judy: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the "newshour" tonight, the biden agenda. the president moves up an already ambitious vaccine timetable as a senate rule change could open a path for his infrastructure plan. then, corporate backlash. more and more major businesses speak out against georgia's controversial new voting law. and, a deadly insurgency. brutal attacks and killings by islamist militants displace thousands, causing widespread terror in mozambique. >> this area has been assigned by the government of mozambique to host families fleeing attacks by armed groups in the north of

the country. behind me, you can see the families unloading the few belongings they still have left. judy: all that and more on tonight's "pbs newshour." ♪ >> major funding for the "pbs newshour" has been provided by. >> designed to help people do more what they like. our u.s.-customer service team can help finthe plan that services you. to visit more visit consumer cellular.tv. >> johnson & johnson. bmsf railway. >> the john s and james all night foundation.

>> and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting, and by contributions from your pbs station by viewers like you. thank you. judy: today, president biden once again moved up his vaccination goals, shortening the timeline for all americans to be eligible to get a shot. our yamiche alcindor and lisa desjardins are here with the latest. hello to both of you.

tell us more about what the president is saying about moving up this vaccination timetable. yamiche: president biden laid out a really ambitious timetable and he talked about the fact he feels like we are heading in the right direction and that there are enough people getting vaccinations and there are people that still need to be vaccinated but we should not be letting up your the white house today he had a message that said yes, we are doing well but also you have to do your patriotic duty and continue to social distance and wash your hands. there is a little of what he had to say. >> now is not the time to let down. now is not the time to celebrate. it's time to do what we do best as a country, do our duty, our jobs, take care of one another. and we can and will do this. but we can't let up now. yamiche: so there is president biden laying this out, saying this is essentially a wartime

effort, that people need to be looking at vaccinations as being not only good for the country but also good for their neighbors and themselves. i want to lay out a little of what the president said as far as a timeline and the goals his administration has already elite -- reached. all adults will be made eligible to get the vaccine by april 19. that was moved up from may 1 come is when we thought all american adults would be made eligible. also, the number of americans vaccinated to date since president biden has taken office is 150 million. let's remember the goal is 200 million before april 30, when he hits the 100 day mark in his administration. he also said 75% of all americans over the age of 65, that critical group of seniors most at risk of having complications from the virus, they have gotten at least one dose of the vaccine. but he said over and over if you have not gotten the vaccine, you should really go out and get it and tell your neighbors to do that.

he couched it as a patriotic duty, saying you have to do this for your country. judy: interestingly. separately, lisa, there was news from the senate last night giving democrats some hope that the filister rule, there may be a way to get around it. tell us about that. lisa: that's right. this is news for perhaps the most important person in the senate these days, the senate parliamentarian, who has told democrats there's an open-door to the way around the filibuster, to using this door more often. let's remind people, this is called budget reconciliation. it is a process that is triggered by the budget resolution in which you need just 50 senate votes, not 60, in order to pass legislation. it has generally been limited to just one time per each budget year because it is connected to the budget. but democrats had an idea. what if we can amend a budget and then can we use budget reconciliation for that amended budget? so, multiple bites of that apple

each year. i am told by sources familiar come and the senate majority leader chuck schumer announced the senate parliamentarian told him yes, that amending the budget process is just as good and they can try to use reconciliation again. so what does all this mean for legislation and for democrats, what candidate? i want to spell this out looking at a graphic. before this democrats were thinking of having one reconciliation bill this fiscal year, 2021, and another in 2022. this year they had slotted in an already passed the covid relief bill, the american rescue plan. the thinking right now is than the infrastructure and climate change bill could be the one they would use reconciliation for with the next budget year that starts in october. what this really means is they get two more reconciliation bills that would only need a 50 vote margin in the senate.

of course democrats have 50 votes. they have not decided if they will use conciliation for any other issues but there is a lot on the table. however, all of it beat other limitations. it has to have a budgetary effect. but this is a big deal for democrats limited by the filibuster. judy: making the complicated seem clear. so what does this mean for president biden, for his agenda for the bill that he wants congress to pass? yamiche: i can tell you for president biden and maybe some of our viewers, it means that lisa might be explaining to people more and more what reconciliation means because the biden administration is looking at the reconciliation, this decision on reconciliation, saying that means we can get more bills passed. right now it was infrastructure and climate is the next big thing. but they can also go for immigration. of course that is a big issue democrats and republicans have wanted to pass legislation on.

this means the president could do it alone with only his party. of course he still has to have democrats who are progressives as well as moderates agree, but the idea is even if the president says he wants to reach out to republicans, he might not need them. on infrastructure in particular, why would he have to go through reconciliation? we have heard republicans talk for so long about infrastructure. it is because president biden wants to pay for the plan with a big hike in the corporate tax rate. wanted to go from 21% to 20%. that is why -- to 28%. republicans are saying he is trying to undo their tax cuts. they are saying democrats are expanding the idea of infrasucture because they are dealing with so many other things. but reconciliation means we might be having much more conversation on that wonky term, reconciliation. judy: it is ok for the two of you to use it, we welcome that.

lisa, pick up on that. what are you hearing from the hill about the corporate tax increase proposal? lisa: it has been a remarkable newsweek considering both the house and senate are outside of washington for the most part. there has been very important news on this infrastructure and other plant senator joe mansion of west virginia -- senator mark warner, thought of as more as someone who would go along with the biden team more often, said he will not tell reporters what he thinks what does have concerns about the biden plan in general. this is a 50 senate majority and a need every senate democrat and there are two that have concerns. this will be a long slot to get -- along sl -- a long slog. judy: thank you to both of you

for making it so much clearer. ♪ stephanie: good evening. we will return to judy and the full program after the latest headlines. california announced it will lift all its covid-19 restrictions june 15 if hospitalizations remain low and there's sufficient vaccine supply. but its mask mandate will remain in effect. meanwhile, indiana ended its statewide mask order, although businesses can still require customers to wear them. and a rare sight in arlington, texas last night. a sellout crowd packed in to watch the texas rangers home opener. the largest in-persoaudience for a major league baseball game since the pandemic began. in the derek chauvin trial, much

of the questioning around -- they asked a minneapolis police lieutenant whether derek chauvin used proper tactics when kneeling on george floyd's neck for more than nine minutes. >> we don't train leg neck restraints with the officers in service and as far as my knowledge we never have. >> say for example, the subject was under control and handcuffed, would this be authorized? >> i would say no. stephanie: another minneapolis police officer confirmed that chauvin had cpr certification. the department's policy required him to begin administering aid to floyd before paramedics arrived, which he didn't do. a navy medic shot two u.s. sailors at a military facility in frederick, maryland today, before fleeing to nearby fort detrick army base where he was assigned. the suspect was later shot and killed by base police. the two people he shot, one was

released from the hospital and the other remains in critical condition. the gunman's motive is still unclear. the u.s. and iran began indirect talks today to discuss possible u.s. re-entry into the 2015 iran nuclear deal. in vienna, u.s. and iranian envoys held closed-door meetings alongside officials from five nations still signed on to the deal. former president trump pulled the u.s. out of the agreement in 2018, and re-imposed sanctions on tehran. at least 100 civilians have been killed in border clashes in ethiopia's north and eastern regions since friday. local officials blamed the bloodshed on somali regional forces. all this comes as ethiopia prepares to hold national elections in june. in israel, prime minister benjamin netanyahu has been tasked with forming a new government, even as he personally faces corruption charges. israel's president, reuven rivlin, made the announcement

today in jerusalem, and adjust the controversy around netanyahu. >> i know very well the position held by many, that the president should not give the role to a candidate that is facing criminal charges, but according to the law and the decision of the courts, a prime minister can continue in his role even when he is facing charges. that's the decision of the supreme court after it was asked to rule on the matter. stephanie: today's move comes after israel had its fourth inconclusive election in two years. netanyahu now has up to six weeks to form a governing coalition. utility company pacific gas and electric continues to feel the heat from past wildfires. pg&e has been charged with 33 criminal counts in the 2019 kincaid fire north of san francisco. the charges brought by the district attorney of sonoma county include recklessly causing a fire that injured six firefighters. the country's largest utility denied it committed any crimes, but has accepted its

transmission line sparked the fire. arkansas has become the first state in the nation to ban gender-affirming medical treatment for transgender youth. republican governor asa hutchinson vetoed the bill yesterday. but today, the state's republican-controlled house and senate voted to override his veto. tonight, vice president kamala harris and second gentleman doug are moving into their official residence. it was undergoing reservations. the second couple had been staying at blair house across from the white house since inauguration day. florida democratic representative ossie hastings has died of pancreatic cancer. -- representative alcee hastings has died of pancreatic cancer. he began his career as a civil rights lawyer, and was florida's first black federal judge, before being impeached and removed for accepting bribes. hastings was elected to 15erms

in congress, and became the longest-serving member of florida's congressional delegation. alcee hastings was 84 years old. on wall street today, stocks fell from record levels. the dow jones industrial average lost 97 points to close at 33,430. the nasdaq fell seven points. and the s&p 500 shed four. and major league baseball will relocate this year's all-star game to coors field in denver. mlb pulled the midsummer classic from atlanta overt restrictions to atlanta's new voting laws. we will hear more about that after the news summary. and baylor university's men's basketball team has won its first-ever national championship. baylor ended gonzaga's undefeated season, prevailing in an 86-70 blowout that sent baylor's campus into a frenzy. we'll talk to the coach of the women's ncaa championship team,

stanford, later in the program. still to come on the newshour, more businesses in georgia speak out against the controversial new voting law. several pro football players of color claim they were penalized in the nfl concussion settlement. how turning to the performing arts can help ease political divide. plus much more. >> this is the "pbs newshour" f rom washington and in the west from the want cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. judy: delta, coca-cola, and major league baseball are some of the dozens of companies speaking out against new voting legislation in georgia and other states. georgia's law signed late last month poses new id requirements for mail-in ballots, limits the number of ballot job boxes, and

more clearly defines time for early voting. supporters say it ensures of voting security and transparency. but voting rights advocates say the law will disproportionately affect voters of color. that led 72 black ceo's to write a full-page ad in the new york times, urging corporate executives to oppose the law. one of the signers of the letter joins me now. roger ferguson, ceo of tiaa, and the former vice chair of the federal reserve. roger ferguson, thank you so much for joining us. let me just start asking, why did you sign this letter? roger: i have a strong point of view that voting is a fundamental right. we know that millions have died or sacrificed their lives to ensure the right of americans to vote. and it was important for corporate news to speak up at this moment as i looked at that distillation. -- that legislation. judy: so when the georgia

governor in the backers say it is fair and designed to make voting more accessible to people , how do you answer that? roger: i answer it by looking at some of the issues you raised early on. in terms of the number of dropped boxes. in the city of atlanta the number of drop boxes based on a calculation under the law might drop from 40 to only age. many of those drop boxes come all of them would then be put behind indoors and in office buildings that would be closed during the evenings and other times when working folks may want to go and drop off their ballots. as you observed at the beginning, there are new restrictions on absentee ballots for example. and the days available to request an absentee ballot have been reduced quite significantly. so i looked at that and said this feels to me as though maybe the intention was good but i am

concerned that the effect might be disproportionate and negative. might discourage individuals from voting, whose forefathers fought really hard for the right to vote. judy: did you agree with the decision by major league baseball to pull the all-star game out of georgia? roger: i believe major league baseball made a decision aced on their own analysis of what was good for the sport and what their fans and others may have wanted. as far as i can tell it was a direct result of the law itself. whether you agree or disagree is not as relevant as that they decided to do it aced on their interpret -- interpretation of the law. judy: just this afternoon president biden was asked about this, and whether the masters golf tournament should pull out of the tournament. he said he is glad corporations are taking a look at these decisions. but he also said he knows that these are tough decisions because they involve people who depend on these corporations,

depend on these events for their livelihood. roger: i agree. they are tough decisions. the issue ultimately is when the law is the right law at this time in this place in america. whether or not the risks to the franchise for hundreds of thousands or more georgians is worth the effort. so i think these are clearly tough decisions. no one wants to be confronted this way. as far as i can tell it is all the result of a law many of us have looked at and have serious concerns and reservations about. judy: what do you want to have happen? are you talking to corporate leaders in other states that are looking at laws similarly, imposing new restrictions around voting? roger: i am not personally doing that but i think what has happened, and this show is an example of that, the national debate and discussion about access to the ballot and what makes for a safe and secure

election has risen to the top. importantly, we see it often occurs at moments of stress and uncertainty in america that corporate leaders are now stepping forward and expressing a point of view based on their analysis, based on the advice they are getting from council, based on what they are hearing from their own clients, customers and employees. i think we are in a very impoant time here in america's history when corporations are again finding their voice and speaking out in favor of fundamental rights, constitutional rights, the right to the ballots. judy: what do you make of for example the comet by the senate republican leader mitch mcconnell, responding to what major league baseball has done and what this letter and what other corporations are saying who have been critical, like delta and coca-cola. he said this is a coordinated campaign by powerful and wealthy people to mislead and bully the american people. he said it is all based on a big lie. roger: my view is that this is

basically a number of individuals who are concerned about the present and future of america who are trying very hard to raise an important question, which is with the state of electoral politics, does it make sense to have the broadest possible access to the ballot given the history of this country? does it make sense to have the broadest access to the ballot? judy, you should recognize among the 35 leading industrial economies, the u.s. ranks roughly 30th in terms of voter participation. that cannot be a position that we are proud of. i would presume that we really want to see, given the history of america from the beginning to this day, as many native born naturalized american citizens exercise their franchise as much as possible and that is what this debate is about. judy: so when the former

governor of south carolina, former ambassador nikki haley said, as she did this week, she said big corporations are the new liberal mob in what they are calling on in criticizing this law. roger: this is not a liberal versus conservative question. you pointed out was vice chairman of the federal reserve. i was proud to have been reporting -- appointed by democrats and republicans and to work well across the various political spectrum. i do not think this is a liberal versus conservative question. this is an american question. this is a question where i know of no one on either side of the aisle, liberal or conservative who think the goal of america should be to reduce the number of people who exercise the franchise. we should have a representative democracy where smaller and smaller numbers of people come

to the ballot. it is not fair to middle of the road corporate leaders such as myself and the other signers to suggest that this is liberal versus conservative. this is people standing up for hard-fought constitutional rights and making sure they get protected as fully as possible. judy: one other subject i want to raise with you and that is president biden's call to raise the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%. what is your view of that? roger: my view of that is they will be an active debate around that question. we have known for a while that the biden administration has called for an congress has approved a $1.9 trillion support package and they are talking about more trillions to support infrastructure and other things. over time, all that is to be paid for. it is important for congress and the president to come to a point of view to figure out how we are going to manage this load in

terms of debt built. so i look forward to seeing in the fullness of time exactly how congress and the administration resolve this question. judy: do you think it is a good idea? roger: i think in some places it may well be. we have to be very careful. for some we already had a very high corporate tax rate. part of the question is what is the so-called effective tax rate. an issue may well be if they are going to raise the rate, what are the reductions corporations will be allowed to have? i think it is a complicated story. not simply around the headline number of the rate, but how does the law allow corporations to deal with various expenses that they have, and appropriately written off. judy: roger ferguson, ceo if tiaa, the financial services corporation, and also former vice chair of the federal reserve. thank you very much. roger: judy, thank you so much

for giving me the chance to talk with with you. ♪ judy: for years, islamist militants have terrorized cabo delgado province in the southeastern african nation of mozambique, killing and displacing thousands of people. last month, the u.s. government designated them as isis affiliates, and sent special forces to help train mozambique's marines. and just last week, they attacked a town called palma, which hosts international oil and gas companies, killing dozens. isis claimed responsibility. before that, special correspondent neha wadekar and her team were among the first to reach the region and speak to survivors. they have this report. >> i saw this happening. killing. the men told us, sit there and watch someone be beheaded.

neha: this is 10-year-old maria antumane. both of her parents were killed in the attack she witnessed. she managed to escape into the forest. as she fled, her foot got caught in a hunting snare. she lay trapped, and terrified, for hours. >> i was trapped from 6:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. i was screaming and crying. and people came to open the trap. and when they opened it, they removed it, and saw the wound. neha: maria was rescued and taken south to a hospital in pemba, the capital city in cabo delgado province that is like a last frontier between safety and the fighting in the north. there, she recovered from her wounds and malaria. her aunt also escaped that day, and says the attackers are known locally as al shabaab, an arabic phrase which means "the youth." what started as a local insurgency of disenfranchised young people has evolved into what the u.s. government now says is the islamic state. >> al shabab came in at 3:00

p.m., and at 11:00 p.m. they started burning houses down, there in bilibiza. i saw them kill people with knives. one of them used a chainsaw on someone's neck. neha: it took days for maria's aunt to reach safety in metuge, where improvised centers have been rapidly set up for those fleeing attacks. at the time of our visit, more than 10,000 people occupied the centers, although they had enough water and sanitation facilities to serve only a few hundred. and as the violence has escalated recently, the number of people in need of this safe haven has exploded. conditions here are declining. there's little access to food, shelter, or medical care. >> life is hard here. when food comes, some get it, some don't. neha: unicef, the united nations children's fund, says in addition to the violence, one of its greatest concerns is the transmission of water-borne diseases, especially cholera,

which is rapidly spreading through the area. metuge seems to be the epicenter, accounting for more than half of all new cases. isabel periera, a nutrition specialist at unicef, says that despite their best efforts, the capacity of humanitarian organizations to care for internally displaced people, or idp's, is stretched to the limit. >> one of the biggest challenges is that, you know, with especially the districts that have high number of idp's, you you know, we are overwhelmed. the health facilities, they are totally overwhelmed. there's no possibility, no capacity for them to respond as they should. neha: during one of our visits, we followed a group of displaced families being moved to a new resettlement location. these are among the first 57 families who have moved to this location from a temporary accommodatn center approximately 50 kilometers away. this area has been assigned by

the government of mozambique to host families fleeing attacks by armed groups in the north of the country. behind me you can see the families unloading the few belongings they still have left. over the next few months, they will rebuild their lives here as they wait to see when, and if, they can return home. here, we met 33-year-old balamade abadre, who fled into the forest with his elderly parents, his wife, and his young children after armed groups attacked his village. when we met abadre, he had already been living in metuge for seven months. >> the authorities registered us, they said, we are taking you to another place but we will build you the house and you will stay in these new houses. neha: the building materials arrived. abadre and the other men labored in the sweltering heat, dragging the poles and thatch that would become their new homes. abadre has been told that this arrangement is only temporary, but the creation of these semi-permanent settlements indicates that his family's stay

may last months, if not years. >> i don't want to be here, but the government said, come stay here and wait until the wais over. and when the war ends you can go back home. and what i want to say is that i'm crying out to go back home. neha: some escaping violence in the north have fled by boat, rather than on foot. they sail from the mainland coastal towns to a string of small islands along mozambique's coastline. ibo island was once a sparkling eco-tourism destination. but in 2019, cyclone kenneth ripped through the regio reducing ibo's hotels and colonial-era buildings to rubble. just a year later, armed groups tried to seize control of the islands. from one of ibo's forts, issa tarmamade, the island's district administrator, like most mozambicans, says he is angry and bewildered by the needless suffering. >> it doesn't make sense. they don't have religion, these

insurgents, or terrorists. the religions forbid you from killing people, and they kill. the religions forbid you from decapitating, and they decapitate. they don't follow any prophet. because no prophet has this attitude that they have. neha: after reaching the islands, many displaced families travel onwards by boat until they reach the safety and security of the capital city, pemba. when they land on the beaches, aid workers and locals try to offer help. 55-year-old muanaicha momad has lived her whole life on this beach. she is hosting 47 family members in a one bedroom shack, many , children sent alone by their parents as violence escalates across the region. >> when i get something like a bag of rice, i only make it in the morning. i don't make lunch because if i make lunch, the kids eat late, and at night they don't sleep. neha: for 10-year-old maria, who fled the attack on her village after her parents were killed, this conflict has forever changed her life. while recovering at the hospital

in pemba, she had no hope of ever seeing anyone in her family again. unbeknownst to her, her aunt, ana maria biche, had fled their village and was staying at the displacement center when someone told her that her niece, maria, may have survived the attack. biche saved up enough money to travel to the hospital. miraculously, the two were reunited. today, they live together in metuge. with both maria's parents dead, biche is the only family maria has left who can care for her. >> some days i remember my mother, father, and all the people. all of them i remember. neha: the trauma maria has endured is now being inflicted on tens of thousands of more people who are displaced after last week's attack in palma. the bloody attack means two things -- that the battle for control of resource-rich northern mozambique is heating

up, and that too many more children will end up like maria, orphaned and traumatized. for the "pbs newshour," i'm neha wadekar in pemba, mozambique. ♪ judy: for a number of former nfl players, the hard hits extend beyond the field. the league has settled claims related to concussions and brain injuries, but there are questions now as to whether race was used unfairly to determine who got the money. john yang has the story. >> this is the year we went to the super bowl. john: kevin henry loves football and the eight years he spent as a pittsburgh steelers defensive lineman. >> i love the toughness of the game, the roughness, you know, the fame, the glory, everything

that goes along with it, all the accolades. john: but it also meant at least 10 concussions during games, more in practice. now, 20 years after retirement, it means headaches, depression, mood swings, and memory loss. he's unable to hold a full-time job and struggles with the tasks of daily life. >> my body won't let me do the types of things that i want to do. my mind won't let me focus. john: his wife pamela helps him with the physical pain, but can only watch the mental toll. >> you can't tell just by seeing us on the street. you know, i mean, we look big, strong, healthy, you know, you can't see inside of our brain, though. >> this guy is a very sweet guy. he has a very big heart, not easily tempered. now it is easy tempered. it's easy to change. his mind is not what it used to be. it's just sad to see somebody that you love basically just falling apart. john: you hear pamela talk about

how she saw you change. were you aware of the changes in yourself as it was going on? >> i know i'm not myself. i know what i can be, i know what i could be, and i just need some help. john: in 2013, the national football league agreed to a landmarkettlement to compensate former players who suffered brain injuries. when henry applied and took a neurological exam, he was rejected. in a lawsuit, henry said it was because the raw exam results were adjusted to account for race, a practice called race-norming. scientists say race-norming was intended primarily to prevent healthy african americans and members of other socially disadvantaged racial and ethnic groups from being mistakenly classified as having brain disorders because of those

social factors. it was relatively commonplace for decades, but now is increasingly being re-examined. based on psychological research, scientists say, it establishes a lower cognitive baseline for blacks than for whites. as a consequence, to qualify for compensation, black players have to perform worse on cognitive tests than white players. >> essentially they're asked to go through either a white door or a black door. john: cy smith, henry's attorney, says the nfl is using race-norming to limit how much money it has to pay out. >> you could take two players who take a battery of tests on the same day. they could have grown up in the same town. they could be the same age. they could have gone to the same high school and college and played the same number of years. and they could get the same scores on those tests that same day. but the black player wouldn't get benefits and the white player would. john: henry wants the nfl to release demographic information about the players who have

gotten benefits. >> there should be at least 70% of those guys should be black. it's is a 70% league, right, black league? let's see the percentages. john: while the nfl turned down an interview request, in court filings, the league said use of race-based adjustments is discretionary. but the guidebook for clinicians evaluating players for settlement benefits says use of the full demographic correction is recommended. and the league has appealed awards to black players that haven't used race-norming. what's more, dr. daniel kantor, a neurologist who evaluated players for settlement claims from 2017 to 2019, said that scores that did not factor in race had little chance of approval. >> why shouldn't it be more about who these players are in terms of what schools they went to, how they did in school, what other subjects they studied, how they did on standardized testing? those are other things that we

can take into account. the difference here is that the nfl is saying, well, if you do, we're going to reject that claim. here we have a prime example of a system that was racist and we should all be standing up and saying, enough is enough. john: kantor says he left the program out of frustration. last month, federal judge anita brody ordered the attorneys who negotiated the original settlement to meet with the court to address the concerns relating to the race-norming issue. attorney christopher seeger, who negotiated the settlement for players, told the court he would work to ensure the elimination of demographic norms that adjust for race. lawyers for henry and other black players want to be part of the talks, too, saying seeger has not and cannot adequately represent their interests. >> you need to have black players be gen a seat at the table. that, we think, is a fatal flaw in the way that this mediation that's been ordered is undergoing.

john: there's no timetable for the judge to rule on the requests. kevin henry and his wife say this is about more than just money. >> it's heartbreaking. you can make decisions in the in a boardroom, but you're not living in a household with these players. i just want fairness. i just want them to be treated fairly, that's all. >> out of sight,ut of mind. that's the sentiment that i feel. i just want my, i want my dignity back, man. i feel like, i feel like that's been taken away from me. john: as together, they struggle daily with the painful legacy of the game henry still loves so much. for the "pbs newshour," i'm john yang. ♪

judy: the nets are down and the champions named. in a trying year, the annual college basketball tournaments offered a welcome feeling of the familiar. the baylor university men won their first title. and as amna nawaz reports, it was the women of stanford who scored another big win. amna: stanford's win over arizona on sunday came down to the final seconds of the game and a single point, with a final score of 54-53. it marked the team's first ncaa championship title in nearly 30 years. further cementing coach tara vanderveer's place in sports history, now the most winning coach in women's college basketball. but, it also capped a difficult season, during the pandemic. covid restrictions in their home county of santa clara forced the team to live on the road for weeks. and just before the men's and women's ncaa tournaments kicked

off in march, a long list of deep disparities came to light. from less reliable covid tests for female players, to an embarrassingly sparse fitness room compared to the men's facilities. >> this is our weight room. let me show you all the men's weight room. amna: the ncaa apologized and upgraded the women's workout room, but didn't escape national outrage, including from coach vanderveer. in a statement she called the differences evidence of blatant sexism. judy: firstly and most importantly, congratulations. how are you doing today? >> i am doing great. i kind of woke up and you have to remind yourself we are national champions and it feels great. judy: let's talk about that championship. before this you have won two national championships but the last one was 29 years ago. after this particular year, especially in the pandemic, what

does this win mean? tara: it might have an asterix buy it because of the covid championship was in a bubble and everything. in some ways i think it was the hardest championship to maintain your health, number one, with all the issues going on and the challenges of that. for this particular team to be out of northern california for, you know, 10 weeks about. i think the hardest thing, honestly, was not going home for christmas. how we survived thatand stuck together, i think is a real testament to the resilience of the determination, the passion of the young people in our team. and i'm very proud of them. amna: when it came to the tournament, of course, a whole nother conversation was sparked after some of those deep disparities between the men's tournament and the women's tournament were just revealed for all to see.

there's sort of this idea that there's been a pervasive sense of less then for the women. and you yourself said that this looks like blatant sexism. this is evidence of that. but you also call this moment a watershed moment. what did you mean by that? tara: well, i hope that i hope that's just not going to get swept under the rug. you know, we're living in a time where, you know, we're really evaluating everything. we're evaluating whether it's, you know, how police work with communities. we're looking at all the different viruses, not just a covid virus, but the virus of racism, the virus of sexism, and how that is pervasive in our in our world. and basketball is just a microcosm of our society. but to to serve, to dumb it down, to serve hot dogs to the

girls and steak to the boys. you know, my parents would not do that. and hopefully in other families, you know, people have to look and say, you know, this is not right. amna: the ncaa, of course, as we reported, did apologize and under pressure, they open their books when they were trying to explain why the budgets for the two tournaments are so different. and they basically said, look, the men bring in net income more than the women. what did you make of that response? is this all about the money? tara: i don't think it should be all about the money. on the conference level, our our football does bring in more money than any other sport. you know, in terms of the tradition that they've had, the the head start that they've had in being competitive and being on television and the promotion that they get every day and, you know, whether it's on podcasts or in the newspaper. but what women's basketball, what's kind of interesting, actually, is with social media, women and women's sports are the ones that are being filed by more people.

and i think that looking, you know, looking to the future, you you have to evaluate what you're doing. and, yes, they do bring in more money. the television contract is bigger. but does that justify what what they've been doing? amna: coach, i got to ask you, we mentioned you are the most winning coach in the history of women's basketball. so i'm curious, in all the games when the tournaments you came not quite there, you almost won it, but you didn't. what kept you going year after year? tara: one of my favorite coaches was a coach, pete newell, who won an olympic gold medal, won an ncaa championship. he coached at cal, actually. but, you know, he's just like the game is over coached and under taught. i want to do a good job teaching the game of basketball and i get pleasure from watching the improvement of my players. but it is fun when you do have a team that is at this level and you win it and you know, it is motivating. and i hope that it motivates our players to work hard in the off season and become the best players they can be. amna: coach tara vanderveer,

thank you so much for your time. congratulations again to you and your team. tara: thank you very much. my pleasure. ♪ judy: in a moment marked by deep political and cultural divides, an innovative program harnesses theatre techniques to step into the shoes of others. jeffrey brown has the story for our arts and culture series, canvas. jeffrey: two recent college graduates. myiah smith of georgetown university in washington d.c., founded by jesuits but ecumenically and culturally liberal. michael 'mikey' pozo of patrick henry college, a small conservative christian school about an hour away in purcellville, virginia.

different backgrounds and college experiences, brought together in an unusual program called, in your shoes. >> me as a christian, there are some things that i believe, that it's very hard for me to get out there. but i was able to speak freely in that context. >> there are so many ways that we could identify how we are different from other people. but what in your shoes project was about was despite those differences, how could we discover a commonality. jeffrey: the project -- in pre-covid times done in person -- uses tools of performance to push people of differing views to not just listen to one another, but to speak the words of the other. >> things may go haywire in the world, but you be that spark, you be that joy for others. >> you're not really your brain, you're not really your body, you're not really your heart, you are all of those things, there's just i don't know, so much here, so much there.

lisa: students pair off, are given a prompt or topic, record their conversation. next, they swap words. here, amira ali of georgetown and anna allen of patrick henry. >> i also love freedom. and it depends how you define freedom. i feel like we might be losing that. >> i did have a thought about the whole cancel culture. i find it so destructive. jeffrey: derek goldman, head of georgetown's performing arts department, calls it performing one another. >> i think it works because what we see happening are the deeper, harder conversations that many of the students feel are not happening in their lives, they feel like they're in these kinds of bubbles with people who agree with them and feel the same way they do, and then they're at odds with a whole set of other

people. jeffrey: in your shoes is the brainchild of goldman and daniel brumberg, director of georgetown's “democracy and governance” masters program. >> you are speaking with something that is so hard to do with. jeffrey: it's a creative effort to address increasing political and other divisions within the country. in 2018 they partnered with patrick henry college, an institution founded in 2000 to offer a rigorous liberal arts education with a biblical worldview. its motto, for christ and for liberty. the school has had notable success, placing graduates in conservative political and legal circles, including in the trump administration and as supreme court clerks. patrick henry and georgetown students often bring different values to the table, including on issues of sex and sexuality, and the role of religion in public life. >> the first thing that they were sharing with their campus

culture was the slogan "ring by spring" and students often would date and then married. and it's very, very different from georgetown. jeffrey: corey grewell is a literature professor at patrick henry who leads the project there. >> there's some tension, right? because there's an implicit idea of both students having a sort of idea, kind of according to what you think, i'm in the wrong here. but to their credit, the students have not tried to impose that on each other. and i think that those conversations lay the groundwork for some of the political differences that they encounter later on. when i go into the voting booth to pull the lever for someone who makes policy, we're not going to vote for the same guy, but that doesn't negate my respect for you as a human being. jeffrey: prompts such as the idea of home or what i love bring commonalities as well as differences. politics usually remains just below the surface, but not

always. a recent meeting, held via zoom, took place after the events of january 6. here, nicole albanese of georgetown speaks the words of her partner, daniel cochrane of patrick henry. >> why do you go and storm the u.s. capitol, or damage property, or do any of those violent acts? you do it because you believe your voice is not heard. jeffrey: cochrane, speaking the words of albanese, said this. >> it's such a big country, its identity has definitely shifted and changed a lot. i think some people do not have is clear of an idea of how it has changed. jeffrey: ijeoma njaka works on equity and inclusivity issues at georgetown. >> for me, that was the one of the more affirming moments about this work and about its power, that folks were feeling like actually this is the moment when i want to make sure that i'm talking to somebody, to other folks who i know are going to hear me and understand me and where i can learn something else and where i can try to better

understand what might be other perspectives about this. jeffrey: out of it all came a sense of respect, if not always agreement, and some new friendships, including that of myiah smith and mikey pozo, who bothound something that was missing previously. >> you talk all the time to people, i mean, we have tik tok and instagram, we can record videos and listen back to it. but very rarely do people share word for word the things that you have shared. as i'm walking through spaces where people are imposing bias or making assumptions about who i am, because we all do it. we cannot escape that. what's different is now i've had the opportunity to practice and grapple and build language and habit to appropriately converse with those people. >> mikey, what was it like for you to say myiah's words? >> it was beautiful. being able to capture someone's words and it coming from your own mouth, you can really say, this is what she says.

is what she believes in. and i'm going to repeat it to her, respond, and do the best that i can and do justice for that. the person who is a liberal, i can still love for, and i cherish that person. jeffrey: how much difference can one small program make to a larger divisive political culture? georgetown's derek goldman. >> these are really powerful skill sets if people are going to go on and be bridge builders in whatever field that they may be in. jeffrey: myiah smith is now working with teach for america in baltimore. mikey pozzo, a musician and writer, has his own bakery business in his hometown of ashburn, virginia. small steps, in your shoes. for the pbs newshour, i am jeffrey brown. judy: and the young will teach us. fascinating report.

and online, we explore what the learn -- world learned about leadership during the pandemic. what qualities helped some world leaders maintain the public's trust, and ultimately hold back the spread of the virus? all that and more at pbs.org/newshour. nd that's the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. join us online and again here tomorrow evening. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you, please stay safe and see you soon. >> funding has been provided by. consumer cellular. johnson & johnson. bnsf railway. carnegie corporation of new york, supporting innovations in 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 performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy.] >> this is "pbs newshour" west from washington and our bureau at the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university.

>> ready? set. cook! you've heard of people having a photographic memory where they can recall a moment and every detail about it. sometimes i think i have that with food. i don't know why, but i can remember exactly where i was, the smells, the tastes, every little delicious detail about certain meals that have left a lasting impression on me. how wild is that? today i thought it would be fun to recreate a few of the recipes from my favorite food memories. eesy chicken enchiladas in a creamy salsa verde, one of my childhood favorites. so ridiculous. light, crispy, a little sweet. frosted cereal cookies, a recipe handed down from