can get the tools they need to be ready for anything. oh we're ready. ♪ captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight: biden abroad. the president meets with the prime minister of the united kingdom ahead of the critical g-7 summit, and announces a plan to distribute vaccines to countries in need. then, lone star politics. texas increasingly positions itself at odds with the biden administration on critical issues. and, aids at 40. we consider the effect of the virus on the communities it has disproportionately impacted, and what the future holds in the fight against the disease. >> there's about a 10 million- person treatment gap right now between the number of people

livingith h.i.v. and those that are on treatment. and we're seeing increases in h.i.v. infections in some parts of the world. >> woodruff: all that and more, on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> before we talk about your investments-- what's new? >> well, audrey's expecting... >> twins! >> we'd be closer to the twins. >> let me guess, change in plans? >> at fidelity, changing plans is always part of the plan. >> johnson & johnson. >> bnsf railway. >> cnsumer cellular. >> financial services firm raymond james.

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>> woodruff: president biden kicked off his week of international diplomacy in a meeting with britain's prime minister boris johnson in southwest england. it was the first meeting between the leaders, just ahead of the beginning of the g-7 summit tomorrow. mr. biden also announced a significant step that he said would "supercharge" the global fight against covid-19. >> the united states will purchase a half a billion doses of pfir's covid-19 vaccine to donate to nearly 100 nations that are in dire need in the fight against this pandemic. this is a monumental commitment by the american people. as i said, we're a nation full of people who step up at times of need to help our fellow human beings, both at home and abroad. we're not perfect, but we step up. >> woodruff: traveling with the president is our yamiche alcindor, and she joins me now from plymouth.

hello to you, yamiche. it is evening the. 500 million doses, th is a lot. what more do we know about president biden's plans to contribute this money to countries that are struggling to get people vaccinated? >> yamiche: well, president biden and the white house is presenting this pledge to donate 500 million covid vaccine doses to struggling nations as really part of america's responsibility to help the world. it is also been in america's interest to try to keep our own people safe, but it does come as the u.s. is facing pressure to do more to help other countries get vaccinated, and as the u.s. was facing criticism in the way we went about vaccinating our own people. so today the president spoke at length about this donation of 500 million doses. what he said was america steps up when people need us. he said it is the american way, the american value system, to be able to look

at people and see them struggling and doing more. he said it is our responsibility as americans to help as many people as possible not die from this pandemic. he pointed out that almost 600,000 americans have already died from the virus. he also said this is because america will benefit from this donation. he said that the only way this pandemic is going to end is if people around the world are vaccinated. and he pointed out there are variants going on, even here in the u.k., that were originally in other countries. one of the highest variants we're seeing in the u.k. right now, it originated in india. so this is really president biden making that pch. the other thing we should note is that european leaders over and over again were asking what else can the united states do? how much more can the united states do to help with vaccine donation? so that comes amid that. also, you heard some european leaders, including the prime minister of belgium, saying that the u.s., the way we would prioritizing production through the

defense production, that it upset the global production. so making sure that americans had the vaccine and they were produced domestically. >> woodruff: yamiche, we know that president biden also, of course, today was meeting with the british prime minister, boris johnson. tell us more about that meeting about how each of these leaders used it to advance their own goals? >> yamiche: well, president biden and the british prime minister, boris johnson, both said they were relly trying to underscore their value for democracy, and they talked at length about th special relationship between the u.s. and the u.k. they did two things: one about the revitalized atlantic charter. the first was signed in 1941 by winston churchill on how to end world war ii. in this 2021 version, the u.s. and u.k. are saying it is adding to that, talking about cyber security and climate.

one thing that president biden didn't bring up in his remarks afterwards was northern ireland. as a candidate, president biden said he wanted to make sure whatever agreement came out of brexit and trade negotiations that it did not upset the good friday agreement that put an end to violence in northern ireland. boris johnson was out saying that the u.s. and the u.k. is all on the same page when it comes to peace in ireland. and that is one place to watch as this continues. >> woodruff: so many issues to follow. yamiche alcindor reporting on it all for the president's trip into next week. yamiche, thank you. jeff zients is the white house covid-19 response ordinator and i spoke with him earlier about the president's historic announcement. jeff zients, thank you very much for joining us. 500 million doses is a lot. i guess that's 250 million people, two doses a person. we know people are dying from this virus every day. i saw 10,000 just yesterday.

so, the question is, how soon is this going to get into the arms of the people who need it? and, how much of a dent is it going to make overall? >> you are right to focus on, how does vaccine become the accination? in other words, how do you get needles in arms? there are strong plans in each of the recipient countries to make sure that the vaccines become shots in arms as soon as possible so that we can save lives. the 500 million doses today is in addition to the 80 million doses that the president announced a few weeks ago that we're sharing from our u. supply of vaccines, and we will continue to share additional supply across the summer months. you know, the u.s. is leading here. other g-7 countries and democracies are also donating doses. so this is a u.s.-led effort to vaccinate the world as soon as possible. >> woodruff: and i want to ask you about that, but, in terms of the numbers-- 200 million doses this year, 300 million next

year-- are those numbers driven by the pfizer production capacity, or by the u.s. budget, what the u.s. can afford now? >> no, we were-- we want doses as fast as possible. so the 200 million doses was a term that was very important to us to get us doses into this year. and that's the maximum that pfizer could provide this year, and the 300 million will be delivered no later than the end of the first half of 2020. >> woodruff: jeff zients, there is a question about the pfizer vaccine, and that is, this is a vaccine that has to be kept very cold. what about it-- was there consideration given to another vaccine that it could perhaps be distributed in many more places that doesn't that don't have cold storage? >> well, this is not mutually exclusive. you know, the pfizer vaccine is the mrna technology, which is proven to be a very effective

and ve safe vaccine, importantly,ffective against all the variants. so it's important that we get those vacces out to the world as soon as possible. just this week, we've been shipping johnson & johnson vaccines, and we will do the same with moderna from that 80 million that i described earlier of u.s. supply that the president committed to getting out the door by the end of june. and as i said, we will continue to ship from our u.s. supply across the summer months. and this 500 million coming online in august will really make a big difference for the world. >> woodruff: the president has said, jeff zients, no strings attached, but we know now that china and russia have given a lot of vaccine to different-- many countries around the world. could this be seen as a kind of vaccine diplomacy? >> absolutely not. i think the president repeated it twice-- no strings attached, no strings attached. this is being done for humanitarian reasons, and to

protect our own self-interest here at home. >> woodruff: well, let me just pick up on the question about what more the u.s. can do, because you hear from health, global health, public health advocates, that it's all well and good to give the vaccine away, but what's needed is production capacity in the countries that can possibly stand it up. how much is the u.s. doing to help other countries manufacture their own vaccine? >> well, the quad partnership, which was announced a couple of months ago, which involves japan, australia, india, and the united states, is about creating capacity for a billion doses. we're doing supporting efforts in south africa and other parts of the world. so, you're right, it's not just about u.s. manacturing, it's also about building these capabilities across the globe. and we'll continue those efforts, as well as continuing to bring amany doses forward from our u.s. manufacturing capacity and from the u.s. supply of doses. >> woodruff: and, two other

questions. one has to do with intellectual property laws. the united states has-- is saying, let's waive those and let other countries have some of the know-how for how to make these vaccines. but not all of our allies in europe feel the same way. do you see that staying? go ahead. i mean, how can that be overcome? >> well, i mean, the president-- the president has made his position on this crystal clear. this is a once-in-a-century pandemic, an extraordinary situation that costs millions of lives. and it needs an extraordinary response. and that's why he is in favor of the trips waiver. and he'll-- he's made that clear. and while that's being worked through, we're doing everything we can to encourage companies to transfer technology and know how to partners across the world. >> woodruff: and, last question. we know so much progress has been made here in the united states, and yet only, what,

42% of americans right now are fully vaccinated. there's growing worry about this delta variant. is there clearly enough vaccine for all americans when-- when the time comes for them to hav it? >> well, of adult americans, 64% have received at least one shot and about 54% are fully vaccinated. and we have sufficient supply for all americans to get vaccinated. and we will always maintn that supply. and i would encourage anyone who's not vaccinated to get vaccinated as soon as possible. if you are fully vaccinated, you are protected. if you're not, then you are not protected. and you're also putting your loved ones, colleagues, friends at risk. so, please get vaccinated as soon as possible. >> woodruff: jeff zients, who is president biden's coronavirus response coordinator, thank you very much, joining us from cornwall, england. >> thank you, judy.

>> woodruff: in the day's other news, u.s. health regulators have extended the expiration date on the johnson & johnson covid vaccine by six weeks. that lengthens the shelf life from threeonths to 4.5 months when stored at normal refrigeration levels. the announcement comes after state officials warned that many doses in storage would expire before the end of the month. the u.s. labor deparent gave a mixed economic outlook today. unemployment claims fell for a sixth straight week to a new pandemic low of 376,000. meanwhile, consumer prices in may increased 5% over the past year, that is the biggest 12-month inflation spike since 2008. higher demand for goods and services as the economy re-opened-- coupled with supply

bottlenecks-- have driven that surge. there is movement in washington on infrastructure. this evening, a group of ten senators, five from each party, announced a bi-partisan agreement. they still need to discuss it with their senate colleagues and with the white house. but, this new plan would add roughly $579 billion in new spending. president biden had proposed a $1 trillion increase. another republican group had gone only as high as $250 billion. a reservoir that serves much of the western u.s. has reached a record low level, as the region grapples wh extreme drought. levels at the man-made lake mead located in arizona and nevada on the colorado river are expected to continue falling until november. that will put more pressure on the region's water supplies and electric output at hoover dam. e u.s. envoy to the united nations called today on the

security council to publicly address the conflict in northern ethiopia. fighting between army and rebel forces has ravaged the tigray region since november. the u.n. estimates that 350,000 people are grappling with food shortages there. and, most of the region's 5.5 million people could face famine if the fighting escalates. >> this is a region that, even prior to the conflict, has been affected by shocks in recent years. we had the desert locusts this past year, hailstorms. some pockets of the region that are already chronically affected by drought. it means that this is an area that is already a bit on the edge. >> woodruff: the ethiopian government has downplayed the shortages and said that food aid is being delivered. in myanmar, a military plane crash has killed at least 12 people, including a well-known senior buddhist monk. the aircraft went down in the central mandalay region, reportedly due to bad weather. army-run tv said the plane was on its way to lay the foundation

for a new monastery. palestinian officials said israeli special forces shot and killed three palestinians-- inuding two military intelligence officers-- during an overnight raid in the occupied west bank. thousands of mourners joined funeral processions for the palestinian officers in the towns of jenin and nablus. israeli media reported that the israeli forces were arresting two operatives from a militant group when they came under fire. the wife of mexican drug lord joaquin "el chapo" guzman admitted today in a d.c. federal court to helping her husband run his multi-billion dollar criminal empire. emma coronel aispuro pleaded guilty to three federal charges, including drug trafficking, as part of a plea deal. she will be sentenced in september, and could face life in prison. her husband is serving a life sentence in colorado.

and on wall street today, stocks shook off fears of rising inflation. the dow jones industrial average gained 19 points to close at 34,466. the nasdaq rose 108 points, and the s&p 500 added 19 to close at a new record high. still to come on the newshour: we consider the effect of aids on the communities it has disproportionately impacted. the nefilm "in the heights" lifts up latin voices in hollywood. and, schools nationwide reconsider the presence of police among students. >> woodruff: the past legislative session in texas

focused key conservative priorities, from restricting abortion to addressing transgender rights. the lone star state is now focused on a voting bill that would tighten election laws, after missing an opportunity to get it passed late last month. we check in now with our political reporter, dan bush. he is in austin. dan bush, hello there. so texas has just ended its regular legislative session, and as we've said, they've looked at a number of conservative iorities. tell us what is getting the most attention? >> reporter: well, judy, the big issue was voting rights. republicans have legislation that would do a number of things. it would limit drop boxes for ballots, it would limit vote by mail. it would also allow partisan poll-watchers to monitor polling places around the state. in addition, it would restrict voting for some

hours on the weekend. now, republicans argue that all of these measures are necessary coming after the last election in order to increase transparency, to reduce voter fraud. democrats, however, they argue this is essentially voter suppression. let's hear from one state senator now. >> well, it's-- it's jim crow 2.0. i mean, i can't say it any plainer than that. it's-- it's voter suppression, and it's targeting harris county right here where we are. i think, because we broke a lot of records-- i mean, tremendous turnout, 1.6, 1.8 million people voted in harris county. largest voting turnout. and i think that is what has concerned people on the other side of the aisle. >> reporter: that was a democrat back in houston, judy. it is important to note this legislation has not yet passed, but several lawmakers told me they

expect governor abbott, a republican, to convene a special session a little later this summer, where these measures are going to become law. >> woodruff: so, dan, tell us what more the legislature has been focused on, and how does it fit in with the national picture? >> reporter: so the legislature got very busy the last couple of months here at the state capitol right behind me in austin. a bunch of issues that came to the fore, one was related to gun ownership. the state passed a law allowing texans to carry handguns without a permit. another had to do with abortion. the state passed a fetal heart-beat law, one of the most restrictive in the country, which now has made abortion illegal in the state of texas six weeks into pregnancy, even in the case of rape and incest. when you pull back and look at the national picture, what you see is texas joining a number of states, georgia, arizona, republican-controlled

state legislatures are doing everything they can to enact a conservative agenda at a time when in washington, d.c. democrats are in charge. they are trying todo, frankl quite the opsite. democrats are trying to pass legislation right now in the congress to, for example, strengthen voting rights. but here at the state level, judy, texas and other legislatures around the country are moving forward with these conservative items. >> woodruff: so important for us to keep an eye on what is happening in these state legislatures, where so much of the action has now moved. dan bush reporting for us from austin. dan, thank you. ♪♪ >> woodruff: four decades ago this past week, the first ever cases of the h.i.v./aids epidemic were publicly noted-- and hardly noticed. the centers for disease corol

published a weekly report then, noting that five gay men in los angeles were sick with an unusual, pneumonia-like infection. two had died. by the end of that year, the c.d.c. counted 270 confirmed cases of “severe immune deficiency,” the disease that later became known as aids, caused by the infection of h.i.v. cases exploded around the world. it's estimated that about 35 million people have died from aids in the years since. william brangham looks now at the progress made against this virus, and the major problems that remain. >> brangham: in the 1980s and early '90s, the aids epidemic was marked by two kinds of images: one we saw in public, activists taking to the streets demanding not only action, but basic recognition that aids was real. president reagan's administration often ignored the crisis.

reagan himself didn't publicly mention it for years. but the other was in private. in homes and in hospitals, patients, many of them gay men, wasting away from aids. the lgbtq community lost a staggering number of friends and loved ones to the virus. with no medications or vaccine, contracting h.i.v. back then was often a death sentence, a sentence shrowded with a thick blanket of stigma and denial. by the late '80s and early '90s, some small improvements as well-known americans tested positive and came forward, attitudes began to shift. and then in the late 1980s came the first anti-retro viral drugs to treat h.i.v. infection. a decade later, combination of drugs proved the virus could not just be slowed but suppressed. this huge shift meant people could survive with h.i.v. becoming a chronic but not fatal condition. but for years those drugs

were expensive and not available to people in subsaharan africa. millions died before new progra were launched to make those drugs more affordable. salina runs one of south africa's leading h.i.v. research centers. >> it is not that we don't know what to do. it is a challenge of trying to do what we know works and to do it at a scale where it can really make a difference. >> brangham: h.i.v. treatment has undoubtedly saved millions. nearly 38 million around the world today, more than 1.2 million in the u.s. are living with h.i.v. 37 million of them get that treatment, but aids still takes its toll. nearly 700,000 people died last year, and millions still don't get the life-saving access they need. so fo so for a look back at this epidemic, and a look at the best way forward, we turn to two

people deeply immersed in all of this. chris collins is the president and c.e.o. of friends of the global fight against aids, tuberculosis and malaria. and, the reverend robert newells is director of national programs at the black aids institute, an african american-led research and advocacy group focused on ending h.i.v. in black communities. >> brangham: gentlemen, thank you both very much for being hereon this anniversary. chris collins, to you first, i grew up in san francisco in the '80s, and lived in new york in the '90s. i have very distinct memories of this epidemic. for people who don't remember, can you give us a snapshot of what it was like back then? >> it was absolutely terrifying and tragic. i mean, i came out as gay a year before the mmwr was released -- >> brangham: when the c.d.c. first signaled that h.i.v. was here? >> that's right.

and pretty soon everybody i knew was scared, worried for themselves, worried for all of their friends. it was a mystery then of what was going on. and we saw our government not responding adequately to it. so it was a time of a great deal of fear, but also frustration and anger. >> brangham: and reverend newells, the same question to you: do you have an early memory of this epidemic that you could share with us? >> sure. i grew up in oakland, just across the bay from san frcisco, and i was 10 yearold 40 years ago, and i remember seeing white gay men on television suffering from this new disease, but in my community, it was really a secret. we didn't die of aids in those days. we died of pneumonia or cancer, so it was that stigma that kept people quiet about it. so i really didn't see it as a black disease at that time. >> brangham: and we certainly now how that has changed since then. chris collins, as i mentioned in the introduction, so much

progress has been made. we have drugs that treat h.i.v., and we have drugs that prevent h.i.v. so great success on one hand, and yet still a lot of faltering going on globally. >> well, that's right. i mean the progress has been incredible. in terms of where the science has taken us, and just the mobilization that has been global to demand equity and scale up of things that work for people. but we're falling short in a lot of ways, as you say. there is about a 10-million-person treatment gap between the number of people living with h.i.v. and those on treatment. and we're seeing increases in h.i.v. infection in some parts of the world. and now, also, because of neglect all over the world of marginalized people, people marginalized in their own society, such as gay men, sex workers, people who inject drugs, trans people and others, you're seeinnow an increasing sha of infections are among those key population groups as

marginalized groups, and governments all over the world are criminalizing their behavior. societies make them outcast, and that makes them more vulnerable and makes it very tough for them to access services. so we've got to turn that around if we're going to begin to end this epidemic. >> brangham: reverend newells, we know here in the united states, once hiv/aids sort of dropped off the front page, a lot of americans thought, okay, we're done with that. but as your work, certainly as a testament to it, there is still a pocket where we have not figured out how to solve this. can you tell us where h.i.v. is still pretzel prevalet in america? >> sure. in black and brown communities, much like everyone has talked about with the covid pandemic, h.i.v. and aids is still very prevalent among black men and latino men, and ansgender black women.

and in the deep south because that's where most black people in this country live. the h.i.v. epidemic seems to be center in big urban areas. there is a big problem in rural areas as well, and looks like it does in subsaharan africa. >> brangham: chris collins, with regards to those particular populations, you've often heard the term "they're hard to reach." we know what works, it is just a function of finding the political will to do better. do you agree with that assessment? >> absolutely. i mean, it is not easy to bring down h.i.v. infection morality rates, but we do know what to do. it is not rocket science. communities around the world have actually dramatically driven down h.i.v. incidents and morality when they've gone to scale and reached everybody at risk. but what we've got in the united states now really, if you look at the map of h.i.v. incidts, it is a map of policy failure. and the impact of racism

in our society. it doesn't have to be that way. line up the states with some of the highest h.i.v. incidents against states that didn't take the medicaid waiver for obamacare, for example. you'll see the impact of policy, failure of health systemto be scaled so they can reach everybody. that plays out in a more severe h.i.v. epidemics. we can turn this around but it will take political commitment. >> brangham: reverend, you touched on this earlier, but i wonder if you could talk more on the issue of stigma. because it seems to be such a big impedment of getting people to care and getting good care to people. >> sure. stigma, both individualized stigma, family stigma, community based stigma can prevent people from (a) getting tested to find out what your statuss, and (b),

getting treatment. access doesn't mean uptake. if you're still stigmatized by going to get treatment or services, the access doesn't really matter. >> brangham: chris collins, the covid epidemic has shown us how a virus released in the world can be a threat to everybody. with regard to the fight againsh.i.v., what do you think we ought to be doing? what are the next important steps to take? >> well, we need to make sure we're reaching everybody. one of the prrities that came out of the high-level meeting that the united nations just had was to say we've really got to work with governments arou the world and get rid of negative laws that criminalize people's behaviors and that mar marginalize communities. doing that and getting tailored services is

essential. we're under invesng in india in h.i.v. we could bring this epidemic to near an end, but we've been underinvesting for decades now. >> brangham: reverend newell, same question to you: do you think we have it in our power to end the h.i.v. epidemic? >> we absolutely have it in our power. i think some of the lessons we take from the covid experience we've all shared is that the message really does matter. if you're trying to reach lks you're not used to reaching, you're not going to be successful. we have to invest in black leadership, black folks reaching black folks, and the messager matters when you're addressing medical mistrust, and the experience that people have with medical racism, those are things that ribt contribute to this pandemic, and we have to hit head-on. >> brangham: reverend newell, and chris collins,

thank you both for joining us on this anniversary. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> woodruff: as movie theaters begin to reopen nationwide, blockbuster films delayed by the pandemic are now hitting the big screen. among the first of the summer season: “in the heights,” which opens today in theaters and streams on hbo max. as jeffrey brown reports, this modern-day musical, with a latino cast front and center, is set in a specific neighborhood, washington heights in manhattan. but, it has high ambitions of shaking up hollywood and beyond. the story is part of our ongoing arts and culture series, "canvas." >> un barrio called washington heights. where the streets were made of music. >> brown: it's a big-budget, big "song and dance" film about little dream- or “suenitos”-- in a community often overlooked

in life and in hollywood. ♪ we're takin' a flight to a couple of days ♪ in the life of what it's like >> the specificity of the story is what made me feel so seen and so validated. i knew i wanted to be part of this. >> brown: for once, says 26- year-old leslie grace, born in the bronx to dominican parents, that specificity is about latinos living ordinary lives, not stereotypical film roles such as gang members or drug dealers. she plays nina rosario, whose father has sacrificed all to send her to stanford, with the weight of the entire neighborhood's hopes and expectations on her shoulders-- a feeling she and others in this nearly all-latino cast understood all too well. as you were growing up, did you see people like yourself? and as you're becoming a young actor, did you feel like there were roles for you?

>> i didn't. a lot of us didn't. a lot of us didn't have the fortune. that's why i think we all felt like nina at a certain point, feeling responsible for this story and immortalize it in a way that would make people feel seen and would make little boys and girls feel like, "oh, they look like me!" "and i can do that!" >> brown: “in the heights,” the theater musical, opened on broadway in 2008, and won a tony award for best musical. it was lin-manuel miranda's first big show, before the smash-hit “hamilton,” and he wrote it, with quiara allegria hudes, in part to create new roles for latino actors like himself. this time, anthony ramos plays the lead character. miranda has a small part as a street vendor, and a large role as producer, and he and now-screenwriter hudes have teamed with director jon chu o“" crazy rich asians” to turn the real washington heights into a grand stage:

the bodegas and salons. apartment buildings and fire escapes. ♪ 96,000! >> brown: the hot summer days. a place where people from different islands, nations, and backgrounds can together build a new home. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> brown: olga merediz plays abuela, or "grandmother," claudia, the matriarch of the block, who encourages its ung residents to remember their past while chasing their “suenitos.” merediz is a theater, tv, and film veteran, who remembers the days of being cast as maids and other marginal characters. ♪ ♪ ♪ here, in the role she originated in the theater production, she's given a show-stopping number,“ paciencia & fe.” ♪ ♪ ♪ >> lin-manuel miranda took this invisible character, this person that, maybe if she was walking down the street, you would not see her, and you would kind of say, "move out of the way, i

need to go where i need to go." i'm humbled to-- to give her the platform that she deserves. >> brown: in one scene, abuela claudia shows nina some hand-embroidered napkins her mother had made. this, too, hit home. >> sometimes, we have to... to find those-- those little mementos, those things from our past. i have albums of pictures from my cuban family, so i don't forget where i come from. >> brown: according to a 2021 u.c.l.a. study of hollywood diversity, while latinos make up nearly 19% of the u.s. population, they account for 29% of movie tickets sold-- yet still gefewer than 6% all film roles.“ in the heights” changes the picture in an interesting way, "normalizing" latino life on screen, according to chon noriega, director of the school's chicano studies research center. >> what really struck me just

early on is, just, you get those details, and the details are not narrated to you. you're hit with a lot of things that are just day-to-day life-- the nature of exchanges, the types of products, the way people dress. >> brown: the food, of course, that we're seeing. >> the food. and the ways in which they interact with each other that are marked, not by being a homogenous population, but by being internally diverse within ■cnoriega citest moments for latinos on screen: desi arnaz in “i love lucy.” the films “la bamba,” “zoot suit,” and others. the more complicated example o“" west side story,” where-- the great rita moreno aside-- most latino characters were played by white actors. a remake by steven spielberg due out in december promises to change that. but, bigger change? >> you kind of pick up on a sense of doubt about it, because over the long run, over the last 40 to 50 years, it hasn't changed.

this is a great way to call that question. it's good to be hopeful about it, and to see this as something that can be, not the signal of change, but a launching pad for further change. >> brown: olga merediz says now is exactly the moment for “in the heights.” >> this movie is a game-changer. i don't know if it's the timing of, we're finishing this pandemic, thank god, and people are just craving for joy and light and music and positivity. >> ♪ let's raise our voice tonight ♪ let's make a little noise tonigh ♪ >> brown: for the pbs newshour, i'm jeffrey brown. >> woodruff: we could use a little joy, and can't wait for that. and, we'll be back shortly, with the story of a student who changed the way her school uses police. but first, take a moment to hear from your local pbs station.

it is a chance to offer your support, which helps to keep programs like ours on the air. >> woodruff: it is an important change in parenting here in the u.s.-- more and more older adults are raising children for the second time around, because of illness, incarceration, addiction, or any number of reasons. stephanie sy reports on these grandparents and what they're up against in the pandemic. >> sy: joanne clough brought up two kids on her own. she never imagined that she' have another child to raise at the age of 64. a very lively one. >> it's just not something you economically plan for. i'm a single grandmother rolling the rock back up the hill. >> sy: how old are you, carter? >> four! >> sy: no, there's no way you're four! you look like you're five! carter's mother emily, joanne's

oldest daughter, died of a fentanyl overdose in 2016. >> i every day grieve emily's loss ocarter because she'll do something cute or-- and i just think, oh my god, emily, i can't believe you're missing this. you know, i just can't believe you're missing this. >> sy: the opioid epidemic has contributed to the growing number of grandparents raising grandchildren, says gerontologist megan dolbin mcnab. >> there is a priority within the child welfare system to place children with relatives whenever that's possible and that's due to the fact that it's helpful to maintain ose connections. >> sy: it also saves the system money, a cost that is often borne by grandparents who can't afford it. 19% of grandfamilies live in poverty. >> many of them are on limited incomes. for many grandparents, the addition of those expenses really kind of overwhelms

the resources that they have. >> sy: lisa lennon was making it work, with a cleaning business that allowed her to support her grandkids: 12-year-old luke, and little jackson, still in diapers. but since the pandemic, she's lost most of her clients. >> you barely keep your head above the water, and that doesn't feel very good. it doesn't allow me to feel like i can provide everything jackson needs, everything luke needs and also survive. >> sy: behind on rent, she's worried about getting evicted. how are you doing the food? >> we get food from the church. and we run short toward the end of the month, but we stretch it out, make it work. >> sy:ince the start of the pandemic, almost 40% of grandfamilies say they struggle to pay for housing. a third have trole accessing food. >> i wish i had a sofa that i could lay on for two hours and just cry my eyeballs out.

>> sy: having a good cry would be a luxury these days, says lisa banks. she's got three grandchildren at home doing virtual sool. >> i'm trying to spread myself thin amongst three kids, which is difficult, a lot of the work i don't understand because i've been out of school so long and things have changed so much. >> sy: and with no school lunch, the dishes, and the bills, are piling up. >> it's like, i'm hungry, i'm hungry, i'm hungry. you hear it all day. so breakfast, it's snack, it's lunch, it's snack, it's dinner, it's snack. you're spending more on utilities because they're using more electricity. everything goes up. >> take as much as you want. >> sy: banks recently found some help through a local nonprofit group called "gratitude for grandparents." every suayr rhea kelsall distributes donated food and essentials from her basement. >> so many of the families h part-time jobs that lost their jobs; they have less income now than they had prior to the pandemic. gratitude for grandparents is here for them.

>> sy:elsall herself can relate. she and her anceé are raising two grandchildren between them, also because of substance addiction. >> carl's my fianceé's biological grandson and his dad is deceased. from an overdose. i do sometimes think that the big g had a plan, because we understand what the other one is going through. >> sy: and they've gone through a lot. the latest hurdle-- the pandemic forced kelsall to close the daycare she was running. >> totally lost my income and now we're on his fixed income. >> reporter: but without legal custody or guardianship, it can

be tough to tap into government support services. >> there can be eligibility requirements that push some grandparents out. >> sy: nonprofits like kelsall's are trying to fill the need, which includes emotional support. we joined the group's monthly zoom meeting. >> i just wanted to see if i could see a show of hands. >> reporter: i asked who thought thpandemic had compounded the challenges they faced. >> me. >> me. >> sy: not surprisingly, every hand went up. >> me. >> never did i think i would be this short of breath. >> sy: 61-year-old grandmother kim elia was recovering from covid-19. >> my oxygen was at 86 and i was truly afraid to die because what would happen to brooklyn. >> sy: brooklyn is the 11-year- old grandchild she's raised since she was a baby. >> it was absolutely mind- numbing fear that i had. >> sy: with the cloud of covid, there's worry. >> i wake up thinking about these kids and i go to sleep thinking about them.

>> sy: with the shadow of the past, there's worry. >> they've experienced a great deal of trauma in their lives. and i mean, what they need, they can't have: their mother. >> sy: the grandkids' mental health weighs on paul and barb anderson. >> this thing of the kids going to school on the computer and not having a social life just exacerbates the problem. >> sy: as heavy as the burden may sometimes be, the children, says lisa lennon, are also what lift her up. they're my inspiration and reason to wake up these days. >> sy: on good days and bad days, says lisa banks. >> you go through those moments, you go through those stresses, you cry, you fight, you argue whatever it takes, but you're still there at the end. >> sy: and that's what really matters. for the pbs newshour, this is stephanie sy.

>> woodruff: the role of police officers in schools has come under increasing scrutiny, as communities across the country respond to calls for racial justice and re-evaluate student safety. in los angeles, student activists played a major role in getting the school district to move away from funding police in schools. julia escobar, from the newshour's student reporting labs youth journalism program at venice high school, has the story. >> reporter: after george floyd's murder, the call to get police out of public schools grew much louder. >> there is no reason why we need school police officers in our schools. they don't help us. >> reporter: kahlila williams is a senior at girls academic leadership academy in los angeles. she's a part of a group of activists known as "students deserve," who've succeeded in millions of dollars diverted from police in the nation's second-largest school district.

>> a lot of people underminded us as the students, saying that, you know, “there's no way that students can make this happen.” >> reporter: but they did. student and community activists successfully pushed the los angeles unified school board to divert $25 million from law enforcement. that's about a third of what the district had been spending on its school police force. >> black students feel criminalized, have been pepper sprayed, arrested. what else do you need? >> reporter: the cut means more than 100 officers were laid off, and the use of pepper spray was banned. officers used to be stationed at every high school and middle school, but now they will no longer be present on campuses-- although they will still be on call to respond to problems. the board voted in february to use the divested money specifically to support black students. as part of the district's ongoing efforts to address systemic racism, the funds will go to l.a. schools that predominantly serve students of color, and the district is hiring more counselors and staff to provide social-emotional support. nick melvoin is a school board member who supported the change. >> we are a school district that is 89% of color. i'm a straight white man, i

don't have the lived experience of all of our students. and so, listening to them was so powerful, and actually understanding how my decisions were affecting their lives. >> you know, i don't want to do anything around the school police officer. and people may say, “oh, that's a good thing-- that means there's no crime, there's no drugs, there's no this,” but what that means for black students is that's more trauma, more fear. they're scared when they're on campus. >> reporter: pedro noguera is the dean of u.s.c.-rossier school of education. he's a sociologist who has studied disparities in the education system. >> schools have to be safe. no one can learn in an unsafe environment or evea chaotic environment. right? we need safety and order for learning. the question is, what produces safety and order? >> reporter: mani sefas-loos is another student activist who believes having police on school campuses does not mean students are actually safe. >> safety is being able to be who you are, without fear that somebody else who doesn't understand you is going to threaten you. >> reporter: but sgt. rudy perez

sees his job very differently. he joined the district's police department 20 years ago. he grew up in guatemala, where he saw corruption among police. but when he came to the u.s. and attended los angeles schools, he says the police offir at his high school inspired him to stay on track-- and he wanted to do the same thing for oers. >> i love to mentor, lead, and protect kids, safely, through graduation. that's what i live with. >> one criticism of school police is that, like when you have like a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. what would you say to people who argue that police officers are just like the wrong tools to have in schools? >> a teacher, you should have the ability to de-escalate this fight. don't call the police till somebody gets hurt, or now there'a victim. >> reporter: perez did not lose his job in the layoffs, but he believes the decision to divest the money was unfair to law enforcement. >> it was done for something that happened in minnesota, and it didn't happen here. it didn't matter whether you were a park ranger, police

officer, it didn't matter if you were a municipality, it didn't matter whatever it was. the badge and the-- and the uniform got demonized. >> just by virtue of having a police officer on campus, you increase the likelihood that kids will be arrested for things that they should have never been arrested before. >> reporter: according to the american civil liberties union, students are 3.5 times more likely to get arrested on school campuses where police are present, compared to those without. >> i'm not against having law enforcement around if their job is to keep the school safe. but when you see law enforcement doing the work of school administrators, then-- then it's inappropriate. >> reporter: similar conversations about police in schools are happening in at least half a dozen other major cities around the country. >> so, it was like a celebration for l.a.u.s.d. but i also hope that it was going to be a celebration for things that could come in other places. >> reporter: $25 million will now be supporting positions and programs designed to help black and brown students feel safer in schools.

but that money is less than 1% ofhe district's $7.5 billion annual budget. the changes happening here are now allowing for a larger conversation about how best to support students in all aspects of their educational experience. >> i'm just, like, amazed that this actually happened. i never doubted us, but knowing that this is actually, like, for real is just an amazing feeling. >> reporter: for the pbs newshour student reporting labs, i'm julia escobar. >> woodruff: an important story, worth exploring further. and there is more to explore from our student reporting labs: a new podcast "on our minds" with noah and zion, offers a unique opportunity to ally looks like foralth young people, what kind of services are available to them, and the real stories behind the statistics. you can listen wherever you get your podcast. and that's the "newhour"

and that is 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 we'll see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> architect. bee-keeper. mentor. a raymond james financial advisor tailors advice to help you live your life. life, well-planned. >> for 25 years, consumer cellular has been offering no-contract wireless plans, designed to help people do more of what they like. our u.s.-based customer service team can help find a plan that fits you. to learn more, visit www.consumercellular.tv. >> johnson & johnson. >> bnsf railway. >> the ford foundation. working with visionaries on the frontlines of social change

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♪ hello, everyone and welme to "amanpour & company." here's what's coming up. >> make it clear to putin and to china that europe and the united states are tight. >> as president biden hits the road for europe, belarus opposition leader sviatlana tsikhanouskaya throws down the gauntlet. the u.s. needs to get tougher on authoritarian ruler alexander lukashenka. then -- >> let's a be stronger from a cybersecurity perspective so that actually those who wh to do us harm cannot succeed in doing so. >> a surge of ransomware attacks threatens to choke the global economy. why we're vulnerable and how to fight back. i speak to security expert