captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening, i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, tensions rising-- clashes turn deadly as israel conducts air strikes in gaza and palestinian militants fire rockets following weeks of tension in jerusalem. then, getting the vaccine-- we discuss the nationwide rollout of shots with the republican governor of a state with one of the lowest inoculation rates in the country. and, beating the virus-- australia's success in stamping out covid offers lessons for other countries yearning for a return to normal life. all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour.

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more at kf.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions: and individuals. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers le you. thank you. >> woodruff: dozens of rockets launched from gaza streaked over israel tonight, with heavy israeli air strikes in return, as violence spiraled between israelis and palestinians. in a speech this evening,

israeli prime minister netanyahu said militants in gaza "will pay a heavy price." since last night, 28 people have been killed in gaza; and in israel, three people were killed today. john yang reports on the day's developments >> yang: today in gaza, another >> reporter: tonight a rage of rockets fired from gaza into israel lit up the sky as the latest cycle of violence between israel and the palestinians escalates. some were intercepted by israel's air defense system called iron dome. tel aviv residents ran fo shelter. the militant palestinian group hamas says the rockets were in response to an earlier strike on a gaza residential building. among the dead in the israeli airstrike this morning, an >> ( translated ): why did they kill him? they kill and there is no one to

make them answer for it, the whole world is watching. it doesn't matter if they kill a child or a woman there is no one to hold them accountable for it. >> yang: across the gaza strip others gathered at morgues to search for their loved ones. israeli rocket fire into gaza began last night as families broke their fast for the holy month of ramadan. israel says it was responding to earlier rockets fired toward jerusalem from militant group hamas. >> ( translated ): we were just sitting outside the house waiting to break our fast; children aged eight months were killed. mohammad, who is getting married in five days, was killed. girls between the ages of seven to nine years old died, how is it their fault? how is this the children's fault? we were just sitting outside the house waiting for the call to prayer. >> yang: israeli air strikes killed more than 25 people, including nine children. the israeli government says it is targeting hamas members.

nearby in the israeli city of ashkelon, people huddled near their homes as air raid sirens blared, warning of rocket attacks. hamas shot over 250 rockets toward israel in the last 24 the group says it initially fired rockets to defend jerusalem's al-aqsa mosque, one of islam's holiest sites. today israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu vowed to continue the campaign. >> ( translated ): we are at the height of a campaign. since yesterday, the israeli defense forces executed hundreds of attacks on hamas and islamic jihad in gaza. at the conclusion of a situational assessment, it was decided that both the might of the attacks and the frequency of the attacks will be increased. hamas will be getting blows it didn't expect. >> yang: this latest round of violence has been fueled by claims over jerusalem. tensions are high in the city

because of the potential eviction of six palestinian families from their jerusalem homes. last weekend, israeli forces injured more than 900 palestinians in east jerusalem, and over 200 in the west bank, according to the palestinian red crescent society. today the united nations called the escalating violence concerning. >> certainly, what we are seeing is extremely worrying and certainly when you see the treatment to some of the protesters and even people who weren't protesting, people who were simply praying or people who were having their iftar, who've been subjected to violence or completely unprovoked responses by the security forces. >> yang: after a meeting with his jordanian counterpart today secretary of state antony blinken said palestinian rocket attacks on israel should stop. >> needless to say we are very focused on the situation in israel, west bank, gaza.

very deeply concerned about the rocket attacks that we are seeing now, that need to stop, need to stop immediately. again i am deeply concerned about the rocket attacks and even as all side takes the steps to deescalate, israel of course has a right to defend its people and its territory from these attacks. >> yang: in bethlehem overnight, protesters threw stones at israeli police as israeli soldiers fired back with tear gas canisters. across multiple cities in the west bank and israel, palestinians rallied in support of jerusalem. this evening, the unrest shows no signs of waning, with millions of civilians on both sides caught in between. for the pbs newshour, i'm john yang.

>> woodruff: in the day's other news, public health leaders pushed to shore up demand for covid-19 vaccinations. infectious disease expert dr. anthony fauci told a u.s. senate hearing that maintaining the pace of vaccinations is key to relaxing restrictions. >> i feel confident that if we continue to vaccinate people at the rate that we're doing, that we will very soon have a situation where we will have so few infections in this country, we will begin to return to normality that all of us desire so much. >> woodruff: meanwhile, the white house announced a deal with uber and lyft to give free rides to and from inoculation sites, until july 4th. undocumented college students will now have access to covid relief aid, reversing a trump- era ban. today's announcement includes so-called "dreamers" brought to the u.s. as children. at the same time, the number of

migrant children in federal custody more than doubled in the past two months. the associated press reports 21,000 kids are now being held at more than 200 sites. a federal judge in dallas has federal and state officials moved today to head off east coast fuel shortages as the colonial pipeline shutd a cyberattack closed the line last friday, and more than 1,000 gas stations in the southeast have now run dry. in washington, u.s. energy secretary jennifer granholm blamed panic buying. >> much as there was no cause for say hoarding toilet paper at the beginning of the pandemic, there should be no cause for hoarding gasoline, especially in light of the fact that the pipeline should be substantially operational by the end of this week. >> woodruff: we'll take a closer look at this story, later in the program. a russian-speaking ransomware

gang is threatening to release confidential data from washington, d.c.'s police. the gang says the city has offered only a small payment. the data includes identities of informants and police disciplinary files. a federal judge in dallas has rejected the national rifle association's bid for bankruptcy protection. the ruling today blocks the gun rights group from re-organizing in texas. the n.r.a. is now incorporated in new york, where a state lawsuit seeks to dissolve it for financial abuses. the man accused of fatally shooting eight people, mostly of asian descent, at massage businesses around atlanta, was indicted today on murder charges. robert aaron long will also face unts of hate crimes and a possible death penalty. also in georgia, three men accused of chasing down and killing ahmaud arbery last year pled not guilty to federal hate crimes charges.

they're already accused of murder. in russia, a gunman attacked a school today, killing seven students, a teacher and another employee. it happened in the city of kazan, east of moscow, in the tatarstan republic. at least 21 people were wounded, most of them children. the regional governor said the 19-year-old suspect was arrested. >> ( translated ): first of all, it's a huge disaster. we lost seven children. eighth grade students. obviously, any help required will be provided to the school and to the families. this is a huge tragedy today for the whole republic, for our country. >> woodruff: this was the deadliest school shooting in russia since a college student killed 20 people in crimea, in 2018. there's word that president biden will nominate former chicago mayor rahm emanuel to be ambassador to japan. the newshour confirmed it today.

an announcement is expected later this month. the president announced today that one million americans have signed up for health insurance under obamacare during a special enrollment period. he re-opened the online marketplace in february, for six months. new enrollees also receive larger subsidies than before. in economic news, u.s. employers posted a record 8.1 million job openings in march, the most in 20 years. but, inflation worries weighed on wall street today. the dow jones industrial average lost 473 points to close at 34,269. the nasdaq fell 12 points. the s&p 500 slipped 36. and, trainer bob baffert now says a skin ointment may have caused his kentucky derby winner to fail a drug test. "medina spirit" could be stripped of the victory, over trace amounts of a banned

steroid. today, though, he was installed as the early favorite in saturday's preakness, subject to additional testing. still to come on the newshour: we discuss vaccinations with the republican governor of a state with one of the lowest rates in the country. the ransomware attack on a major fuel pipeline causes a surge in fuel prices. the senate begins deliberation on a critical and contentious voting rights bill. and much more. >> woodruff: today president biden met with a bipartisan group of governors to discuss vaccination efforts as the administration aims to vaccinate a majority of american adults by july 4th.

governor spencer cox, republican of utah, attended today's meeting. >> woodruff: governor cox, thank you very much for joining us. we see that your state of utah is near the bottom of the list when it comes to proportion of the population that has been vaccinated. we're interested to know why that is, and what are people telling you about why they don't have the vaccine? >> governor: sure, judy. unfortunately, that is just not good reporting. the -- you know that all utahans are not eligible for the vaccine and all americans are not eligible for the vaccine. utah is the youngest state in the nation. people under the age of 16 can't get the vaccine yet, and that's why we're at the lowest. when it comes to eligible population, we're actually doing very well. we're close to 70% -- excuse me, close to 60% of our adult population that is eligible has already received the first dose of the vaccine.

and so utah is doing very well. we've been top 10 almost the entire time through vaccinations of the number of vaccines assigned to the state that have actually been administered, and that's the one that counts because they are assigned proportionally to the state based on the adults eligible to receive the vaccine. >> woodruff: you said you've had survey teams out talking to people to understand what they're thinking is. what are people saying about why they're not getting? >> governor: just like every state we are hearing lots of things. we tend to lump everyone into the vaccine hesitancy. and that's not true. we have very many groups. we have the vaccine estatic, the vaccine excited, the people who couldn't wait to get their vaccine. and en, of course, we have those who won't get the vaccine and just don't believe in it. but there are a whole bunch of people who are vaccine curious or vaccine busy. they've got a lot going on in their life. it tends to be the younger

population, and for good reason. what we do know about this virus is that it impacts people more the older they are. for example, our rates of those over the age of 65 who have received the first dose or fully vaccinated are above the national average. people who are elderly have really, really wanted it. for younger people who weren't as impacted, they're a little more hesitant. some their work hours don't align with when vaccine clinics are open. what we're focusing on is getting vaccines out to people, where they live, taking away any excuses, making it abundantly available so people can walk in at any time, when they're off from work, and especially reaching out to younger people. the announcement today that uber and lyft will give free rides to anybody to a vaccine clinic, that will help the younger generation who maybe has some transportation issues. it will make it more convenient for those people in the middle who have been busy, but who have said they're willing to get it when it is their

turn. >> woodruff: do you know what percentage of the eligible population is saying i just don't want the vaccine ever? we know a few weeks ago, you had, what, an image of a giant syringe that was set on fire, some people who feel strongly about it? >> governor: sure, and that is true across the nation. but it is not a huge amount. 10 to 15%, somewhere in there, of people who just refuse to get the vaccine. but what we know is -- and, again, the president, his goal is to get to 70% by the fourth of july. we think that is a very reasonable goal. >> woodruff: governor, i want to ask you about a different subject, and that is your budget, and a budget surplus. we know that thanks to the federal government's rescue plan last year, this year, utah is one of the states that has received more money than you had planned to spend. is that a good thing or not? >> governor: well, it is a good thing in that we managed our way through this pandemic in such a

way that we do have these record surpluses. and so, again, utah has the lowest unemployment rate in the nation at 2.9%. one of only two states that have seen positive job growth over the past year. so our economy as done very well. i think that is good news. it is bad news in that i do think that we are spending too much federal money. we've never seen this type of spending before. and we're definitely worried about the consequences, some of which we're starting to see already. >> woodruff: speaking of federal money, we know that congress is now debating infrastructure, which is part of one of president biden's proposals. i'm sure you talked to folks in washington about it. at this point, are you somewhere in between the administration's proposing $2.3 trillion for that package, republicans are proposing a much more paired down version of that, at about $500 billion.

where are you? which one are you closer to? >> governor: certainly closer to the $500 to $800 billion mark. infrastructure is the one thing that isn't that controversial, that both republicans and democrats -- by the way, for many, many years, and many, many administrations have agreed on, going back to the bush administration, the obama administration, the trump administration, we kept hearing about this bipartisan opportunity for infrastructure, roads and bridges. the report card that came out a couple of weeks ago, the good news is that utah was the best state in the nation under that report card for these types of infrastructure. e bad news is that our grade was a "c" plus. that's how bad the infrastructure has gotten over time in our country. and so i do think the there is bipartisan agreement on water projects, bridges, and roads. but when you start to expand beyond that, that's where we lose that bipartisanship. >> woodruff: i want to ask you also, governor, about your party, the republican party.

as you know, there is a vote among hou republicans about ousting wyoming's congresswoman liz cheney and replacing her we elise stefanik. it has to do with cheney criticizing president trump and disagreeing with him -- former president trump -- and saying that the election was won by joe biden, there was not fraud in the election. is it the right thing for your party to be punishing its leadership for a statement such as what liz cheney has made? >> governor: well, tere is no question we've seen some fairly large divides in the republican party. it is something i'm very sad about, that i hate to see. we're trying to do things different in utah. we're trying to show a better way, as i'm sure you saw. there were some people that were upset with senator romney for similar reasons. there was a censor vote

that was taken, and that vote failed. we like to say there is room in the party in utah for both senator mitt romney and senator mike lee. i think that is important for the future of the party. if we divide ourselves, then the opportunities for future success -- and, by the way, we lose future voters and future generations of voters, and so we're working hard in my admistration to show that there is a better way, and trying to bring republics together and enlarge the tent instead of making it sller. >> woodruff: and you're right, the censor vote against senator romney failed, but there was significant booing of him. and you had some boos directed at you at that state republican gathering. is the message that republicans either line up behind president trump or not -- i guess my question is: is that a good message for the party's future? >> governor: i guess we'll see. i've been wrong about the party's future in the past. i was wrong in 2016, and

so i don't know. i don't think it is healthy for a party that divides itself that way. and so the future remains to be written, but we're certainly hoping we can grow the party, at least here in our state of utah. >> woodruff: we will leave it there. governor spencer cox of utah, thank you very much. we appreciate it. >> governor: it is great to be with you. thank you. >> woodruff: the biden administration says it is trying to help mitigate the impact of fuel shortages and supply issues after a cyberattack disrupted the colonial pipeline. the pipeline, which supplies to 45% of the southeast, is still shut down five days later. we're going to look at this story in two parts tonight-- the impact on gasoline and questions about who's behind it. amna nawaz begins with a look at concerns over supply, demand and

prices. >> nawaz: judy, a number of gas stations in the south are running out of fuel as drivers rush out to fill up their tanks. videos of long lines and reports of shortages are popping up in states served by the colonial pipeline, and prices at the pump are rising a bit as well. officials including governor kay ivey of alabama, are urging consumers to only buy what they need. to understand more about what's happening, we turn to tom kloza, head of energy analysis at the oil price information service. >> nawaz: tom kloza, welcome to the "newshour." let's start with this colonial pipeline. just to set the table, what is the significance of thione pipeline when it comes to fuel supply here in the u.s.? >> well, it is the biggest fuel pipeline, by far, in north america, and it moves product probably about 45% of the population. essentially from texas all the way up to new jersey, and including tennessee with the spur line. so it is the major artery

to supply gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. >> nawaz: people have been seeing shortages in a number of states, and in virginia, where the governor declared a state of emergency. what is going on here? are there actual fuel shortages, or is it panic buying? >> i would say it is mostly panic buying. i hesitate to use the word "shortage" because that is like yelling fire in a crowded theater. it is scramble. but there is plenty of gasoline and oil in the united states. and we've got extra refining capacity, and we're going to be able to import fuel. but this is the co coalelesing, and they say we're going to run out, and the crowd is not making necessarily a wise decision.

>> nawaz: tom, you say there is no real shortage, but at the same time, some states have said we have a 4%, 5% decrease in supplies, so what should we understand about that? >> we operator under the situation in the country. but there is about a 26, 27-day supply before colonial shot down. it is vital, it is a vital artery. but the panic buying in the sense that it is not going to be around or my station is going to run out has really catalized what would have been an annoyance to sort of a crisis in some places. >> nawaz: at the same time, a lot of folks are seeing some federal leaders stepping up and paying attention to this. we saw the energy secretary, the homeland security secretary, to address this, the e.p.a. issued that state of emergency i mentioned from the virginia governor. that sometimes makes people worry more.

and they think maybe this will be a bigger problem, a prolonged shutdown. what would you say to those folks? >> i would say that government has acted fairly responsibly so far. i think this will clear up if the pipeline gets going by the weekend, as they've indicated. the question is the term they expect to be significantly restored by the weekend -- well is that by sunday? by friday? is restoration 80%, 50%, or 60%. so that uncertainty has hurt. >> nawaz: tom, what about the impact on gas prices? what are we seeing there? >> this is not much of a gasoline pricing event. sunday night, the markets opened up abo 6% higher, but they've moved sideways since then. when you mentioned states of emergency, it becomes very difficult to raise gasoline prices when you have a state of emergency of various areas. you have to prove that your wholesale prices have gone up.

>> nawaz: very briefly, if you have a message for consumers who see the videos of long lines and are worried they may not get the fuel they need, what would you say? >> i want to be the gas whisperer and telling them to stay calm. it is like the toilet paper shortages last winter. people have this fear, and they say, if everybody else is buying it, i better buy some for me. and that has really, really snowballed in the last 48 hours or so. >> nawaz: we hope the people will listen today. that is tom kloza of the oil price information service joining us tonight. thanks for your time. >> thank you. >> woodruff: this one ransomware attack showed the vulnerability of key parts of america's critical infrastructure, and how hostile actors can exploit those weaknesses. william brangham looks at what role, if any, the russian government might have played in this hack, and what else might

be on the horizon. >> brangham: judy, while this cyber attack was claimed by the russian hacking group known as "dark side," the biden administration yesterday strongly hinted that the russian government, perhaps through its notorious military spy agency, the g.r.u., might've also been involved. michael weiss is an investigative reporter who's writing a book about the g.r.u. >> brangham: and, michael weiss, great to have you back on the "news hour." with regards to this ransomware attack, the biden administration, as i mentioned, strongly implied that the russian government must have known about this in some way. what is your sense about that? >> well, according to the cyber security experts at quiere, they believe this was a criminal apparatus, but there is an asterisk when you say something like that, with respect to russia. it is true that the s.f.b., the domestic security agency of the russian government, has often outsourced its hacking operations to

various criminal rogue elements, not only in the russian territory itself, but in other countries. they have created this permissive environment that has allowed these cyber operators to proliferate. i find it very hard to believe that russia's counter-intelligence service hasn't figured out who the actors were, and if they have given them a buy or leave, so to speak. but to do this with a veil of plausible ability, that wouldn't surprise me. one thing i would say about attributing this to the g.r.u., they tend not to outsource. they have their own very pro-active cyber operations capability, dispatching actual operatives physically to countries they look to hack in close access operations. they did famously one in the hague in 2018 to penetrate the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons, which was compiling evidences to

determine if an assassination was a russian assassination, among other things. >> brangham: according to poliítico, they believe that the g.r.u. was somehow involved in the directed energy attacks in u.s. officials in cuba, europe, and even perhaps here in washington, d.c. does that seem, again from your reporting, likely they were involved in those attacks? >> yeah. one of the victims of this directed energy attack is mark palarmoopolis. and he was hit with this thing in moscow. it is very unlikely they didn't know he was an american diplomat. the g.r.u. exists for one purpose and one purpose only: to prepare russia for wear with the west. if you're using any kind of, in this case, electronic or microwave technology to attack american servicemen or

american spies undercover in foreign postings, it only stands to reason it would be the g.r.u. that was wielding these devices. >> brangham: so you touched on some of these other instances, where it does seem clear the g.r.u. fingerprints are all over them. what is your broader sense? you touched on this as well, though -- what does the g.r.u., and through it, the russian government want with all of these actions? what is the goal here? >> fundamentally, undermine western interests, try to divide western countries between and amongst each other, particularly between the european union and nato. the most high-profile headline operations that have been disclosed in the last months have occurred in the czechoslovakia republican, one blown up by g.r.u. operatives, including the two assassins who tried t murder scripall.

and another series of operations in bulgaria, where they had attempted to poison, with novichok, with the name of a man i interviewed in my book, and he recounted in agonizing detail what he suffered. they want to undermine western governments through kinetic things, and blowing things up on nato soil is, meets the definition of state terrorism, and murder. these guys are mean and very, very hyperactive. and here is the scary part: we only know a quarter, at most, probably less, a fraction, really, of what they're up to, based on their travel plans, their itinerary. this is only the tip of the iceberg. >> brangham: michael weiss, editor-at-large of the daily beast, always good to have. >> my pleasure.

>> woodruff: it is a crucial moment for one of the most- closely watched bills in the u.s. congress. the "for the people" act is democrats' voting rights and campaign reform bill. already through the house, today it met a critical and high- powered senate committee test. lisa desjardins reports. >> desjardins: usually uneventful... >> call the meeting to order. >> desjardins: ...today, the senate rules committee was the hub of the highest-stakes political fight over voting itself. and whether to expand voting access in all 50 states, with more early voting, absentees and mail voting, or to restrict those ideas out of concern for fraud. democrats are pushing a bill, the for the people act, to rewrite many aspects of elections. this, as 11 states have passed new laws, of varying degrees, that tighten ballot scrutiny and decrease voting access; some shortening timelines for early

or absentee voting, some stepping up voter i.d. requirements. a 12th state-- texas-- is debating a new ving law this week. >> these bills that are moving in state capitals across america are not empty threats, they are real efforts to stop people from voting. >> don't tell us these laws are about voter fraud. you are more likely in america to be struck by lightning than commit voter fraud. >> desjardins: rare testimony from democratic senate leader chuck schumer, followed by equally rare committee rebuttal by republican senate leader mitch mcconnell. >> this legislation would let washington democrats dictate the terms of their own reelection races by rewriting all 50 states' election law. let's call it what it is, put aside the flower language-- this is a partisan effort to take over how you do, how you conduct elections in our country. >> desjardins: a clear picture

that both parties see this as a fight over power, and who determines it. house democrats passed the for the people act and sent it to the senate in march. it requires two weeks of early voting in all states. it also tackles campaign law, requiring far more donor disclosure, and opens up public financing of campaigns. republicans particularly dislike that it allows for absentee ballot collection, which they call “harvesting” in all states, but that was not the only sharp topic. >> i believe it is the intent of this bill to register to vote millions of illegal aliens for the purpose of diluting the vote of american citizens. >> desjardins: senator ted cz raised a claimchoed in conservative media that the bill is itself an attempt at voter fraud. democrats pushed back forcefully, but simply, by asking for evidence. >> do you have any studies you want to present for the record that document extensive mistakes

being made in which people who >> i'd like to again offer you the opportunity, in good faith, senator cruz to present any evidence for the record of this committee that in any of these states where this policy exists, there's any widespread registration or voting by people who should not be eligible to vote. >> desjardins: but there was also real, civil engagement, like over the federal election commission split evenly between the parties now, democrats say it is paralyzed. >> right now we have a dysfunctional federal election commission, everyone knows that. >> you're suming that because frequently the f.e.c. differs that somehow it's dysfunctional. >> desjardins: or even over the big topic here-- the reality or not of voter fraud. >> in my state in 2014 we had three people convicted of vote buying and fraudulent use of absentee ballots, since 2010, 16 convicted of vote buying. i just want to make the point that when we are talking about fraud, it is not the fact that

this is a non-existent problem. >> to respond to that, we know how exceedingly rare this fraud is. >> i do not think that that excuse of fraud should be used to make it hard for everyone else to vote. >> woodruff: and lisa joins me now. >> woodruff: and lisa joins me now, this hearing has been going on since this morning, going on all day. tell us where this measure stands in the committee and in the sene overall. >> lisa: our team has been watching this closely, and i've been talking to my sources in and out of the committee room. here is the situation with this very important debate happening: with this bill, judy, democrats have two problems. one is republicans. so far there is not a single republican expressing any warmth to what they see in this bill so far. the other problem is a single democrat. 49senate democrats can signed on to this bill. the one who has not, joe manchin of west virginia. a name we talk about a lot

on this show. manchin has not said he is against the bill. democrats do need him to sign on in order for this to move forward. because here is what is going on: usually in the committee process, committees can move bills that the majority favors democrats. but the senate rules committee has nine members republican and nine democrats. we expect in the final minutes, that this vote will be a tie, nine to nine, and therefore the bill technically won't be able to move forward. democrats will have to move around that and move it to the floor using special rules they issued during this 50/50 senate. but to do that, they need every democratic senator to get on board. we're seeing negotiations behind the scenes with joe manchin, who has some concerns about what this means for states. in fact, democrats now in the senate are changing this bill to give states more flexibility.

rural states have different needs than states with less or fewer rural areas. i think we're going to see this bill change a little bit. a lot of negotiations with mnuchin and others. democrats would still like to get some republicans on board, and republicans like some aspects of this bill, but not many. and schumer, the democratic leader, says he will have a vote on this bill this year. so even if he doesn't have the votes, we'll see where everyone on the senate stands on this important issue. we don't know when yet. we know he would like to do it before september. we'll see. >> woodruff: no question about it, an important bill. so many people watching this, lyssa. it has enormous consequences. so still a lot to be determined. lisa desjardins watching it all day long for us and into the night. thank you, lisa.

>> woodruff: australia is one of the most successful countries in the world at keeping covid in check. it combined strict lockdowns with consistent messages from scientists and politicians. while the daily average number of covid cases in the u.s. over the last week was 39,000, australia's was 13. not thousand. just 13, despite low vaccination rates. here is nick schifrin. >> schifrin: on a recent evening in melbourne, drinks with friends provide the taste of freedom. >> sometimes you kind of forget that there's a pandemic still going on. many of us are leading normal lives pretty much right now. >> schifrin: graduate student anna bailey and people across melboue are enjoying the normality of zero: zero local transmission of covid-19 in the city and the surrounding state of victoria. and across the country, almost zero community transmission. everywhere they go, they check in electronically, for contact tracing, and to keep the city

safe. >> the theater is back in person. so i've gone to like a couple of plays, pubs and galleries. all that life is starting to come back to life. and that's that's so nice to >> god, it felt good to be in live performance and a sort of a normal life. >> schifrin: sharon lewin is head of the university of melbourne's doherty institute for infection and immunity-- the first lab outside of china to grow the covid-19 virus. she's also a music fan, and recently attended the adelaide festival, with more than 160,000 fans. >> there were thousands of people on the street at night, eating, going out completely covid safe. >> schifrin: today, “covid saf”" means melbourne's key commuter hub flinders street station, is buzzing, and full of passengers. australia kept covid in check, thanks to consistent messaging, across australia's federal and state governments, and across political parties. lewin has met with prime minister morrison from the liberal party, and helped advise victoria state's top officials from the labor party.

>> i actually really credit political leadership, our premier, which is equivalent to the your governors. came out in front of a press conference every single day for 111 days straight and just continued to reinforce the same message. >> schifrin: victoria state emier daniel andrews last june. >> we have always followed the advice of our public health experts >> schifrin: ...and this february: >> all of our experts advise us this is what must be done, and that it will be effectiv >> schifrin: the consistent messaging backed up by science, strengthened public support for the government's health measures. in march 2020, australia closed its international borders. much of the country was under some form of lockdown for about two months. when melbourne reopened in june, it became the epicenter of australia's second wave. in response, the state imposed one of the world's strictest and longest lockdowns: 111 days. for most of that time, people were only allowed out of the house between 5:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. for caregiving, essential work, exercise for one hour

and one person per household could shop for food or medical supplies. mask-wearing was mandatory. violators faced heavy fines. >> the police could ask you for paperwork for like where you were living. it was so restricted and heavily controlled and at times it was really scary, like you'd be out for a walk, and even though you are doing nothing wrong, if you see a policeman, you kind of have, like, this fear that jumps into to you. >> the government held fast. it was this sort of relentless fronting up and leadership confidence in the science and essentially not budging. >> during lockdown, the city was just a standstill. there were tumbleweeds. on flinders street station, it was quiet. >> schifrin: duy huynh's is the c.e.o. of the melbourne vietnamese street food franchise, ba'get. >> from 1,000 transactions a day, we went to 20 transactions a day. it really pushed us to the brink of, "what are our financial reserves? "can we afford to keep this

going?" >> schifrin: ba'get is a family business. and the sandwiches he helps make, are family recipes. his parents are vietnamese refugees, who arrived in australia when he was five years old in 1980. >> it comes from that sort of th timatwhen mom, like grandma, was just trying tliveo subsa tence life. and so from that, we wanted to take back those recipes and that food in that form to a broader audience. and that's our impetus for creating ba'get. >> schifrin: to try and save local businesses, the federal government created the jobkeeper program to subsidize employees' salaries. ba'get held on for a while, but eventually had to close three of four locations. this is the only one left. but huynh says the economic heartache was worth it. >> despite the fact that it's been quite difficult, i really do support lockdowns and i support the i support the science, whatever short term financial consequences there are. because that's sort of a better outcome toe than to say, hey, it's acceptable that a whole

bunch of people die. >> schifrin: the government's response has its critics. it banned even australian citizens from returning home from india. that's been labeled ¡extreme.' government-run hotel quarantine facilities came under fire after several staff got sick, and caused outbreaks. and some groups, were left out from federal assistance. bailey didn't receive the federal help accessible to australian citizens, because she's a british-canadian student. at the start of the pandemic, she lost her hotel catering job. she received weekly food aid from a non-profit set up to help temporary visa holders like her. >> anyone who was kind of like on a study visa or working holiday visa, they became vulnerable, but they weren't vulnerable at the beginning of this. it's the groups, like, people seeking asylum and refugees that already had absolutely nothing-- they were left with less than nothing. >> schifrin: some indigenous australians say they were left out of the initial goverent response. >> we really didn't know what the messaging was from

governments or what they-- we needed to do in the community. >> schifrin: teela reid is an indigenous lawyer based in sydney. when covid-19 arrived, she helped her family in the small rural town gilgandra, take matters into their own hands. >> i created a facebook page, which was the gilgandra lockdown page, and it meantnviting my family and friends and the local community in to dever key messages like “don't go near your auntie” or “don't go near your grandparents” or “don't go near your uncle.” it was about delivering a consistent message that meant keep our elders safe. >> schifrin: her facebook page and other indigenous-led community health initiatives helped protect australia's 790,000 indigenous people, no indigenous person, has died from covid-19. >> our communities needed to respond really rapidly because of the risk of essentially wiping out our people. messaging traveled with authority when it came from our

own communities. >> schifrin: over time, australia has continued its aggressive approach. state governments are willing to shut their own borders and impose new restrictions-at even the smallest of outbreaks. like the one caused by a bachelorette party recently in the beach town byron bay. >> one person had been infected at the next table to where they had had their dinner. one community transmission in byron-- blues fest canceled, lots of the restaurants closed, mandatory mask wearing. >> schifrin: one person does not seem all that threatening sitting here in the united states, where we still have tens of thousands of people getting infected every day. >> in a country that has effectively eliminated covid, to stop it spreading, you have to act early and aggressively. it's a combination: strong political leadership, science informing policy, closing our borders, community engagement and empowerment, really. and here we are.

>> schifrin: most australians are still awaiting a vaccine. but even without one, anna bailey and her friends can celebrate her new job and raise a glass to freedom. for the pbs newshour, i'm nick schifrin. >> woodruff: finally tonight, a pianist who found a way to bring her music to the world-- and music education to her remote island home. jeffrey brown tells the story of her unusual journey and her new album as part of our ongoing arts and culture series, canvas. >> brown: called rapa nui in the polynesian language, easter island sits in the middle of the south pacific ocean, more than 2,000 miles off the coast of chile. it's home to about 7,000 residents and some of the

world's most stunning scenery, including about 1,000 giant statues known as moai. ♪ ♪ ♪ it's also home to 38 year-old mahani teave. ♪ ♪ ♪ teave recorded this version of chopin's scherzo number one in b minor for her debut album, “rapa nui odyssey.” ♪ ♪ ♪ and in march, the album climbed to the top of billboard's classical charts, a remarkable development for a woman who grew up on one of the most remote spots on the globe. >> as a child, i never felt isolated. in fact, in the beginning, i thought this was the whole planet. >> brown: but, she told me from near her home on rapa nui, there was a big problem. >> regarding educational possibilities, that was difficult. it was difficult, like, to have dreams of some kind and want to pursue some artistic talent, for example, and not have the

possibilities. like people would come for a year and teach something, ballet or theater or something else. and then they would leave. >> brown: pianos were almost non-existent on the island. teave's introduction came from a visiting teacher. shfell in love with the sound and her talent was soon recognized. but then, another barrier: to really advance she'd have to leave her island home. a chilean music conservatory came first, then top flight training in cleveland, followed by berlin. ♪ ♪ ♪ by her 20's, teave had earned a spot on the international concert stage, and was on the cusp of a promising career. >> i never imagined myself performing every other day in a different place, that was never my goal. my goal always was when i was with these amazing teachers, was

to find beauty, the maximum beauty i could find in these pieces. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> brown: but nearly ten years ago she walked away, and returned home to create something she never had growing up: a music school on easter island. did you feel a responsibility like you're the only one who could do this? >> everybody who's here loves being here and everybody who's far away dreams of someday coming back and will someday come back. powerful land and i felt that nobody else would understand maybe or would be able to do this because i had been the one that had had the chance to study the music. i had the chance to go abroad and be with amazing teachers and listen to incredible musicians. so i felt in a way then it's

just what i had to do. >> brown: we first met teave in 2018 at the school she helped create: called the “toki school of music." we were on the island as part of our reporting on the rise of plastic pollution around the globe. the school represents another of her concerns, for the environment. it was partially constructed out of thousands of cans and bottles and other waste left behind from the more than 100,000 tourists who normally visit the island every year. there's also been an influx of garbage steadily washing ashore in recent years. >> all the currents in the pacific come to this vortex in which we are in the middle. so we receive the garbage from china, from new zealand, from chile, from the united states, from everywhere. and if we can contribute to offering solutions to the different problems that we're

facing as a civilization, then maybe we can inspire other places as well. >> brown: more than a 100 students train at the school, receiving lessons in both classical and traditional rapa nui music. >> on the island, we have a very, very strong identity. and that's what's beautiful of the island. it's like each culture in each and in our school, we want to preserve that as well, that our children learn as much as they can of our culture. >> brown: i'll never forget visiting your school and even just how hard it was for you-- you wanted to play for us, but how hard it was for you to find an instrument you felt was good enough for our cameras, right? >> oh, jeff, you have no idea the difficulties we've faced. but somehow our goal was the music has to continue and we found a way to make it continue.

>> brown: that includes during the pandemic, which has hurt rapa nui's economy through the loss of tourism. by chance, though, this became the moment teave re-introduced herself to the outside world. on a visit to the island three years ago, seattle-based arts patron david fulton heard teave play and convinced her to come to the u.s. to record. now the album is out. in addition a new documentary on amazon tells the story of her life and home. it's called “song of rapa nui”. >> on the isnd, there's an artistic blood in everybody. i mean, everybody somehow sings and dances and carves and or plays an instrument. and there's nothing moreatural and more true to the human being than art and music.

>> brown: all of it adding new wonder and beauty to one of the world's most remarkable places. for the pbs newshour, i'm jeffrey brown. >> woodruff: and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. join us online and again here tomorrow evening. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you, please stay safe and see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by:

>> carnegie corporation of new york. supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement, and the advancement of international peace and security. at carnegie.org. >> a with the ongoing support of these institutions >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

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