captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff:ood evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the "newshour" tonight: >> america is onhe move again. >> woodruff: president biden welcomes today's jobs numbers. we talk with his chief economic advisor about the challenges ahead as the economy opens up. then, a solemn anniversary: the tiananmen square massacre casts a long shadow over modern chinese politics. we speak with a communist party dissident about today's china. beyond the border: how u.s. agents increasingly drop migrants off in rural areas without resources after their journey from dire circumstances. >> ( translated ): there is a lot of conflict.

there is no economy, there is no work, there is no, there is no way to get ahead. besides, we are afraid of being in a country where there is great danger for everyone. >> woodruff: and it's friday, david brooks and jonathan capehart consider negotiations between president biden and sena republicans, and the big jobs the president is giving vice president kamala harris. all that and more on tonight's "pbs newshour." >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by:

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public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: the pace of hiring in the u.s. picked up last month as many states began easing coronavirus restrictions. the labor department reported employers added 559,000 jobs in may. that was double the amount in april. and the unemployment rate fell to 5.8%. in delaware, president biden hailed the report as proof his economic plans are working. >> no other major economy in the world is growing as fast as ours. no other major economy is gaining jobs as quickly as ours. none of this success is an accident. it isn't luck. >> woodruff: we'll take a closer look at the jobs report after the news summary. the centers for disease control and prevention today urged teens

to get their covid-19 vaccinations, to avert a spike a new c.d.c. study found hospitalizations of young people were up in march and april, and nearly a third of those patients were admitted to an intensive care unit. researchers said it may be due to more dangerous virus variants, or school reopenings. former president trump will remain suspended from facebook for two years following his incitement of january's capitol insurrecon. facebook made the announcement today in response to recommendations from the social media giant's oversight board. mr. trump said the suspension is "an insult" to the millions of americans who voted for him in 2020. former white house counsel don mcgahn testified today before u.s. lawmakers on the russia investigation, and former president trump's possible obstruction of justice. it was part of an agreement reached last mth in federal court. mcgahn arrived at the capitol

for a closed door interview with the house judiciary committee more than two years after democrats sought his testimony. a transcript will be released in the coming days. hundreds of people in hong kong today defied police to mark the anniversary of beijing's 1989 tiananmen square crackdown. crowds marched and flashed cell phones in causeway bay after police had banned a candlelight vigil at a nearby park. authorities arrested several of the event's organizers. >> it is emphasized that it is an offense under the public order ordinance if anyone takes part in or advertises or publicizes an authorized assembly, the maximum penalty is five years imprisonment. >> woodruff: we'll get the perspective of a chinese political dissident later in the program. back in this country, talks on

he floated a minimum corporate their top negotiator, shelley moore capito of west virginia, they agreed to reconnect on monday. fisher-price is recalling a model of its baby soothers after four infant deaths. the "4-in-1 rock-n-glide soothers" were designed to mimic being rocked in someone's arms. the babies who died were found on their stomachs after being placed on their backs unrestrained. there's word that a forthcoming u.s. intelligence report on u.f.o.s spotted by military pilots has found no evidence of a direct link to aliens but, as "the new york times" and others reported, it does not rule out that possibility either. investigators also said some of the sightings could have been experimental technology used by other countries.

the report is due to congress later this month. and, stocks rallied on wall street today as the may jobs report boosted confidence in the economy's recovery. the dow jones industrial average gained 179 points to close at 34,756. the nasdaq rose 200 points. and the s&p 500 added 37. still to come on the "newshour," a communist party dissident discusses repression in china on the anniversary of the tianaen square massacre; border patrol increasingly drops off migrants in rural areas without resources; david brooks and jonathan capehart break down critical infrastructure negotiations; plus, much more.

>> woodruff: we dig in now to today's u.s. jobs report and broader questions about the economy. i spoke a short time ago with brian deese, the biden administration's director of the national economic council. brian deese, welcome back to the "newshour". let's talk about that jobs report today, 559,000 jobs created in the month of may. it's twice what we saw in april, but it was still less than what some, if not many, economists predicted. does that temper the celebrating americans should be doing? >> i think this job report is really good news for the economy, and good news for the american people. we've seen now consistent job growth of about 500,000 jobs a month over the last four months, which is the strongest job growth we've seen in quite a long time. in the three months prior, we

were averaging job growth at about 60,000 a month, so we've seen a significant pickup. the good news is the job growth was broad bad across stors and industries and wages increased last month and this month again. good news for american workers. >> woodruff: let me ask you about the economy broadly speaking. if you look at all the indicators still relatively high unemployment rate, even though we know companies are clearly saying they can't find enough workers, some of them are, you have prices rising for some goods and services, but not for others. you have a supply chain problem. do you have put that together and does it give you a clear picture of the strength of this economy? or are you as confused as other people say they are? >> well, i would start with some perspective. this economy is growing at the fastest rate in nearly 40 years. we saw 6.4% growth in the first quarter, and we're seeing projections now for the year of close to 7%.

we haven't seen that type of growth in america for nearly 40 years. you mbine that with a solid 500,000 jobs on average growth a month, and you see an economy that's growing strongly, a labor market that's recovering. at the same time, we're in an unprecedented situation. we're coming out of historic economic crisis and a pandemic, and, so, there's a lot of uncertainty, there's somecies location. certainly we'reeeing demand coming back faster than anticipated in some sectors and that's creating some supply chain, bottlenecks and discontinue knewties. so this was never going to be a straight line and we'll continue to have to work through those issues, but the trend line is clear that the economy is improving rapidly, and we believe that, in part, is due to an economic strategy biden administration the driving about how to grow this economy from the bottom-up and middle-out. >> woodruff: one of the things that's happening as a result of all this is hager prices and, speaking of that, it's been

reported that the president made a call in the last few weeks or days to the former treasury secretary larry summers who has been writing opinion pieces, expressing his disagreement with the size of the president's, what he calls very big plans on jobs, infrastructure, so-called families plan. also, larry summers saying he's worried about high prices staying there. did he -- did the president come away from that, changing his mind about anything? >> i'm not going tspeak to private conversations the president had. what i can tell you is where the president and we are all focused is on driving an economic strategy that is working right now to drive historically strong economic growth, historically strong job growth. we are seeing some temporary dislocations and price increases, but most of that is being driven in sectors like airlines and hotels and leisurewear. w're seeing demand come back from very, very low levels during the pandemic. so the btom line here is we've

got an economy that's recovering rapidly, we're seeing -- americans are actually finding jobs, their wages are increasing, that's a good thing for the american worker. while there are short-term mismatches we'll be able to work through overall, the president has a strategy different from his predecessors, it's actually about driving economic growth from the bottom-up and making sure the economy is delivering good jobs and wage increases for americans broadly. we think that strategy is working and we think that we can doubleown observe that now by investing for the long earl the. >> woodruff: one of the things that larry summers and frankly some republicans are saying is instead of spending new government money on the president's ambitious plans, he ought to take some to have the unspent covid stimulus money. is that something the president is looking at? >> i'm glad you raise that issue because itoes to the core of where is that money that we're investing from the rescue plan actually going? first, it wt out in direct

checks to american families. a lot of the reason why there's more demand and optimism among the american people is because 167 million checks, $1,400 checks went out to people. another place it's going is to schools. one of the things we saw in this month's jobs report, 100,000 new education jobs at the state and local level, in part because we invested in schools and getting schools open. teachers getting back on the job, schools open gives parents more flexibility. we're investing the childcare centers to create for childcare options for parents as they go back to work. these are connected to tangible needs and connected to a design to keep this support going because this wasn't going to be a straight line and we're going to have bumps in the road. these resources are doing a loot of good for the economy and will continue to do a lot of good and frankly we have a lot of fiscal space to invest in longer-term economic objectives in a way we

can do without increasing the deficit. >> woodruff: last thing to ask you about are the talks the president's been having with the republican's chief negotiate on infrastructure legislation, she's center shelly morcapita, west virginia. we know they had a conversation again today. is progress being made? >> well, the president and smart crap at that had a conversation this afternoon and the start introduced new ideas. but we're not at a place where the proposal is on the table, it's something that's consistent with what the president believes we need to grow the economy, to sustain this economic growth, create good jobs, fight the climate crisis. so the president and senator capita agreed they will speak again monday. he will keep reaching out and engaging but we're not at a plce where a proposal on the table is something that would work for the president. >> woodruff: ah, so not enough

yet. finally, it's been reported that the president offered in their earlier meeting this week, instead of raising the corporate income tax to establish a corporate -- a minimum corporate income tax, is that something they're still talking about, or is the president looking at other compromises? >> well, the president has been raising these conversations with the republicans, a whole range of common-sense ways to pay for the proposals. he is committed to raising the corporate tax code and tax rate, but other elements including the one you mentioned, to establish a minimum 15% rate all corporations play, to try to address the issue there are dozens of fortune 500 c.e.o.s, profitable companies that pay zero in taxes. the other is enforcement, making sure that high-income people and corporations pay the taxes they already owe. these are ideas he thinks makes sense, he's continuing to raise

them with republicans and hoping these are areas we can find common ground on. >> woodruff: we'll leave it there, brian deese, who chairs thpresident's economic council. thank you. >> thanks, judy. >> woodruff: a surge in crossings at the u.s.-mexican border in recent months has led u.s. border agents to drop some migrants off at sites in rural american towns, to begin their wait for court hearings. as special correspondent dan lieverman reports, these towns often lack the means to cope with the influx, even though aid groups have stepped in to help. >> reporter: it's another hot day on the border for fernie quiroz, a volunteer with the arizona-california humanitarian coalition, a group that was created to respond to a growing

trend: border patrol releasing migrants in small towns that lack the resources to respond. >> they have nowhere to call where to go. they don't even know where the bus station is, where is an airport, where is a local hotel? >> reporter: instead of releasing the migrants onto the streets, border patrol began dropping them off at the regional center for border health in somerton, a rural city near yuma, arizona, where they get covid tested, and are given food and water before boarding a charter bus to shelters hours away from there, they often travel hundreds of miles to stay with family members or a sponsor. >> the 41 individuals that were released to us today, around this time tomorrow, they will be in the arms of their family. >> reporter: the next day, we met c and her nine-year-old daughter from nicaragua. for her own protection, we are using just her first inial. i asked her why she decided to leave now.

>> ( translated ): there is a lot of conflict. there is no economy, there is no work, there is no, there is no way to get ahead. besides, we are afraid of being in a country where there is great danger for everyone. >> reporter: once they got to the u.s. border, they crossed between official ports of entry to get into the u.s. >> ( translated ): the wall is there, but it's open. the wall isn't closed, there's an entryway. >> reporter: we're right up against the border with mexico where the wall has ended and there's really just a small fence and canal separating the two countries. we were told by customs and border protection that the majority of people are crossing at places like this instead of at ports of entry. under title 42, the pandemic era rule that has expelled most migrants, many have been avoiding ports of entry altogether, knowing that if they turn themselves into border patrol they have a chance to claim asylum. customs and border protection say they've recently seen the highest number of apprehensions along the southwestern border in two decades, with nearly 180,000 in april alone, a 34% increase

from the last surge in the spring of 2019. when you see these rural drop offs occur, what does that say about the system? >> well, it would say that the system is bogged down. >> reporter: robert bushell is a special operations supervisor with border patrol's tucson sector. he points out that by law, customs and border protection has to release migrant families within 72 hours of their arrival in the u.s. unaccompanied children are transferred to a health and human services shelter until they can be connected with vetted family or sponsors. >> we don't have facilities that are built to house these populations like family units. when it's time to transfer custody, let's say to ice, if ice is not able to take those folks into their custody, we really have no choice but to release them with a notice to appear. >> some end up paroled into the community and some end up in detention. >> reporter: alex miller is an attorney with the florence project, a legal services

organization that provides free counsel to migrants. she says while some like c are processed into the u.s., most are still being immediately expelled back to mexico under a pandemic-era rule called title 42. initially implemented by president trump, president biden's administration has continued the policy, which closes the border indefinitely to nonessential travel to stop the spread of covid-19. >> we see it applied differently to people from different geographical backgrounds or demographics. for the most part, individuals and families from central america tend to be returned to mexico, and folks from further afield from south america end up getting put into normal immigration proceedings. >> reporter: some residents of this azona border community have been frustrated by the releases, seeing it as one more symbol of a broken immigration system. >> if people don't see it as a crisis, it's probably because

they haven't seen it. >> reporter: john boelts is a fifth generation produce farmer in yuma county who's struggled to maintain a legal and reliable workforce. >> right now the message is come across any which way you can and seek asylum and we'll, we'll put you up in a hotel. that's odd. that's not a great way. and it just, it makes customs and border protections wk that much more difficult. what we would like to see is legal commerce at the border, legal traffic at the border, not the situation we have today. >> reporter: he says many of his own migrant workers, many of whom cross the border every day, are as frustrated as he is. >> to legally immigrate into this country, if you want to work in agriculture, that takes months, years of applications, tens of thousands of dollars. so, it can be frustrating to see somebody else getting a much easier path. >> reporter: for mario jauregui, who owns a business in the nearby border city of san luis, it's a question of taxpayer dollars. >> what's next for those

families? where are they going? who's going to be taking care of them? who's going to be feeding them? who's going to be the healthcare that they need to be receiving? this is going to put a tremendous burden on, and on the american people. >> reporter: border patrol acknowledges it presents challenges for the agency, too. >> as border patrol agents, our job is to know who and what is coming across our borders between the ports of entry. and when we encounter large groups of children or family units, more of our resources that should be on the border looking for the who and the what's crossing are now diverted, if you will, for a certain period of time, to deal with those kids or those families that just entered. >> reporter: carlos bernal, whose family emigrated from mexico in 1972, believes the u.s. must welcome them. >> ( translated ): why do we have to deny them the universal right of the american dream? this land isn't owned by any individual person, it's everyone's land. we are all immigrants.

>> i think we need to really talk about our small communities along the border. >> reporter: doug nicholls is the mayor of yuma >> we really need to have a policy in place th protects them and that takes care of what the issues are on the release to not adversely affect the small communities... where they need to traport to other communities when d.h.s. is already present in those other communities. at the end of the day, this will just be a cycle that repeats itself if we don't get to the heart of the issues. >> reporter: alex miller, with the florence project, agrees that the system needs to change. >> one way to relieve some of the pressure on border patrol in rural areas is to make sure that migrants who want to seek asylum at ports have that opportunity. >> reporter: after leaving somerton, c and her daughter arrived safely at casa alitas, a shelter in tucson, almost four hours om where we first met them. they were given a place to sleep, new clothes, and food

before heading to the airport to fly to san antonio to reunite with her brother who she hasn't seen in ten years. i asked her what her dream is now. >> ( translated ): i have to work so that my daughter can study. i want her to have a better future. i feel happy to have had the opportunity to come to this country. >> reporter: if the biden administration ends title 42, as they just did with trump's remain in mexico policy, aid groups and border patrol anticipate there will be a significant increase in the number of migrants crossing the border... again. they're waiting to hear what comes next. for the pbs newshour, i'm dan lieberman in arizona. >> woodruff: there were no vigils in hong kong, and certainly none in beijing, to

mark this 32nd anniversary of the massacre in tiananmen square. the chinese army killed hundreds, perhaps thousands, after weeks of democratic protest. but many chinese-- through government control of media, and repression-- know nothing of what happened that day. nick schifrin has a rare interview with a chinese political dissident who says the fate of today's china was sealed in tiananmen square. >> reporter: today in downtown beijing, there is nothing to see, no mentioning of the day that changed china, no memorial for the dead. only a quiet, secure, tiananmen square. 32 years ago, for seven weeks, students filled the square with revolutionary fervor. they built a goddess of democracy and demanded reforms to the chinese communist party, or c.c.p. at first they repelled an attempt to clear the square. but the next day, overwhelming military force. one man, however brave, could not prevent the inevitable. ( gunfire ) soldiers fired at peaceful protestors.

at least hundreds were killed. >> ( translated ): i could never imagine that the army would open fire on the students. the shooting exposed what c.c.p. had been telling us were all lies. i was really shocked and began my own independent thinking. june 4 sowed a seed of doubt in my heart. >> reporter: cai xia's heart used to have no doubt. she grew up in a revolutionary, communist family. that's her on the right. her father was a veteran army commander, and she says she was a true believer. >> ( translated ): i believed the c.c.p. wholeheartedly since i was young. also my parents were very strict about our upbringing, teaching us to have high moral standards, a pure heart and not to become privileged kids. >> reporter: by 1989 she was a rising star in the party. she lectured at a communist party school near shanghai, and watched a sanitized version of tiananmen on chinese tv. >> ( translated ): at that time the c.c.p. denied that the army opened fire and that any student

or resident was shot and killed. but i learned that not only bullets were fired at the tiananmen square, but also along the road all the way leading to the square. >> reporter: when did you learn that? how did you learn the truth? >> ( translated ): i had stayed in beijing since 1992. every year around the anniversary of june 4, people would talk about it and i heard the stories bit by bit from the circle of friends. >> reporter: by then, cia xia had risen to the pinnacle of communist party education: the central party school in beijing. we visited in 2019. party leaders are educated here. the party's revered figures, are immortalized in larger than life statues. and xi jinping was the school's president, before he became party leader, military commander in chief, and chinese president. how concerned, how fearful, even today, are the leaders of the communist party, if the population would learn the truth? >> ( translated ): i think the

c.c.p. is concerned that if people knew about the truth of june 4, it would lose the legitimacy of its rule. because the students were demanding democracy and to crack down on corruption. they were the voice for justice of the chinese people. people were demanding basic human rights, so the c.c.p. tried everything they could to cover up the truth. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> reporter: while at the party school, cia xia says for the first time, shsaw chinese propaganda up close. that solidified the doubts she'd already been harboring, that a system she'd once considered sacred, was actually a deceptive dictatorship. >> ( translated ): my change of heart did not happen with one event or one book, it was a gradual process. when i was young, i was never told about love or humanitarianism. when i joined the army i was assigned to take care of library where i read many western classics. i read the book of the rise and fall of the third reich, about hitler. later i watched a video

depicting hitler's rally. it really shocked me. the scene and sound of the rally was so similar to that of the cultural revolution when mao i witnessed from the inside how the c.c.p. actually operated, and realized that their high- sounding narratives to the public were all deception. >> reporter: in 2019, cia xia came to the u.s. as a tourist. she got stuck here because of the pandemic, but she calls herself a dissident. she knows she can't go home. in december, 2020, she published an article in foreign affairs and wrote, the “ideas the party sanctimoniously promoted were in fact self-serving tools used to deceive the chinese people.” the chinese communist party denounces and persecutes critics like cia xia. it argues that by protecting the party, it's protecting the country. d the party says chinese people's freedom comes from a country that's prosperous. what the party says is that it is guaranteeing people's economic freedom, and that any

threat to the party is a threat to the chinese state. can you respond to that? >> ( translated ): they only implemented economic freedom in a limited wa to create more wealth and collect more revenue for the government. >> reporter: cia xia said today's china wasn't inevitable. in the late 1970s and 1980s, deng xiopiang called for reform, and political liberalization. cia xia says that died in tiananmen square. opening fire on june 4 turned china back to the totalitarian state, and china lost the possibility of a peaceful transformation. >> rorter: and today, xi jinping, has centralized power even more. >> ( translated ): reports from below are made by guessing what the above would like to hear, and only reporting the good news. on the other hand, when a decision is made, everyone will agree and praise it. therefore xi jinping increasingly believes he is correct, and is increasingly

unable to listen to dissenting points of view. the c.c.p. has deceived the american people and government for so many years. if it were not for the wuhan virus that has spread throughout the world, people may still not see through the true nature of the c.c.p. regime. >> reporter: and that regime has ensured its true nature is invisible, in today's beijing. for the pbs newshour, i'm nick schifrin. >> woodruff: and to the analysis of brooks and capehart. that's "new york times" columnist david brooks and jonathan capehart, columnist for "the washington post." hello to both of you. on this friday night, it's very good to seyou, and there is a lot to talk about. david, let's start with where we are on the so-called infrasucture negotiations. not sure that term tells us

everything, but today we're hearing president biden focus on the good news in the jobs report, but also we're learning that the talks with republicans coming up with some sort of infrastructure compromise don't seem to be going anywhere. if they don't, david, has this all been a waste of time? >> no, i don't think so. i think he's compromised a lot more than i thought he would. he's come down on the overall size of the package by a trill, republicans have come up by 2 billion. he wants to make sure there are some corporate taxes but is willing to bend on the original proposal. i think he needs to do that, in part, because there are a lot of moderate d.m.s who are nervous by this bill, and even if republicans and the d.m.s dot eventually come to a deal, it strengthen its hand to go to joe manchinen and other moderate democrats and say, hey, i really tried. if he wants to do this by reconciliation, a process by

which they only have democratic votes, they's made a good effort. he's got to do this sort of thing. i think he's doing it reasonably well. >> woodruff: jonathan, is this something the the president helps himself by doing, no matter how it turns out? >> absolutely because he does need to show, particularly to senator manchin and senator kristen cinema, that he's make a good faith effort that particularly senator manchin say that they want. however, these talks and the negotiations and the back and forth, as you reported earlier, judy, the president and senator shelley moore capito of west virginia will be talking again on monday, but as we learned last week from secretary of trnsportation pete buttigieg, that it's a fish or cut bait moment, and he was talking about that in terms of the week of june 7th, when

congress is back and just in saying that, you know, we need a clear direction, and, so, i think after the phone call on monday, between the president and senator capito, we might get a clearer view of what that clear direction is and whether the president is going to fish or cut bait. >> woodruff: and it sounded like, from listening to brian deese a little bit earlier tonight, who directs the president's council of economic advisors that, right now, the white house isn't seeing what they think amounts to something, but we will watch this space. something else i very much want to ask both of you about are the assignments, david, that the president has given his vice president, kamala harris. you know, we don't hear from her very often, but the president's given her, now, several big assignments, one of them is dealing with the central american countries that are sending so many migrants or trying to send them, they're coming to the united states, trying to, talking to -- saying to her, we've got to stop this, we've got to -- we've got to at

least cut back on the number who are trying to come to the u.s. and then, separately, the very important assignment of working with these states where republican legislatures are trying to cut back, restrict on voting rights. is this something that vice president harris, you know, she's got to do well on? i mean, how risky are these assignments he's giving her, david? >> completely. you know, she asked for the voting rights, she asked for that, and i give her credit for taking on something hard. it's essentially being asked ask, monday we would like you to solve the middle east peace problem, tuesday why does evil exist in the world, wednesday why does consciousness arise from the brine. she doesn't have much poer over the border.

the stacks in congress on the voting rights are pretty high. the only reason i think she took the statements and the administration wants her to do it is to turn up the public pressure. i don't think she has much control over what happens in the state or federal legislatures, but she can turn on the pressure and try to chge public opinion. but that, too, is a tall order and she is certainly taking lofty challenges. >> woodruff: jonathan, you've intefer viewed her just in the last few dames how do you and she see all of this? >> actually, i interviewed vice president harris a week ago today and it was to talk about the one year dins the murder of george floyd and the 100 years since the tulsa race massacre, and at the end i asked her is there a question i didn't ask that you wished i had and give me the answer, and she shouted and side "voting rights" and talked about how the democracy is weaker when people are

prevented from voting and is stronger when everyone who can vote is allowed to vote. then we find out a few days later, the president's assignment. look, as david said, this is an assignment she asked for after a meeting with civil rights leaders at the white house earlier. this is june. so early may. having interviewed vice president harris before when she was a senator and when she was california attorney general, this is something that she truly cares about. so taking this on in addition to the northern triangle, in addition to expanding broadband access, she is operatings in thn an enhanced mode of the vice presidency that president biden did or acted when he was vice president to president obama. the one thing he said to president obama is i want to be the last person in the room, and being eight years in that position and now being president of the united states, having a

goveing partner with him, which he has in vice president harris, it seems like the president is unafraid to hand her one difficult task after another. >> woodruff: and it certainly -- we are now focused on the fact tt she has these assignments. so we will watch and see where it goes. i do want to turn you both to a couple of republicans, prominent republicans who have been speaking out in the lastfew days about former president trump. last week, paul ryan, former speaker of the house made a speech at the reagan library, was pretty critical of president trump, not by name, but said it's time for the republican party to stop focusing on personalities and focus on principle. and then you had, in the last few days, an interview given by president reagan's, one of his chief strategists who is still around in his 90s, a man famed

stu spencer, lives in california, david, he gave an interview and said to -- to the "los angeles times" and said -- was very critical of president trump, said he's going terrible damage to the republican party. but then the man ho was president trump's vice president mike pence gave a speech just last night in new hampshire, and i'm just going to play little bit of that for you in our audience. >> younow, president trump and i have spoken many tims since we left office, and i don't know if we'll ever see eye to eye on that day -- >> woodruff: so, david, he went on to say, but we are still very proud, i am still very proud of everything we accomplished over four years. taking these comments together, do we have any clearer picture of what's going on in the republican party? >> have we ever seen daylight between pence and trump before? i think it's maybe like the universe cracking in half. i think there's a pre-trump

republican party who all the gentlemen you just referenced were parties of. tthey don't want it to be a january 6 or trump party. so they're trying to angle away from that. trump rebudded and he wants it to be a stolen erection party, and what will happen? there are two sides to this argument. i think the establishment republicans are hoping that he sort of fade away. he's off facebook for another two years, his blog has been closed for lack of interest. maybe there's some fading away. i think that's a plausible road map. i wouldn't bet on it, but i expect the republicans will do well in 2022, the out party tends to win the medical the mim elections. so in 2022 we may have a victory for the republicans in the house and possibly the senate which wi be a nontrump victory and the party will then look

different. i think that's a long shot. i think trump is still the major force and january offis still the major myth of the republican party, but if you were a established republican, that's what you would be trying to do in the hope that you can gradually, gradually sideline this guy. >> woodruff: jonathan, how do you see what's going on in the republican party and david's right, people are starting to talk about 2022. >> yeah, i think it's just what's happening in the republican party is sheer insanity, the fact that january 6 commission couldn't even get approved by the senate. but that's a whole other conersation. my concern about the republicn party is you have these lofty speeches from prine and mike pence, you have the principled actions of congresswoman liz cheney, and yet the bulk of the party isn't with them. the bulk of the party is still with donald trump. the republican party can't seem to quit donald trump, and i would argue that the 2022

midterm elections, where d.m.s are in big trouble at least in maintaining the majority in the thousands, if the republicans indeed do take the majority away from the democrats in the midterm elections, i think they will learn the wrong lessons, and donald trump facebook or no facebook and the people who follow him will take that as, see, our mesage works, this is what we need to do to go forward as a party. and i think at the republican party's, you know, journey in the wilderness will just be a lot longer, and it will be a lot uglier for american politics as a result. >> woodruff: and, david, i'm giving you the last word. >> you know, it takes three election losses to really change a party, and democrats keep messing up by allowing republicans to win. if democrats would nominate some conservative candidates in places like georgia, florida and ohio, they would have a better chance of not relying on joe manchin. so we'll see if they can do that but if they can't do that and

nominate progressives in nonprogressive places, then they get what they get. >> woodruff: and, jonhan, we're going to let you have your comeback on that next friday. >> all right, next friday. >> woodruff: next friday. i've got a -- you've got a whole week. jonathan capehart, david brooks, thank you both. >> thanks, judy. you. >> woodruff: the coronavirus' toll on our lives and our country has been immense. in the past day, the number of deaths has passed 600,000. for the many families who have lost loved ones during this pandemic, the toll is greater still. we pause to remember some of their lives.

patty sakal was a lifeline for hawaii's deaf community after the coronavirus hit. for monthsthe 62-year-old served as a sign language interpreter during state and city government pandemic briefings. patty dedicated her life to ensuring deaf people were treated equitably and fully informed, her sister said. growing up in honolulu, patty and her two siblings would interpret the nightly news for their parents, both of whom were deaf. later in life, the mother of three, and grandmother of two, helped create a nonprofit that provided resources for hawaii's deaf community, named in honor of her mother and father. leslie hagan-morgan loved his south los angeles community and worked to make it a better place. the 38-year-old husband and father of two ran a charter school, coached basketball and helped to enroll struggling

students in community college. leslie was focused on connecting students with their purpose, away from gang violence, his wife said. he leaves behind a food program he launched after noticing his students were struggling because they didn't have enough to eat. 52-year-old daryl tombs served as a critical care paramedic in new york for the past three decades. a husband and father of six, daryl spent his life caring for others, often in their moment of greatest need. on the morning of september 11, 2001, daryl and his wife were volunteering with the local ambulance crew in corning, new york, when the first plane hit the world trade center. daryl quickly assembled a team of paramedics and drove into the city to help. daryl loved spending time with his family and seven grandchildren, his wife said. alicia martinez was a first-

generation college student determined to help people. the 21-year-old was working toward her masters in social work at baylor university. she was kind, loved to paint and draw, and had helped start a reading program for young studentsn her hometown of waco, texas, her father said. after her passing, alicia's parents accepted her diploma during baylor's graduation ceremony this spring. donnell cobbins jr., a fourth generation minister, was born and raised in south memphis. donnell, a father of two, served as a pastor at saint luke missionary church in the same neighborhood where he grew up.“ people gravitated toward him and he gravitated toward people,” donnell's younger brother said. he was known as a role model, exceptionally bright and always curious. when the pandemic began, donnell

applied for a grant to keep church services going virtually. shortly after his passing, the church received the funding, a gift he leaves behind. donnell was 49-years-old. we are so grateful to family members for sharing these stories. our hearts go out to you, as they do to everyone who has lost a loved one in this pandemic. >> woodruff: i am happy to say this is a good news story-- do not be fooled by the zombie massacre. our mike melia checks in on the latest work by two budding filmmakers he has been tracking for years for our arts and culture series, "canvas." >> reporter: there are moments in life you do not forget.

for me, one of them is when i first met sam suchman and mattie zuefelt. i had no idea that october day back in 2014n providence, rhode island, would be an invitation to come along on an epic adventure. as we will discover, it appears sam knew it all along. >> my whole life, i feel like i never fit in anywhere or had a voice, but some day that will change, i will be somebody. and that day is today. >> reporter: the newshour was profiling sam and his best friend mattie because they had an inspiring kickstarter to fund their dream of creating a zombie movie-- and that is exactly what they did. they rounded up family, friends and film professionals to pull it off, but they were the driving creative forces, from writing the script to playing the lead roles. jesse suchman is sam's older brother. >> our idea was to do their idea, and that infectious energy

is what got us in, and he is my but their confidence gave us the confidence to ask the next layer of people and the same confidence to ask the next beyond that. if anyone was doing this for ourselves, we would not have gone as hard for it. determination and unwillingness to compromise gives everybody extra jolt of energy to pull off the impossible. all we had to do is commit and embrace this insane rolling part >> reporter: bobby carnevale is jesse's friend, professional filmmaker and director. >> in the kickstarter there was some zombie movie talk, but mostly sam and mattie engage with the camera and drive around, and 3:00 pm slurpees at

cumberland farms. alright. that was my first insight, "wow they have so much to say and so much energy and bounce off as best friends." they both have their own skills. sam is outrageous, mattie is emotional. a tag team and we slipped right in there. >> reporter: after our initial profile, the spotlight on sam and mattie came fast and furious. >> two teens breaking barriers. >> reporter: from local news features to national profiles, including "cbs sunday morning." >> i don't do it for fame. i do it because i love it and because-- >> i'm doing it for the money. >> you're doing it for the money? >> yes. >> well, i do it because i love it. >> have you gotten rich on this so far? >> not yet. >> reporter: they were even guests on conan o'brien:

>> what i love about what you guys have done is, you met years ago, you talked about this dream, andou made it happen. here we are, all these years later, and you made, you made your zombie movie, and you had a premiere, a premiere that the press attended. everyone loveshe movie. and then you fly out here to come on our show. this is pretty spectacular. >> reporter: but they never let the spotlight blind them to who they were. sam and mattie told conan they needed a chocolate fountain, and they got it. ( cheers and applause ) in the movie they wanted a slew of celebrity cameos. they didn't get the rock, but... >> yes, we have a lot of people. >> and not bieber. >> no bieber. >> he's crazy in the head. >> reporter: one celebrity on the top of their list, "the jersey shores'" d.j. pauly d. and he is in. spoiler alert: in the movie's climat fight scene, d.j. pauly d killme by throwing a record in my head. now, in a new documentary streaming on apple+, you can s“" spring back zombie massacre,” while witnessing the journey behind the camera.

>> they made a really good movie. i love this movie. i love watching this. you have a smile on your face the whole time. someone said, "did you think they want you to have a smile?" i said yes. this is not "walking dead," this is "zombieland." they wanted to entertain. and it is totally entertaining. >> reporter: peter farrelly, academy award winning director of “green book,” also behind comedy classics like “dumb and dumber” and “something about mary,” was executive producer “" sam and mattie make a zombie movie.” >> i promise you, i will know them until the end of my life. they will make more movies. this is not a one off. yeah, they make a movie, they are really good at it and they are a joy to be around. >> reporter: how do sam and mattie see it? >> doing it with this guy right here. this guy is the best guy in the world right here.

>> yeah. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> reporter: they knew if they were going to pull this off, they needed to be in the driver seat. >> i had a vision and mattie tagged along with the vision and made it bigger. i put in the work to make the blueprint, sat down and did it. mattie came up with all these crazy ideas-- the architect in a way. it was very cool. >> reporter: turns out the true story has nothing to do with jetpacks or fighting zombies. behind the gore is a lesson in love. ♪ ♪ ♪ is whole thing is an excuse to hang out, reason to hangout and break down barriers he faces everyday. come for the zombie movie, stay if not, how would all my friends

come down from new york. he knew it was this vision. come for the zombie movie, stay because he built a family with this horrifying zombie movie. he is a genius. >> reporter: sam and mattie are both now 25. they are looking for their next gig and hoping a funder for a sequel. >> we are making a sequel. >> there is going to be a sequel. and more sam and mattie adventures. >> reporter: for the pbs newshour, i'm mike melia. i now like zombie movies. sam and maddy make a zombie movie is streaming now on apple +. and on that note, that's the "newshour" for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. have a good weekend. thank you for watching and please stay safe.

>> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> consumer cellular. >> johnson & johnson. >> bnsf railway. >> financial services firm raymond james. >> the william and flora hewlett foundation. for more than 50 years, advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world. at www.hewlett.org. >> supporting social entrepreneurs and their solutions to the world's most pressing problems-- skollfoundation.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions: and friends of the newshour.

>> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioni sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

hello, everyone. welcome to "amanpour & company." here's what's coming up. >> america's headed into a summer dramatically different from last year's summer, a summer of freedom. >> the u.s. races back to regular life, but what about the rest of the world? i talk to nobel prize winning economist esther duflo and abhijit banerjee about vaccine ineqlity and to one of the g7's main players matt hancock. u.s. troops prepare their exit from afghanistan and the taliban plot their return. we get a few on the ground from major general sami sadat. must -- >> i want to put