newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening, i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, covid on the rise-- infections spike, and more schools and businesses close, as hospitals brace for a wave of patients from the omicron variant. then, high stakes-- democratic senator joe manchin deals a blow to the white house, saying no to president biden's main social priorities bill. what's next for the president's agenda. and, reflecting on a legacy-- dr. francis collins discusses his long career as he leaves the top job at the national institutes of health, especially combating covid and mapping the human genome. >> now it's written in a language. we're still trying to figure out how to read accurately so the work on the human genome will be going on for a long time.

>> woodruff: all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> fidelity is here to help you work through the unexpected, with financial planning and advice for today, and tomorrow.

>> 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. >> the chan-zuckerberg initiative. working to build a more healthy, just and inclusive future for everyone. at czi.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions: and individuals. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.

>> woodruff: crises in public health and public policy dominate the news tonight. the furious spread of covid-19's omicron variant has hospitals straining to keep up. and, the near-collapse of the "build back better" package has the white house and democrats straining to find a new solution. first, the omicron explosion. we begin with this report from stephanie sy. >> sy: as airports fill up with holiday travelers, the u.s., along with the rest of the world, finds itself in a precarious position. the omicron variant has made its way into at least 49 countries, as well as over 40 states in the u.s. over the weekend, infectious disease expert anthony fauci

reiterated what scientists are learning about omicron and its ability to spread. >> the one thing that's very clear, and there's no doubt about this, is its extraordinary capability of spreading, its transmissibility capability. it is just, you know, raging through the world, really. >> sy: americans are pressing forward with plans to gather for the holidays, bottling up testing centers. lines in new york city wrapped around streets. >> i've been here about an hour and a half. and it's been very long. everyone's just been waiting and waiting. it's just been really scary with the new variant. very, very scary. >> sy: experts say vaccination remains the first line of defense against severe cases of covid, including the new variant. and today, moderna shared preliminary data, which shows the booster dose of its vaccine substantially increased antibody levels, meaning protection, against omicron. former president trump revealed

last night what he's done to protect himself from covid. >> both the president and i are vaxxed. and did you get the booster? >> yes. >> i got it, too. >> sy: speaking directly to vaccine doubters, the former president reminded his followers that the shots were approved under his administration. >> we got a vaccine done in less than nine months. it was supposed to take from five to 12 years. >> sy: he does not support vaccine mandates. but more cities are requiring proof of vaccination before entering indoor public spaces. boston is the latest to make this move to contain omicron. and in d.c., the mayor reinstated an indoor mask mandate, starting tomorrow. community spread among the vaccinated in the nation's capital now includes senators elizabeth warren and cory booker-they both tested positive over the weekend. maryland's governor larry hogan said he tested positive today. all three had been vaccinated

and received a booster shot. overseas, several countries have imposed new restrictions in line with the w.h.o.'s guidance to government leaders. >> but an event cancelled is better than a life cancelled. it's better to cancel now and celebrate later than to celebrate now and grieve later. none of us want to be here again in 12 months time. >> sy: in the u.k., health officials are still weighing imposing stricter lockdowns. >> i didn't come intthe government to restrict freedoms of people, but i think people understand why we are. we are presented that action to parliament and we keep the situation under review. >> sy: the most dramatic response in europe so far is in the netherlands. all non-essential stores, bars and restaurants are closed through mid-january. >> ( translated ): we must act

now to prevent as much of the worst as possible. >> sy: weekend protests and clashes in europe over new restrictions show the competing pressures politicians face. it's a challenge president biden will publicly address in a speech to americans tomorrow, outlining his administration's response to the latest covid crisis. there are so many questions people have about omicron and what we're learning. so joining me now is dr. celine gounder, an infectious disease specialist and an idemiologist at new york university's grossman school of medicine. dr. gounder also cares for patients at bellevue hospital center. dr. gounder, as always, thank you for joining the newshour, and let us start there with what you're seeing on the front lines with cases skyrocketing there in new york city. what are you seeing as far as burdens on hospitals and the health care system? >> we are seeing cases of covid spiking in new york city.

we're seeing long lines around the block around blocks of people lining up to get p.c.r. tests. emergency rooms are full, but i think the other really important message here is that in terms of our hospitalizatiorates, we have not seen those spike. and to give you a little bit of context at the height of the pandemic back in the spring of 2020 at bellevue hospital, where i work, we had over 600 patients with covid at the peak at any one time. today at bellevue hospital, we have 30 patients with covid in the hospital. so that's a dramatic difference. and that's really because so many new yorkers have gotten vaccinated. it's one of the most vaccinated places in the country. over 70% of people in new york city have gotten fully vaccinated. and so while we're seeing a lot of cases, those cases are not translating into hospitalizations and deaths as they are in other parts of the country. >> sy: is part of that because preliminary data shows that

omicron, it may not be as severe as the delta and other variants. >> it's not clear that that's really what's driving this. data out of the u.k. suggests that omicron may be just as virulent as prior variants. and remember, many of the covid cases we're seeing are still related to delta. and yet we're not seeing these spikes and hospitalizations overwhelmed hospitals in terms of hospitalizations, people requiring ventilation needing to be in the i.c.u. we're not seeing that here, and that's really because people are by and large vaccinated. >> sy: and so again, the message is get vaccinated, get boosted, and that is what will keep you safe now when it comes to testing, i just got back from new york city myself, and i was hearing about people waiting for hours in line for testing. rapid tests are no longer coming

back rapidly because of the spike in demand. why is it so hard at this juncture to efficiently and effectively test mass numbers of people? >> one of the challenges stephanie has been waxing and waning demand for testing over the course of the pandemic. unfortunately, much of this demand has spiked around maybe a surge in cases or around the holidays, but has not been incorporated as a routine behavior for people that they get tested, say, once a week or just before they hang out with friends at a bar on the weekend. and that's really what it would take to have a reliable demand that manufacturers can plan for that they can set up supply chains for. and one of the other challenges is really just having enough of the raw materials to make tests. so those are some of the bottlenecks we're dealing with >> sy: what do you think the biden administration should be doing to address that a

bottleneck? how crucial is testing given what we know about omicron transmissibility? >> testing is really important because while the vaccines are highly effective, they're keeping people out of the hospital, they're preventing death. people are having infections despite being fully vaccinated and even boosted. and so in order to prevent further transmission, we really do need to layer other interventions. and that includes testing, testing so that, you know, if you are infectious, contagious to others and need to stay home. and so some of the things the biden administration could be doing on that front is really ying to help ease some of these supply chain raw materials issues that might include invoking the defense production act, as they did to make sure we had enough raw materials for manufacturing of the vaccines. some of the other things they could do is also make use of other types of testing technologies in certain settings.

so, for example, pooled saliva p.c.r. testing in workplaces and schools so that you free up those individual rapid tests for use in other places. >> sy: given what we know right noabout the omicron variant, how should people alter their behavior heading into the holidays? >> in addition to getting fully vaccinated and boosted, think about this in terms of winter layers, wear a mask, socialize outdoors as much as is possible. optimize your indoor ventilation and air filtration by opening doors and windows and placing hepa air filtration units around the home and use rapid testing to identify who might be contagious and who should not be joining in the family and friends and celebrating that day. >> sy: and do we know how reliable those at home rapid tests are at detecting omicron? does that concern you at all? >> there have been reports of people with symptoms testing positive on a p.c.r. and testing negative on a rapid antigen test, particularly in the first few days of being symptomatic.

the f.d.a. is looking into this. emory university has been assisting with testing in their lab, and we hope to have some answers on that soon. >> sy: it's what we have for now. dr. celine gounder with nyu's grossman school of medicine. thank you so much and happy holidays. >> happy holidays! >> woodruff: now to our other lead story tonight, as we noted earlier: the political fallout from the near-collapse of negotiations over the "build back better" legislative package, a keystone of president biden's domestic agenda. republicans have opposed the legislation. but now democrats are looking at the road ahead, now that one of their own seems to be a firm "no" on the bill as it currently stands. lisa desjardins begins our coverage. >> if i can't go home and explain it to the people of west

virginia, i can't vote for it. >> desjardins: the words dropped like boulders. on fox news sunday, senator joe manchin suddenly threw president biden's “build back better” agenda into new turmoil. the west virginia democrat said the white house and others weren't doing enough to reduce or, in his mind, be honest about the ultimate cost of the bill. >> we should be upfront and pick our priorities. that's t difference. what we need to do is get our financial house in order, but be able to pay for what we do and do what we pay for. >> desjardins: during a radio interview today, manchin also blamed white house staffers for the negotiations' collapse. >> you know me, always willing to work and listen and try. i just got to the wit's end, and they know the real reason what happened. they won't tell you, and i'm not going to - >> wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. wait, wait. you said, there is-- they know the real reason. they're not going to tell us. you're not going to tell us. what do you mean? what's the real - >> the bottom line is, there is basically-- and it's staff. it's staff-driven. i understand staff. it's not the president, this is

staff. and they drove some things and they put things out that were absolutely inexcusable. they know what it is, and that's it. >> desjardins: this as the white house swung with its own, sharp charges about manchin. in a statement yesterday, white house spokeswoman jen psaki called manchin's comments “a sudden and inexplicable reversal in his position, and a breach of commitments to the president and the senator's colleagues.” this was psaki today: >> i can't speak for senator manchin on what has upset him. i'll let him speak to that himself with more specifics if he chooses to and he may or may not choose to and that's his prerogative. >> desjardins: the latest “build back better” plan was on a historic scale, affecting millions: providing universal pre-k, lowering child care costs, expanding health care, including a dramatic cut in the price of insulin and combating climate change with large scale tax incentives and new regulations on methane gas. with all of that on the ropes, much democratic reaction has been furious. new york congresswoman

alexandria ocasio-cortez took “" msnbc”. >> the idea that joe manchin says he can't explain this back home to his people is a farce. >> desjardins: other statements flurried. independent senator bernie sands wrote that manchin“ should explain to west virginians” how his move might harm them. moderate virginia congresswoman abigail spanberger called manchin's actions“ unacceptable”. advocacy groups, like the national domestic workers alliance, lamented-- they called manchin's decision a breach of commitment. but in san francisco today, house speaker nancy pelosi was more restrained and focused, insisting manchin will sign onto something. >> i have confidence that senator manchin cares about our country, and that at some point very soon, we can take up the legislation. i'm not deterred at all. >> desjardins: majority leader chuck schumer said he will put a revised bill to a vote in the senate, early in the new year. he promised senators that the chamber “will keep voting on it

until we get something done.” >> woodruff: and lisa joins me now along with our white house correspondent yamiche alcindor. as a note, because of fast- changing information about covid and the omicron variant, we are asking guests and our own correspondents to join us remotely. hello to both of you, and lisa, i'm going to start with you. two big questions. how did this happen and what does it mean? >> well, there was a breakdown in talks, clearly, between the white house and senator manchin over the last couple of weeks. i believe some of that has to do with some personalities involved as senator manchin eluded to. but there are bigger issues here, from senator manchin and those close to him. they stress that this is just an issue of the package being too large and fiscally irresponsible in their view. we can report yamiche and i have both confirmed that sometime in the past couple of weeks senator manchin said he was open and even could agree to a deal that

was smaller that did not contain the child tax credit in it. but did contain things like universal pre-k, expansion of the affordable care act and some money to combat climate change. but clearly that was not enough for democrats at that time and here's where we are. what does it mean? we'll have to see what it ultimately means but at this moment it is a huge blow to democrats hopes and it is something that many millionof americans could be affected by. i want to talk about those stakeholders really quickly. let's talk about that child tax credit which execs piring, the expanded version is expanding,-- expiring, then we talk about health-care costs and drug prices in particular. in this bill was that idea of keeping insulin costs down to $35 per month. that is about 8 million americans who use insulin on a regular basis. and of course you talk about climate, that is a global issue. that is something that everyone

either is or will deal with in the near future if nothing changeses. now then you think about what is going on in west virginia, there are of course many stakeholders there, democrats say why isn't joe manchin thinking of his constituents, the 25,000 children, for example, that would get pre-k or early education in this deal. talking to them, there is anger among some progressives and democrats in west virginia at joe manchin, some of the allies but others say lessen, we just don't trust government. we think this deal was too big and whatever the details were about how it affects my family, we just think it was too big and that's where joe manchin ended up. >> woodruff: and yamiche, what does the white house view of all this? >> well, judy, the white house and president biden have felt really blind sided by senator joe manchin coming out and saying that he was not going to support the build back better act. the president personally signed off on a statement released by the white house press secretary, he does that for a lot of statements but this one was a

rare statement because it was lengthy and biting and really went off senator manchin saying he would have to explain to his constituents why they didn't get some benefits they badly need. also this statement, senator manchin promised to continue conversations in the days ahead and then they said quote if it comment is on fox and written statements in an evident to end that effort, they represent a reversal in its position and breach of his commitment to the president and the senators colleagues in the house and senate. we just don't see language like that coming from the white house because they have been so careful in trying to negotiate with nor manchin so that tells you the level of anger the white house was feeling yesterday. the white house press secretary did come out yesterday, she was a little more subdued and said that senator manchin and the president are quote long time friends and will continue to have shared values and continue to talk. the other thing they note is that this is really coming at a i am when the white house was already facing pressure about who has the power, really, in washington. i nt the-- this exchange

between the vice president a haris and a host from comedy central who asked her who was president, president joe biden or senator manchin. >> who is the real president of this country, is it joe manchin or joe biden, madame vice president. >> come on, charlemagne, it is scwhroa biden. >> no, no, no, no. no, no, no, no. it is joe biden. and don't start talking like a republican about asking whether or not is he president. >> you think joe manchin say problem. >> and it is joe biden, and i'm vice president and my name is kamala harris. >> so you see there, really, the vice president getting very, very testy and very, very defensive of president biden. but it really gets to the bottomne which ask that only a couple, i would say monthses ago, president biden said during a cnn townhall when are you a president, you have a 50-50 senate every senator is senate so it it sums you up the president is in a tough spot. >> woodruff: so given all of this, lisa, for democrats, what

now? >> well, there is a lot of hopefulness today that there wasn't there yesterday. let me go through really quickly what's going to happen now. as we reported senator schumer has a plan, he's going to bring build back better before the full senate t is expected to fail as it stands right now but he plans to do that early next year. he will keep trying, keep bringing up votes until there is something that can pass the united states senate. now here's the issue for democrats judy, my reporting talking to many democrats across the spectrum, here is the issue what they have to think of in the new bill, one the size of the new bill, two how to pay for it which is another issue that affects another senator, and then of course there are varying priorities here. some of them prioritize climate, some the child tax credit, other democrats early education, some democrats health care, still more immigration. so they have to make those decisions, one congressman, democrat of california told me

today this is bigger than all of us. so they are trying to take a deep breathe right now. >> finally, i did see reporting that the president and joe manchin did have a phone call yesterday afternoon but what does this mean for the president's agenda going forward for 2022? >> well, judy, the deep sigh at i'm sure folks heard when lisa was asked what is next is the same deep sigh the white house is doing because frankly they're really challenged about how to move forward. president biden, the white house press secretary said today multiple times will try as hard to continue doing the build back better negotiations, they are saying over and over again this is not a dead bill but it is very hard to see how this comes through, there is also the fact that this is coming at a tough time for the president because we are experiencing covid spikes. and people really are looking for relief. so when you look at the child tax credit, the idea of universal pre-k, all of these things are what americans in some ways will really need as this covid spike happens, and then all the things that are unresolved that democrats especially african-american democrats who make up the base

of the democratic party want to see voting rights, policing reform, none of that has come through so the president is in a tough spot. >> very, very full plate. yamiche alcindor, lisa desjardins, we thank you both. >> thank >> woodruff: in the day's other news, a minneapolis jury began deliberating manslaughter charges against kim potter. the former suburban minneapolis police officer shot and killed daunte wright during a traffic stop last april. prosecutors today played down potter's claim that she meant to grab her taser, not her gun. the defense said wright was to blame, for trying to drive off. they summed up, in closing arguments. >> she didn't have to intend to harm anyone she didn't have to intend to kill daunte wright but that's what she did. she consciously took a chance of causing death or bodily harm by

pulling a weapon and firing it without giving it a second thought. >> her acts were all legal, everything she did was legal and then he tries to break away. and she thought she was doing the right thing. daunte wright caused his own death unfortunately, but those are the cold hard facts, the evidence. >> woodruff: the killing of daunte wright sparked protests and added to a national outcry over racial justice the case of ghislaine maxwell also headed for a jury, in new york. she's accused of recruiting teenage girls for sexual abuse by the late financier jeffrey epstein. federal prosecutors branded maxwell a dangerous predator. the defense argued that she's been made a scapegoat. we'll get details, later in the program. the pentagon today has clarified its rules on extremism in the military.

as before, the guidance bars troops from actively engaging in extremist activities, but it goes into more detail. banned activities range from advocating terrorism to posting extremist views online. the rules also spell out the process that commanders must use to punish someone. chile has a new president-elect, and he's vowing to remake the country with progressive policies. leftist gabriel boric won sunday's runoff against a far- right lawmaker. that touched off celebrations in the capital, santiago. boric vowed to create an inclusive government to fight poverty and inequality. >> ( translated ): chileans, i receive this mandate with humility and a tremendous sense of responsibility. i will be a president who cares for democracy and does not risk it, listens more than what he speaks, seeks unity, and attends to the needs of the people daily. >> woodruff: the new president takes over next march.

the u.s., britain and other today decried sunday's election in hong kong as an erosion of democracy. pro-beijing candidates swept legislative races after others were kept off the ballot. turnout was just 30%, the lowest since britain handed the city back to china in 1997. in the philippines, the death toll has reached at least 375 after the strongest storm there, this year. "typhoon rai" blasted the southern philippines before blowing into the south china sea on friday. winds of 120 miles an hour ripped off roofs and knocked out power across several provinces. some survivors were left without food or water. back in this country, the biden administration is moving to fight climate change with a big jump in mileage standards for cars and trucks. a final rule issued today sets an industry-wide target of 40

miles a gallon by 2026. that reverses a trump-era rollback of an earlier rule. the u.s. house investigation into the january 6th insurrection is expanding. the committee is seeking an interview with g.o.p. congressman scott perry of pennsylvania. he is the first congress member to be publicly sought out for questioning. drugmaker biogen said today it's cutting the price of its new alzheimer's treatment in half, to around $28,000 a year. aduhelm is the first drug to slow the progress of the brain- destroying illness, instead of just managing symptoms. but, it has run into slow sales and a backlash over its high cost. on wall street, the dow jones industrial average lost 433 points to close at 34,932. the nasdaq fell 188 points.

the s&p 500 slipped 52. and the white house has a new puppy in residence, named commander. president biden shared a photo on his twitter account today. the dog appears to be a german shepherd and was a gift to biden from his family. still to come on the newshour: tamara keith and amy walter break down the latest political news. closing arguments in the trial of jeffrey epstein associate ghislaine maxwell. doctor francis collins discusses his long career leading the national institutes of health. plus much more. >> woodruff: a stalled agenda in congress and a surge in covid cases.

just two issues the white house is struggling with in these final weeks of the year. it's a good time to turn to politics monday, with amy walter of "the cook political report with amy walter," and tamara keith of npr. both of you joining us from your home, so good to see you, i'm scoree you are not here. but amy, let's start with you. build back better, the president dealt a blow as we said tonight by senator joe manchin's decision. but how big a blow is it? >> well, judy, as lisa and yamiche pointed out, we don't know really where this goes from here, but it is pretty clear that for dem kratds who had hoped that this year was didding-- going to end not just with passing his legislation but that they would start 2022 selling it, that instead of focusing on just all of the back

and forth over process as we have done now it seemses week after week talking about negotiations and how democrats can agree, it was all about democratic in-fighting, not a lot about what was in the legislation. democrats i talked to were hoping all right, 2022 comes around. we're going to spend all of it talking about the things that we've done. instead it looks as if they're going to start the new year in kind of a similar position. we're going to be talking about process. we're going to be talking about divisions within the democratic party, that is not helpful for democrats who are up in 2022 who need an energid democratic state. and it certainly isn't going to help president biden who is trying to show that he is, you know, able to give voters something for them to turn out and support democrats in the mid-term election. >> woodruff: tam, how do you see this, how serious a setback

is it for the president? >> the white house as yamiche reported is sort of pushing ahead, though it's not clear ere it goes, in an interview that will air tonight vice president harris told cbs they are just not going to give up. they can't give up, but as amy said, it it does mean that they are starting 2022 without that victory to point to. the wild thing to think about is if they hadn't tried for this big, ambitious build back better bill and they had just taken the wins they had, if president biden and congress,emocrats in congress had just passed the american russ cue-- rescue plan and bipartisan infrastructure plan, that would have been a lot to campaign on. but now because they haven't been able to get build back better over the finish line, that is what is getting all of the attention. much to their chagrin. >> woodruff: so amy, is there a way to get any significant

part of build back better done now? >> well, it it does seem as if there are discussions going on right now about a bill that would maybe trim out some of the things that were problematic for manchin or a bill that was much more focused on the one or two issues he was concerned abo. i have also heard progressive lawmakers ggesting that the president himself just issue executive orders on some of these issues so they can be done immediately. but tam's exactly right. i mean the thing is that the democrats have a story to tell. every party has a story to tell twhen they've been in power. and the whole goal is to tell your story over and over again, convince voters that sending them back to washington is a good idea because i have be about able to do xyz. they haven't done any of that. instead it has really been all about trying to sell a piece of legislation. and quite frankly, i don't think it is particularly helpful for senate democrats, especially

thos senate democrats in marginal states, states that are purple to have to go and campaign in 2022 to have to spend the next couple of weeks here still fighting but also voting for a bill that is not going to pass. that is not really helpful exercise. and again it's only going to help for democrats who are worried about 2022, this gives republicans some veried good talking points to say that the senate couldn't pass legislation because even democrats thought it it went too far. >> woodruff: so you were citing vice president harris saying we are going to keep fighting for this, what does thatk loo like then? >> conversations continuing. and really what it looks like is for now at least the administration trying not to openly feud with joe manchin over the week end. press secretary jen psaki put

out a pretty sharp statement since then. they have really tried to cool the temperature, including vice president harris trying to cool the temperature. and the other thing is they have a lot of other things to worry about. primarily the omicron variant which is now the dominant variant in the u.s. and spreading like crazy. >> woodruff: exactly. and this comesk amy i want to show for our audience, our new poll we've done, the president's approval rating at 41 percent, disapproval, 55 percent. this poll was in the field a week ago but it domes at a time with the build back better news, as tam just said this terrible news we are hearing about the fast-spreading omicron variant. it it doesn't seem to be as serious, but a lot of people are getting sick. how does the president work his way through this? >> i know it. look, i think part of the challenge that the president has had these last few weeks, we

talked a lot about, it has been all about process, negotiating within his own party, at the same time this is a president who on his inaugural day said his goal was to bring unity to a country. a lot of folks not feeling that the country is very unified on a whole host of issues including how to handle covid and vaccines. and for his tell krattic base, who had said they really saw? joe biden someone who is going to be able to push over the finish line many of the ideals that he campaigned on, in 2020, those haven't been accomplished. so put that on top of a rising covid rate which again president said on the campaign trail in his first day in office, that is my number one priority. the fact that those have continue-- continue to plague the country, covid specifically is a real, real challenge. and voters, of course, they take it out on a person who is in

charge. >> woodruff: so tam, if you are in the white house right now thinking about how you get through this and into the new year, what are you thinking? >> well, luckily i don't work at the white house. but they are trying to frame the wy the american public thinks about this wave that is going to hit with omicron, you heard press secretary jen psaki talk about it today, will you hear president biden talk about it tomorrow. the goal is to prevent severe illness and death. you know, beginning of the administration president biden was talking about ending the pandemic, that is not what he is talking about any more. they are preparing the public for a lot of people to get this virus, vaccinated people even to get covid. and sort of preparing the public for that reality that ending the pandemic isn't necessarily the goal any more. and that puts a giant wet

blanket on the president's approval. because that uncertainty, that fear, that not knowing if they are going to be shut down so but not know whether there will be enough staff what are covid negative to staff a school when you return from christmas break, these are all things that are weighing on the american public and weighing on the president's approval. >> woodruff: unwelcome news in just about any direction you can think of. >> tamara keith, amy walter, we thank you both. stay safe. >> you're welcome. >> woodruff: as we reported earlier, the jury began deliberations todain the federal sex-trafficking and conspiracy trial of ghislaine maxwell, the former girlfriend of the late disgraced financier jeffery epstein. john yang brings us up to date

on the trial. >> yang: judy, maxwell faces six counts for allegedly aiding and abetting epstein's abuse of underage teens. epstein died in a federal jail in 2019 before he could stand trial himself. maxwell is accused of involvement with four of the dozens of girls epstein allegedly trafficked. moira penza is a former assistant u.s. attorney who led the osecution resulting in the 2019 sex-trafficing conviction of nxivm cult leader keith raniere. she's now a partner at the firm wilkinson stekloff. thanks so much for being with us. this trial gave the four survivors who were involved in this case the opportunity that was taken away from them when epstein died, you that is to have a day in court, you worked on similar cases, high profile cases, what does it mean for these survivors, these women to

it be able to go into court and tell their story? >> you know, john, i think it is really important that people get to see victims of sexual violence have the ability to seek justice through our criminal justice system it is very different than some of the other means of speaking out that we have seen in the past with the hashtag metoo move amk we have seen a lot on social media and there are benefits to that. but there is something about seeing individuals brought to justice within the criminal justice system where they are able to actually say tthe people that did victimize them, actually be able to testify, withstand cross examination that brings a lot of credibility to their testimony. and when done properly hopefully will be a way of really preventing the sort of sexual abuse in the future and deterring the type of behavior

in a very meaningful way. >> the pros keution spent a little less time than had been anticipated. they called fewer witnesses than had been expected. ll us what the progs keution case was-- prosecution case was and also talk to us about what an apparent decision to stream line a case. >> as a trial attorney it is really important to stream line your case. and that is something that takes a lot of discipline. it is really important to make sure as the prosecutor that you are sticking to the actual charges against maxwell and where she was most directly involved. and so i really think that was a conscience decision on behalf of the prosecution to really highlight those areas where maxwell had the most involvement with these victims. so we saw that they really had their theme of maxwell as this enabler in chief, as partner in crime, who is really recruiting

and grooming these young girls for epstein. and we see that they really were consistent throughout their examination in maintaining that theme and really presenting maxwell at the top of this sex abuse pyramid. >> and what about the defense, they were trying to push that she was the scapegoat since epstein was no longer available. what else did the defense argue. >> the primary defense is really this isn't about maxwell. that maxwell was separated from a lot of these crimes, that she may have essentially had a bad boyfriend, but that she didn't necessarily know what was going on behind closed doors. and that is why we see that the prosecution really focused on where was maxwell, the times when she was actually in the room, when she was actually a participant, when she is actually getting payment for the end of jeffrey epstein's life to really connect those dots. so we definitely saw the defense

trying to separate her from that. we also saw what had to come had-- had become quite common in the sexual abuse-- of attacking the victim. we saw that throughout the cross examinations. and what we have seen time and time again is that that often back fired. and that juries often react very negatively to that sort of cross examination. so here we did see that there were various attacks of varying kindses. so whether there was an incentive, a financial incentive, that is how many of the victims victims were crss e. but then we also saw cross examination about issues of memory, was there some sort of conspiracy to once epstein was dead, to implicate maxwell instead. >> and maxwell did not take the stand in her own defense which is not required to do. the judge instructs the jury not to read anything into.

but we have had a couple of high profile cases recently where high profile defendants have taken the stand. is that do you think even though they are told not to think about it, does that have any effect on a juror? >> i do believe that jurors follow the instructions as given to them. do i think as human beings there can only be a sub conscience effect? of course, but i do think it is very different than some of the most recent high profile cases we've seen, where defendants made the unusual decision to make the stand. -- to take the stand because far more often than not it st what we see with maxwell that the defendant does not take the stand and exercises their right not to incriminate themselves. once you take the stand, then you have essentially waived that right and you can be cross examined about everything that has already been presented during the trial as well as additional bad acts that could go to krur credibility.

we're not talking about a fraud bases, a security fraud based crime like we have in a home trial. we're not talking about kyle riten house where he needed to take the stand in order to show self-defense. this was a case where maxwell has already testified under oath previously, she would have to contend with the testimony that she had given before and so i don't think it was, i thought that she likely would not take the stand and that this was much more consistent with what we typically would see her being advised by her attorneys to do. >> former federal prosecutor moira penza, thank you very much. >> thank you very much for having me. >> woodruff: now, let's return to the challenges of covid, and the perspective of the director of the national institutes of health. doctor francis collins is retiring from that position

after more than a decade. and he warned that if the country doesn't take all of the necessary measures, we could face a million cases a day in the u.s. this winter. before he became n.i.h. director, he was known for his work on genetics. he helped discover the gene that causes cystic fibrosis. and then led the government's efforts to map the finished sequence of the human genome, the instructions in our d.n.a. as n.i.h. director, he led efforts to grow its budget to $50 billion annually. i interviewed him recently at the n.i.h. dr. francis collins, thank you very much for talking with us. >> glad to be with you right here at n.i.h. >> woodruff: so dr. collins, here we are in the middle of the worst pandemic this country has faced in a century and you have announced you are retiring as the head of this essential medical public health institution, n.i.h.

does that compute? >> well, it better because it's happening. i think it does, judy. there will never be a perfect time to say it's time to step down. i've been n.i.h. director now for more than 12 years, serving three presidents. that's never happened before. n.i.h. directors are appointed by the president and they generally leave when the president does. so, i've outlasted my shelf life by about a factor of two, and i decided back a few months ago that if i wasn't going to stick it out for the indefinite future, i need to give a chance for president biden to identif a new director and nominate that person. and let me reassure you, as far as covid, the science at n.i.h. has done in the last two years s been astounding, the people leading that effort, they're not going anywhere. and the team is just rock-solid, dedicated, committed, smart. we'll be okay here at n.i.h. >> woodruff: well, i want to ask

you about that. i mean, what if you had to pin down the main contribution n.i.h. has made during this covid pandemic? >> the most visible one, the vaccines, development of those m.r.n.a. vaccines pfizer and moderna, based on 25 years of really hard won basic science advances, that nobody was really paying much attention to get that approved by the f.d.a., we were smack in the middle of that. that would never have happened without all the n.i.h. efforts. therapeutics-- i worked with industry building an unprecedented partnership that brought 20 companies all of the n.i.h. institutes, the f.d.a. and the c.d.c. around the same table designing master protocols, figuring out how to prioritize which things ought to be tested first. and ultimately out of that came monoclonal antibodies that do work therapeutically and then diagnostics the fact that there are diagnostic tests on the pharmacy shelves, we have a lot to do with that. the fact that today there will

be about two million tests that are run, we had a lot to do with that. >> woodruff: and is there something you would wish you could have emerged from n.i.h? >> you know, maybe we under- invested in research on human behavior. i never imagined a year ago when those vaccines were just proving to be fantastically safe and effective that we would still have 60 million people who had not taken advantage of them because of misinformation and disinformation that somehow dominated all of the ways in which people were getting their answers. and a lot of those answers were, in fact, false. and we have lost so much as a result of that. >> woodruff: your specialty going back many years is genetics physician researcher. you started working in that area decades ago. you've done groundbreaking work

that led to cracki the human genome. what does that mean to you? >> it was an amazing adventure that i did with 2400 other scientists in six countries, because that's what it took to read out that first copy of the human genome. those three billion letters of our own instruction book it had this sense of significance of history that we are crossing a bridge into a territory where we know our own instruction book for all of history. we haven't known that. now it's written in a language. we're still trying to figure out how to read accurately so the work on the human genome will be going on for a long time. but we had it and it was public. it was on the internet. we made sure of that too. it's our shared inheritance. >> woodruff: you mentioned how far we've come that it's going to go on for years. there was a lot of talk in the beginning, a lot of promise, i think, that it would lead to breakthroughs right away in a

number of illnesses, diseases that's taken longer than originally thought. >> than some would have thought. you know, there's something called the first law of technology that when there is a breakthrough discovery and it really is something significant, people will always overestimate its short term consequences and underestimate its long term consequences. i think the genome project is a perfect example. there were some statements, i hope i didn't make them, saying, okay, when you go to your doctor next week, it's all going to be different. no, but look at where we are now and where we may be 20 or 30 years from now. it's transformative. by the way, you go to any research lab like mine across the way here, we couldn't do anything without the genome and its technologies. i mean, everybody who's working in human medicine is basing a lot of what they're doing on that as an anchor >> woodruff: you are known dr. collins to pay a lot of attention to moral and ethical considerations around the genome questions genetic research.

you've been critical of the way the gene editing technology has been used unethically before this technique, crispr. not necessarily that per se, but as some scientist outside the united states have used it, but do you worry that we may get too far down that path at some point soon? >> i worry. i think we already saw one example where a chinese scientist, despite the pretty general international agreement, that gene editing should not be used for human embryos. did so anyway. i don't think that's happened since because of the strong outcry. this is such a paradox, though, judy, because gene editing applied in other places, not the embryos, but to people with sickle cell disease to fix what's causing their disease by editing their bone marrow is like one of the most exciting, most amazing developments in the last five years, one that i'm wildly enthusiastic about, and it put a lot of energy resources

into it. but that's very different. that doesn't get into the hereditary d.n.a. that's going to get passed to the next generation. if you're doing hereditary d.n.a. on humans, you've crossed a line into territory that i don't think we are smart enough to go into. and that has consequences, both in terms of safety, but also in terms of theology and philosophy about how we're going to reinvent who we are. i don't think we're ready to do that. >> woodruff: your faith. you've been very open about your christian faith, how has it changed your work, do you think? >> i think i'm really fortunate to be somebody who has both a scientific approach to understanding how nature works and the spiritual approach to understanding things that science doesn't help me much with. like, why am i here? what is the nature of morality? for me, as a scientist, it takes on additional consequences when a new discovery happens because

i see god as the author of all that we have been given. that means that the laboratory is also potentially a cathedral, because what we're doing is to learn how to be even more amazed at what we've been given as human beings surrounded by a beautiful world. >> woodruff: dr. francis collins, thank you very much for talking with us. >> we appreciate it. >> thanks, judy. and may i say it has been an absolute privilege to serve the national institutes of health for these 12 plus years. i love the n.i.h. i have loved my job. i love what medical research has been able to do and will continue to do. >> woodruff: thank you.

and on the newshour online, in interviews across michigan, teachers already burned out by the pandemic told us that they website -- that's pbs dot org slash newshour all that and more is on our web site, pbs dot org slash newshour. >> woodruff: and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. join us online and again here tomorrow evening. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you, please stay safe, and we'll see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> a raymond james financial advisor tailors advice to help you live your life. life, well-planned. >> the kendeda fund. committed to advancing restorative justice and meaningful work through investments in transformative leaders and ideas.

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♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -today on "cook's country," ashley makes bridget a fool-proof version of crumb-crusted rack of lamb, adam reviews electric knives, and christie makes julia the ultimate brussels sprout gratin. that's all right here, on "cook's country."