♪ judy: good evening. i'm judy woodruff, tonight on "the newshour." as covid surges, we examine whether the cdc's latest guidance is effective or creating unncessary confusion. then the rising tensions. diplomats from the united states and russia meet amidst dark disagreements over ukraine and the future influence of nato. and the divided state of america -- deepening polarization prompts efforts bridge the gap in u.s. politics by tapping into people's shared experiences. >> there are not simple fixes to this. we're going to have to recognize, like addiction that this is a long term problem that

has been gaining steam for decades. but we can do it. judy: all that and more on tonight's "pbs newshour." ♪ host: major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by. >> it is the little things. the reminders of what is important. it's why fidelity dedicated advisors are here to help you create a wealth plan. a plan with tax sensitive insting strategies. planning focused on tomorrow while you focus on today. that's the planning affect from fidelity. >> consumer cellular. johnson & johnson.

bnsf railway. financial services firm raymond james. the william and flora hewlett foundation, advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote or better world. the chan-zuckerberg initiative, working build on -- a more healthy,. just and future for everyone. and with these ongoing supports of these individuals and institutions. ♪

this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> i'm stephanie sy with newshour west. we will return after the latest headlines. the biden administration is moving tonight to make it easier to get at-home tests for "covid-19". the white house says starting saturday, private insurers must cover 8 at-home tests, per person, per month. also today, the cdc warned against travel to canada because of a rise in "covid-19" cases there. and in china parts of the city of tien-jen' were locked down, less than a month before the winter olympics in beijing -- 75 miles away. for the first time, doctors have transplanted the heart of a pig into a human patient. the university of maryland medical center says the 57-year-old man is doing well, 3 days after the surgery.

he was ineligible for a human heart transplant. the pig had been genetically modified to prevent the human body from immediately rejecting the heart. the death toll from sunday's apartment building fire in the bronx was lowered to 17 today, including 8 children. officials in new york said some victims were double-counted after the city's deadliest fire since 1990. investigators blamed a space heater for igniting the flames. many of the victims were west african immigrants, as mayor eric adams noted today. >> this is a global tragedy because the bronx and new york city is representative of the ethnicities and cultures across the globe and so everyone is feeling the pain of what we are experiencing. but i would tell you this, and i say over and over again, we're going to get through this moment. [:20] >> the new york tragedy came less than a we after a house fire in philadelphia killed a dozen people. the man who bought the gun used

in the kenosha, wisconsin, killings pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor today. dominick black will pay a $2000 finunder the deal. in 2020, he bought an assault-style rifle for kyle rittenhouse, who was under-age. rittenhouse later shot 2 people to death during racial justice protests. he was acquitted in november. in kazakhstan officials say last week's protests have ended with nearly 8,000 people arrested and russian-led troops on the ground. streets in almaty the country's largest city were mostly empty today. in a tele-conference, russian president vladimir putin vowed to oppose revolts against regional leaders. >> of course, we understand the events in kazakhstan are not the first and far from the last attempt to interfere in the internal affairs of our states. i agree with president lukashenko of belarus. the measures taken by our alliance have clearly shown we will not allow the situation to be rocked at home and will not allow so-called 'color revolutions' to take place."

>> images into the arrest, 164 people were killed in the protest. north korea appears to have fired a missile into the sea. it is the second such north korean missile launch in a week. the north claims tuesday's launch was a more sophisticated hypersonic missile. insured global losses from extreme weather hit $120 billion last year -- the second highest amount ever. the world's largest re-insurer munich re today cited climate change as a main factor. meanwhile, u.s. emissions of greenhouse gases rebounded sharply last year. the research firm "rhodium group" cites a surge in coal use. the federal reserve board's vice chair richard clarida is resigning friday, 2 weeks before his term ends. he'd been criticized over stock trades he made in february of 2020, as the pandemic first

threatened the world economy. he is the third fed official to resign over the issue. the irs announced today that federal income tax season will open more than 2 weeks early this year on january 24th. the agency says it needs extra time to cope with potential delays from the covid surge -- and less funding than it requested. several passings of note toght. comedian bob saget is being remembered for long-running stints on tv's "full house" and "america's funniest home videos" in the late 1980's and early '90's. he was found dead in his florida hotel on sunday. a generation grew up watching saget on "full house", seen here as a widowed father playing with one of his 3 young girls. bob: michelle breaks for the basket and goes right through my legs. she's going for that super-duper baby flying michelle score in your face.

michelle: in your face. >> bob saget was 65 years old. also sunday dwne hickman tv's "dobie gillis" of the 1960's died in los angeles after battling parkinson's disease. he was 87 years old. and "oscar"-winning lyricist marilyn bergman passed away in los angeles on saturday. she and her husband teamed on hundreds of songs, including "the way we were" and "windmills of your mind". marilyn bergman was 93 years old. still to come on the "newshour." the prospects for easing tensions after the u-s and russia hold high stakes talks. we examine the latest push for voting rights legislation in congress how a memorial to shooting victims in tucson elevates art born from tragedy. plus much more. ♪

>> this is the pbs newshour from weta studios in washington and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. judy: the latest guidance from the cdc on isolation and testing for covid-19 has received intense push back. as william brangham reports, many health experts are now criticizing what the cdc has said -- and how -- cdc officials have said it. >> that's right. the cdc said if you get covid you don't have to isolate r ten days like before- you can cut that down to five. but it also said people don't need a negative test to resume regular life. joining a chorus of criticism, the american medical association issued a rare but strong rebuke, saying the cdc's new recommendations were quote: "not only confusing, but are risking further spread of the virus. the man who wrote those words is dr. gerald harmon.

he's the president of the ama. great to have you on the newshour. i'd like to have a better sense of what it is that is bothering you about what the cdc did. am i right that you are ok that people might leave covid isolation after five days, but only if they have a negative test. is that your issue? >> thanks for having me and you have nailed it. my issue as a frontline provider, we have a lot of evidence that shows the viral shedding might stop after five days we do not know much about the omicron variant in five days seems little qui to let someone release back into the wild without negative testing before they are going back, even if they are wearing a mask. putting someone back into the environment that can spread this and some of the data shows as much as 31% of those after five days still shed the virus, that is a risk i am not willing to buy into right now. >> the cdc director when asked

about this said she implied that rapid tests were not as reliable as they had been sold. although that is contrary to what she said at the begning of the pandemic. what do you make of that? do you think rapid tests are reliable? >> i use them. we make a determination whether to put someone in isolation when they come in. we use the test that we have available. and that is a rapid test. we tell people all the time, get a hold of a rapid test if you think you might've been exposed. we tell you do a rapid test. that has been a relatively common standard in it if it is good enough to make a diagnosis, i would hope it is good enough to make the un-diagnosis that you are no longer contagious. some false and some's positive but it has been they are good indicator of whether a is infectious. >> anyone who's tried to go out and purchase one of those rapid tests knows that they are in

incredibly short supply. your letter seemed to imply cdc made this dissolution because of that shortage. is that really true? >> we are supportive of them. they're a public health messenger that we rely on. so we're a little bit concerned with the messaging and the confusion messaging because i think testing is good to have i wish we had more tests available the rapid test. i like others are struggling to find testing the community almost everyday, everyday people call me hey, i need tested and i can't find one. i'll tell you a story. i bought a handful of for over one i can still get for about a week or two ago. and i've used them when my neighbors come knocking on my door literally, to test them because i need to make a decision about recommending my personal advice to my patients. >> there is an echo here about what happened with masks at the very beginning of the pandemic. dr. fauci himself has now

acknowledged that there was a worry that there were not enough n95 masks and they did not recommend them. you mention the somewhat confused and confusing messaging of the cdc. is this something that has been frustrating to you for a while? >> again, this is science, this is not mathematics. the numbers may change. the data may indicate different transmission variants. we are learning. the cdc, all of my scientists and myself on the front lines. we are learning. the messaging may change at times but it is not -- to confuse people because we know what we're are doi or the cdc doesn't. science is a changing discipline in data tells us what to advise. we are recommending medical grade masks. i use this this morning and i have an n95, for when i am in the environment had i do not use cloth masks because i think the science shows they are not asy a protective especially with the

transmissibility of the omicron variant. >> if a patient comes to you and says look i tested positive . i have been in isolation for 4 5 days without a test not sure about symptoms what would you advise them to do >> they do come to me with that question. that is not just a hypothetical thought experience that is real time. i will speak with my recommendation, not necessarily the ama. if you are not sure, you have only been five days since the onset of symptoms. i think if you do not have enough available test that helps to support that you are not infected, wait a couple more days and then seven days might be a reasonable recommendation that you could go back to work if i did test you positive i would wait a couple of days and get you tested again. we are not trying to pick a magic number. we are trying to get somewhere in the middle. we are trying to do the bt we can with the data we have a new

comment -- use common sense. none of us are too liberal he release people into the wild -- none of us are trying to release people into the wild if they are infectious. we are trying to do the best we can by keeping our schools open. the science is catching up with reality. >> dr. gerald harmon, thank you so much for being here. >> william thanks for having me part of solution reliable thank you again and being a source of reliable medical information and being on the side of science. thank you again. judy: it is one of the most significant crises with russia since the end of the cold war: 100,000 russian troops on ukraine's border that the u-s says could invade within weeks. today in geneva, senior american and russian diplomats met, kicking off a week of intense diplomacy. nick schifrin

reports. nick: the photo-op was tense and silent. u.s. and russian negotiators met for 8 hours of bilateral talks, the deputy russian foreign minister sergei ryabkov described as a possible basis for agreement.” >> a professional practical conversation by itself puts us in an optimistic mood of course. but by all means, the main questions remain.speaking to reporters by phone, deputy secretary of state wendy sherman called it a "frank and forthright" preliminary dialogue. >> today was a discussion, a better understanding of each other and each other's priorities and concerns.t was not what you would call a negotiation. nick: the crisis, caused by 100,000 russian troops dloyed to ukraine's borders. the u.s. warns russia has plans to mobilize twice that number and possibly invade. but what the u.s. raised

today --mutual limits on eastern european exercises like these, in poland and missile deployments, by reviving the defunct intermediate nuclear forces treaty, or inf, that banned an entire class of nuclear weapons. >> even on things that are not russian priorities we had useful discussions and exchanges today that will help inform our way forward. nick: russia's public priorities expand much further. in december it released demands including roll back all nato forces and weapons in europe to 1997. and no further enlargement of nato, including ukrainej. that would rewrite decades of us and nato policy, and the map. in 1949, nato's eastern border was italy. by 1997, it had added 4 more countries, for a total of 16. since then, in 5 rounds of expansion, it's grown to 30 countries, including those on russia's border. in 2008, nato said ukraine and georgia would become future members. the biden administration says it refuses to negotiate nato

expansion or the deployment of u.s. troops in eastern europe. which ryabkov today said was still ruia's priorities >> for us it's absolutely mandatory to make sure that ukraine never, never ever becomes a member of nato. (:25) , ukrainians who look west, urged the us to stand up to putin. it's been 8 years since russia invaded eastern ukraine. and still, this weekend, ukrainian soldiers fought russian-backed separatists. kiev insists that moscow cannot be allowed to block its nato membership, as deputy prime minister olga stefanishyna said today in brussels. >> we have inherent sovereign ght to choose our own security arrangements, including treaties and alliances. what russia is ing is tries to impose its agenda instead of returning to the negotiation table.

nick: so have today's talks provided a diplomatic pathway to averting a russian invasion of ukraine? for that we get two views. debra cagan had a 30 year career as an american diplomat where she focused on arms control and nato. and dmitri trenin directs the carnegie moscow center. a think tank based in moscow. let me start with you. there russian demands that the u.s. had to respond to today, to today's talks created a pathway for a diplomatic solution. >> it's too early to tell. i think as the deputy foreign minister said, they will assess the results of the talks today and in fact yesterday. also, the talks that are scheduled for the 12 of january with nato and to some extent what happens the following day, the next day in vienna. then they will come to a

decision whether a new round of talks is possible, is promising, or whether that's it. i think we are at an inflection point in, not only in u.s.- russian relations but more broadly in russian and western relations. >> do you believe we are at an inflection point in the outcome wasn't decided today vote in fact will be only decided after weeks worth of diplomatic means? >> i do not think it will be decided after a weeks worth of diplomatic means and i think the inflection point has been going on for quite a long time. it's not j ust right this second. i think a lot of talking has to be had. there has been no evidence of any russian de-escalation which i think should be a precursor to movie forward it any other diplomatic solutions. -- moving forward with any other diplomatic solutions. >> in response to a series of

requests, many of which are about nato and ukraine, the u.s. administration is focused on mutual concessions on arms control, on revisiting the intermediate nuclear forces treaty, and on restricting exercises in eastern europe. will that be enough? >> the short answer is no. i think that the issue of inf forces in europe is certainly something that russia would want to address and resolve. i think that russia is also interested in caps on troops in its vicinity, on exercises by nato forces -- but most important issues for russia were membership or rather nonmembership of ukrain in nato and the non-expansion of military infrastructure of nato, no strike weapons that can reach russi and europe, including in ukraine, and he

also mentioned a roadmap of nato's infrastructure to where it was in 1997. he calle dthose three key elements of the russian position. unless those were address in a manner that would be found acceptable by the russians, other things would not be pursued. >> many of those proposals are dead on arrival for the administration. do you believe will be enough of this administration to propose things like arms control, and exercises to respond to and try to defuse this crisis? >> i think it is great to put those things out there but it depends on how adamant the russians are on this. if they are going to continue to insist that nato has to pull back to pre-1997 orders, that is ridiculous. that is not going to happen because washington and the rest of nato are never going to

treat, for example, berlin and paris and london better than you treat warsaw and bucharest and that is what the russians are asking and that is an absolute nonstarter. the deputy secretary was very clear on that today. >> deborah kagan is not the only one who calls these ideas ridiculous or nonstarter's. do you believe that they are designed to be rejected and become the prelude for war or some kind of permanent russian presence on ukraine's border? >> in my judgment the third condition that the russians putting forth are either the rollback of nato's military installations that have been built in the territories of the new nato states, that this is rather less important for russia than the two other issues raised by them. this could be an area where russia potentially could give,

should see progress on the truly important issues, non-inspection of -- non expansion of nato >> the u.s. and nato are not able to provide any solid -- to russia. do you believe that these russian demands are an excuse to go to war? >> i do not say it is an excuse to go to war. i think the russians know these are going to be denied. i think the russians tried to split some of the older members of nato from some of the newer members and that is to be expected. but i do not think that this is, the russians need an excuse to further invade ukraine. that might be a misnomer. >> just quickly in 30 seconds that we have left, the proposal there, that deborah kagan lays out would take time to

negotiate. does moscow have that patience? >> moscow insists on moving ahead swiftly. but the important thing is that moscow's agenda needs to be at the core of the negotiations, and that i think is nonnegotiable . unless those issues are addressed other things will not get the attention they need. >> do you see that at thecore of the agenda? >> that is part of what moscow is hoping to get but i want to point out one quick fact here. there is about 60,000 u.s. forces in all of europe. and only about 6000 of those are deployed east of berlin, for example. and of those about 4000 are in poland. so, if youant to talk about exercising, nato does not do 100,000 person exercises. they are not going to do it in the future. and so, it's sometimes

ridiculous to say we have 100,000 troops and is just an exercise. so i just want to point out that i think this shows how ridiculous some of the russians positions are because the numbers do not match up at all. >> thank you very much. >> you are welcome. ♪ judy: we spent much of last week trying to examine what still divides our country and the deep polarization that preceded the january 6th riots last year. tonight, paul solman looks at multiple efforts to bridge those major political and cultural divides in the u.s. beginning with smaller steps foward. >> polarization in america. the data are unreal. according to a poll just out, a projected 25 million american adults think force is at least somewhat justified to restore

donald trump to the presidency. in a poll before the last election, 18% of democrats approved of violence if their candidate lost. and 15% of republicans and 20% of democrats agreed that the country would be better off if large numbers of the opposing party "just died." >> we are in a crisis. >> psychologist peter coleman runs columbia university's center for cooperation and conflict resolution. so how bad is polarization in america, peter, compared to the past? >> it's bad, i mean, jon meacham, the historian, has compared today as being similar to where america was in the 1850's right before the u.s. civil war. >> colemans rx is detailed in a recent book, the way out which begins with a fatal 1994 shooting rampage at two abortion in the wake of that tragedy, activists on both sides of the

issue agreed to meet. pro-life barbara thorp's image of the pro-choice activists? >> hard and harsh and angry. >> pro-choice episcopal priest anne fowler's image of pro-life advocates? rev. anne fowler: [00:35:41] not not and says peter coleman >> they still remain opposed to one another on the issue of abortion, on proife, pro-choice, but they deloped affection for one another in relationships that were thick and ultimately, they changed the probabilities around violence in america on this issue. >> no changed minds, however does that in some see mean the experience was a net negative? >> no, net positive. it was one of the best, hardest and best things i've ever done. it changed me. i mean, it changed all of us irrevocably.

>> they have been friends for 28 years. >> we at my center study deeply divided societies that at some point stop and pot and choose to change course. >> and pivoting ny americans now are, through a host of brging efforts. >> there are 7000 organizations and individuals that we have put on a map. >> princeton's nealin parker tracks efforts to come together. >> but if you're asking the question of how many people across the country are interested in participating in bridging organizations, that is just the tip of the iceberg. >> organizations like resetting the table, braver angels, the greater good science center, which recorded this encounter. liberal isaac was shown conservative christians bio. >> trump supporters, i mean, it's just, there's no way around it, like they're mentally deranged. you're not right in the head. >> because i like trump right away he says i'm mentally deranged. he don't know me, you

know what i'm saying? that's wrong, you know.// that's prejudice to me. >> but they then learned that each had experienced great loss. christin's sister died when she was 16; aunt and grandparents who raised her died in quick succession. isaac lost his mother, his grandfather, his cat. >> kitters, my cat, i found her headless carcass on the road. she got run over by a car and like it was just too much >> by the te they met in person >> this is isaac. >> hi, i'm mentally deranged. >> political differences were becoming a humorous footnote. >> you and i see certain things similar. you and i have had similar experiences with loss. this experience we're sharing is going to color my interactions going forward with other people. >> because you never know what someone might be going through in their life or what's, you know, the problems they have. so just don't be quick to get angry.

in 2016, amina amdeen attended an anti-trump rally in texas counter-protestor joseph weidnecht wore a maga hat. they came to storycorps to remember the moment. >> and i noticed you were surrounded by some people and i noticed they were being kind of threatening. and then somebody snatched the hat off your head. and that's the point where isomething kind ofnapped inside me, because i wear a muslim hijab and i've been in situations where people tried to snatch it off my head. >> wow. i don't think we could be any further apart as people and yet it w just kinda of like this common 'that's not okay moment'' you are genuinely the only muslim person i know.” >> it's hard to hate up close. >> dave isay created storycorps. and his experience there has taught him people like to get up close. >> there's an organization called more in common that talks about the exhausted majority. and that's 93 percent of the

country. 93% of the country are exhausted by the divides and want to find a way out. >> and even congress has several bridging efforts, including the devoutly bi-partisan veterans caucus: "for country.” >> veterans get things done and that's what they learn in the service. and they set aside personal differences and political differences and they dig the foxhole. >> conservative texas republican van taylor, who served in iraq, virginia democrat elaine luria. >> commanding officer, businesswoman, mom. >> there's rules within the caucus that say 75% of the members of the caucus have to agree on this for the caucus to endorse it. and so that requires working together, coming to the table, making trade offs. >> finally, an effort i' worked on: the american exchange project, [photo 26. coleman aep uscreen shot 3 kids hugging, hanging out] a domestic foreign exchange program for high school seniors,, based on the underlying principle of coming together, overcoming stereotypes. >> there's definitely a stereotype, you know, about the south being poor and uneducated

>> sam bueker was a high school senior in wellesley, massachusetts; leticia vallejo, in kilgore, texas. when she first met kids like sam online >> they were more privileged than us. like you could tell by their education and everything like the way they talked. i was scared that since i didn't have that education or anything like we were more underprivileged. >> for two years, in online hangouts featuring everything from push-up contests to sibling squat challenges debates over the confederate flag to [photo "is a hot dog a sandwich?, high schoolers north and south have connected and, this july, hit the road to see each other's america. >> i'm about to go on this t train station for the first time. >> for allonah allsworth, from lake charles, louisiana, her very first trip away from homeor -- from home or on a subway. but back to "the way out” author for the key question. what are the odds that america is going to actually achieve anything like reconciliation and bridging any time soon? >> the odds are good, but the

work is hard. there are not simple fixes to this. we're going to have to recognize, like addiction that this is a long term problem that has been gaining steam for decades. but we can do it. and i think the urgency, certainly violence that we see on the streets is something that will motivate us. >> and as they said goodbye after two weeks, the kids in the american exchange project at least had taken the first small step. >> end of blog. >> they'd made friends, and recorded it in a blog to share back home. for the pbs newshour, paul solman ♪ judy: senators returned to work in washington today- as democrats' launch their most concerted push on voting rights yet. lisa desjardins is here with the latest on where legislation stands, and what comes next.

hello. will move democrats are pushing two the legislation as president biden and vice president harris get ready to go to atlanta. but walk us through what is in those two pieces of legislation. lisa: judy, many of our viewers know the constitution states that states run elections, but congress has the power to pass rules governing the elections of numbers of congress. these are two bills dealing with that p the first is the broader one. this what is called the freedom to vote acts. this one -- would set national rules for how our elections should work. the federal elections. th would ban gerrymandering for congressional seats and states would have to offer a vote by mail or two weeks of early voting. states would be able to require for -- photo id to vote. but they would have to accept utility bills. this would also include an

expansion of registration automatic registration at dmv for example. there is a lot more in the bill but think of it is something that had national standards for these kind of big ticket items for how and when you can go to the polls. the other bill, which is called the john lewis voting rights accountability act is more narrow. it is focused instead on presenting discrimination at the polls. one of the main cruxes of this bill is to restore preclearance of states. if they have shown a past history and a record of discrimination many of our viewers remember this is something that was part of our voting rights law. the supreme court in 2013 overturned the idea of preclearance andaid congress has to decide to put that in place. that is what the bill would do. judy: that is what the democrats want. but the democrats have blocked a

vote so far on either one of these. explain to us what their arguments are and what are the democrats trying to do next? lisa: this isn't entirely partisan. lisa murkowski, the senator from alaska, does support the john lewis voting rights act, but lonely that one. let's talk about what other republicans who oppose both bills say. mitch mcconnell, the senate leader today, took to the floor and he read this. historically the sun has taken up elections legislation on a careful, bipartisan basis. we've made sure not to trample on the rights of voters and the proper roles of local officials. he is saying -- this goes too far, a federal takeover of elections. democrats pushed back and say, listen, gerrymandering has benefited republicans. the washington post did a survey since 2011 by far gerrymandered

districts have benefited republicans politically. now, there is of course some historic elements here, including the civil war. and laws against discrimination that went in place with the civil rights act in the 1950's. democrats want to return to and some republicans don't. judy: meantime some republicans have come forward with another issue. they want to look at. talking about about legislation and that has to do with the electoral college. tell us about that. lisa: this is connected but it is important to know, this is called the electoral -- act. it is important to know it is very specific. it is specific to even january 6th. and the confusion over that day, the confusion over the certification of our presidential election. for example, vice president mike pence his role under current law, is not clear. it is open to interpretation.some say he may

have some power in the senate er this. others say, no, he does not have any power over deciding the electoral process here. what's going on is that republicans say we are willing to talk about clearing up this messy law from 1876, another messy time. democrats say, wait a minute we also want to clarify how it goes. we think there is a problem, too, but we don't think that should take the place of the voting rights legislation which we think addresses a much larger problem of suppression. they would like to do both. right now they are not going to take the electoral account changes until they get more in the voting rights act. we'll talk more about that this week. judy: we are going to spend a good bit of time looking at the effort to do something about voter access and voting rights. thank you. for more on the political stakes of voting rights, it is time for

politics with tamara keith of monday npr. and lisa lerer of thnew york times. amy walter is away. let's pick up where we left off with lisa's reporting. and this we are going to see a push this week. we know president biden and vice president harris headed to atlanta tomorrow to speak about of voting rights. tell us what has prompted this push right now by the president. >> the white house has said the president two top priorities are building the build -- are passing the build back better act and getting voting rights legislation through. the anniversary of january 6, there was a lot more discussion around voting rights. and around what happened on that day. including what the former president said and has continued to say, he's fighting with republican senator today about whether the election was stolen

or not. the republican senator is speaking the truth. saying that the election wasn't stolen. and yet, former president trump continues to claim the election was stolen from him. and that big lie is the basis of a lot of local and state legislation around voting. that democrats are really concerned about. they see it as existential. judy: and to lisa lehrer now. is this something that is seen to have real prospects of changing minds? we know the president, they will be speaking tomorrow in atlanta but what is -- does the landscape look like? >> the reality is the same reality it has been for the past year is what democrats -- every single one of their members -- they need them to get something through on voting rights. as leeson mentioned, there is only one republican showing any

inclination to support either one of these bills. what would need to happen for either of these proposals to become law would be a changing of the filibuster rules and we have no indication as of yet that the people that these issues always seem to come down to these days, joe manchin, kyrsten sinema have any will to do that. so, some of what is happening is a beautiful contrast -- is a political contrast the white house is trying to draw. the president much -- spent much of the first year trying to hold back some of their harshest criticisms and now is the country is starting to move a little bit towards midterms, the white house is starting to think more about the midterms, you see biden and harris trying to draw that sharper contrast, to start framing up these midterm elections that will have in less than a year is a choice between their vision of the country and a republican vision of the country. so, i think part of this is sure, he was to get something

done on voting rights but i also think there is something goi on here about laying the early political arguments for the election. judy: when it comes to republicans, it is not as if they ever supported voting rights. there were certainly onboard in 1965, republican president has signed extensions of that law. what has changed in republican thinking? >> this, as you say, used to be bipartisan, passing voting rights legislation, renewing voting rights legislation was then the supreme court took out the legs of the voting rights act and it is now been years and years without congress being able to come together on this. in part because there is just are dramatically different perception of what the problem is and our polling the npr poll

indicates that republicans and democrats agree that democracy is threatened but they disagree about what the problem is. republicans think that voter fraud and democrats are out to steal the election. and democrats are concerned about erosions of the ability to exercise their right to vote. it's just, it's just an erosion of what used to be an -- an area of agreement and for many republicans, this has been a slow march with these bills passing. obviously, the big lie around the last election put gasoline on it but this was not a new thing. talking about voter integrity and so-called voter integrity. judy: to lisa, in terms of the purely political thinking on the part of democrats, is this

scene is an issue that could help them in the november midterms? >> i think a lot of democrats see this as an issue that could help them just in terms of having more access to voting for their voters. making sure that polling places have longer hours, that there is more drop boxes, the trend towards voting by mail continues and that is a piece of it. i do think it is also an issue that many democrats believe can motivate parts of the base. but i have to admit it is really hard to see given the times w are living in, the pandemic, concerns people have about inflation and their personal financial situation, that a huge groundswell of people, although they are concerned about the future of american democracy, it's hard to see that this huge groundswell casts ballots solely on this issue or sees it as a driving force for their vote, particularly as we drag into this this third year of the

pandemic. judy: i do want to ask you about paul's reporting in small efforts around the country to bring people together. i think i know the answer based on what you have just been talking about but what does it look like the prospects are that there will be some success in trying to get people to work together to see each other points of view? >> i actually saw a little bit of hope in the level at which people were engaged in local elections in this last cycle of elections. people were paying attention to school boards and city councils. and generally speaking, focusing on national politics is not going to be where we find as americans waste to come together. it's the small-scale stuff where there is some tiny piece of hope. things are grim. in terms of faith and

institutions. up and down. judy: lisa, do you have any brighter forecasts to share with us? >> i'm pretty dark. i'm with tam. i wish had more sunshine to offer but i have to tell you when i talk to historians to get their sense of is there an analogous period? they talk about things like the run up to the civil war, the tumult of the 1960's and the 1970's. no kumbayah moments. just him talking to voters and seeing where people get their information, who they talk to and what their communities look like, we are, it appears we are more divided than ever and the politicians and our political system have a real incentive to explode those -- t exploit those divides. judy: be that as it may, we can still applaud these efforts, the kinds of small efforts but

meaningful once that -- ones that paul solman was focused on. politics monday. thank you. >> you're welcome. ♪ judy: this past weekend, january 8th, marked the day, when, in 2011, a gunman opened fire at a political event in arizona. it was a moment that underscored both the dangerous divisions and the epidemic of gun violence in america. as part of our arts and culture series, canvas, stephanie sy visits a memorial in tucson that is part of a new and, tragic american art genre. cation. ng witmorial is steeped to healing coming into view as e

passes through the porco of the couuse aear ci ha the memorial to tucson's deadliest shooting sits in the heart of the city. that was intentional, saying the artist a professor at ucla who along with architect designed the memorial. >> it became clear that this was an attack on democracy. an attack on the very, the most important right that people have. >> meeting with a congressional representave. exercising your right to have a democratic process. >> it was during a meeting between then congresswoman gabrielle giffords of tucson and her constituents on january 8th, 2011, that a gunman opened fire, targeting giffords who was severely wounded. 18 others were shot and six victims died, ranging in age from 9 to 79. one year ago, on the tenth

anniversary of the shootings, the memorialas quietly dedicated. it was the height of the pandemic, so it received little attention it's called the embrace--two berms curve toward each other. the structure is, surrounded by desert blooms within six gardens, one for each of those killed. on the inner walls, punctures that conjure bullet holes at night, they look like constellationsggolden light illuminatesthe voidssome of the bullet holes are filled with modern-day petroglyphs. that symbolize the varied lives, values and ideals of each victim and survivor. the "embrace” honors the victims of a modern-day mass shooting, but it also subtly and symbolically references the way guns have shaped the region's history, especially for the indigenous tribes who consider this their ancestral land. >> it affected all of us that live in the area.

>> bernard siquieros is a member of the tohono o'odham tribe, whose people have lived in this cactus-strewn desert for more than ten thousand years. a former tribal arts educator, the memorial's designers sought his input during their research. >> to incorporate that and that kind of memorial, i think, is very honoring and apprriate. >> petroglyphs, he says, were traditionally used to record events before written language existed among tribes here. >> those symbols will continue to tell that story so that people don't forget. modern times when you have written language and video. using those symbols will continue to tell that story so that people don't forget >> i was only in the hospital 24 hours at >> many cannot forget. >> january 8th in tucson is beautiful.

>> mary reed remembers the day of the shootings in stark detail. >> we heard what sounded like fireworks suddenly i got a sting in my arm and my body started moving. no thoughti picked up emma and i threw her against the wall and i just covered her with my body and then the screaming started. >> emma is her daughter then 17. >> you could hear gunshots then very clearly and a man. walking towards us. >> he was deliberately aiming for emma? >> and that got my ire up and i, without letting her up, turned around to look him in the face because i thought, you're going to shoot me another time, you better be looking me in the eye. >> mary reed's most evocative petroglyph? a mama bear and her cub.

>> mary's story. there's nothing more courageous, right? >> reed has described the memorial as "playful." visitors can make rubbings on the petroglyphs, bringing a piece of the memorial home. twin reflecting pools overflow with water that caresses the names of victims as though with falling tears. every detail researched, sketched and sometimes, says artist rebeca mendez, disputed. she had wanted the memorial to take a more overt stance against guns. >> [00:11:11]this country has an epidemic, it's a disease of gun violence. //[00:12:01] my -- my personal statement would've been stronger. at the same time, when you are doing public art, you really are intertwining yourself with the community and there is a give and take. >> it is a conversation other communities in the process of building tributes to victims of mass shootings are having artist renderings show plans for memorials in newtown and

orlandocompleted mass shooting memorials include columbine, el paso and aurora. the memorial in tucson seen from above shows an abstraction of the figure "8”--for january 8thand in the artist's eye another symbol the idea of january eight, if you think of the mobius is the number eight sideways. in your walking, meditating, in a sense, you could create that mobius. and it really is the idea of continuity. we will prevail as a civilization. that is my hope. >> "the embrace” tells a somber story, repeated so many times in this country that memorials to mass shooting victims have become their own american artform. for the pbs newshour, i'm stephanie sy in tucson, arizona. judy: so hard to accept that gu

violence is so commonn in this country. and that is the newshour for tonight. for all of us at the pbs newshour, stay safe and we'll see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- >> volunteer, topiary artist, a raymond james financial advisor, taylor's advice to help you live your life. life well planned. >> for 25 years, consumer cellular's goal has been to provide wireless service that helps people connect. we offer a variety of no contract plans and our customer service team can help find one if it's you. visit consumer cellular.tv. >> johnson & johnson. bnsf railway. the kendeda fund, committed to advancing meaningful work

through investments in transformative leaders and ideas. ♪ >> supported by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation, committed to building a more just and peaceful world. more information at macfound.org. and with the ongoing support of these institutions. this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >>

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -today on "america's test kitchen," bridget makes julia the perfect turkey-thigh confit with citrus mustard sauce. jack challenges julia and bridget to a head-to-head tasting of cranberry sauce. and becky makes bridget updated skillet rkey burgers. it's all coming up right here on "america's test kitchen."