judy: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, flashpoint. hamas fires rockets into israel, prompting an air strike after hundreds of palestinians are wounded in clashes with israeli police. then, a major breach. the latest ransomware attack on a major fuel pipeline highlights the vulnerability of.s. energy infrastructure to cyber intrusion. and, inside yemen. the chaos of the ongoing war renews, among many yemenis, a push to re-draw the country's borders, but most simply long for peace. >> the people we talk to industry tell us it is important to them, but what is more

important is simply that the war ends, and the economic hardships that came with it end too. 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 advancements. >> what is new? >> audrey is expecting. >> twins. >> change in plans. >> let's see what we can adjust. >> changing plans. >> ok. >> mom, are you painting again. you could sell these. >> let me guess, changing in plans? >> at fidelity, a change in pla ns is always part of the plan. >> consumer cellular. johnson & johnson.

bnsf railway. financial services firm raymond james. the william and flora hughley at foundation. for more than 50 years advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world, at hewlett.org. the chand zuckerberg initiative, working to build a more healthy, just, and inclusive future for everyone at czi.org. and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions.

this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. judy: pfizer's covid-19 vaccine has won approval for use in children 12 to 15 years old. the u.s. food and drug administration announced the emergency measure late today. the minimum age for the vaccine had been 16. meanwhile, new york state became the latest to mandate that students at publicly funded colleges be vaccinated for the fall term. governor andrew cuomo announced it. >> if you must have a vaccine, get it now if you have to get it anyway. i also encourage private schools to do the same thing. let's make a global statement. you cannot go back to school in person in september unless you

have a vaccine. judy: overall, new infections in the united states have fallen to their lowest since last september, even as vaccinations have stalled. and, the world health organization reported today that global infections have plateaued, despite huge numbers in india and brazil. here with more on the move to open up the pfizer vaccine to adolescents in the u.s., our william brangham. you have been following this story very closely. remind us why this is an important announcement. william: that is right. this has been something a lot of parents and pediatricians have been eagerly awaiting. the reason is vaccinating k's is an important part, an important step for us to tamping down this pandemic. as you just reported, cases in the u.s. have really fallen. but getting kids vaccinated will be important if we want to open schools fully in the fall. it is also given that there are these new variants that are more

contagious and somof us make us sicker, plus there is this reluctant group of adults in the u.s. were still resistant to getting it, we need as many americans to be vaccinated as possible, and this move now opens up millions more americans who could be eligible for the vaccine very soon. judy: so 12 to 15-year-olds. what do we know exact -- about exactly who is going to get it? william: this will be a determination of the parents of the kids. there have been a few poles about this, the most recent one was last week that found 30% of adults said they would vaccinate their children as soon as possible. a court or those parents said well, we are going to have more of a wait-and-see approach to see how the vaccines are doing. 18% said they would do it only if their school we acquired their kids to have the vaccine. 23% of those adults polled said they would definitely not do it. so there is still a slice of the

population that does not want this for their children. and these results track with the adult opinions about vaccines. judy: and we know the argument had been made by some that we should hold off on vaccinating this younger age group because frankly there are a lot of adults around the rest of the world who are more susceptible and they need the vaccine too. william: that is right. there is a jarring contrast that we have to wrestle with here, which is we are now talking about vaccinating the people who were at the lowest possible risk. healthy kids in the united states. while at the same time, as you are saying, india and brazil and nations around the world are on fire and cannot vaccinate their elderly, their health care workers. and so, it's something we have to wrestle with. there is certainly an ethical question involved, that we are giving vaccines to this low risk

group while others elsewhere desperately need it. but barring any change in policy, that is what we had -- that is what will be happening in the u.s. pretty soon. judy: following this story that has broken late today. thank you, william. stephanie: i am stephanie sy would newshour west. we will return to the rest of the program after these headlines. violence has exploded between israelis and palestinians. more than 700 palestinians were injured in battles with israeli police in jerusalem and across the west bank. hamas militants in gaza fired a barrage of rockets at jerusalem. israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu warned the militants had crossed a red line. we will get into what sparked this latest round of violence after the news summary. in afghanistan, the latest roadside bombings have killed at least 13 people.

they targeted buses in two provinces. the attacks followed saturday's bombing at a girls' school in kabul. up to 60 were killed and scores wounded, leaving parents praying for an end to the violence. >> she had bought new clothes and had plans to visit relatives, but this is what happened. is this what muslims do? we just pray to god so we have a long-lasting peace in our country so our children can study and go out. stephanie: the taliban denied responsibility for the kabul attack. it also declared a three-day cease-fire, marking the end of islam's holy month of ramadan. back in this country, police in colorado are investigating why a gunman opened fire at a weekend birthday party killing seven people, including himself. they say the shooter walked into a house trailer hosting the party in colorado springs just after midnight on sunday, then opened fire. police say one of the victims was the shooter's girlfriend. president biden is urging employers to get workers

vaccinated, and raise wages, to help jump start the economy. he spoke today after friday's jobs report showed only modest hiring in april. mr. biden addressed criticism that generous unemployment benefits are, in effect, paying people to stay home. >> anyone collecting unemployment who is offered a suitable job must take the job or lose their unemployment benefits. there are a few covid-19-related exceptions so that people aren't forced to choose between their basic safety and a paycheck, but otherwise that's the law. stephanie: also today, the treasury department launched $350 billion in federal aid for state and local governments. it's part of the covid relief package approved in march. california today expanded a drought emergency to nearly a third of the state's 40 million people. the declaration cites acute water shortages in counties across northern and central california.

drought is also affecting much of the american west. the biden administration has re-instated federal protections against sex discrimination in health care. today's announcement marked a victory for gay and transgender people. it reverses a trump policy that let hospitals and insurers deny services for gender-transition procedures. facing boycotts and protests, a popular hollywood award show's viability is now in question. today nbc said it would not air the golden globes next year. the hollywood foreign press association, which puts on the awards, has been under fire for lack of diversity and inclusion in their membership. still to come on the newshour with judy woodruff, violent attacks between israel and palestinian. the chaos in the war on yemen renews a push to redraw the country's border. an innovative treatment for tuberculosis could help fight the disease in the wake of

covid-19 and much more. >> this is the "pbs newshour" from weta studios in washington and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. judy: now back to tensions exploding in jerusalem, and in gaza. hamas militants today fired rockets into israel, and toward jerusalem. in response, israel conducted airstrikes in gaza, killing more than 20 people, including at least nine children. for more than a week, palestinians have protested throughout jerusalem over attempts to evict palestinian families from their homes. amna nawaz has the story. amna: in jerusalem today, thousands gathered to celebrate the israeli capture of the eastern part of the city from

jordan 54 years ago but by early evening, they were forced to disband as air raid sirens warning of hamas rockets echoed through the city. for days the streets in nearby majority-palestinian east jerusalem have been far from peaceful. the holy sites reek of tear gas, the stench of skunk water deployed by israeli soldiers pollutes the air, and stun grenades light up the streets. over the weekend israeli soldiers injured more than 300 people, observing the end of ramadan at the al-aqsa mosque compound. tensions are high in the holy land, fueled partly by the potential eviction of palestinian families from their jerusalem homes. >> everything that is happening is meant to drive palestinians out and try to empty jerusalem completely of them. amna: six palestinian families face eviction in east jerusalem's sheikh jarrah neighborhood. the decision rests with the israeli supreme court, which delayed the case today.

>> this is an arbitrary collective displacement of a large group of people. israel wants to raze our neighborhood and put israeli settlers in our place. but we emphasize our right to this land. since 1956 these are our homes, we were born here, we grew up here, and we will remain in our homes. >> you are stealing my house. >> and if i don't steal, someone else is going to steal it. amna: but israeli settlers say the area is holy to them, because it was built beside the tomb of a jewish high priest and they owned the land prior to israel's 1948 founding. today israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu voiced support for israeli soldiers and police in jerusalem. >> this is not a mission that we can carry out without conflict from time to time with those same forces of intolerance that want to take away our rights to the temple mount and the other holy sites. this requires from time to time standing up and standing strong as israeli police and our security forces are doing now. we support them in this just struggle. amna: the neighborhood has

become another flashpoint in the israeli-palestinian conflict. palestinians say it represents a wider push to remove them from areas strategic to israeli settlers in east jerusalem. in the last four years netanyahu's government built over 9000 new settlement homes in the west bank and jerusalem, an expansion policy unchallenged by the trump administration. palestinian families attempting to defend their homes have been met with violence from israeli settlers and arrests by israeli soldiers. last week, the u.n. called the evictions illegal. >> the evictions, if ordered and implemented, would violate israel's obligations under international law. amna: today, white house spokeswoman jen psaki said the u.s. is concerned with escalating violence. >> are national security advisor reiterated our concerns and they agreed the launching of attacks

towards israel is unacceptable and must be condemned. amna: sheikh jarrah has long been a contentious site between israeli settlers and palestinians. in 2009, settlers evicted dozens of families from their homes in the neighborhood. but in the past month, tensions have again come to a boiling point. in april, hundreds of israeli extremists marched through jerusalem yelling death to arabs. today, even as the muslim holy month of ramadan comes to a close, this conflict is far from over. for the pbs newshour, i'm amna nawaz. judy: the federal government today confirmed that a russian criminal group is behind the hacking of a crucial energy pipeline. the biden administration said it is working with the colonial pipeline company to deal with

the cyberhack and its effects. colonial shut down its pipeline, the largest of its kind in the u.s., after the company learned it was the victim of this cyber extortion attempt. william brangham is back with the latest on that story. william: judy, the fbi said a group known as darkside is responsible for the this cyberattack, which used what is known as ransomware. ransomware is malicious computer code that blocks an owner's access to their computer network until a ransom gets paid. colonial operates a 5500-mile long pipeline that carries almost half the jet fuel and gasoline delivered to the east coast. the company has so far refused to say whether it paid any ransom, but said it hopes to be largely back online by the end of the week. so far, the impact on gas prices has been small. but this attack is the latest example of ransomware incidents in the u.s. by one estimate, in just the past year, more than 113

federal, state, and municipal agencies, 500-plus health facilities, and more than 1600 schools, colleges, and universities have all been attacked with ransomware. for more on this and the alarm bells it is raining, i'm joined by megan stifel of the global cyber alliance, a non-profit dedicated to reducing cyber risk. very good to have you on the newshour. this most recent attack on this pipeline i think archly because it is such a major piece of infrastructure, seems like a real escalation. is this among the worst types of ransomware attacks we have seen so far? megan: in terms of its household recognition of this being an important issue i would say yes, but in the past we have seen wannacry in 2017 hit 150 countries. so this is a major incident in terms of the impact it could have on the east coast and the

infrastructure, but sadly, more could come and has in the past. william: so ransomware is basically holding a computer network hostage for money. the hackers behind this said that was their goal. does ransomware software allow hackers to do more than just hold the system? could they sabotage it? could they use it for nefarious purposes? does it allow you to do that? megan: in some cases, yes. they could have ability to have very serious consequences on safety. but it is also against their interest to do so. if there's harm done, significant impact, that could ruin their brand, so to speak. in this case other networks say they will not target the health care sector, we are seeing these folks probably did not mean to have the impact that they did. william: i touched on these huge numbers but is this a growing epidemic?

are we seeing a rise in these types of attacks? megan: yes. particularly over the past year. he mentioned figures that add up to this one we know well, which is 2400 school systems in 2020 w ere the reported victims of ransomware. and not all victims want to come forward to law enforcement. that hinders the ability for law enforcement and the government to develop the best policy options they can to counter this attack. william: from a technical perspective, how does ransomware get into a computer network? megan: in most cases ransomware evolves from suspicious email. someone clicks on an email, where someone who you think is an associate or a colleague sends you an email saying i need you to open this, do this right now, luring you into cooking you on a link. that often reroutes the user to not the place they thought they were going, but to a malicious

website that is involved in downloading further malicious software, allowing the perpetrators to gain access to that particular individual's computer, and thereby the organization's network. depending on how well the network is architected, they might have access to very sensitive data, but in most cases these actors will look for data they know is valuable and that they can then it ransom so they can make money. william: it is amazing how simple it is. that one click on a dubious email can set off this chain reaction. megan: it is. we do not want to overplay the simpler city of it. there are number of steps that can be taken to frustrate these after's abilities -- these actor's abilities. making sure there is automatic backup the data, making sure software is kept as up-to-date

as possible so vulnerabilities, which is how these exploits, these types of activities can take advantage of weakness in the network, making sure those vulnerabilities are closed. it takes a range of steps and in some cases they have to be lucky and sometimes they may have to spend additional time on the network. the goal is to make sure everyone is using best practices so it is not there network that is at risk, it is someone else's. william: seems like you are describing quite a few holes to patch. the way we build software, and how companies operate this software. do you think there is a role for the government to play in any of this, in helping these best practices move along? megan: absolutely. i was fortunate to lead a ransomware task force that convened, wrapped up our concluding remarks two weeks ago. that group came together, over 50 organizations and identified a range of actions that can be taken. in this instance we recommended

our government as well as a number of international partners and allies work together to determine and make public that ransomware is an international and national security risk, and therefore they needed to develop a coalition of governments working to enforce the laws and bring these perpetrators to justice. in addition to undertaking investigative measures, we have seen ransomware the latest symptom of cyber security vulnerabilities and weaknesses, and we therefore think there needs to be additional incentives and there may need to be deeper regulation of components of critical infrastructure, such as who was the victim today. hopefully that will be a subject of public debate. william: the biden administration today hinted that they might be based in russia, and the russian government might have some responsility in all this. do you have a sense of, let's just say other governments are involved, that is much trickier

if you have to get other governments to crack down on actors within their own borders. megan: it is. unfortunately we know many actors are operating from governments who are unwilling or unable to further investigation of this type. in that case we have to work with other governments in the private sector to use additional measures to try and bring these perpetrators to justice. that could involve a range of actions including, as we have already seen from this administrati, additional sanctions on russia, as well as looking at other measures like foreign military aid, or recommendations from the task force i was involved in, looking at all moments of national power to make additional importance and make an impact on this growing threat. william: megan, thank you very much for being here. megan: thanks very much for having me.

judy: the war in yemen is now in its seventh year, and shows little sign of ending soon despite the horrific humanitarian toll. within the war between the houthi rebels, backed by iran, and the internationally-recognized government of yemen, are other battles that threaten to split the country in two. for her final report inside yemen, special correspondent jane ferguson looks at the war to divide this land. jane: the port city of aden, in the south of yemen, has been hammered by the country's six year war. it bears the scars in many places. in 2014, after iran-backed houthi rebels seized control of the capital sana'a, they swept south to aden. people mobilized, armed themselves, and, supported by a saudi-led coalition, pushed the rebels back north. for many political leaders here, this war has opened both an old wound and an opportunity. the push for independence from

the north of yemen, and breaking the country the into parts. >> we fought hard and liberated all our cities in five months. in the beginning this was a civil society revolution, but the southern people back then created a military power. jane: dr. nasser al khobajy is the interim head of the southern transitional council, or stc, the main political and armed force in southern yemen, calling for independence. >> this power could now fight for ars. so the choice now will be to either choose a long war or the peaceful solution which is dividing yemen into two countries. jane: the stc's leaders and military largely rules the south of the country in areas around the city of aden. >> when we say we want to get our country back we are saying we want to go back to the old borders. when the british were in the south and the turks were in the north, the british drew the border. jane: yemen hasn't been a unified country for long, only since 1990.

from the middle of the 19th century the south was ruled by colonial britain and local emirs, while the north was a part of the ottoman empire. when both the british and ottoman empires receded after the first world war, local, separate authorities ran the two territories as different countries. from 1990 to 1994, southerners fought and lost a civil war with the north, trying to re-gain their independence. these days, in downtown aden, it's not hard to find people filled with nostalgia for a former period in this city, not only before the current war, but before unity. >> there is no comparison. aden was the mother of the world. aden was the most beautiful city in the arabian peninsula. now it is ruined. it's possible that after the war we may get independence. it's the solution for us southerners. if we stick with unity, we will have the same problems. jane: as efforts to end the war in yemen step up, it's not clear what a post-war yemen would look like or whether it could even exist as a unified state.

the war offered armed groups an opportunity to rule areas they themselves either came from or took. now, bringing those regions all under one government is a serious challenge. >> there are enclaves in yemen, different ones. there are some areas that are controlled by the houthis, some by the government, some by other forces. and so the real question is what happens when the war ends, how do we work that out? and i think part of the answer is probably some sort of federalist system. jane: elana delozier is an expert on yemen and gulf states with the washington institute. >> conceptually there has always been a sense of local politics. you know, all politics is local, and in yemen that has long been the case, and so i'm not sure that this idea that we are going to have one totally psychologically unified yemen is necessarily going to be the

case. jane: making things more complex, there are more than two sides in this war. the houthi rebels control the capital sanaa and much of the north. to the east in marib, they are battling the internationally recognized yemeni government. marib is the government forces' last major stronghold. technically, the separatists and the government are allied in their fight against the houthis, but it's a relationship of convenience alone. muddying things further is the fact that both sides are backed by separate, regional partners. the saudis back the yemeni government forces in marib and the united arab emirates supports the separatists in the south. just as iran is allied the houthis, in yemen, regional players each back a side. >> of course we have a great relationship with the emiratis. i think they helped build the military power in the south because they were partners in the war against houthis and this gave us a relationship with them now and in the future. jane: if the yemeni government loses marib to the houthis, it would weaken them severely in

any upcoming peace talks. it could also help the southerners in their push for independence. in an interview with the "newshour," senior houthi leader mohammed ali al houthi dodged the question of whether a houthi takeover of marib would hasten a split of yemen between north and south. >> from an islamic perspective, we want unity between the whole islamic community. and we hope the islamic community will get as powerful as the americans have now. now the whole world wants unity. jane: driving between territories controlled by different forces and groups is like driving between different yemens, each less a part of a whole as the years tick by in this war. the country's fragmentation is coming to feel permanent as each group entrenches. in the capital, sana'a, where the houthis enforce tight control, few people want to speak openly about politics. many have been jailed here for opposition to the group, and we were watched very closely as we worked. most yemenis are trying to keep

their heads down and survive not only the war, but also the politics surrounding potential peace. yet, hospitality endures. this man, who gave his name only as abu al araby, owns a large nut shop in the old city of the capital. >> between us yemenis, we are brothers. we are one yemen. north, south, all are yemenis. saudis and emiratis, they don't want yemen to be one country united, but as yemenis whether it's the north or the south we are the same, we have the same blood. jane: food is brought out, bread is broken with us, and little more of politics is discussed. everyone here agrees on one thing - they all want the war to end. >> we didn't attack anyone. we have hope. we want peace. we demand peace. but they attack us. the war will not come to any result. it is just destroying everything. jane: back in aden, well to the south on the water, a similar

sentiment endures. since the war broke out, neither the internationally-recognized government nor the separatist leaders, have been able to provide basic services, jobs, or aid to the people. while politicians in this area are passionate about independence, the people we talked to industry tell us it is important to them, but what is more important is that the war ends and the economic are chs that came with it end, too. -- the economic hardships that came with it end, too. there is a growing bitterness here and a sense here that regional partners are pursuing their own interests while yemenis struggle to live through the humanitarian crisis this war has brought. wajdem mohammed is a police officer fighting to get by. >> yes, we want separation. we were good when we were alone. now there is no electricity, or salaries. jane: a retired engineer, ali ghazem doesn't believe the war will end any time soon. >> no, it doesn't mean that war will bring independence more quickly. the war will continue.

if there is no peace, there is no stability. if there is no stability, there is no independence. jane: as the war in yemen appears to reach a battle-field climax in marib and president biden pushes for peace, imagining what yemen will look like if and when the guns fall silent is increasingly complicated. a ceasefire may be the easiest part. putting the country back together again will be much harder. for the pbs newshour, i'm jane ferguson in aden, yemen. judy: although rare in the u.s., before covid-19, tuberculosis was the world's deadliest infectious disease. john yang tells us of one scientist's journey to the discovery both of a new tool to fight t.b., and of her own potential. it's part of breakthroughs, our

series on invention and innovation. john: in many ways, mireille kamariza's life journey longer than just the miles from her native burundi to the united states. now 31 years old, she's a fellow at harvard, has deees from berkeley and stanford, and through her silicon valley startup, is working on a potential breakthrough diagnostic tool to fight tuberculosis. but if someone had told her as a teenager in africa that this is where she'd be now? >> what are you drinking? can i have some? john: growing up in burundi, a small, landlocked country in east africa, kamariza remembers loving science, particularly astronomy. frequent power outages gave her plenty of opportunities to marvel at the night sky. >> you would see, like, amazing bright stars. and i used to wonder, what's there? who's there? is there a light out there? i mean, is there someone shining

a light towards us? is that why we're seeing it? the unknown is what attracted me. john: when she was 17, she joined her older brothers in california to pursue her education. as a french-speaker, she struggled. >> i knew how to say "thank you" and "hi." that was about the extent of it. and so when i moved here, it was like landing on mars. john: she enrolled at a community college with only plans to study chemistry, graduate, and get a job. >> that's really the end of it. and there wasn't any imagination that i could be a scientist, a scientist is not someone that looks like me. i knew that growing up, it would have been an unrealistic expectation. john: but a french-speaking female chemistry professor from africa encouraged her to transfer to uc san diego. there, she found another role model in one of the few women of color on the faculty. >> my mentor at uc san diego is the one who said, you know, i'm a scientist.

you could be one too. john: she encouraged kamariza to apply to graduate school at berkeley. again, kamariza was skeptical. again, she got in. every step along the way you thought isn't going to happen. i'll do this, but this isn't going to happen. >> yes, that's exactly right. john: but then it did happen. >> and then it did. and here we are. john: during her doctoral studies at stanford, she turned to a disease endemic in burundi and otr developing countries. >> i grew up knowing that tuberculosis is a disease that you could die from. and it's a disease that is prevalent in my community. john: before covid-19, tuberculosis was the world's deadliest infectious disease, killing 1.4 million people in 2019, far more than hiv/aids. like covid-19, it's transmitted through the air, when an infected person speaks, sings, or coughs. harvard infectious disease specialist dr. eric rubin says

t.b. persists, in part, because it's hard to diagnose. >> t.b. in most people looks like pneumonia, and it's not that distinguishable from other forms of pneumonia. it also can look like cancer because it's a very slowly progressive disease and people have some of the same symptoms that they would from smoking-induced cancers. so, unless you think of it, it's hard to come up with. and then once you think of it, the diagnostic tests aren't terribly good. they're just not that sensitive. john: rubin says there are better tests, but they require weeks or months to produce results, or more expensive, specialized equipment and training. >> if you look across the world, people are missed at the stage of diagnosis. or if they are diagnosed, they've already disappeared and gone back home before the tests are available, and therefore they get lost. john: with those missed or

delayed diagnoses, patients get sicker, and may go on to infect others. that's where kamariza's discovery comes in. she developed a cheap, simple technique for diagnosing t.b. that could be used in low-resource settings and provide quick results. >> what mireille and her colleagues have found is a method for essentially lighting up the bacteria. so, instead of searching through a slide for those rare bacteria that hopefully stained with a laborious stain, you can simply add her reagent and the bacteria become fluorescent in a very specific way. >> and not only is it simpler to use, is it faster to use, but it also can tell you whether the pathogen you have is drug resistant, and even what kind of resistance you have, what resistance you have against what drug. and all of that can be done to the point of care.

john: before it can be widely used, this new diagnostic technique must undergo clinical trials. but those, like so many other things, have been put on hold by covid-19. which underscores a larger problem. many who study t.b. are worried that during the pandemic, years of steady progress against the disease have been set back, and it could be years before things get back on track. >> part of what's going to slow it down is most of the world doesn't have vacne. so, it's going to be a while until we're able to ruild the systems that we need. john: kamariza says her mission now is to get this new diagnostic tool through clinical trials and to the people who need it. >> i'm hoping that not only would it get to where it needs to be, but i'm also hoping that the story of how it was made will inspire the people in those communities, whether they're young boys or young girls. and they could be inspired by my

own story of coming from burundi and making it here. megan: and so they, too, can see what a scientist looks like. for the pbs newshour, i'm john yang. judy: this week in washington, a host of meetings with the potential to reshape politics and policy. from house republicans readying to oust their conference chair, to president biden hosting the big four congressional leaders at the white house. it's the perfect time for politics monday with amy walter of the cook political report and tamara keith of npr. hello to both of you on this monday. there is a lot to talk about let's start with what looks like is going to happen wednesday in the house republican conference. the minority leader kevin mccarthy sent a letter today to conference members tell know for sure the vote on the conference

chair is going to happen to oust liz cheney. i am quoting, eachd ay spent litigating -- each day spent relitigate in the past is one day less we have to sees the future. -- to sieze the future. of course he is talking about liz cheney relitigate in the past with her references to president trump and what happened on january 6, saying it is not the case that president trump won the election. quickly amy, is there a risk for republicans in doing this? we know most americans do not think president trump won the election. amy: there isrony in there to say the best way to not relitigate the past is to all ree that when someone disagrees, stick with trump. so we can agree there is no disagreement, and trump has control over the party. all that said, when i talk to

folks, republicans especially, their feeling is the media and emigrants are -- and democrats are pouncing on this split, or what they perceive to be a split within the party, that there is an open wound here, and republicans do not want to make the 2022 elections about donald trump. they want to try to move on and the best way to do that is to not allow the focus to be on cheney's differences with the president and the president continuing to go after her. cauterize the wound now, move on, talk about joe biden, make the election in 2022 a referendum on the party in power, not the party out of power. all that said, the reality is trump is never appeased. you can appease him in the short term by saying that liz cheney is out because she does not believe that the election was fraudulent. but something else is going to

happen between now and whenever that he's going to be disappointed in republicans, he will attack republicans, and once again, the republican leadership will be in that uncomfortable position of having to respond. judy: tam, what's the thinking here? you have this former president who keeps saying he believes he won the election. what is the thinking? tamara: i think the thinking is anyone who contradicts simmons up -- contradicts him ends up having the nuclear option against them from president trump. he is like a dog with a bone, and if you contradict him or criticize him, he is not going to let go of it. he is going to make you miserable. just ask adam kinzinger and mitt romney and the late john mccain, and everyone else that former president trump has gone after.

so if they just don't talk about it, if republicans can -- w hether they agree with the big lie or not, if they can just move on and not talk about it, not talk about what happened january 6 and try to focus on anything else, then maybe they will not antagonize the former president, because once he is antagonized, he's not going to stop talking about it. he is not going to stop putting out statements, and it los like at some point relatively soon, he will start doing rallies for his supporters. his supporters in congress, marjorie taylor greene and matt gaetz, who have all kinds of issues, held a rally at this republican metropolis in florida for seniors. they held in america first rally which was really just a pro-trump rally to go after anyone who ever crossed trump. there is energy for that, and

president -- former president trump will want to soak up the energy. judy: every week we get closer to those midterms, even though they are november of next year. amy, speaking of leader mccarthy, he will be one of the four congressional leaders at the white house this week meeting with president biden. interesting conversation. what does on beating like that actually accomplish? everybody knows where everybody is coming from. amy: a lot of this, as you knew very -- as you know very well, is about theater. it's difficult to make someone look like they are insanely partisan if they are actually sitting and having really nice and cordial conversation. we go back a couple years, the very fraught conversations then president trump had with democratic leaders. we all remember the cameras rolling, sitting in the oval office, where speak pelosi and

donald trump went after each other. and it was very hard then to argue that this was a president who is looking to find a compromise. but at the end of the day i think one of the thing that is a real speedbump in this whole, let's bring the sides together and come to an agreement, is not just how much it will cost but how they are going to pay for it. what democrats are saying is we are going to go back to the 2017 tax bill and roll those tax cuts back on corporations and rich folks. mitch mcconnell, b senate minority leader, says absolutely not. we are going to pay for it, a much smaller bill, with things like gas taxes. to me, that more than just the cost of this new infrastructure bill, is a challenge to overcome. judy: what does the white house expect from a meeting like this?

tamara: this is not the only meeting they are doing. in fact it is coming pretty late in the game compared to some other meetings president biden and the white house have been having. president biden later this week is also going to be meeting with republicans who have expressed a willingness to come together and try to come to some kind of compromise on a much narrower in for structure proposal that focuses on that hard infrastructure like roads and bridges and all those things. whereas last week was the white house week of trying to sell the infrastructure plan and president biden and vice president harris and everybody else was out trying to sell it. this is the week where they have turned back to washington and it is a week of talking about talking about it. it is the, look like you are negotiating week. maybe it will lead to something, but maybe it will just look like they are trying. judy: very quickly in the time have left, we know president

biden, because we heard a clip of it earlier, is urging americans who have a job opportunity to take it, addressing criticism some people taking advantage of unemployment benefits. my question is how concerned should the white house be about how this econy moves along with those tough job numbers left week? amy: it is all about controlling the narrative and where the white house would like the narrative to go is on the fact it is not just unemployment benefits, it is things like childcare, things like vaccines, that is what is keeping people from going back to work. once the money gets out for those things, people get vaccinated, the jobs will be there. judy: tam, in a few seconds? tamara: in some ways it allows them to say hey, this job report looks great. maybe we need $4 trillion in additional spending. but certainly no president wants

a jobs number like that. and so, you know, they are going to keep pushing on this. judy: it is a week we are going to be watching even more than usual. tamara keith, amy walter, thank you both for getting us started. there's a rising voice in late night comedy, ziwe fumudoh, who goes simply by ziwe, debuted her no holds barred take on race and social issues in america to television on sunday in a new self-titled sketch show. amna nawaz caught up with ziwe for our ongoing arts and culture series, canvas. >> what bothers you more, slow walkers or racism? >> that's a real question? amna: interviews you can't look away from. >> amazing, love it. can we perhaps make it blacker? amna: skits with an unflinching

eye. and songs you won't soon forget. >> ♪ let the wealth trickle down, let the money hit the floor. ♪ ♪ amna: all brought to you by. >> hi, i'm ziwe. amna: in her new self-titled come program on showtime. >> i've been doing this art for six or seven years. and to -- and no one cared. no one watched these videos. no one shared my clips. it's honestly surreal to see these dreams sort of realized. amna: 29-ar-old comedian ziwe made a name for herself with a provocative interview style. >> under what circumstances would black people look alike? >> they were wearing masks. >> the answer is families. in families, black people look alike. don't you think black people have families? >> yes. >> yes, you don't think black people have families? >> oh no. amna: on her youtube show, baited with ziwe, she presented her fellow comedians with impossible-to-answer questions. >> are indians the black people of asia? >> you want a soundbite?

>> yeah, i want a soundbite. amna: last year, stuck at home in the pandemic, she took her craft to instagram live, interviewing pop culture voices like playwright jeremy o'harris and actor and activist alyssa milano. through a series of direct questions on race, ziwe elicited some illuminating answers. >> huey newton? >> i don't know who that is. >> stokely carmichael? >> i don't know who that is. amna: as america was gripped by nationwide calls for racial justice, ziwe's work caught on. hundreds of thousands tuned in. do you think that these conversations resonated in a certain way, caught on the way they did, because of what we were going through as a country? >> i think that the racial uprisings of 2020 really allowed discussing race to be at the forefront of american media. and so that opened people up to having these really intense conversations that ultimately are long overdue.

>> what makes a good conversation for you? >> i think ultimately it has to be funny. i want people to laugh because i'm a professional comedian. but as far as the actual, like, the depth of the conversation, all i'm looking for is vulnerability and honesty. and because there's nothing that we can manufacture that is as vital as just everyone putting their cards on the table. amna: among her guests, some who'd been publicly condemned for controversial comments. >> hi. how are you doing? >> honestly i'm really nervous. amna: like food writer alison roman, formerly of bon appetit and the new york times, who faced a massive backlash f insulting marie kondo, decluttering guru, and chrissy tiegen, former model turned lifestyle mogul. both of whom are asian. >> can you name five asian people? >> umm, yes. >> alison roman is not an anomaly. i think instead of villain icing -- villainizing her in particular, it's better to

really talk about the society and the context in which that allow us to talk about race in this way. amna: one of the questions you ask her, which is something you ask a lot of your guests, is how many black friends do you have? >> i have i would say four to fivelack friends that would pick me up at the airport. >> four to five. you are the third person to say they have four to five black friends in the last week to me. amna: why is that a revealing question to you? >> ultimately, there is no right answer. and that's intentional, right? that sort of inability to win really sets the stage for a really compelling conversation about race, because suddenly any response that you give is not only wrong, but it just is more reflective of what of your inner ideas and inner monologue. amna: why you think people want to talk to you? why do you think they agree to come on your show? >> some of them are fans of my comedy, some of them are interested in being public, part of public discourse, and others are just searching for a thrill. it really just depends on the respective guests. amna: ziwe's own experiences with racism inform her work today.

>> i am a black woman. i have had people confronting me about race since i was old enough to speak. i've definitely been at many a party where someone starts bringing up their black friend out of nowhere and you're looking around like, wait, sir, i just met you. why are you talking about this? why are you touching my hair? why are you calling me chocolate? and so, thinking about these conversations as people of color that we have all of our lives, i'm just bringing this life experience of absurdity around race to the screen. amna: she cut her teeth in the comedy world with internships at the daily show and the colbert report. eventually landing a writing gig for the rundown with robin thede, one of the only black hosts on late-night. she went on to write for comedy duo desus & mero. ziwe hopes her show will open doors for new voices in the industry. >> i see comedy as a microcosm of the real world. a lot of spaces with any sort of power are dominated by white men. a lot of the people i have on my

show are first-time writers and first-time producers. and so i was really interested in employing and elevating those voices that maybe have been looked aside or been looked over in history. amna: after years of having her full name butchered by hosts at standup shows, ziwe is keeping it simple. you've reached, single name status, right? you're up there with madonna and cher. right? >> i am the madonna of comedy. that's what i always say. amna: you can watch or stream ziwe's show "ziwe" on showtime. for the pbs newshour, i'm amna nawaz. judy: provocative. look forward to watching her. and that's "the newshour" for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. thank you, please stay safe and see you soon. >> major funding has been provided by. >> architect. beekeeper. mentor. the raymondjames financial advisor taylor's advice to help you live your life.

life well planned. >> consumer cellular. johnson & johnson. bnsf railway. the kendeda fund, committed to meaningful work through investments in transformative leaders and ideas. more at kendeda fund.org. >> the alfred p. sloan foundation. driven by the promise of great ideas. >> supported by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. committed to building a more just and peaceful world. more information at macfound.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 by 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 arizona state university.

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