captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening. >> woodruff: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight: death of the duke. the united kingdom mourns as prince philip, husband of queen elizabeth ii, passes away at the age of 99. then, the trial continues. medical officials testify about the cause of george floyd's death in the murder trial of former police officer derek chauvin. plus, getting the vaccine. despite an intensifying inoculation effort for high-risk meatpacking plant workers, many remain reluctant to receive a shot. and, it's friday. david brooks and jonathan capehart examine senator manchin's critical resistance

to senate rule changes, and the biden administration's proposals to curb gun violence. all that and more, on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> fidelity wealth management.

>> consumer cellular. >> johnson & johnson. >> the john s. and james l. knight foundation. fostering informed and engaged communits. more at kf.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions: and friends of the newshour. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: britain's prince philip, queen elizabeth's husband of 73 years, died today at windsor castle. the duke of edinburgh had been

spitalized nearly a month ago for heart surgery. mourners defied covid protocols to gather in front of buckingham palace and windsor castle to lay flowers and offer condolences. prime minister boris johnson paid tribute to the duke outside downing street in london. >> he helped to steer the royal family and the monarchy so that it remains an institution indisputably vital to the balance and happiness of our national life. we remember the duke for all of this, and above all, for his steadfast support for her majesty the queen. >> woodruff: palace officials said the duke will not lie in state or have a state funeral due to the pandemic. prince philip was 99 years old. we will look back on his life later in the program. the u.s. will see a sharp drop in deliveries of the one-shot johnson & johnson covid-19 vaccine next wk amid quality

control concerns at a production plant in baltimore. states will receive just 700,000 doses, that's compared to the nearly five million they received this week. meanwhile, in geneva, the head of the world health organization voiced concerns about inequity in the global distribution of vaccines. >> there remains a shocking imbalance in the global distribution of vaccines. on average in high-income countries, almost one in four people has received a vaccine. in low-income countries, it's one in more than 500. >> woodruff: we will have more on the vaccination effort in the u.s., later in the program. president biden released a preliminary outline of his $1.5 trillion budget for 2022 today. it calls for $769 billion for non-defense programs. that includes a $20 billion boost for low-income schools,

and $8.7 billion for the centers for disease control and prevention. $753 billion will go to national defense. the president remained optimistic about its prospects. >> i'm hoping that we'll have some bipartisan support across the board. i've already spoken to some of my republican colleagues about dealing with the infrastructure legislation we have up there, as well as other budget items. >> woodruff: the white house plans to release its full annual budget later in the spring. president biden also signed an executive order today to form a bipartisan commission to study whether to expand the supreme court. it will also consider whether to implement term limits for justices. the u.s. house ethics commite is investigating two republican congressmen over separate allegations of sexual misconduct. florida representative matt gaetz faces accusations of sex trafficking and illicit drug use, among other things.

and, representative tom reed of new york is accused of sexuall harassing a former lobbyist. reed already announced that he will not seek re-election. in northern ireland, a new night of riots rocked the capital of belfast over the fallout from brexit. frustration is mounting among another 19 police officers were injured overnight as gangs of youths hurled stones and fireorks at them. police, in turn, deployed water cannons. anti-coup demonstrations persisted throughout myanmar today, despite the military's claim that protests against them have dwindled. demonstrators in dawei and yangon held flags as they marched through the streets, but the deadly crackdown continued in bego, where at least four people were killed. the kremlin said today that it fears full-scale fighting will resume in eastern ukraine, as it builds up its military presence near the border.

russian-backed separatists and ukrainian troops have been clashing in the donbass region. even as russia faces growing international criticism, a spokeswoman for the russian foreign ministry said the ukrainians were to blame. >> ( translated ): the situation there continues to be difficult and tends to deteriorate. its cause is a warlike attitude of kyiv living in illusions concerning the solution of the conflict in the south east of the country by force. >> woodruff: the white house estimates that russia has amassed more troops on the ukrainian border than when it annexed crimea from ukraine back in 2014. a volcanic eruption on the caribbean island of st. vincent has dumped heavy ash on the surrounding communities. some 16,000 residents were under mandatory evacuation orders. social media video showed a 20,000-foot ash column rising into the sky. there were no immediate reports of injuries. on wall street today, stocks ended the week on a high note.

the dow jones industrial average gained 297 points to close at 33,800, notching another record high. the nasdaq rose 71 points, and the s&p 500 added 31. and, hip-hop artist d.m.x. died today in new york after suffering a cardiac arrest. the grammy-nominated rapper, whose real name is earl simmons, sold millions of records and produced such iconic songs as "ruff ryders' anthem." with his trademark raspy voice, he became the first musician whose first five albums hit number 1 on billboard's "top 200" chart. d.m.x. was 50 years old. still to come on the newshour: medical officials testify to the cause of george floyd's death. a push to unionize by amazon workers in alabama fails to garner enough votes. black troops describe serving alongside white supremacists.

and, much more. >> woodruff: this was a closely- watched day in the trial of derek chauvin, the former police officer charged with the murder of george floyd. it featured key testimony about what led to the death of mr. floyd. special correspondent fred de sam lazaro has our report. >> reporter: a key and highly anticipated witness today was medical examiner dr. andrew baker, who performed the initial autopsy on george floyd's body. baker determined floyd died of "cardiopulmonary arrest" and declared his death a homicide, meaning simply a death caused by the actions of another person. >> that's really just fancy medical lingo meaning that the

heart and the lungs stopped, no pulse, no breathing. and in my opinion, the law enforcement, subdual restraint and the neck compression was just more than mr. floyd could take, by virtue of those heart conditions. >> reporter: prior to the trial, there had been some confusion about baker's autopsy findings, and today, both the prosecution and defense tried to parse his report to make their case-- arguing over the role controlled substances may have had in floyd's death. >> so, my opinion remains unchanged. it's what i put on the death certificate last june. that's cardiopulmonary arrest law enforcement subdural restraint and neck compression. that was my top line then. it would stay my top line now. >> and so, if we look at the other contributing conditions, those other contributing conditions are not conditions that you consider direct causes. is that true? >> they are not direct causes of mr. floyd's death, that is true, they are contributing causes. >> reporter: the prosecution began the day's testimony by calling dr. lindsey thomas to

the stand. she is a forensic pathologist who helped train baker. >> there's no evidence to suggest he would've died that night except for the interactions with law enforcement. >> reporter: members of floyd's family are expected to testify early next week as the prosecution wraps their case. the defense will begin calling its witnesses soon after. for the pbs newshour, this is fred de sam lazaro. >> woodruff: the push to unionize amazon workers in alabama is over, for now. amazon is the second largest private employer in the u.s. with nearly 800,000 workers. but none of its facilities are unionized. stephanie sy reports on today's victory for the tech giant. >> sy: judy, more than 5,800

workers are employed at that warehouse, and it was considered a pivotal test of organized labor's efforts to unionize at big tech companies. but, when the national labor relations board finished counting ballots today, it was clear union organizers did not have nearly enough votes. margaret o'mara is a historian who watches labor, capitalism and tech at the university of washington. she joins me now. prefer o'mara, thank you so much for being on the newshour. this was quite a definitive vote in favor not to unionize with 1,798 workers voting against, 738 voting in favor. and just over half the workers overall cast ballots. what do you think led to that outcome? >> well, it was a pretty decisive vote, and it was a-- it was a win for amazon, which had worked very hard to prevent this union drive from being successful.

but it also was a loss for amazon, too, in some ways, in that here we are talking about labor conditions at the amazon fulfillment centers, same way it was a win-lose for the union. the union lost this drive, but also, there's incredible momentum around whre it might go next. >> sy: did this, in this case, in alabama, come down to the wages, to the money? amazon pays somewhat around $15 an hour for most workers at that fulfillment center. they offer health benefits. $14 an hour there in alabama is more than twice the minimum wage. is that what led the fight here as opposed to working conditions? >> well, you're right. it is twice the minimum wage. and i think that working conditions were really what was the catalyst. and this is coming in the wake of our pandemic year, when, which was a blockbuster year for

amazon, but also a year when the demands on the fulfillment centers and their workers were pretty strong and, you know, where this starts popping out into the public eye is the conditions that the-- the health conditions on the floor of the fulfillment centers, and amazon then launches sort of comprehensive campaign to assure workers and the public that they are doing all these things to protect workers during covid. but there is a- you know, it's not just the money. and this is-- this is the pay scale, as amazon does not hesitate to remind us, is much higher than a lot of comparable jobs in these communities. yet, there are things that come with it. it's tough work, often. >> sy: was this going to be an uphill battle? first of all, it's alabama. it's a right to work state, tough to unionize there in general. secondly, amazon, as you mentioned, was a bright spot when it came to hiring.

it hired hundreds of thousands of additional workers as many companies were shutting work during this time and workers. >> yeah, that's right. you know, amazon's been growing, building more and more fulfillment centers, and these are centers that the state and local leaders of these communities are eager to get. this has been know-- so i think that this-- that growth is not going to slow. i think that as, indeed, you know, what we saw in the vote was not all workers saw the union as the answer. and in some ways, the characteristics of the work in these fulfillment centers that were the complaints and the reason for the union drive in the first place-- like turnover, transience, the toughness of the josh the demand of the job-- also worked against workers feeling like this is a job i want to invest in, and i want to stay here for a long time. so i'm willing to join a union to make those conditions better.

>> sy: why did this fight, professor o'mara, become so emblematic for other labor struggles around the country? and where do things go from here? is this the end of the line for unionization for amazon workers, or are there other struggles in the works? >> well, this is significant because amazon... in the way that u.s. steel or standard oil were in an earlier era, 120 years ago. it touches-- consumers and businesses across the country and the world. it is inescapable. it is a very important part, and became an even more important part of american life during the pandemic year. so i think when you have this bigness, this market dominance, amazon is now getting-- facing political headwinds that it didn't have to face only a few years ago. and the bigger questions about regulation and antitrust and competition, protecting small

businesses, protecting workers, they're all connected. and i don't think that that's going to go away. we don't know how this is going to play out. obviously, had the vote gone a different way, we'd be drawing different conclusions. so i think we should be careful about declaratively saying this is where it's going to go next. but this is a big deal. >> sy: and, of course, we should say that the union says it does plan to challenge the outcome of this vote tally. margaret o'mara, with the university of washington, a historian that looks at labor issues, thank you so much for joining us with your perspective. >> my pleasure. thanks. >> woodruff: today, the pentagon announced new initiatives and a new working grouto counter extremism in the ranks. as nick schifrin reports, the military admits there's a

problem, but advocates say it hasn't taken the necessary steps to tackle it. >> so this is going to be the stand-down training for extremism. >> schifrin: from a marine corps base in california, to an air force base in texas-- >> our purpose is to address a concern that has likely been around for decades, and has either been dormant, or simply ignored. >> schifrin: --the military's two million active duty and reserve men and women were all recently ordered to pause their day jobs and "stand down"-- to admit they had a problem. >> never has this been more important than now, as we face potential threats from within. >> hello, everyone. i'm lloyd austin. >> schifrin: in february, defense secretary lloyd required every unit to discuss extremism in the ranks. >> views and conduct that run counter to everything that we believe in, and which can actually tear at the fabric of who we are as an institution. >> schifrin: the stand-down was sparked byhe january 6 insurrection.

but, the military's problems run deeper than the 15% or so of insurrectionists who were current or former military. >> the reaction that you get just when you tell somebody you're a black west pointer, they're like-- one, they're like flabbergasted, like, how did you make it? >> schifrin: former captain geoffrey easterling was a west point graduate and army field artillery officer who deployed to afghanistan. he left the military in 2019. easterling remembers confronting a fellow officer wearing a patch for the "three percenters," the far-right militia group whose members were among the insurrectionists. >> i was like, seems to be like an extremist group. and he's like, oh, that's just what people say, but it's not extremism. if i had a black panther anything, there'd be a lot of questions, if not some outright, you know, "fix yourself." but, name your favorite white, oath keeper-type organization, don't get policed. or at least they didn't when i was in the military. >> you're going to the military for an opportunity to grow. these micro-aggressions can tear at you. they're like psychological whippings, and they're really meant to pacify you, to kind of

put you in your place. >> schifrin: richard brookshire is a former army sergeant and combat medic. >> hello, i'm specialist brookshore, with the 218 infantry, deployed to northern afghanistan. >> schifrin: he says the military never welcomed him as a black, gay man, and he calls the racism, homophobia, and sexism he says he witnessed, "stepping stones to extremism." >> there's building blocks to get to extremism, right. and certainly, if you become-- if you're xenophobic, if you're if you hold racist proclivities, if you are, you know, you know, a fascist, and you're-- you're kind of building toward-- actually activating around those issues. you know, by way of january 6, i wasn't surprised at all. when i served, conspiracy theories were rife, right? it's this open-- this openness, this kind of, i guess it is tolerance, you know, that i think is-- is most damning on the military's part. >> schifrin: last month, the pentagon made public a 2020 report that admitted, "white supremacy and white nationalism pose a threat to the good order

and discipline within the military," and "individuals with extremist affiliations and military experience are a concern to u.s. national security." but it also concluded, "we believe we have been effective at screening for individuals who possess or advocate extremist ideologies." >> we're happy to see that the pentagon agrees that there's a problem, but we completely disagree that they're doing anything about it. >> schifrin: lecia brooks is the chief of staff for the southern poverty law center. her father joined the military shortly after it was desegregated, and deployed to korea. >> in joining the military, he wanted-- he wanted something other than the experience that he had as a black man growing up in mississippi. >> schifrin: the military is proud of the history it's tried to provide black enlisted service members. but it hasn't always lived up to promised opportunities. and the s.p.l.c. has been calling out extremists in the ranks for decades. in 1986, a letter to secretary of defense caspar weinberger said active duty troops were rallying with the ku klux klan. the s.p.l.c. sent letters

warning of white supremacy in the military-- about every five years since. >> the military seems to respond when something horrific happens. they feign interest, and then do not implement the recommendations that-- that we offer. >> schifrin: the military admits, it doesn't even know the scope of the problem. it has no centralized system for monitoring extremism-related incidents. and advocates argue, recruits aren't screened well enough, and regulations are inconsistent. >> we should know how many people have been separated from military service based on their extremist activity. we don't know. there's also very-- there's inconsistencies, among command, in terms of taking this-- this problem seriously, and, you know, just buying into the romanticized notion that all is equal in the military. >> schifrin: right now, the military doesn't prohibit-- service members from belonging to extremist organizations, so long as they don't conduct prohibited activities.

when brookshire was deployed to germany, he was stationed on a former nazi base, and noticed his fellow soldiers' fascination with nazi culture. after he separated, he realized a veteran who'd killed a black man, hoping to start a race war, had been in his brigade. >> it kind of brought home the point that, you know, these things-- these things weren't just being made up in my mind. there were people being radicalized right alongside me. >> schifrin: this stand-down was held at a chapel on fort lee, named for the confederacy's top general. >> it starts at the top. if a post is named after an extremist: fort hood, fort bragg, fort lee-- it kind of sets the tone that a radical with the right morals can still be honored. >> "against all enemies, foreign and domestic." >> schifrin: the pentagon says the stand-down has focused on the morals of its mandatory oath. >> "that i will support and defend the constitution of the united states, against all

enemies, foreign and domestic." >> the number ought to be zero, given the fact that you take an oath to defend the constitution of the united states, that you make a promise to the american people about what you stand for. but even though the number is small, it can have an outsized, corrosive effect. >> schifrin: today, pentagon spokesman john kirby unveiled new steps, including a new military-wide definition of extremism, standardizing extremism screening among recruits, and training service members as they leave the military on extremist groups that recruit veterans. >> more needs to be done to educate and inform transitioning members, about who and what are waiting for them on the other side. we have evidence that some extremist groups are actively recruiting active duty members as they get ready to transition, because they value their leadership capabilities, their organizational skills, their weapons training. >> schifrin: richard brookshire's organization, the black veterans project, uses advocacy and storytelling wi famous veterans to organize and support black veterans. and he fights what he calls

systemic bias and exclusivity. geoffrey easterling believes solutions should also focus on veterans who don't feel supported when they leave the military. >> how could you feel so rudderless and so unheard in a society that you helped create, you helped defend? how are we ensuring that they have the tools and resources to have community, financial stability, and family stability for the rest of their lives, so they're less likely to buy into conspiracy, insurgency, >> schifrin: and ensuring that all who've served are less likely to buy into extremism's building blocks, won't be accomplished in a single stand-down. for the pbs newshour, i'm nick schifrin. >> woodruff: covid-19 vaccination efforts are ramping up among one of the hardest-hit groups in the

pandemic: workers in meatpacking factories and livestock farms that supply them. special correspondent fred de sam lazaro reports from the small minnesota town of worthington. it's part of his series, "agents for change." >> okay, marvin, we're going to be giving you the johnson & johnson vaccine today... >> ( speaking spanish ) >> congratulations, marvin. >> reporter: there's been little to cheer about in recent months in meatpacking towns like worthington, minnesota. the giant j.b.s. pork processing plant was an early covid hotspot. like several other facilities, it shut down for weeks, before being ordered to reopen by former president trump, who declared them critical to the nation's meat supply. >> we have honestly seen, like, the importance of folks who didn't have the option to stay home and work from a laptop, continuing to work in, like, confined and crowded spaces, >> reporter: nationwide, at least 50,000 meatpackers have been infected with the coronavirus, and some 250 lost

their lives. but jessica velasco, who works for a community group called unidos, says the outlook is beginning to feel brighter. at j.b.s., which offered a $100 incentive, about 1,600 of its 2,200 workers have received the single-dose johnson & johnson vaccine. that still leaves thousands of others unvaccinated, many in smaller factories and on livestock farms. immigrants comprise more than half the 12,000 to 15,000 population of worthington and the surrounding farm country. the languages they speak are from southeast asia, from the horn of africa, and the largest group are from central america. but even here, many are from indigenous groups and don't necessarily speak spanish. minnesota's department of health began conducting pop-up vaccination events last weekend, and saw a steady trickle of takers. >> folks are really starting to see that they are eligible to

get vaccinated, and i think a lot of our folks are excited to get vaccinated, actually. >> reporter: is anybody not excited? >> there are still some folks who are not excited. >> reporter: and a big part of velasco's job these days is to reach them. ( knocking ) >> reporter: for several hours each week, she goes door-to- door. on this day, in a trailer park. >> ( speaking spanish ) >> reporter: it's one of many polite, but unproductive, exchanges. >> i asked her, have you taken it? and she said, no. and she says, she doesn't know if it really works, because it's still semi-new. and she doesn't know what the after-effects would be of the vaccine. >> reporter: can you tell me, you know, reading between the lines, which you probably are expert at doing, what is driving that reticence? >> i know it is the fear, but it'll probably primarily be her situation, status, for her and her family. >> reporter: documentation, you mean? >> yeah. >> reporter: estimates vary on the number of undocumented families here.

but it's one more challenge, to reach a population that is often invisible by choice. next stop, across the street, and, another no. >> he said, i'm going to leave it in the hands of god. >> god has given us a gift. ( speaking spanish ) they've made a vaccine. >> reporter: at st. mary's catholic church, fathers jim callahan and miguel proanos have weighed in. >> we also put it in the context of what pope francis had said, get the vaccine, because that is the greatest act of charity and love that you can do. >> reporter: both men publicized their own vaccination on social media. all this is happening as the campaign approaches a new phase with more vaccines becoming availae. >> so, father jim influencers become absolutely critical. >> reporter: university of

minnesota epidemiologist michael osterholm says there's still a real threat of resurgent infections, particularly with fast-spreading and deadlier new variants. he says reaching the unvaccinated is becoming essential, as well as more difficult. despite its problems, he says, we've just seen the easy part of the vaccine rollout. >> so i think you're going to see a transition where those big, coliseum-wide campaigns where we can vaccinate 1,000s in a day, which are really important, give way more and more to these efforts by local and state public health officials to reach out to individuals, whether they want to be found or not, and to try to get them vaccinated. so, it is critical we try to reach everyone, house by house, lot by lot. >> reporter: jessica velasco is redoubling her efforts-- in trailer parks, at the bus stop for meatpacking workers. for her, it's also personal. among those lost to the pandemic was her father, ovee velasco, originally from mexico, who moved here two decades ago.

he was 60. >> i reflected on how folks who had lost someone, or who passed away by themselves, because they have-- all their loved ones were back home, in a different country. i at least got to see my dad. but yes, my dad's passing really pushed me to keep going. >> reporter: for the pbs newshour, this is fred de sam lazaro, in worthington, minnesota. >> woodruff: fred's reporting is a partnership with the "under-told stories project" at the university of st. thomas in minnesota. >> woodruff: we return to the death today of prince philip, queen elizabeth ii's husband and partner. here is a look at the lengthy life and often-turbulent times of the duke of edinburgh.

this report is by chris ship, he's the royal editor of independent television news. >> reporter: he was born prince philip of greece in denmark in 1921 on the greek island of corfu. his mother was princess alice of battenberg, which made philip a great, great grandchild of queen victoria, just like his future wife. but philip and his family were forced to flee greece after a coup, and he ended up at gordonstoun school in scotland, where the disciplines of sport and achievement were to shape his future. from gordonsturn, he went to the royal navy in 1939 as a cadet. he was at the britannia royal naval college in dartmouth before the war. he'd been asked to entertain the king's daughters during a royal visit. afterwards, they played croquet in the gardens outside. it was clear a romance had started to blossom in dartmouth that afternoon. elizabeth might have been taken with philip, but war was to take him far away. with the navy, he fought the

italians and then the japanese. but the young princess exchanged letters with philip throughout the war years, which allowed them, when peace finally came, to pick up their romance. and in 1947, they got engaged. and the wedding, when it came later that year, was to light up a post-war britain still mired bomb damage and rations. he had renounced his greek title, and the king made him the duke of edinburgh. prince charles was the first of the couple's four children, a future king, and the duke of edinburgh was promoted to commander. he took charge of his own ship, h.m.s. "magpie," in malta. so at the beginning of the 1950s, the young couple would

lead a life about as close to normal as it ever got. he had to abandon the career he loved so much. with the sudden death of his father-in-law, his wife had become queen. at her coronation the following year, an event he insisted should be televised for the world to see, the duke took an oath to serve his wife, the queen, for the rest of his life. he knelt before her and swore to be her loyal follower. >> reporter: his wife was head of state, but what would this young man, the queen's consort, do now? the answer came in part from the duke's former headmaster,

dr. kurt hahne, and in 1956, they channeled their shared interest in sport and voluntary service to launch the duke of edinburgh award scheme. >> the main purposes of the scheme is to help boys to find activities which will give them pleasure and satisfaction perhaps for the rest of their lives. >> reporter: 1,000 completed their award in its first year. more than two million 14- to 24- year-olds have achieved the award since then. prince philip and his eldest son did share a passion for the outdoors, but often, they had a different outlook on life. one a pragmatist, the other a thinker, a difference best articulated by philip loving everything about gordonstoun school, but charles never quite fitting in there. at the time of the wedding, and latterly the break-up, of charles and diana's marriage, the duke was enormously supportive of diana.

he was once like her, the royal outsider. but his focus turned to his grandsons, william and harry, when diana's life was cut short by that car crash in paris. this was a moment when the duke of edinburgh had to support his wife at what became a very dangerous time for the monarchy. but later that year, when the queen and duke celebrated their golden wedding anniversary, she paid him a personal and rare public tribute. >> all too often, i fear prince philip has had to listen to me speaking. he is somebody who doesn't take easily to compliments. but he has quite simply been my strength and stay all these years. >> reporter: and it was also an anniversary for reflecting on how their long and successful partnership had endured. >> i think that the main lesson we've learnt is that tolerance is the one essential ingredient of any happy marriage. and you can take it from me that the queen has the quality of

tolerance in abundance. >> reporter: his official diary >> reporter: and when he announced his retirement from royal duties, prince philip did what he does best. he made a joke. this one was about his own advancing years. >> i'm sorry to hear you're standing down. >> well, i can't stand up much longer. >> reporter: and so it was just a few months later that the duke bid farewell. he did attend harry and meghan's wedding, even though he had his hip replaced just weeks before. the duke showed the world that even at 96, surgery was no reason to miss a big royal occasion. if queen elizabeth's reign will be judged a success, it will be in no small part because of the man she married. yes, the duke of edinburgh could sometimes be a little undiplomatic for the diplomats who surrounded him, but in his

adopted country, prince philip became the joint author of the second elizabethan era. she is the longest serving monarch in british history, but at her side throughout was the longest serving consort. >> woodruff: that was chris ship of independent television news. and join us monday night for a pbs newshour primetime special, "prince philip: a royal life." >> woodruff: to help us break down the future rules of the u.s. senate, recent trends within the parties, and more, we lo to the analysis of brooks and capehart. that is "new york times" columnist david brooks and jonathan capehart, columnist for the "washington post." hello to both of you on this friday night. you know, we don't normally spend a lot of time talking about parliamentary rules, but we know they can make a big

difference in what congress does, david. and there was a column written this week by west virginia senator joe manchin, where he said-- and i'm partly quoting-- there were no circumstances under which he would eliminate or weaken this rule that allows the minority party to stop legislation it doesn't want. i'm not exactly quoting what you see here. he went on to talk about eliminating the filibuster is not something we should do. we need to be seeking bipartisan solutions. we need to do our job. so, david, what did you make of the column? how much difference does it make? >> woman, it was an interesting column because he didn't make the normal argument for keeping the filibuster. he made it to keep bipartisanship but a different argument as well-- which is small states can't be trampled. the constitution recognizes us as individuals but it also recognized states as entities and the senate is there to represent the states, and he feels it profoundly will crimp

the biden administration but not crush it, i think. the i think the chances of getting anything major passed with 60 votes with 10 republicans is basically nil, so they'll have to go through reconciliation. there seems to be a ruling from the parliamentarian that they can do reconciliation more than once this a year. and they just did it with covid-19. but the door seems to be open to doing it with the infrastructure bill, if we get to that, in the fall. so biden can still do big things, but probably fewer of them. >> woodruff: reconciliation, of course, being shorthand for a piece of legislation that can pass with 51-- a simple majority. it doesn't have to have more than that. jonathan, what are you thinking about this, the filibuster? >> well, i thought senator manchin's op-ed in "the washington post" was laying down a clear marker-- no reforming of the filibuster, no killing the filibuster outright. and he doesn't like reconciliation at all. and if it comes up, he won't support it. he wants to go back to-- quote,

unquote-- regular order. when i interviewed former congresswoman donna edwards from maryland, i asked her is it possible to get back to regular order? and she said when she was in the congress for those 10 years, people then were talking about returning to regular order. no one has ever seen it it appears in recent memory. whing it comes to filibuster, when it comes to reconciliation, when it comes to the president's agenda, i'm looking forward to senator manchin showing who the 10 republican senators are who are going to provide the 60 votes to eliminate the filibuster so that bills can actually get to the floor for a vote. and i'm with david. i don'tsee where those votes are going to come from. >> woodruff: and picking up on that, david, what does this mean for the biden agenda? you said it hobbles it, words to

that effect, but doesn't-- doesn't kill everything that the president wants. >> yeah, well, if you can pass a $2.3 infrastructure and jobs bill that's a pretty big accomplishment. that's like four presidency's worth. that's still on the table. but it's hard to see a lot else. you can only use reconciliation rarely, and it has to be on budget items. so the filibuster to me-- in chicago we had kids wear t-shirts-- sure it works in practice, but does it work in theory. to me, i support the filibuster in theory, because i do think it does, on balance, lead to bipartisanship. you've got to work with the other side. but you wouldn't say it's done that recently. and, you know, somebody once said the constitution is not a suicide note. if we can't get anything done, if politics is fundamentally broken, then we should probably widen the filibuster window. but democrats should be republicans will some day be in

charge. if they run the table now on a partisan base, the republicans will do exactly the same down the road, and they should prepare for that. >> woodruff: we're here, jonathan, to talk about theory, as much as anything else. but again pick up on what david is saying about the biden agenda and let's bring in the tax increase that the president is going to be asking for to pay for his infrastructure plan, assuming it passes. >> right. and before i answer that, i'm going to pick up on what david was saying. yes, the constitution isn't in a suicide pact and the filibuster should be reformed to get the agenda through. but i just wonder is the republican party even interested in negotiating, in compromising? and that gets to your question, judy, about the tax increases that president biden has proposed to pay for the american jobs plan. and here is where i think the president and the administration has been a lot different on this than it it was on the covid relief package, where they were insistent, we're going to get this done, and they got it done

with no republican votes. here, the president has been very clear-- "i'm willing to negotiate. let's talk about this." and i think when it comes to raing the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%, we very well could see the administration and the president compromise on that as a way of getting to "yes," and maybe a vote on the floor of his american jobs plan. >> woodruff: david-- go ahead. >> i think the democrats will get what they want on spending, and en compromise on tax increases. so the plan will not be paid for. that would fit the norm. ( laughing ). >> woodruff: let's talk about something else the president said this week that he wants, but not in the form of legislation. and, david, i'm going to stay with you on that, and that's measures to do something about gun violence in the country. the president talked about a number of things-- not talked about, he proposed a number of-- put out there a number of executive orders. it's not the same as

legislation. he's not asking congress to do anything at this point. but in terms of what he is enacting, is that going to make a difference? >> maybe on the margins, but i wouldn't expect much. he's talking about things like ghost guns, these kits you are buy, apparently, to put together a gun in your only home that have no identification markers, and red flags, increasing people like dylan roof who should not have guns and be a little more aggressive on that. these are small measures. you really need legislation to do something big. i think one thing that is significant, somebody made a good point this week, we are in the habit in the gun debate-- there is a big mass shooting, we all focus on it for a minute, we talk about assault weapons which are often used, but the person made a point only 1% of gun deaths are caused during these mass incidents. it's suicide, it's murder, it's stuff done with handguns a lot of times. what i did see in the president's move is a focus on what is the biggest part of the

problem, when is the regular, ongoing drumbeat of daily gun violence that may not make the media but is the real problem here. >> woodruff: and, jonathan, do you see what the president is doing as making a difference? we see these terrible shootings. we don't hear about most of the shootings that happen everyone day in this country. >> right. >> woodruff: but do you see what president biden is doing is making a difference? >> the key thing, i tink, that the president has done by doing what he did in the rose garden yesterday, was bringing attention, b attention from the white house on the overall issue of gun violence and ways to do something about it. sure, he can nibble at the edges with executive action, but the real action comes from congress. d so what the president is doing what he did with all of us talking about it with the american people talking about it, my hunch is that the administration is hoping that there will be even more pressure

on congress to actually do something, but even there, i don't expect congress to do anything. if 20 six--year-olds and seven-year-olds at sandy hook elementary school getting killed in december of 20112 was not enough to get congress to do the simplest thing, pass the manchin-toomey bill on background checks, if they can't get that done, what makes anyone think congress will pass any kind of legislation now almost 10 years later? >> woodruff: which appears to be the president's belief because e hasn't proposed legislation yet but we'll see. david, the last thing i want to raise with the two of you, it caught my attention this week. the gallup poll said more americans are self-identifying as democrats or democratic-leaning independents than at any time in about a decade. does that say anything to you? is it just the flash in the pan,

the beginning of the biden administration? what do you think? >> i think it's partly revulsion at trump and january 6 and partly early biden administration. we have been here before. democrats usually have a four-point lead, now it's up to nine which is big. two things to think about. first, the long trend of rise in independents, half the country are independents way more than in each of the parties. people are dissatisfied with the parties. the second point is these are two parties that are asymmetrical. one of the surveys said is politics about policy or is it about survival? and democrats said it's about policy. republicans said more it's about survival. so they're not so much interested in policies. what's interesting to me over the next couple of years, if biden passes his agenda, a lot of that money goes to republicans. it goes to working class folks. and if republicans start getting big checks, they might like the republican party on dr. seuss, but maybe they'll think, well, these checks are pretty nice,

too. i'm wondering if they'll stay with the republicans on cultural issues or will they respond to biden's policy appeal? >> woodruff: what do you think, jonathan? >> i was captured by that 44% number that david mentioned in terms of independents. and for a while now, i've been thinking that it's not so much the party affiliation that i think is driving people. i think it's policies. it's ideas. are you for $15 minimum wage? are you for the government doing something to provide covid relief? are you in favor of gun control? are you in favor of "fill in the blank" issue that would make your life easier? and whether that's being proposed by democrats or republicans, i think that's-- i don't think people are so much hung up on the labels. i think they're hung up on the policy. so that's what i'm looking forward to years down the road. "d"s and "r"s, that doesn't give me any indicator as to

where people are. give me a poll on where people are on particular issues and that will tell me where the american people are. >> woodruff: david. >> yeah, i think that's right. but so far, partisanship has its own dynamic. so once you become a republican, then whatever the republican party wants, you're there for them. and so i think that's sort of the-- what we've been pulled into, what they call effective polarization. you just want to hate the other team. and in the trump era, policy was clearly secondary. biden is trying to make it primary. we'll see if it has a persuasive catalytic effect. >> woodruff: persuasive cat lick effect, we're going to think about that and theory and a lot of other things. david brooks, jonathan capehart, thank you both. and have a good weekend. >> thanks, judy. >> thanks, judy.

>> woodruff: as we do every week, we take a moment now to remember some of the extraordinary lives of those we have lost to the coronavirus. born in washington, d.c., ronnie hogue learned to love basketball at an early age. in 1969, he became the first african american to receive a full athletic scholarship to the university of georgia. his son said he often faced racism during his aying years, but still, he became a star at georgia, setting the school's at-home, single-game scoring record. later in life, he built a successful career in retail. and, his son says, he was a loving father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, who made friends wherever he went. ronnie hogue was 69 years old. philamena belone's calling in life was teaching.

a member of the navajo nation, she always had a connection with kids, especially the ones going through a tough time. the 44-year-old mother of three first taught in albuquerque public schools, but ter moved to an elementary school in the navajo nation so she could give back to her community. she loved to run, dance and make people laugh. her brother said philamena never judged others, and she helped him become a better father and husband. raised baptist in a north carolina mill town, frank perry fell in love with the organ at a local lutheran church. after serving his country in occupied japan during world war ii, frank returned home to become a lutheran minister and raise a family of three with his wife martha. throughout his six decades as a pastor, his daughter said, he always looked for the good in people and was accepting of everyone. the 96-year-old served his

community to the very end, even preaching to alzheimer's patients at his assisted living facility. the grandson of sharecroppers, james scott was born in mississippi. after losing his father as a teenager, james helped his mother work their land, before being called to the ministry. after marrying his wife, virginia, he moved to tennessee, and for the next six decades, he was the pastor-- and later, bishop-- of holy temple church of god in christ in chattanooga. james was a giver, his daughter said, and even when the family had very little, he found a way to help others. at 87 years old, after 65 years of marriage, james passed away, less than a day after his beloved wife virginia. from the age of 19, christine riley served her community

as a nun with the sisters of st. joseph in wheeling, west virginia. after joining the congregation, she was a pediatric nurse and administrator for nearly two decades. described as fun-loving, sister christine would drop anything to comfort the sick and support her neighbors struggling with homelessness or addiction, friends said. she also loved to sing, particularly folk songs about her beloved west virginia. sister christine riley was 84 yes old. we are see grateful to family mbers for sharing these stories with us. our hearts go out to you, each one of you, as they do to everyone who has lost a loved one in this pandemic. and please stay with pbs tonight. amy walter is hosting "washington week. " before we go, to mark this first week of being back in the studio, i want to say thank you

to a vwer, stephanie byrne. she sent a picture of a quilt she made, based on the bookshelf you would see behind me at my house. thank you. and that is the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. join us online, and again here on monday evening. for all of us at the pbs newshour, have a great weekend. thank you, and good night. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> fidelity wealth management. >> consumer cellular. >> johnson & johnson. >> bnsf railway. >> the william and flora hewlett foundation. for more than 50 years, advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world.

at www.hewlett.org. >> supporting social entrepreneurs and their solutions to the world's most pressing problems-- skollfoundation.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and friends of the newshour. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

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