woodruff. a deadly surge. india suffers hundreds of thousands of new infections of covid 19, overwhelming hospitals and burial grounds across the country. then. making it count. the results of the latest census are released, potentially altering the future balance of power in washington. and. major changes. questions remain as the biden administration ends the "remain in mexico" policy for refugees seeking legal asylum at the southern border. >> none of these families have actually won their asylum claim. all of them are in immigration proceedings and a good number of them are going to face

deportation at some date in the future. judy: all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by. >> before we talk about your investments, what is new? >> let's see what we can adjust. >> change in plans. >> ok. >> are youainting again? you can sell these. >> let me guess, change in plans? >> at fidelity, a change in plans is always part of the plan. >> consumer cellular. johnson & johnson. bmsf railway.

financial services firm raymond james. the william and floral foundation. for more than 50 years, advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world. the chance up or initiative. working to bld a more healthy, just and inclusive future for everyone. and with the ongoing support of these individuals d institutions.

this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions by viewers like you. thank you. stephanie: we returned to the full program after latest headlines. india is in crisis tonight, as covid-19 infections past 350,000 a day, with more than 2800 deaths. the biden administration says it will send a range of help to india and will share up to 60 million doses of astrazeneca vaccine with other nations. we will return to india after the new summary. the u.s. supreme court agreed today to arguments on the right to carry a gun in public. ted will the first such case since justice amy coney barrett get conservatives a 6-3 majority. at issue is whether new york state's gun permit law violates the second amendment. organizers trying to recl

california governor gavin newsom have collected enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot. more than 1.5 million signatures have been verified. voters will likely decide whether to remove newsom and replace him in the fall. marine scientists have found an underwater dumpsite with up to 25,000 corroded barrels that may contain ddt off the coast of southern california. deep-sea robots mapped the massive debris field containing the toxic chemical. the research was shared at a congressional briefing today. the u.s. justice department is launching a full-scale review of police tactics in louisville, kentucky. it comes a year after police shot and killed breonna taylor during a raid at her home. chief erika shields said today her force welcomes the investigation. >> they want to get it right. they want the community to be proud of them. and so i look at this as an opportunity to quicken the pace

in which we can make those changes essential so that the community trusts us and believes in us. stephanie: the president of turkey rejected president biden's decision to label the killings of armenians during world war i as genocide. he called the move unfounded, t he said he hopes the two nato allies can still work together. >> we now need to put aside the issues that poison the relations between the two countries, and look at what states we contact from now on. otherwise we will have no choice but to do what is required by the level our ties have fallen to. stephanie: an estimated 1.5 million armenians died in 1915. a week interview with iran's top diplomat caused a start today, among other things he said russia had wanted to stop iran's 2015 nuclear deal. he also criticized constant

soleimani, the revolutionary guard commander for pressing military gains over diplomacy. soleimani was killed in a u.s. drone strike in 2020. back in this country, the census bureau announced the u.s. population topped 331 million in the 2020 count. that is up 7.4% from the 2010 census, the second smallest increase ever. we will have a detailed look later in the program. still to come on the newshour. india suffers hundreds of thousands of new infections of covid-19. the biden administration ends the remain in mexico policy for asylum-seekers, but faces a massive backlog. what we learn from the latest critical census results, plus much more. >> this is the pbs newshour from washington, and in the west from the walter cronkite school of

journalism at arizona state university. judy: india is in a dire covid crisis, while the biden administration pledged to share tens of millions of doses of the astrazeneca vaccine with india and other countries, that vaccine must still be approved by the u.s. food and drug administration. does doses will not arrive in india for some time. the country is breaking new records daily. today, india reported more than 350,000 new cases and 2800 less deaths. experts believe those numbers substantially undercount the true impact. in a moment, william brangham talks with one of those experts. but let's begin with a report from john ray of independent television news. reporter: death and grief. in india both are now on heartbreaking public display.

where a sun begs for his father's body to be taken to the crematorium for his last rites. where the virus has returned at such speed it has far outpaced his country's ability to cope. she mourns for her brother, just 45 years old. covid is claiming ever younger victims. he was a hospital worker, where patients lie in makeshift morgues, where every life hangs by the slender thread. in a land where oxygen is just one more fatal shortage. it frees panic and fuels soaring black market prices. we met the family of a man struggling to breathe in the back of this car. they finally secured oxygen for him, but it proves to be too late. >> we have driven here and there

and everywhere to find health, said his brother. their mother cannot be consoled. if we had had oxygen, we would have survived, he says. the hospital could not give committee. -- give him any. >> our health care system is in crisis. we are short on oxygen, short on beds. there is an overall deterioration in all sectors. reporter: in the country that is home to the world's biggest manufacture of vaccine, too often there is none. in mumbai, crowd skewed for precious doses with little regards for social distancing. eight from overseas, ventilators and machines to make oxygen will arrive tomorrow. it can come too soon for this young woman, do not abet at a hospital, and left instead to

the care of her family on the pavement outside. this is a nation in shock. crying out for help. reporter: that report was of independent news. let's talk a little more about india's crisis and what the u.s. might do to help. i am joined by the dean of brown university's school of public health. always great to have you back on the newshour. we heard a young doctor in that report describe how the overall deterioration in every sector of india's public health system, you ve said the medical system there is on the brink of collapse. what might that look like if that were to happen? >> this is a very difficult situation india finds itself in. there has been chronic underinvestment both in health care, it was not ready to cope

with a crisis of the size. what this means is that hospital beds are running out, doctors and nurses are getting affected at alarming rates. obviously, that means for people who have covid, there is no place to get care. but it is also a tragedy for everybody else who needs care, if you have a heart attack or stroke, or get into a car accident. there really is no recourse. it is a system that is on the brink of collapse, and it is going to have you tell the effects than other types of effects for a long period of time. reporter: if as you and others have argued that india's high number of infections is in undercount, those stressed-out hospitals haven't even seen the worst of it yet. >> that is what i am worried about. i think there is not yet a realization, certainly among indian policymakers, that this is not turning around quickly. one of the things we learned in the united states, as we see

infections rise and hospitalizations follow seven to 10 days later, and deaths follow a couple of weeks after that. india is seeing increasing numbers of infections. hospitalizations are going to continue rising. the problem is there are no hospital beds. the way for patients will continue, and unless we extend capacities of actually, those patients will have no place to go. reporter: we spent a long time i second what went wrong with the u.s. response, and what cost so many lives. do you have a good sense of how india got to today? could this have been prevented? >> it absolutely could have been prevented. it is frustrating to watch because in so many ways, the government of india made exactly the same mistake that other countries including ours made last year. numbers of infections had come way down, by january or early february, and there was a sense that india had somehow beaten covid. but when infections arted

rising again, partly because things opened up, the government had large political rallies, a major religious festival where millions of people came together. infection numbers were rising and there was denial. it was only when it was no longer possible to deny the flood of very sick patients, but many have been watching this for months. unfortunately it has not been wet with -- met with the response. reporter: the u.s. has announced is going to try and help out, release some astrazeneca vaccine, although that might take months to get to ind. it's going to help them with oxygen supply, therapeutics, personal protective gear. these are all things you argue that the u.s. should have been doing. do you think the u.s. -- those steps will help? >> i do.

the size of the problem is in norma's -- enormous. not even the united states alone can do it, but the united kingdom, sally's, others have stepped up to help. india has a lot of internal capacity that it can also mobilize. all of this put together, i really do think and make a substantial difference. but, everyone needs to be pitching in. the size of the problem is astronomical. no one person and no one country is going to be able to solve those. reporter: there is obviously a moral case to be made as to why we should help a country in dire straits. but given the way that these variants are spreading, there's also a public health case to be made that we need to help everyone. >> absolutely. one of the things that is worth remembering, is that this is a global pandemic. things that happen in one place spread quickly.

if you think about the variance that have arisen out of south africa or brazil or the u.k., they are all here in the united states. we have seen new variants out of india, also in the united states. this is a reality of a globalized world. there are many reasons to help india, certainly a moral one, geopolitical one, but the simple fact that we have a lot of opportunities for infection in india, a lot of potential for more mutations. that makes the world less safe. whatever your reason for engaging, we'll have to engage in previous infection numbers way down. reporter: leslie, the 10 democratic senators have urged the biden to waive temporarily the intellectual property rights for certain vaccines. we know that the prime minister mentioned this to president biden, do you think that would help, if we loosened those restrictions to allow other people to make more vaccine?

would that help india today? >> i think the issue is important. and certainly is a part of it, but i worry we are getting distracted by this. this is not the biggest constraint. if we relax all ip rights right now, i don't think it would add much in the way of vaccines to global supply. we really need technology transfer, build that capacity. vaccines are hard things to make. the intellectual property is not the biggest thing holding us back. there is a lot of other work that i think the biden administration should absolutely be taking on and expanding capacity. i want to relax those ip standards, i don't want to think that that is somehow going to stop this issue. reporter: dr. a. schu's job, dean of the brown university of public health, always good to see it. -- good to see you.

judy: in february, president nine announced plans to wind down remained in mexico, the name given by the trump administration supports tens of thousands of legal asylum-seekers to wait in mexico while immigration courts considered their cases. but thousands of people seeking asylum are still waiting in mexico, even those who have been allowed in the u.s. have an uncertain future. amna nawaz has our report from el paso, texas. reporter: after years of waiting in mexico, these asylum-seekers first stop is here, in el paso, texas. among them, this 40-year-old from guatemala. she told me how difficult her journey had been. she was among the thousands of people stuck in mpp, the micro protection protocol program launched by former president trump, it forced people seeking

asylum to remain in mexico while there court cases unfolded in the u.s.. those cases grant to a halt in the pandemic, leaving her and her teenage son stranded. did you have any idea when? >> not really. they only told us that if we wanted to enter, we to court. they gave us the date and when to return. that was the expectation. reporter: in february, president ayden prioritized cases for processing, trying to wind down the policy. >> we make no apologies for ending programs that did not exist before trump became president. that have an incredibly negative impact on the law, international law,s well as on human dignity. reporter: she was among those cases, screened by u.s. officials, tested for covid and brought to the shelter in texas. but she arrived alone. year earlier, she tells us her

teenage son told us he cannot wait anymore, and decided to cross the border on his own without telling her. how long was it before you knew if he safely made it? >> for three days i do not know anything. he was alone, all on his own, only 17, just a kid. reporter: the director here at the volunteer shelter has done this work for 40 years, and recently met with homeland security secretary on his visit to el paso. he says he welcomes writings unwinding of mpp, which he calls so far very orderly. every day, he receives about 120 people at a shelter. >> when they first arrive, they are desperate to get to their families, and to say this part is now over. for many of them, it's been a nightmare. because they have had to learn to survive in a foreign environment, in an environment

where there is a certain level of risk and danger. reporter: he warns there is still a long, uncertain road ahead. >> none of these families have actually won their asylum claim. all of them are in immigration proceedings, and a good number of them are not going to win their asylum claims, and are going to face deportation at some date in the future. reporter: the biden administration is now moving people with cases through multiple ports of entry, brownsville, el paso, hidalgo and san diego. eagle pass, texas became the sixth port of entry. so far they have processed more than 7000 cases, meaning many thousands more still remain in mexico. among them, this man, waiting for two years. >> the government does not give you an exact date of when you

would be able to enter or when your next court appearance would be, or when you have to enter the u.s. to stand in front of a judge. nothing. reporter: he and his wife say they fled political persecution and threats in cuba, and asked for asylum after crossing the border. forced twait in mexico, he says they face new threats. >> there is organized crime, the mafia, people who saw you, people who rape women. everything. i am fearful day in and day out. i hardly ever leave my house. reporter: fearful of staying, the couple tried again to enter the u.s.. this time, his wife was allowed to stay in the u.s., but he was sent back to mexico. >>n separating me from my wife, allowing her into the u.s. and deporting me, the u.s. does not realize that i'm in the same grave danger she is. reporter: while he waits in

mexico, when the border is officially closed, u.s. officials are seeing record numbers of border crossings. according to customs, that number has been growing rapidly this year, to more than 170,000 in march, a 15 year high. recidivism is high, most people crossing our single adult and most are immediately turned back under a pandemic related rule. but some, like his wife are allowed to stay in the u.s. and pursue asylum claims. >> whether you enter regularly or wait and present at a port of entry, you are supposed to have access to asylum. for the past two years, that really has not been true. reporter: alex miller is the managing attorney of the border action team, a legal services organization based in arizona. she is working on his case. >> the ports of entry are closed to the vast majority of asylum-seekers. what that means then, is they see this increase in individuals

were actually succeeding, that are designed to cross through the desert or over a wall or through rivers and are actually entering the united states, and they think i should just try that. reporter: the data shows that even though more people have been granted asylum in recent years, denial rates have also soared, from around 54%, to a record high 71% in 2020. numbers reveal the odds depend heavily on having a lawyer. those from honduras, guatemala and mexico having the least success. even as asylum rules have never, the forces causing people to emigrate have only gotten worse. >> things are not going to change until we address them at the root cause. reporter: the democratic congresswoman from texas -- >> the climate crisis, drugs,

criminal activy. the more that you close off legal avenues, you're going to see an increase in irregular crossings, or undocumented crossing. reporter: those who make it into the u.s. face another part of the broken system, with so many cases and so few people to process them, it can take years to stand before a judge. >> that is part of the brokenness of the system. reporter: doris is a senior fellow and former commissioner of the immigration and naturalization service. she acknowledges why people apply for asylum, but says most claims to meet standard. >> those are real reasons for people leaving their countries. but for most of them, they are not reasons that ultimately qualify for asylum under u.s. law or international definitions. the big need is an asylum system that is fixed in a way that actually makes it possible to make those decisions, and make them in a way that is not only

fair, but timely. which means months, not years. reporter: h is now headed to kansas to stay with her sister. her son is already there and they will be reunited soon. after that, she says she does not know will happen. >> i hope i will eventually find work. i am praying to god i would my asylum case. i have faith that god will help me. reporter: she and her son have made it to the u.s.. whether or not they can stay remains to be seen. for the pbs newshour, i in el paso, texas. judy: as we reported earlier, the first batch of results from the 2020 census count or in, and the u.s. population topped 331 million last year. the bureau also released state

population numbers, which will re-shape the balance of power in the u.s. house of representatives for the next decade. lisa desjardins reports. >> the south grew the fastest over the last decade with a 10.2% increase in population. reporter: u.s. census staff announced population shifts they can change the red and blue balance in congress. >> let's get to the results. reporter: the bureau showed three states in the south have gained enough population to add seats in congress. texas gaining two seats and north carolina and florida one apiece. the other three states adding one see each are blessed, colorado, montana and oregon. in turn, seven states will lose one see each. california and a cluster of rust belt states, west virginia, pennsylvania, ohio, michigan, illinois and new york. for new york, something to the loss.

officials say the state needed to count just 89 more people to keep all of his congressional seats. reporters triple checked that. >> that is a big loss. >> i can confirm that th number is 89. reporter: this after the census faced a plague of challenges, coinciding with a once in a century pandemic was just one. >> account is as critical as ever. it determines how many seeds each state gets in the house of representatives, and it guides at least $1 trillion to state and local governments for programs like medicaid, medicare, school lunches and more. how big a deal is the announcement? >> this is a very big deal. this is a combination of a decade's worth of running and execution. this is a once a decade reset of the national political map.

reporter: hence the massive driver responses. >> help support your neighborhood for the next 10 years by funny things like schools, hospitals and buses. reporter: like so much in 2020, the census was hit with unprecedented acts of god and man. march, 2018, the trump administration adds a question asking if people are u.s. citizens. ultimately, the supreme court plucked the idea, but it raises confusion and ideas. january, 2019. the partial government shutdown furloughs some census staff. eight article preparation time. march, 2020, the coronavirus hits precisely as census forms are mailed out. the agency delays field operations for almost two months. then, september 2020, hurricanes and wildfires across the country hit during the crucial final full month accounting. >> the 2020 census was just a

mess. reporter: he said the layer subissues added to regular questions about undercounted groups, people of color, immigrants and girl americans. >> all of these groups face a higher risk of being undercounted, because the census bureau was trapped to get doorknocker's out to communities while there were lockdowns in place, major public health concerns, as well as the trump administration cutting short the amount of time a doorknocker had to reach these households. reporter: census officials stood by their count. >> we feel confidenwe did a good job collecting data in spite of covid-19. reporter: even so, states are sure to be unhappy. along with some states became the florida, which expected to new seats, not just one. it is too late to add population, but states to have one option. judy: to dive deeper, i'm joined

by any from the cook political report. let's take that deeper dive. tell us how it impacts democrats and republicans, on a congressional level and nationally? >> let's start with the winners. we saw texas was the biggest winner, picking up two seats. you also noticed something else. republicans have to be happy that texas, florida and north carolina are all gaining seats. not only are these seats that president trump one in the 2020 election and the 26 teen election, but they are also three states that are controlled completely by republicans. republicans control the entire redistricting process in those states that pickup four seats.

democrats, oregon and colorado, to state that president biden carried in 2020. that is helpful to them. let's go to the losers. we have seven statethat are losing one congressional district. for democrats, you look at some of those big, dark blue states, the pillars for the electoral college platform for democrats to build on. new york, illinois, california. all of the states losing seats, not great for democrats. republicans losing a seat in west virginia, that has become the most republican state in the country after wyoming, and ohio, a state that used to be a swing state, now much more republican leaning. looking at the national picture, we put this map into place in the 2020 election. everything else remains the same.

it would shifts just three electoral votes away from biden and toward trump. instead of having three of six electoral votes, it would be 303. it does not seem like much, but when these races are decided by such a narrow margin, even one electoral vote can be critical. judy: every single one. tell us in terms of drawing congressional district lines, what are we learning about that? >> this is the part where the states learn, did you gain or lose a seat. but the real nitty-gritty is going to come later this summer when the detailed data is released to the states. that is where you're going to hear words like gerrymandering. even states that are not gaining or losing unless you are a state that only has one congressional district, you have to redraw your lines. population has shifted around a

lot. think of georgia where the suburbs have been booming, not so much of the other parts of the state. they have to readjust those congressional lines. you can gain or lose a cso party, even if you are not gaining or losing a congressional district. the good news for democrats, they have more control over the process than they did in 2010, the last time the lines were drawn. the bad news for democrats, good news for republicans, republicans still control more than twice as many congressional district lines. they have total control for drawing that many more lines. that is likely to help, especially in places that are fast-growing, texas, north carolina, but also in places like georgia, where democrats have made really big gains in these last two years, but republicans control the entire line drawing process.

what you may see there is democrats actually winning two senate seats, but in the next election, they may lose a congressional district. judy: so much depends on who controls these state legislatures. stay with us. we are now going to bring in someone you know very well. let's pivot from talking about what is coming down the line to what is what is happening now, two nights from now, president biden making his joint address to congress, as he approaches 100 days in office. i know you have been talking to a lot of people. what are you hearing that people expect him to say? >> this one is coming a little bit later than these joint addresses traditionally are, which means at president biden has more accomplishments to talk about, and really his administration held off on scheduling this speech until

they were able to pitch the next thing. this address is certainly going to talk about what has happened, 200 million covid vaccine shots and arms. president biden will inevitably say that people did not think it was possible, and there is still the argument that there is a bit of under promising and under delivering. they are using this speech and the very big audience that traditionally comes with a joint address to push for the next phase of the infrastructure plan, which isn't really about infrastructure, it is about childcare and families. they are calling it the american families when. he is going to take advantage of this big audience to talk about the thing that he and his administration will probably be talking about for the rest of the summer. judy: meantime, this speech comes amid some poles about how

the president is being seen. the consensus seems to be a little more than half approve of the job he is doing. tell us more about what you see in those numbers. >> president biden coming to this address with pretty decent approval rating numbers, averaging right now about 54% approval rating. that is a big improvement from where president trump was at this stage in his presidency. in fact, during the entirety of his presidency, he never once hit a 50% job approval rating. it is much lower than previous presidents have seen in this so-called honeymoon phase of the presidency, where you saw folks like george w. bush, after a very contentious election, looking at approval ratings in the 60's, as was president obama at this time. what this tells us is president biden money election with a little over 51% of the vote, his

approval rating somewhere around 54%. he is holding onto everybody that he won in the election, and bring some new folks over. probably those are not republicans. republicans are pretty united in their dislike of the president, but getting independence over to your side. again, and these races that are going to be so critical, winning over independence is what brings you into the w column. judy: you were telling us, this is a reminder of how we really are in a different political environment. >> absolutely, president trump state in a fairly narrow band. he maintained the support of his base. president biden, we don't have a lot of data, only a hundred days in. he is in a fairly narrow band, too.

he is very near where he was he won. it may be a function of how polarized our politics are, that even though there is good approval for president biden's handling of the pandemic, overall, how do you feel about the president, it is pretty locked in. it's unclear what could change that, because people have gone into their corners. judy: given that, what is the republicans to make their case? we know senator tim scott of south carolina is going to be giving republican response on month-end i. what kind of things can they talk about, to make their case? >> i think you're going to hear a lot from republicans is on the issue of immigration. it is the one place when you look at the polling where

president biden is deeply underwater. he's getting high marks for the handling of coronavirus, but that is not translating to his overall support. support on the issue of immigration is really low. that has not dragged his numbers down either, but it is clearly a place of weakness for this administration, and i expect to see republicans talk about that. in the price tag for all of the spending, i think we hear a lot about budget deficits, raining in federal spending, at a time where democrats believe that the public is hungry for more investment. so what republicans need to do to make their case is to suggest that spending more is both going to raise the deficit and also could come at a cost to individuals. the president says no one who is making over $400,000 is going to be taxed, this is all going to

come from corporations. republicans are going to say at some point, that comes down to you. tax cuts, tax increases, it ends up being increases at whatever you are buying from that place, goes to the consumer. judy: quickly, this is something the white house is prepared for, bracing themselves for. >> if you watch the white house press briefing today, they brought in the economic advisor to explain why this really is not a tax increase on regular people or small businesses, that this is really just targeted even less than the top 1%. they are aware that this is coming. the other argument they are prepared for is the argument that people are talking about things that are not infrastructure, which is why this white house has been trying to push the idea that this is not about infrastructure, but is

more about the u.s. economy, and things that are needed to create jobs and more fairness. a lot of these policies are fairly popular in the abstract. democrats and the white house are going to have to work to keep them popular, while republicans work to make them less popular or make people care more about immigration. judy: when is infrastructure really infrastructure and when is it really something else? so great to have both of you tonight. thank you. tonight's brief but spectacular features linda maduwura. raised in zimbabwe, she came to the u.s. in 2006, where she

studied to become an accountant. she now has her own practice that creates new opportunities for her fellow zimbabweans back home. >> one of the things i have always understood coming to the united states, with that africans have generally been portrayed as basket weavers, coffee bean farmers. but we are more than that. when you look at the grand spectrum of what africans have been able to do within the united states, they are everything. doctors, engineers, venture capitalists, net petitions. i really wanted to do my part to change that narrative. i was born and raised in a small mining town in zimbabwe. i am the only girl in a family of five. the expectations my parents have for me were very different than what they had for my brother. their expectations of me were that i would become a good african housewife, i would cook and clean for my family. i remembered the yearning for

the books my brother would get from the library that he never read. in my heart i knew i wanted to be an accountant. when i got to school, i snuck away from the fabrics class and into the accounting class. somewhere along the line my parents realized i was probably just as smart as the boys and wanted to give me the same opportunity. i am a cpa by profession, and when i first moved to the u.s., i recall taking weekend classes. i drove every weekend to take extra classes so i could l5 to set for the exams. i have on trial -- young child, within about two or three years i did on of classes to sit for the exam, and i recall the long and late hours that my husband, who when i first met, i told him the most important thing is a n's ability to do laundry. i cannot tell you how valuable that was in those years. we have a solution for venture

capital and high network individuals. we were formed in 2017. it is named after a street in the capital where i'm from. that street has so many memories for me. i met my husband there. i walked down the street to my very first job. the byway has a very high literacy rate. one of the critical things i wanted to make sure was that whatever we did, the solution was a cloud-based solution that allows folks in zimbabwe to work for us, and make an honest living. currently, folks have to work in the middle of the night because that is when reliable electricity is actually available. the thing that breaks my heart the most is the lack of opportunity. there are plenty of women, young girls out there who are smart, but driven, ambitious, but like opportunity. what i would say to every girl who feels like maybe their dreams are not heard, maybe no one is listening, ask yourself,

what breaks your heart? when you asked that question i really believe you harness everything within you to be able to push yourself to be beyond what you could ever imagine you can possibly do. as a girl who made it out of a small village of 8500 people, there is a reason i am here. and i have got to make re that i use the opportunities awarded to me to hp somebody else who otherwise would never be able to dream of such an opportunity. this is my brief but spectacular take on creating opportunities. judy: just wonderful. you can find all of our great but spectacular segments online at pbs.org/newshour/great. this past year was no traditional year for the movies or for the oscar awards. audience ratings last night were down nearly 60% from what they were in 2020. but there were excellent films, performances and more diversity

in the nominations. daniel kaluuya won best supporting actor for his portrayal of black panther leader fred hampton in "judas and the black messiah" juh yung youn was recognized as best supporting actress for "minari". and chloe zhao became the first woman of color to n best director for "nomadland". that film won best picture and best actress for frances mcdormand as well. it focuses on how some americans are having to scale back and live a minimalist lifestyle on the road. our economics correspondent paul solman reported last fall on what that life is like and spent time with one of the nomads in the movie. here's a second look, part of his series, "unfinished business." a note: portions of this story were shot before the pandemic. >> this whole entire industry is exploding. reporter: at nomadic customs,

they retrofit vehicles to live in. >> with a combination of how things are in the world, people are wanting to jump into vans and buses and alternative housing situations. reporter: these days, the #band life, business is booming. they hire workers they can keep up. >> net last count i had something like 180 estimates to write. probably another 400 emails to return. yesterday along we received 37 calls. i feel like i hopped on a rocketship in them doing everything i can to hold on. reporter: job losses accelerated a desire to escape. but lots of folks, many older, were on the road before the #. inspired by this 65-year-old. >> living in nature. would you like to be out here? reporter: youtube celeb bob

wills into a van 25 years ago when he cannot meet the rent. >> i knew i could live comfortably in a van, because no house payment, utility payments, i had solar. it worked really well. i enjoyed it. reporter: enjoyed it so much, he created a website, cheap rv living.com. a youtube channel to teach others to downsize and thrive on wheels. >> finding heat in your van is a really important issue for a lot of us. everything you need to do to stay clean this right here. the topic of today is poop. you can just sit on a bucket. reporter: his videos have been viewed more than 80 million times preach the simple life, especially appealing right now to those age 55 to 70 two have been shoved out of the workforce. 25% of americans don't have a penny saved towards retirement,

social security won't be -- every winter, they can been at the rtr, the rubber trap rendezvous for seminars and community. >> you are moses and i am the disciple. reporter: a self-described introvert is there celebrity guru. >> there are a lot of us here boron social security. and social security is anywhere from $600 to $1000 a month. i can't rent a home on that, but when they ve into their vans, most of them slowly dip into their savings. most of them will have to work sometime. reporter: the topic of one, turning on the web. >> if you are not making money through your website or social media, then you are missing out >> hello you two family.

reporter: most people here have a youtube channel of their own. >> we are doing fine. reporter: this youtuber lives in her suv, sleeps in the front seat. >> i curl up, stretch out this way. reporter: two years ago, she gave up her apartment with the last of her. low-paying job. >> all kinds of things trying to make ends meet. reporter: she now lives on the road, plugs inspirational cards on one, has posted hundreds of videos. >> i am back on the road. reporter: has over 30,000 subscribers. >> more peoplere feeling stuck right now. reporter: how is your youtube channel doing? >> income has exploded over the

last couple of months. i was averaging $600 a month and i'm over $2000 for this month. reporter: steve gives his youtube followers the town and dirty, working seasonal jobs while camping. >> i want to show you how i clean toilets. reporter: he has been online for over two years. >> youtube rewards you for people watching your videos and the commercial, >> were not having salmoand crab legs. you can do a lot of things if you know how to shop. i am planning on becoming the

anthony bourdain of the van life. >> for most people it is not realistic. reporter: i was somewhere around 150. >> there was not a lot going on. reporter: he stop live streaming when covid hit. it is back at it. >> i don't think i'm going to try and survive on youtube. reporter: if you like bob and managed to go viral. >> i make an amazing amount of money from you to. an amazing amount of money. reporter: what do you do with the money? >> i give it away. reporter: he has started a

nonprofit to provide homes on wheels for folks in need, into with his youtube channels goal to lend a helping hand. >> i have been devastated in life. in thousand 11, i have two sons, and one of my sons took his life. that is the only reaction possible. there is nothing like it. every morning, you wake up and say how can i be alive on a planet on which he is not here. the adequate answer is i have something to give. reporter: he gives and his followers receive. >> i actually think that has been impacted because of covid, because so many people have been looking for entertainment and engagement and are doing it online.

i have met so many people who have channels in this type of lifestyle. i feel like i have a community. reporter: like so many other americans, she seems to have found a new tribe. on the road and align. judy: what a great report. we wanted you to see it again. thank you. that is the newshour for tonight. join us online and again here tomorrow evening for all of us here, thank you, please stay safe, and we will see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by. >> architects. beekeeper. a raymondjames financial advisor tethers advice.

life well planned. >> consumer cellar. johnson & johnson. bnsf railway. committed to advancing restorative justice and meaningful work for investments and transformative leaders and ideas. [closed captioning has been provided by cardi's furniture and mattresses] >> supported by the macarthur foundation, committed to building a more just and peaceful world. and by 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 arizona state university.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ -welcome to "america's test kitchen" at home. today, i'm baking a yellow sheet cake with chocolate frosting. jack walks us through the wonderful world of dark chocolate, and erin's making the best chewy peanut butter okies.