administration. then, on the border with mexico. we are on the ground as migrants continue to cross into the u.s., despite the dangers and risks of deportation. and, hunting for vaccines. volunteers use every tool at their disposal to find those in need of a shot. >> we are going person to person, "do you want to be vaccinat?" ladies and men that are on the

on the margins of society, that folks aren't advocating for them, that's our target. >> woodruff: all that and more, on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> before we talk about your investmes-- what's new? >> well, audrey's expecting... >> twins! >> we'd be closer to the twins. >> change in plans. >> at fidelity, changing plans is always part of the plan. >> johnson & johnson. >> bnsf railway. >> consumer cellular. >> the kendeda fund. committed to advancing restorative justice and meaningful work through

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today's white house news conference was heavy on the subject of immigration at the southern border, but it also touched on voting rights, and the biden agenda's prospects in the u.s. senate. white house correspondent yamiche alcindor was there, and she has our report. >> alcindor: after 64 days in office, president biden held his first official news conference. he began by naming a new target for covid vaccinations. >> we will, by my 100th day in office, have administered 200 million shots in people's arms. that's right, 200 million shots in 100 days. i know it's ambitious, twice our original goal, but no other country in the world has even come close. >> alcindor: but the challenges at the u.s. southern border soon took center stage. is there a timeline for when we won't be seeing these overcrowded facilities with run by c.p.d. when it comes to unaccompanied minors?

>> so, what we're doing now is, we're attempting to rebuild, rebuild the system that can accommodate what is happening today. if you take a look at the number of people who are coming? the vast majority, the overwhelming majority of people coming to the border and crossing, are being sent back. >> alcindor: mr. biden was questioned about possibly doing away with the filibuster, a potential roadblock to immigration reform and his larger agenda. >> successful electoral politics is the art of the possible. let's figure out how we can get this done and move in a direction of significantly changing the abuse of the filibuster rule first. it's been abused from the time it came into being by an extreme way in the last 20 years. let's deal with the abuse first. >> alcindor: the president also criticized efforts by republican state legislatures to restrict voting access.

>> i'm worried about how unamerican this whole initiative is. it's sick. i'm convinced that we'll be able to stop this, because it is the most pernicious thing. this makes jim crow look like jim eagle. this is gigantic, what they're trying to do, and it cannot be sustained. i will do everything in my power, along with my friends in the house and senate, to keep that from becoming the law. >> alcindor: mr. biden also made news. he announced that he expects to run for re-election with vice president harris on the ticket. >> have you decided whether you are going to run for reelection in 2024? you haven't set up a reelection campaign, as your predecessor had by this time. >> my predecessor needed to. ( laughs ) my predecessor. oh god, i miss him. ( laughter ) the answer is yes, my plan is to run for reelection. that's my expectation. >> alcindor: in the wake of

two recent mass shootings, the president was questioned about gun control. but, he quickly pivoted to infrastructure. >> it's a matter of timing. as you've all observed, successful presidents-- better than me-- have been successful in large part because they know how to time what they're doing, in order to decide priorities, what needs to be done. the next major initiative is-- i'll be announcing it friday in pittsburgh in detail-- is to rebuild the infrastructure, both physical and technological infrastructure, in this country. >> alcindor: after nearly 20 years of war in afghanistan, mr. biden did not commit to withdrawing american troops by a may 1 deadline agreed to by the trump administration. >> it's going to be hard to meet the may 1 deadline. just in terms of tactical

reasons, it's hard to get those troops out. we've been meeting with our allies, those other nations that have-- nato allies who have troops in afghanistan as well, and if we leave, we're going to do so in a safe and orderly way. >> alcindor: he also said he would challenge china's president xi on human rights abuses, and said former president trump skirted that responsibility. >> we're going to continue in an unrelenting way to call to the attention of the entire world and make it clear, make it clear what's happening. that's who we are. the moment a president walks away from that, as the last one did, there's a moment when we begin to lose our legitimacy around the world. >> alcindor: the president then departed the east room to meet virtually with european union leaders at the european council summit. >> woodruff: and yamiche joins me now from the white house.

hello, yamiche. the president was asked a lot about immigration today. what is his explanation for why so many migrants are now trying to enter the u.s.? >> yamiche: that's right. a lot of the president's first press conference was spent on this issue, a big challenge for the biden administration, immigration. he laid a lot of the blame for what is happening at the southern border at the feet of his predecessor, former president trump. he says he inherited a mess and former president trump dismantled the legal immigration system, and he was now trying to rebuild it. he didn't back down on the idea he was going to follow the laws that president trump didn't want to do, which was allowing unaccompanied minors into the united states. and he said, though, that migrant families, all of them -- most of them are being sent back, but all of them he wants to be sent back. they're being sent back under title 42, and that deals with public health and the idea we're in the middle of a pandemic and can't at this time take in

families. president biden said he needs time to get his hands around this. and he would give journalists access to the overcrowded facilities, where we see a lot of children sleeping on floors and they're terrified and not getting sunlight, but he has to be given a chance to implement his plan before we can see those facilities as reporters. >> woodruff: and, yamiche, the president was asked about gun violence in america after these terrible shootings in atlanta and in boulder, colorado. he didn't offer many details today, but what is known about what the white house is thinking with regard to guns and gun violence? >> yamiche: president biden did not spend a lot of time talking about gun reform, and that is telling because it is an issue he talked about on the campaign trail when he was a candidate. he pivoted very quickly to infrastructure, talking about roads and bridges. white house officials tell me that the president and his aides are really -- they're looking at a number of executive actions, including possibly requiring background checks for

so-called ghost guns, hand assembled firearms, and you're not required to have a background check to purchase these, and that is something they're looking about. part of the reason the president didn't talk a lot about guns today because the filibuster and the issue and e congress is something that would hold up a lot of gun reform and immigration reform and voting registration. we heard the president call it sick, and hours after that, georgia passed a really telling voting bill that restricts access to voting by mail, so a number of people -- it gives more power to the state legislature there. that tells you in some ways why the conversation about filibuster is so needed among democrats and why they're still talking about it. >> woodruff: and finally, yamiche, all of this comes as the country is still in the grips of this pandemic. what is the president saying about plans to get more people vaccinated. >> yamiche: the president outlined a new

goal, 200 million shots in arms by the end of his first 100 days. i've been talking to white house officials about this goal. i talked to cameron webb, a senior white house policy advisor on covid equity, and he told me there is a detailed plan to invest $10 billion focused specifically on covid equity, along with this new goal. it will be targeting community health centers, and people on dialysis, having kidney failure and problems, and tryng to get vaccine confidence up in places like rural communities, as well as communities of color. i have to tell you, judy, this is really important because there is some analysis, including at the "new york times," that says african-americans, their vaccination rate is half of that of whites, and that gap is even bigger among latino americans. >> woodruff: all right. yamiche alcindor reporting from the white house on the day of this first

presidential conference. and as the biden administration works to respond to the influx of migrants, our amna nawaz was on the border last night, watching as several people crossed into the united states. she reports from ciudad juarez, mexico, and el paso, texas. >> nawaz: as the sun goes down over juarez, this group has just made their way from mexico, into the united states. after crossing the river, and climbing the banks, they quickly scale the wall. from our vantage point, they disappear among the trains on the other side. we've come to this place that we've heard from local sources the number of border crossgs has been going up in recent weeks. sure enough, that crossing that we just witnessed happened in a matter of minutes. it looked like three teenagers, two boys and one girl. what's really remarkable, though, is that this was an area that was patrolled by mexican national guard just a few minutes ago, and there's a u.s. customs and border protection truck about 100 yards down that way. at this location, the distance from one nation to the next is a matter of feet, separated by a shallow, narrow stretch of the

rio grande river. the pedestrian bridge linking the u.s. and mexico is mere minutes away, but without documents to enter, they'd be turned back before setting foot on american soil. crossing here means they're likely to get picked up by border patrol, and can then make a case to stay in the u.s. on the juarez side, people are milling about in these evening hours. a park nearby draws parents and children. on the el paso side, border patrol cars regularly scout the area. still, very soon, we see another crossing at a point further down the banks. this time, a group that looks like four adults, one carrying a baby in his arms. they climb up the u.s. side, jogging for a moment, then walking along the wall and out of our sight. soon after, 50 yards the other direction, a group that looks like four teenage boys. not long after that, what looks like a mother and daughter. they wade carefully through the water, but the mother struggles to make it up the steep incline. the young girl reaches back to

help her up. eventually they reach the top, and continue walking, hand in hand, on their way. i have to tell you, this is an incredibly long stretch of land. the families seem to come out of nowhere, and then make their way quickly across. we did try to ask some trying to cross where they were from, but they did not answer. so, we don't know much about the families, but we do know they have made their way into the u.s. the vast majority of people apprehended crossing the border right now are being turned back around to mexico under a pandemic-related rule called title 42. but, the biden administration is not turning away unaccompanied minors, and border agents are making exceptions for some families. u.s. officials say they are seeing high rates of recidivism-- the same people attempting to cross again and again. ruben garcia, who has worked in migrant services in the area for over 40 years, says the rule keeping people out could also be fueling the current increase in unaccompanied minors.

>> families that have been expelled multiple times that are traveling with children, and some of them are making the decision to send their children in by themselves, because they have families some place in the us and they know their children will be released to them. so in a sense, our title 42 policy is helping to contribute to the unaccompanied minor surge that we're seeing. >> nawaz: in response to our request for comment, a customs and border protection spokesman reiterated that the border is not open, but he also pointed us to recent data for the el paso sector. year to date, the number of unaccompanied minors crossing is up 144% from last year, for single adults? they've seen an increase of 231%. congresswoman veronica escobar, whose district includes el paso,

says those numbers will grow, but many of the single adults are the same people trying to cross multiple times. >> so, title 42 doesn't address anything, it doesn't solve anything. it basically postpones the inevitable. none of these policies that push people and limit their legal avenues do anything in the long-term. >> nawaz: in an op-ed for the "new york times" today, she wrote, "americans must finally acknowledge that the real crisis is not at the border, but outside it, and that until we address that crisis, this flow of vulnerable people seeking help at our doorstep will not end anytime soon." last week, a group of republican house members visited el paso to decry president biden's policies. on friday, a republican senate group will visit the southern border. escobar will host her own congressional delegation here in el paso this weekend. >> all of these republican delegations that are coming to the border, what is unsettling

to me is the way they use the border as a prop. all of that moves us further away from a real dialogue and real conversations. we've got to focus on solutions or we're going to have this conversation every single year. >> nawaz: those solutions may be harder to find, with washington's political wars now being waged on the border. for the pbs newshour, i'm amna nawaz in juarez, mexico and el paso, texas. >> woodruff: in the day's other news, at least one tornado has struck the birmingham, alabama area, with reports of multiple injuries and five deaths. officials say a storm hit a subdivision of birmingham and several towns to the south. it tore up homes and a civic complex and ripped down power lines. efforts to ship covid-19

vaccines to needy nations have run into major delays. the gavi alliance-- backed by the u.n.-- says 90 million doses of astrazeneca's vaccine are affected. they are being produced in india, but domestic demand is rising in that country. we'll look at vaccine delays in europe, after the news summary. the suspect in the boulder, colorado shooting had his first court appearance today on ten charges of first-degree murder. the lawyer for ahmad al aliwi alissa asked for a mental health assessment. that will delay the next pre-trial hearing, and prosecutors said it could take a year to try the case. >> today's court appearance is the first step in what will be a long journey to justice for the victims, their loved ones, and this community. and i can promise you every step of the way we're going to fight incredibly hard to secure the right outcome in this case. >> woodruff: alissa did not enter a plea at the hearing.

the supreme court of california issued a major ruling today that bars holding people in jail simply because they cannot afford bail. the unanimous decision said lower courts must consider the ability to pay, unless the defendant is deemed too dangerous to release. the upshot is that many indigent defendants may now be released. in russia, opposition leader alexei navalny says his physical condition is worsening in prison. he posted a letter today, complaining of poor treatment for back pain and leg problems. navalny was jailed for violating probation because he traveled to germany to recover from being poisoned. he blamed the attack on the putin government. protests in myanmar today led to fresh violence, with reports of four people killed. the day began with peaceful marches against last month's military coup. later, troops reportedly attacked the crowds.

meanwhile, the u.s. imposed new sanctions. state department officials told a senate hearing that they'll hit the army regime where it hurts. >> what these are doing now is really pin-pointing the commander in chief, his family, his ruling circle. these are carefully designed sanctions to put pressure on the commander-in-chief, to put pressure on his children, on his family, to make him realize that he has bitten off more than he can chew. >> woodruff: the united kingdom imposed similar sanctions today. crews are still struggling to ear egypt's suez canal of a giant cargo ship that is wedged across it. leaders of the effort warned today that it could take weeks. tugboats and cranes have failed to free the ship, which ran aground on tuesday during a sandstorm. at least 150 other vessels are now blocked from transiting the canal. back in this country, new york

back in this country, the university of southern california has agreed to pay $852 million in a record settlement involving sexual abuse. the money goes to more than 700 women who accused the long time campus gynecologist. dr. george tindel is also facing 35 counts of alleged sexual misconduct. the u.s. supreme court says victims of accidents involving ford vehicles may sue the company in state courts. today's decision includes cars originally purchased in one state and resold as "used" elsewhere. it could open the door to more state court lawsuits against auto makers and companies doing business nationwide. in economic news, new claims for unemployment benefits in the u.s. fell to 684,000 last week, the lowest since the pandemic began. and on wall street, the dow jones industrial average gained 199 points to close at 32,619.

the nasdaq rose 15 points, and the s&p 500 added 20. still to come on the newshour: europe struggles to manage a new wave of infections, and the challenge of vaccine rollout. problems of equitable distribution continue to plague the paycheck protection program. volunteers here at home use every tool at their disposal to find vaccines for people who need help. plus, much more. >> woodruff: much of continental europe is suffering through a third and brutal wave of covid-19. making matters worse, the drive to vaccinate throughout the european union is faltering,

and badly. coupled with recent concerns about the astrazenaca vaccine, as nick schifrin reports, the e.u. is running behind. >> schifrin: on the banks of the seine, the city of lights, feels a little bit dimmed. paris is under a new, month-long lockdown. and along with this spring's bloom, comes heavy gloom. france faces what european leaders call the “crisis of the century.” hospitals are overwhelmed with a faster-spreading variant first discovered in britain. and the lockdown won't prevent the city's fate, warns the head of a paris intensive care unit. >> ( translated ): whatever we do, those who are infected today will need to go to hospil or in intensive care units in ten days from now, and those in i.c.u. will stay for two weeks. in any case, this coming month will be hell. >> schifrin: a deepening circle of hell, in part because of a vaccine shortage. across the european union, only 5% are fully vaccinated. the deficit comes in part from the 27-country bloc centralizing

procurement, but being too cautious in guaranteeing supply. in a greek tv interview last night, french president emmanuel macron admitted europe should have had more of what he called american ambition. >> ( translated ): without a doubt, in a way, we didn't shoot for the stars. i think that should be a lesson for us. we were maybe too rational. >> schifrin: that rationality also included generosity. the e.u. has distributed 71 million doses internally, but exported 43 million doses, to more than 30 countries. that disparity has led to incredible political pressure on, and from, e.u. leaders, during today's european summit, leaders confirmed they would block exports to countries with better vaccination rates, but continue exports to the u.n. and developing world. >> what has led up to this announcement is basically the fact that in europe, things are not going very well. >> schifrin: nathalie tocci is a special adviser to the e.u. leadership, and directs the international affairs institute in rome.

she says vaccine failures threaten european solidarity, and could increase european nationalism. >> this is really, in a sense, not only about the pandemic, but it's really about the future of the european project. if the e.u. does not deliver, that nationalist, sovereign-- sovereigntist sort of wave that had swept across the europe is going to be back. >> schifrin: but it's a different story in recently divorced britain. 40% of the country has received at least one shot, and it's imported ten million doses from continental europe, and exported zero. today, british prime minister boris johnson visited a daycare, and showed off his painting skills... >> needs work. >> schifrin: ...but said the 0 to 10 million ratio worked just fine. >> one thing i'm firmly libertarian about is free trade, and i don't want to see blockades of vaccines or of medicines. i don't think that's the way forward, either for us or for any of our friends. >> the big concern is that once the e.u. starts to clamp down

more and more on exports of vaccines, that this can undermine efforts to vaccinate the rest of the world. >> schifrin: suerie moon co- directs the global health center at the graduate institute in geneva. she says astrazeneca is the developing world's most important vaccine, and export reductions could hurt everyone's ability to overcome covid. >> economically, it makes sense for richer countries to make sure poor ones get access to vaccines, in terms of political stability and political relationships. and in terms of trying to prevent the emergence of new mutations, new variants of concern which can come back and undermine the pandemic control efforts in-- in wealthier countries, it also makes sense to-- to vaccinate everywhere. >> schifrin: also not helping: more vaccine skepticism. overnight, astrazeneca relead new data of its u.s. trials, in response to government criticism it had cherry-picked preliminary data. in denmark, auorities today extended a freeze on astrazeneca for three weeks. that kind of news has led to more hesitancy, including back

in france, where brigitte becker shows off the inhaler for her asthma, and the toys for her grandkids, but refuses the vaccine that will let her see them. >> ( translated ): we asked considering everything that has been said about astrazeneca, i don't want to take it anymore. >> schifrin: the paradox is, countries distributing vaccines are reducing covid rates, helping prove vaccine safety and efficiency. >> and so in some ways, people should be even more willing to come forward and be immunized. but it's really unfortunate. the daily headlines, i think, are going to make it even harder. >> schifrin: scientists insist astrazeneca and all the vaccines are safe. it's now a question of how quickly the world can distribute them, and avoid more lockdowns. for the pbs newshour, i'm nick schifrin. >> woodruff: the u.s. senate

voted today to extend the application period for the paycheck protection program until the end of may. we talked to several latino business owners and lenders about the pandemic's impact and the application process. it's part of our "race matters" series. >> my name is denise hernandez. my husband and i work in our family-owned business. it's a catering company called true flavors catering. >> hi, i'm david adame. >> i'm josé martinez. i'm president and c.e.o. of chicanos por la causa. >> we're one of the largest community development corporations that we call ourselves in the country. >> my name is iliana, and this is my mom, gloria, and our family business is 4kids clothes in anaheim, california. >> considering that we were closed for three months, that's a long time. and no revenue, that's a long time. and it wasn't like the bills stopped or they froze. it's not like that.

>> we're in the events business, so in our business, we're, our business, there's gathering, right? so we were very quick to be affected by this. >> we went dark for a while. we were the first affected. we were hit the hardest. it's going to be the longest industry to recover. >> it's just my husband and i covering the hours, no employees. and we've been working like that since may, till now. so we work seven days, seven days out of the week. >> when you're self-employed, you're-- you're in it. you do everything. you wipe tables and you clean toilets and, you know, you'll fire-- you'll file reports or whatever it might be. right, we do it all. >> it's not like someone called the store saying, hey, you know, the p.p.p. application is out, here's how you can apply for it. let us know if you need help. they don't. no one does that. we don't have a whole finance department or a whole accounting department. like, it's right here. ( laughs ) >> we have somebody that helps us with our accounting side, right, that we can easily pull up reports and we can easily

pull up financials, you know, at the push of a few buttons. and if you don't have that, it could be so stressful. it could be so tedious. >> many of these small businesses, they don't have significant relationships with banks, and they're expected to go to-- to a bank and get one of these loans. ju like the last recession, right? our communities were hit harder. they rebounded slower, you know, so this pandemic is no different. it just amplifies what we already see in our society. >> when the very first p.p.p. loan was announced, i was refreshing every hour for days, just waiting for wells fargo to release the application. my parents have been banng with them through the business, thinking, okay, we've been long- time customers, they should be able to help us. they rejected our application. i remember watching webinars from my local small business administration. i was watching them every single day trying to get answers.

and i mean, there were thousands of people on these zoom calls from my local s.b.a., and they were all asking, like, we got rejected, what do we do? >> there was no thought process abt outreach, even marketing, for that matter, right? the marketing was, hey, we know you're-- you're struggling, and here it is. you go to your local bank and try to figure it out. so even with the banks, as large as a system it was, you know, they got bogged down. right. and, and, of course, of the smaller businesses probably weren't going to get the biggest attention. >> my team was working seven days a week, really trying to figure out how we can get as many p.p.p. loans out there to-- to our community. we helped a lot of restaurants. we helped a lot of janitorial services, you know, all the way down to individual uber drivers. >> it wasn't generating the revenue that we-- by no means it was-- it was just not even a fraction of what-- what we're used to. but it allowed us to keep employees working.

>> that money ran out, right. and so i would say october, maybe october, november, to when we were funded again in march, those months were super stressful. and so we were having to let people go. >> we're just making the most of it and waiting to see if they give us something, but we're-- we're still there. and just like a lot of businesses there, we're just waiting to see what happens. >> woodruff: so good to hear directly from these americans. and we dig in now, into more of the details, with our congressional correspondent lisa desjardins. hello, lisa. tell us, over all, where is the country right now with regard to the paycheck protection program? >> lisa: let's go through some big numbers here. this program, since it was started, judy, has given

out eight million loans. since january, that is three million, almost a third of the loans on this program have been this year. there is $80 billion remaining in funding -- i'm s sorry, $80 million in funding, and that should be enough to end the funding, and that is what sources on capitol hill tell me. >> woodruff: and, lisa, we were just hearing these voices, of course, from people who struggled to get the loans. tell us about where we are with regard to disparity in handing out this money? >> lisa: as we heard from those voices across the country, there is a wide spectrum of experience here. but in general, we know this: last year the loans given out in p.p.p. were disproportionate. in fact, twice of rate of lines for p.p.p. were given out in white areas than were in areas that had more of a minority

population. why is that? i think you heard some of this in the tape. banks are a big factor. we know that banks have more relationships with white businesses, j.p. morgan chase had an analysis that found it disproportionately minority-run businesses do not have financing the way that white businesses do. and minority-run businesses, we know in the case of the hispanic chamber of commerce, they say they're smaller, an average of three to five people per business, and sometimes just sole proprietors. and congress made some changes to the p.p.p.program, and think they things are getting better. one note especially for sole proprietors. if you were a sole proprietor and you didn't feel like you could get p.p.p. this year, the rules have changed and you should try again. >> woodruff: finally, lisa, you have done a lot

of reporting on this, how are small businesses doing in this country right now? >> lisa: let's look at the numbers, from the national federation of independent business, a survey that came out just today. they say 42% of those businesses are still struggling, meaning they're well-blow their levels from 2019. on the more positive side, more than a third are recovering, meaning they're almost back to normal or at normal revenue levels. and then this is what surprised me as well, there is a percentage, 23%, almost a quarter of their businesses, say they are actually doing better than they were in 2019. so you see a situation where we still have the haves and have nots, and some businesses struggling and some not. and it is $80 billion left in this program. >> woodruff: it is really helpful to have a window into howhese programs are going. lisa desjardins, thank you very much. >> lisa: you're welcome.

>> woo >> woodruff: as we reported earlier, president biden pledged to meet a higher public vaccination goal today. right now, more than one in five americans have received at least one dose of a covid vaccine. but in many areas of the country, people who are eligible ae still struggling to get vaccinated. john yang reports on some volunteers who are stepping in to help. >> my name is mansi and i'm a volunteer. does harriet still need help in securing an appointment for the covid-19 vaccine? >> yes, desperately. she's 93 years old. >> yang: for weeks now, mansi shah has been helping strangers nab slots to get their shots. >> hi, are you taking appointments for seniors above the age of 65? >> no, we're booked. we're totally booked. >> yang: shah works full time, but she makes calls and scours the web early in the morning and late at night when spots are made available.

>> i can tell you that if i'm not working, if i'm not sleeping, i'm doing this. >> yang: vaccine supply remains limited in some areas. distribution systems are fragmented and tough to navigate. and, some 25 million americans don't have internet access for online registration. that's where shah comes in. she started by helping her parents. >> my mom doesn't speak english, and my dad's not the most tech-savvy, so i took on the responsibility to register them. i just felt really bad about how inequitable the reach was. >> yang: now she's helping folks she's never met, like sandy cosentino, who put pen to paper to describe her circumstances. >> "i am homebound for the greater part of my day, always cautious. i stay on the side of caution because i have two medical underlying conditions." >> yang: but she could not find an appointment until “w girls,” a nonprofit, connected her with shah. >> mansi said to me, "don't

worry, sandy, i'm going to help you." i call her my guardian angel. >> yang: the 73-year-old recently got her first dose of the moderna vaccine. >> i'm going to wait until i can, and i'm going to call my grandson michael, and i'm going to tell him his meemaw's coming to give him the biggest hug. >> yang: cosentino is one of hundreds of people that shah has signed up. >> it's their stories that i connected to, initially. i mean, that's literally what keeps me up at night and wakes me up in the morning in me for these appointment slots going up. >> yang: i mean, it takes a special person to try to help them. i mean, where do you think that comes from? >> so i think it comes from my best friend, who, she passed away because of covid. her funeral was online. i got married in the summer. that was over zoom. my husband's parents weren't there. nobody from his side was there. and i just was lost in darkness. and i think this is the light at

the end of the tunnel. >> covid has taken quite a bit from myself and my family. and this is a way that i can help others. >> yang: mikaleen carlton estimates she's made over 50 appointments for people. but she's getting something out of it, too. >> i'm actually home on disability right now. i'm out of work still, due to covid complications. you know, i have a lot of free time. and so, when they couldn't find any vaccines, it kind of gave me purpose. >> yang: the mother of two is a so-called "covid long-hauler." her symptoms have lasted almost a year. >> i have daily headaches, heart palpitations, and i have shortness of breath. >> yang: does that give you an added mission here, that you really want to help people get vaccinated to avoid what you went through? >> i don't want anyone to have to go through what i go through. i struggle every day. some days my headaches are so bad that i can't look at a

computer screen or even a phone where it's just too much for me. but the days that i can, you know, and i can help other people, it makes me feel unbelievably happy to offer this to somebody. >> getting an appointment is like winning the lottery. the feeling you get when you get that appointment is just one that is unmatched. >> yang: 15-year-old elisabeth decker is part of a group of ninth graders who've secured more than 600 appointments for new jersey residents. alexa walters, who's 14, started the effort. >> we look on facebook groups, twitter drops. literally anywhere that offers advice, we probably have looked there. >> yang: the girls use social media to search for "drops"-- times when appointments become available on websites-- and then sprint to sign up. >> it just, it takes time. they do go out quickly. it's frustrating, but it's so rewarding in the end.

>> yang: the teens even got a slot for their township's deputy mayor, victor sordillo. he'd been trying for ten weeks. >> it reminded me of when i was younger and i used to try to get be the 12th caller on a radio show to win free tickets. you have to call and call and call, and most of the time they hang up on you or you get a message that says there are no vaccines available at this time. and then i heard aut this group. >> yang: how long after that did they get an appointment for you? >> well, let me tell you, i told her that i was available monday or tuesday. i was getting my shot tuesday. it was amazing, and i just don't know how they did it. >> yang: walters and her friends wish the process was easier for people. >> they should not be dropping appointments at 4:00 in the morning or at midnight. why should elderly people or people with pre-existing conditions have to stay up until then, and really have to fight other people in the same boat?

>> it's a fight to get a vaccine and that's not how it should be. >> yang: since not everyone the technical skills needed for the complicated signup process... >> your appointment is at 1:00. >> yang: ...some volunteers are offering help face-to-face. >> we're the computer interface for a lot of folks that don't have access, can't navigate their way to-- to make an appointment. >> yang: mark meeks is pastor of the city church of sacramento. he's teamed up with u.c.-davis health to get people vaccinated in his neighborhood of oak park. >> we are going person to person, "do you want to be vaccinated?" ladies and men that are on the-- on the margins of society, that folks aren't advocating for them, that's-- that's our target. >> yang: meeks' church hosts a weekly vaccination clinic. >> having the vaccination site in our community, makes it not only more convenient, but more accessible to those in the community. >> yang: since the first clinic a few weeks ago, more than 300

people have been vaccinated, like cynthia mckinney. >> they said, come on in on friday, and i was happy! oh my lord! to be able to spend time with our family members will be so good for me. >> yang: meeks hopes to ramp up the effort every week to meet the need. >> people feel overwhelmed with the task, and they don't know where to go. i'm humbled to be in a position to effect change. and as i keep telling our-- our faith community, we don't know where this is headed. only god knows. but we just have to be faithful to the task. >> yang: whether on the ground, or on the web. for the pbs newshour, i'm john yang. >> woodruff: three top executives from big tech are back in the hot seat on capitol hill. the focus: misinformation, disinformation, and how it spreads.

but this time, mark zuckerberg of facebook, sundar pichai of alphabet, and jack dorsey of twitter face questions about their cmpanies' own responsibility in the january 6 riots. william brangham reports. and for the record, the chan zuckerberg initiative is a funder of the newshour. >> brangham: judy, there was tough criticism from both sides of the aisle today. on the democratic side, several lawmakers tried to pin the executives down on whether they bore responsibility for the circumstances that led to january 6. that included congressfrank pallone of new jersey. he contended the companies' businesses are dependent on heavy engagement on content, rerdless of its veracity. >> the dirty truth is that they are relying on algorithms to purposefully promote conspiratorial, divisive, or extremist content, so that they can take money-- more money--

and add dollars. >> brangham: not all of the focus was on misinformation. republicans were critical of whathey see as heavy-handed censorship and silencing on the platforms. cathy mcmorris-rodgers of washington state, the top republican on the committee, said the platforms pose majo risks for children. >> but do you know what convinced me big tech is a destructive force? it's how you've abused your power to manipulate and harm our children. your platforms are my biggest fear as a parent. it's a battle for their development, a battle for their mental health, and ultimately a battle for their safety. >> brangham: let's talk more about what came up today. sarah miller is the executive director of the american economic liberties project, a non-partisan group that advocates for corporate accountability and anti-trust enforcement.

and part of that project includes the group "freedom from facebook and google." sarah miller, good to have you on the "news hour." i want to pick up on the argument we just heard from congressman frank palone, which is the argument that these companies' business models, even the very algorithms they use to keep us on their sites, are meant to coop us glued and they will feed us dubious, dangerous information. how fair is that accusation? >> it is exactly right. it is refreshing to see members of congress focus on the underlying financial incentives that are driving the misinformation and disinformation and toxic information that is flooding our online eco-systems. we're beginning to focus on the right problem, the money and the advertising problems that are driving is toxic content and

creating this polarization that is having real world effects on our society and on people's lives. >> brangham: one of the real-world effects that some of the representatives brought up was january 6th. they argued these people plotting their insurrection on these platforms and celebrated on these platforms. the c.e.o.s said the plotters themselves bear more responsibility than us, the place where that plot was hatched and discussed. what do you make of that argument? >> yeah. i think policy-makers are seeing through that argument. the truth is that this sort of toxic engaging content is actually what these platforms are designed to amplify. so, for example, according to our estimation, we think that facebook may have made as much as $3 billion off of keeping q-anon on the platform. so this isn't an issue of

trying but failing to capture all of the dangerous content that is flooding through the platform. it is actually an issue of these platforms being designed to amplify exactly that type of content. it is the most engaging. it is what keeps people glued to the platform, and it is what keeps them making money. >> brangham: one of the things that we know that has been keeping people glued to these platforms is misinformation about the pandemic and this virus. i want to play a little bit of sound that came up today. it was a tussleing between mark zuckerberg and representative mike doyle from pence. doyle was arguing that there are a dozen or so sites on facebook that have misinformation about covid. and he took zuckerberg to task on this. >> why, in the midst of a global pandemic that has killed over half a million americans, that you haven't taken these accounts

down that are responsible for preponderance of vaccine disinformation on your platforms? will you allommit to taking these platforms down today? mr. zuckerberg? >> congressman, yes. we do have a policy against allowing... >> i know you have a policy, but will you take the sites down today? you still have 12 people up on your site doing this. will you take them down? >> congressman, i would need to look at the and have our team look at the exact examples to make sure they-- >> because those still exist. we found them as early as last night. >> brangham: this is what a lot of the hearing was, accusations, and the c.e.o.s trying to defend it. mark zuckerberg repeatedly said that facebook has taken down a bill, and that's billion with a "b," facebook pages that do have disinformation on it about the pandemic. do you think these platforms are doing enough? >> no. i think the point is that they are so huge, and then this gets into the question of the monopoly power and their reach over

our communication infrastructure, that even if their financial incentives weren't pushing them to amplify this type of content, there is simply no way they could have safe platforms that didn't promote dangerous engaging content like that. i think one of the things that is important to understand, and i think that policy-makers are moving in this direction, it is actually their responsibilityo regulate these platforms, ideally to break up these platforms, so that they're more manageable, both internally for themselves and for policy-makers to keep track of so these sorts of incentives are no longer in play. there is a track record for that in other industries. and we hope to see congress taking responsibility, in fact, for the way that facebook has been able to grow and to really kind of dangerous and socially destructive entity with the online eco-system. >> brangham: we certainly heard a lot of

congressman making rumblings about some sort of legislation to come. sara miller, thank you so much for being here. >> thank you. >> woodruff: finally tonight, we want to take a moment to remember the ten people who died on monday in the grocery store shooting in boulder, colorado. lynn murray, a retired photo editor and mother of two, was working as an instacart shopper when the shooting began. her husband told reporters,“ our tomorrows are forever filled with a sorrow that is unimaginable.” she was 62 years old. denny stong, the youngest of the victims, worked at the grocery store, king soopers, for several years. according to his facebook page, he was an avid lover of planes, bikes and motorcycles. a high school friend called stong “a kind soul with a funny sense of humor.” he was 20 years old.

51-year-old police officer eric talley was the first to respond to the shooting. the father of seven made news in 2013, after rescuing a group of ducklings trapped in a drainage ditch, leading them to a nearby pond to be with their mother. his younger sister said, "i cannot explain how beautiful he was. you always wanted to be a pilot. soar." 23-year-old neven stanisic was killed in the parking lot of king soopers after fixing coffee machines inside the store. the son of serbian refugees who fled central bosnia, his family's pastor told reporters neven was hardworking and took a job right after graduating high school. suzanne fountain, 59, had been active in the local theatre community. she even took home a denver

drama critics circle award as best supporting actor for her performance in “the glass menagerie.” offstage, as a licensed medicare agent, she helped senior clients enroll in the federal program. her friend of 30 years called her “generous, a peace lover and strong feminist." 61-year-old kevin mahoney was a regular shopper at king soopers. his daughter, erika, who is pregnant, remembers her father as “a dad to the entire neighborhood.” she tweeted, “my dad represents all things love. i'm so thankful he could walk me down the aisle last summer.” teri leiker, 51, worked at king soopers for about 30 years, according to her friend lexi. the pair met in 2017 through a university of colorado boulder program that connects students and members of the community with intellectual and developmental disabilities. lexi said teri was "the most

innoce, caring and loving individual the world held." 25-year-old rikki olds worked as a front-end manager at king soopers. family members remember her as bubbly. her uncle bob told reporters,“ there's a hole in our family that won't be filled. she didn't get to experience a lot of the stuff that we get to experience in life." tralona bartkowiak, known by family and friends as “lonna,” was the elst of four siblings, and co-owned a clothing and accessory store in downtown boulder with her sister. a co-worker and friend told reporters, “she was so kind and loving and accepting. we need a lot more people like that.” she was 49 years old. jody waters, 65, had an eye for design. she worked with a handmade leather accessory store in

boulder “embrazio.” the co-owners of the store posted on social media, saying“" jody was a beautiful soul with a warm and loving heart, a mother and grandmother, and she will be dearly missed by all who were fortunate enough to know her. we are so sad.” ten of them. a terrible tragedy, reminding us that they were each going about their lives in an ordinary way when they were cut short. and that is the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you, please stay safe and we'll see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> for 25 years, consumer cellular has been offering no-contract wireless plans, designed to help people do more of what they like. our u.s.-based customer service team can help find a plan that fits you. to learn more, visit www.consumercellular.tv. >> johnson & johnson.

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