♪ judy: good evening. on the newshour tonight, the invasion intensifies. missile strike a western ukrainian city that until now has been a safe haven while ukraine's president says russia's major military offensive in east has become. masking mandate. a federal judge overturned a national requirement that passengers wear face coverings on public transportation. and a critical shortage. medical ethics questions arise as foreign-born nurses increasingly fill the staffing gaps in american hospitals. >> the world health organization has been very concerned about countries that are essentially using tax payer money from those

countries to fund our health workforce. judy: all that and more on tonight's "pbs newshour." ♪ >> major funding for the "pbs newshour" has been provided by -- >> it's 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 investing strategies, planning focused on tomorrow while you focus on today. that is the planning effect from fidelity. >> the roles of business are being reinvented with a more flux of a workforce. embracing innovation, by

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broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. pres. biden: ukraine's president of said tonight he the expected new phase of russia's war on his nation appears to have begun. if you ukraine is being targeted with airstrikes and heavy shelling. as moscow moves in more troops to press its campaign in the region. the city of mariupol in the southeast continues to hold out against a punishing russian assault. there's almost completely leveled the city. maintain, russian missiles claims their first victims in the far western city of lviv. john: the people of largely spared lviv awoke to an unfamiliar sight -- black smoke filling the sky, craters blown in the earth. ukrainian officials say several missiles killed at least seven

people, the war's first known deaths in lviv >> i think it is not safe anywhere in ukraine. i hope it will be over soon. when the missiles hit today i woke up today because of the explosions. i was worried for people. john: the city has been a way station for supplies and civilians fleeing war to the east, but russia sent a message with this strike said -- who fled from donesk. >> when there is a war against an insidious enemy going on, there are no safe havens in ukraine. missiles are sent from all over. john: in eastern ukraine, kharkiv has been under deadly bombardment heard a woman grieves her father, another victim. ssia said at also launched mass overnight strikes on hundreds of military targets across ukraine. but a senior u.s. defense official said today russian forces continue to reinforce the east and south and are still

moving into the donbas region as they attempt to close in on the capture of mariupol. after seven weeks of siege, the city is in ruins, facing the risk of full russian control. battered streets are now littered with the dead. now a common sight for the more than 100,000 civilians still trapped. >> we came back to get our stuff. we left wearing just winter clothing and do not have anything else. john: they are taking anything they can from their home, now smashed and burned. they don't know where to go but are desperately trying to flee. last weekend, moscow claim its forces were close to seizing the city and asked ukrainian troops to lay down their arms, but there were no signs of surrender. this iron and steel works plant to the east of mariupol is one of the last pockets of ukrainian defense. >> russian forces are destroying mariupol. they want to wipe off the face of the earth other places in other cities. we are doing everything to

ensure difference. john: ukrainian president letter mayor zelenskyy appealed to world leaders for more weapons and new sanctions. but today russia's president vladimir putin his nation's economy was invincible. >> we can now confidently say that such policy of sanctions towards russia has failed. john: the central bank chief gave a negative assessment and said that sanctions will now begin to increasingly affect the real sectors of the economy. in the north, russian troops have left a deadly legacy of their retreat, these emergency workers are removing explosive devices from the ground to prevent further harm. outside the city, only the skeleton of thisommunity remains. charred military vehicle show evidence of a hasty russian retreat. and those who live there are left to pick up the pieces. i'm john yang.

war, we turn to a retired lieutenant general. he had a 35 year career in the army and served on the national secure to counsel staff during both the george w. bush and the obama administration is. he was also u.s. ambassador to nato under president obama. and -- cofounder of the silverado policy accelerator, a think tank. welcome back to the newshour. let me begin with you. this statement we are hearing late today that president zelenskyy is saying the battle for the east has begun, that russia, it's now underway. what is the significance of that? >> the ukrainians have been expecting this assault in the donbas region ever since the russians withdrew from kyiv in the northern parts of ukraine. now they are spiked the forces to be resupplied in the east. that is exactly we we have seen. u.s. intelligence is reporting that 76 technical groups of the

russian military are in the east and the south. what we are seeing is a massive artillery bombardment of the ukrainian positions in donbas preparing for the assault that is coming in the coming hours. judy: doug lute, given that that is underway, what position are the ukrainians in to fight back? doug: judy, while this 300 mile front of the russian attack is more narrow than the attack two months ago. so they have more concentrated their forces. 300 mile front is still an enormously large and vulnerable front. while the russians have massed forces there, this is the same russian army that was defeated in and around kyiv. you cannot change the quality of the russian army in these last few weeks. and while they are repositioning, you could be sure that president zelenskyy's army is also repositioning and what we can expect is continued ukrainian attacks against the

vulnerable russian supply lines. a bit fof a replay kyiv of the concept we saw north of kyiv. judy: just quickly, back to you. the russians, are they expecting the ukrainians to put up a fierce fight in the east? >> no doubt, they are expecting a. in fact ukrainians are in entrenched positions. they have been fighting in that region since 20 14. a lot of for fortifications there. this will not be an easy fight and the russians are expecting 70000 and perhaps more ukrainian forces to be fighting their assault there. judy: let me turn you back to what we have been talking about for several days and that is the city of mariupol which the russians have all but ped off the map by all accous, by their attacks on the city. we understand there is, just a small hold out of ukrainian troops in that city. what does it look like right now? >> it looks like the reports are probably correct, that the russians have siezed mariupol.

but i draw a distinction between siezing and controller. i think the russians are in for a protracted fight in and around mariupol as they try to resupply their forces that are now inside the city. so the ukrainians have not surrendered. they will shift to a new form of defense, which is a defense featuring attacks on the russian supply lines and sniping on the russian forces inside the city. judy: meaning, how long can they hold out? >> i think indefinitely. look, the ukrainians are fighting for their homeland. they have got every reason to continue to resist and with leadership coming out of president zelenskyy, i think that is exec with we should expect. judy: why are the russians so determined to try, to do everything they can to capture mariupol? we have been hearing about the land bridge they want. explain the significance of that. >> mariupol is very important to

them for two reasons. one is the importance of the city to ukraine itself. it is one of the major port cities that they have, the other being odessa, critical to the economy and their ability to export goods and services before this assault there was a major industrial city. now it has been mostly destroyed. and to the russians, it is important because it stands in the way of the corridor they are trying to create, the land bridge between the donbas region they control, down to crimea. crimea is isolated from russia and connected only through bridge the russians built in the last for years. if that bridge gets blown up, they cannot resupply that peninsula. that land bridge to crimea becomes important to them and they have to hold mariupol to have the bridge. judy: what would you add to that? what does it mean to the russians' ability to try to make headway, to have that land corridor? >> i think, as demetri said,

it's very significant because it connects mainland pressure to the crimean peninsula which was seized illegally in 2014. it gives the russians potential to move from crimea west to the other big port city odessa and all the way towards moldova. there is a potential to regain momentum in the south. judy: to regain momentum, but i hear both of you saying that the ukrainians are not ready to give up any time soon. >> exactly right. judy: demetri, let me come back to on something else you have been talking to our producer about today and that is reports from russia that there is now an open acknowledgment that their troops are exhausted. and that there is word they may be looking at some sort of national military mobilization. what are you hearing about

that? >> the key problems the russians are facing is while they still have a lot of equipment despite -- they've a lot of armor and a lot of planes and a lot of ammo they can bring to this fight, they do not have a lot of troops left. a lot of troops have been killed and wounded in ukraine. the strength of various battalion tactical units has been degraded substantially. they need a lot more manpower. ukrainians have a lot of man problem, because they mobilized everyone ove18 and below 60 but they do not have a lot of ammo. they are asking the west for weapons to help. but for the russians to continue to fight beyond the donbas will be very tough fight. and it is an open question whether they can seize that. but the idea they can go on to odessa and go back to kyiv is not possible without a nationwide mobilization, without being able to bring new troops, hundreds of thousands to millions of troops that they can only get soon and nationwide mobilization of their country and the economy, for total war.

there are calls on russian television, asking vladimir putin to put the country on that war footing. russia not even calling this a war yet. calling it a special military operation. but that is what would be required for them to prosecute this war on a much larger scale. it is not clear if putin is ready to do that. judy: a quick follow-up. that would take time, what not to have the troops called up, to train them and not to mention to get them into position? >> this would not be a quick operation. you are right. one problem with mobilizing people is if they are not trained and they never held a weapon before it will take time before they can be useful to this fight. so, this is something that they are preparing the population on russian media to tell them this will be a long fight. it is not going to end on may 9 as putin wishes. e hring and acknowledging that the punter going that -- at the pentagon that there is not

an endless supply of weapons that the u.s. and nato have been supplyinukraine. how much of an issue is that? >> it's beginning to be significant. we have sent thousands of these javelin antitank systems and thousands of stinger air defense systems to the ukrainians and the ukraine is are fighting bravely. it is having a big impact but they are also having a big impact on our supply levels. these systems are not easily replenished. it will take years to replenish the stocks back to their prewar state. judy: that is something i know we will continue to be looking at and reporting unpaired for now, thank you so much to both of you. thank you. ♪ judy: i n the days other news, a federal judge in florida struck

down a covid mask mandate for planes, buses and trains. and she imposed a nationwide injunction. the judge ruled the mandate exceeds the cdc's authority. a biden administration official said late today that its agencies are reviewing the decision but the tsa will not enforce the mask mandate at this time. we'll return to this after the new summary. also, today, philadelphia became the first major u.s. city to reimpose a mask mandate for indoor public spaces. in china, shanghai reported three deaths, the first to be officially announced in the city's recent outbreak. it came as shanghai entered its third week of lockdowns and is mandatory testing continues. middle, chinese officials acknowledge the outbreak is hurting the economy. >> it is worth noting that since march, the world situation has

become more complex. domestically, the covid-19 epidemic continue to impact the economy. some factors exceeded our expectations and that is why some major indicators pointed to slower growth. judy: the first quarter of this year, china's economy grew at an annual rate of 4.8%. that is well below the government's target. israeli forces intercepted a rocket fired from gaza, marking a new escalation after days of growing violence. hours earlier, israeli troops shot and wounded two palestinians in a village in the occupied west bank. the israelis said the soldiers fired when palestinians threw rocks and expose of devices. police in columbia, south carolina, arrested a second person today in saturday shootout that wounded nine people at a shopping mall. a separate incident in south carolina wounded nine more people early sunday. a man hunt continues in

pittsburgh after two people were killed and eight wounded at a house party shooting on saturday. migrant crossings across the u.s. southern border have hit the highest level in two decades. 221,000n march across, up 34% from february. meanwhile, republicans and some democrats are urging president biden not to lift pandemic era asylum restrictions, but the white house called for congress to step up. >> there is no question we have a broken immigration system. there is more we need to do. we have been saying that from the first day the president took office. and anyone who wants to work on that, democrats, republicans, anyone how we can put smarter security in place, how we can have an asylum processing system that works, we would love to do that. judy: for now the asylum restrictions are due to lapse may 23.

notice to all those who waited to the last minute. this is deadline day for filing federal tax returns. the internal revenue service expected tens of millions of last-minute filings on top of the agency's biggest backlog ever. the irs blames insufficient staffing in part, its workforce has not increased in size since 1970. today also marked the first springtime running of the boston marathon since 2019. officials canceled it in 2020 an d staged it in the fall of last year due to covid-19. today an olympic champion of kenya won the women's title, marking 50 years of women competing. and -- also of kenya took home first place for the men. unease about interest rates and inflation kept stocks and check. the dow jones industrial average lost 39 point to close 34,411.

the nasdaq fell 18 points. and the white house easter egg roll is back after a two-year pandemic hiatus. on a cool and rainy south lawn, the president and misses biden welcomed 30,000 children and adult. the tradition dates back to 1878. still to come, why the biden admistration is reopening federal lands to drilling. we break down the latest political news. a new poetry anthology addresses how the vaccine has changed lives during the global pandemic. plus, much more. ♪ >> this is pbs newshour. from weta studios in washington and from our bureau at the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. judy: the question of masking on

public transportation hit a snag today. we have more under federal judge's ruling to overturn the cdc's national mask mandate. >> for a closer look at what this means for travelers and for the cdc's authority, we turn to lawrence golson, professor of global health law at georgetown university and has written several books. great to have you back on newshour. the judge in her ruling in this case noted that masks can stop the spread of viruses but she said the cdc's authority in this matter, that it overstepped its authority. what do you make of her argument? >> thanks for having me, william. the, her argument makes very little sense to me. there are certainly areas where cdc's powers are questionable like the housing eviction

moratorium the supreme court struck down, but it is hard for me to think of a more classic case where the cdc is well within its legal and constitutional powers than at airports, preventing the interstate or the international transmission of a dangerous infectious disease. i would say cdc is actually at the very height of its legal powers and if it cannot do this, i am not sure what it could do to protect the public health. >> as we reported, the cdc said now given this ruling the tsa and other agencies are not going to enforce this ruling anymore. of course, people want to wear masks can still do that. but on a public health level, the cdc had been debating whether or not to drop this requirement anyway, before this ruling. we know that cases are ticking back up somewhat. what is your sense as to how

much this really will matter as far as keeping people safe? >> let's first talk about the current situation. we've got over the next couple of days tens of thousands of passengers going to airports and there's chaos and there is confusion. the airlines don't know what to do. the airline staff don't know what to do. there is likely to be even more verbal and physical, verbal and physical violence. that's really concerning. i think there is a legitimate conversation about whether or not we should have masks on plan es, but the cdc said it needed another 15 days. that is not a lot -- to evaluate whher the current spike in cases was going to lead to a spike in hospitalizations and deaths, as occurred in the u.k. that is a very reasonable and

prudent decision to take and i cannot imagine why a federal judge would strike it down until the cdc had all of the facts and could make its decision on the basis of science. >> when we were talking earlier, you were concerned about the longer-term impact this might have on the cdc's ability to protect the public. can you explain what troubles you here? >> it does. throughout this pandemic, virtually every federal order declared covid-19 has been at one time or another blocked or struck down by the federal courts. we've become really partisan and the courts h ave participated in this covid culture war where we're sniping at one another rather than letting public health agencies do their work. i know a lot of people think that the pandemic has come to a close. i don't think it is but we are

certainly coming into a different phase. but i really worry about the future. do we really want to handcuffe public health agencies for the protecting the public when the next health emergency hits? and it almost certainly will h hit. we need vibrant, strong public health action. >> so, if people are watching this news and thinking, ok, mask, don't mask. schools say yes, some school say no. for a concerned citizen, what guidance would you give them? >> you know, the guidance i would give them, and it is mething that actually saddens me because i've always seen public health as a population-based decision by public health scientists, but now we are kind of in a situation where individuals are going to have to protect themselves, particularly if they are vulnerable, if they are elderly, immune compromise, if

you are child and unable to be vaccinated. you may need to wear high quality n95 or kn95 masks to protect yourself because it is very clear a large swath of american public policy has moved on. covid -- is still here, and is going to be here for a long time. i hope we can come together as a nation, listen to science, trust our public health agencies and let them guide us. >> always good to see you. thank you. >> thanks, william. ♪ judy: the biden administration is forging ahead with its plan to sell new leases for oil and gas illing on federal land. the move comes as president

biden seeks new ways to lower gas prices. but some environmental groups say he is breaking his campaign promise to end the nation's dependence on fossil fuels. stephanie tsai has this report. >> these are the first fossil fuel leases to be offered on public lands since biden took office. they cover 145,000 acres of government land across nine states and the interior department will raise the rate oil and gas companies pay the federal government from 12.5% to 18.75%. joining us to discuss the implications, coral davenport, who covers energy for the new york times. thank you for joing the newshour. nationwide oil and gas extraction, how much is 145,000 acres, could increase oil and gas production and could it shift the u.s. away from its goals to lower carbon emissions?

>> in the grand sing with -- grand scheme of things, 144,000 acres is a small portion of the many hundreds and hundreds of thousands of acres that the u.s. already has opened for drilling on public lands. it is a very small portion. it's not expected to make a difference in overall u.s. gasoline production or the price of gasoline. that said, one thing scientists are telling us right now about carbon emissions is that with the amount of carbon emissions now in the atmosphere and the rate of global warming we are experiencing, global economies really need to put the brakes right now on any new oil, gas and coal production if we want to avoid the most severe impacts of climate catastrophe. >> we know that joe biden promised not to lease federal lands out for oil and gas drilling, when he was on the

campaign trail in 2020. how is his administration justifying what appears to be policy reversal, especially for those who voted for him based on his climate change promises? >> that was one of the presidents, candidate biden's signature promises -- he said especially, if i'm elected, there will be no new drilling. no new public leasing and drilling or leasing on public lands. he said that very clearly in public forums. soon after biden came into office, he announced publicly that there would be a pause on all new oil and gas leasing on public lands. soon after that a federal judge put a halt to that, called an injunction and said that -- that pause was n ot legal. what the administration is saying is, look, we are compeld to comply with this federal injunction. this is not in keeping with what we want to do, but we have to go ahead and hold these leaave en .

be e caus the other hand, activiste saying, look, there are plenty of ways the administration can make a case, could use the environmental impacts of this leasing to go to court and say, no, this really is not in keeping with what we need to do. eczema are furious. they are saying this is a violation of that promise. -- activists are furious. any ministry should does not need to go ahead with these leases despite the legal injunction. >> you said this is not likely to have any impact on people, especially working-class people and people with lower incomes that are facing extremely high gas prices. as gas prices spike biden pointed the finger at the industry for sitting on thousands of already approved leases. now he's opening up more leases and expecting the industry to pay more to the federal government to do that. i wonder how is the industry responding. >> the industry is unhappy with

this. the increas in rates the industry would have to pay in keing with this decision, is huge. right now industry pays 12.5% on their revenues for drilling on public lands. in opening up these leases, the administration is raising that to 18.75%. that could easily amounts to tens of billions more dollars in revenue. the industry is furious but that is the first increase in those royalty rates that the oil industry has had to face in over ntury. they are very unhappy about it.e lot of tax payer advocacy groups say, look, the oil industry has really been getting a really easy ride. they have been paying these royalty rates that were set in place over 100 years ago. they have not had an increase in what they had to pay since the 1920's. this increase in what they have to pay is overdue.

the companies are quite unhappy. >> so many players in this policy change. coral davenport covers energy and environmental policy for the new york times. thank you for joining the newshour. >> thank you. ♪ judy: the demand for nurses has reached an historic high. already short supply significantly worsened during the pandemic. that has driven the recruitment of foreign trained nurses to record levels. our correspondent traveled to north dakota to see the challenges both hospitals and nurses are facing. >> it's a long way to just about anywhere, even a ranch across the rolling prairies of western north dakota where cows far outnumber people. the nearest town of elgin, has

no stoplights or fast food joints but to people's relief, it does have a small hospital. >> our population is mainly older. >> we met charlie and enid at the sippin chicken coffee shop. >> when need to get to the doctor quickly, it's really good to have this facility here. >> we are 70 miles from bismarck, which is a long drive. if you had a heart attack, you would not last. >> staff members in the last month. we're always -- she's from the philippines. she will be the night charge nurse. >> at the jacobson memorial hospital, teddy warner is a rarity. she was born and raised in this area. most of the 10 to 12 nurses working here come through a revolving door. temporary travel nurses from across the u.s. and foreign ones

on longer contracts. >> we had a group of filipinos, also a group of kenyans. they become core staff. you get to know them very well. >> i'm a nurse tt wants to meet you. hi. >> where were you before? >> philippines. >> where? >> philippines. in my country. >> philippines? >> we're seeing tens of thousands of filipino nurses coming to the united states. >> george washington universy professor patricia pittman says that the u.s. has long recruited nurses from that country where colonial ties helped created american model of nursing education. pittman says the u.s. was facing a shortage before the pandemic due to an aging workforce and paradoxically good economic times when many nurses quit if their spouses are gainfully employed. covid she says rapidly escalated

the exodus. >> everything from the first period when there was not enough ppe, and they felt betrayed by employers are not protecting them to issues around having to take care of their families as a female dominated. to the. exhaustion. >> the pandemic delayed rose's arrival. she was off the job in 2016 but visa processing, already backlogged, was pushed back further. with years of experience, the 35-year-old expects to adapt quickly to the american system but she did admit to one here early on. >> this is the first time i will be handling people from this country. and i don't know if they will accept me because of my skin

color. but based on my experience,, since i came, i do not feel any of that. >> yes, you do. you are so pretty. >> she said she found people welcoming and helpful. and she could make the adjustment to life here. >> at the moment, i do not have a car. once i get there, problem solved. >> until you start driving in the wintertime. north dakota's cold weather is one reason why most for nurses don't renew past three or obligation. isolation is another. in dickinson, 80 miles northwest of elgin, this nurse and his wife arrived viaexhausted from , unsure about the blast of cold air that greeted them. >> nice to meet you. >> his employer, the 88 bed st

luke's offered a warm welcome on a busy first full day in dickinson. >> finger prints, apartment shopping. we're ready for this. >> i'm waited for it for a long time. >> he had waited four years for his visa to clear. the ceo played tour guide for the day, as he got single printed. -- fingerprinted. and they critically got to meet colleagues, six of the seven nurses on staff. >> he has a young daughter. so, if we can have any employee with their family you're less likely to be lonely, you're more likely to be social and out at about versus if your family is across the world. so, just having an adequate

sized filipino population in our time is a good asset and resource for them. >> one question raised in the story concerns the ethics of rich countries ling away the best tents of poor one. whether the philippines or india, especially sub-saharan african that do not graduate a lot of nurses and desperately need their services. >> the world health organization has been concerned about poaching you are using taxpayer money from those countries to fund our health workforce. i would say at the policy level, however, in terms of congress, there has been very little interest in this issue. >> did you always want to work in america? >> yes. it's a -- 13 years. um. dream for me. >> you have been dreaming about this for 13 years? >> since i passed my exams in the philippines. this has always been my dream.

>> they say nurses get little respect in the philippines, a complaint echoed among american nursing troops but back home it is rlected in pay whic he says is about one tenth of what they will earn a north dakota. >> my goal i s to give my son a better life. i think being here, favors him. >> you hear people sometimes say, it is not ethical for rich countries to take the best brains from poorer countries. have you given that any thought? >> i think for me i have spent 15 years in the philippines. i think, the service i gave is enough. i think maybe it is my time to give for myself to choose for a better life. >> how long that will be a north dakota remains to be seen. for more philippine nurses have been offered jobs at st. luke's and are awaiting visa approval.

in dickinson, north dakota. judy: a reminder, fred's reporting is in partnership with the under told stories project at the university of st. thomas in minnesota. ♪ it is shaping up to a busy week in politics as washington and the nation gear up for midterm races. >> ndorsements this week as the primary election season ramps up. meanwhile president biden will tap his climate, summons and honor of earth day, a move some hope could boost his slumping poll numbers. i am joined by our politics monday duo. amy walter and tamara keith of npr. let's dive right in.

tam, president biden has been talking about what his administration has bn doing on the climate front. he is up against a tightening energy market it is trying to act on that. on friday they announced they will start resuming oil and gas leases on federal lands. he took a lot of criticism on that from environmental groups. is this the president going back on his pledge? >> the white house would argue they are constrained by court rulings and other things that are out of their handsut this is not the way the president wod like to be moving forward on ts issue. but this is not the only way that they are running up into challenges. they also had a big environmental enchanter that was part of the build back better legislation that has completely installed out. and they've faced other court challenges in their efforts to do this through regulatory means. the white house tried to get out ahead of all of us. held a call today with reporters

where they insisted, no, there are many -- many paths to meet our goals. >> they say they will still hit them. >> they are insistent. but it almost seems like the insistence is stronger than the path. >> here is the thing. if you are a voter who backed biden because you wanted someone to act on the climate crisis but you really don't like paying more for gas because of the awr in ukraine, are you ok with this? >> so, there is a famous political saying, that you campaign in poetry and govern in prose. the other way to say it now as you campaign in poetry and you govern in reality. and the reality is gas is super expensive. and it is not just impacting you but is affecting the prices of everything. anything that needs to be transported or any trip you take on an airplane is an impacted by this.

it goes to the broader inflation bashes. -- message. it is not just you are talking about environmental goals. it is not just things like leasing. but he was at an event, was it, last week in iowa, saying this blended ethanol, which has higher pollution in the summer months, that's going to be ok. we will get a waiver for that. it should lower gas prices. releasing more gas from the strategic petroleum reserve. the reality is back in 2020, being able to do an energy policy that took us away from fossil fuels made a whole lot more sense. >> here is where we are right now in terms of the support. looking at a key demographic, younger voters for whom climate is a very important issue. if you take a look at that graphic, no group has soured more in his time in office than genz and millennials.

60% approval in january 2020 is down to 40%. a 20 point drop. is it just the economy? >> i sit in a lot of focus groups with these voters, and one woman said -- summed it up well. what got me to vote in 2020 had everything that was trump i was against. ed is hard to get me motivated when trump's not there. also, there are a lot of other problems. i'm worried about. everybody talks about inflation and talked about their worries, just everything from is covid going to come back, to what is going on in ukraine? so there is a sense of anxiousness and worry about what is coming next that is impacting them. the other thing that is important to appreciate about this group of voters, especially when you compare them to say the voters that were with barack obama. then younger voters. they were inspired to vote because of obama. these were voters who were

inspired tvote because of donald trump. and that is a very different, trying to bring them back into the fold is much more difficult. >> you mentioned we also have is covid coming back? it is not different -- what is the white house saying about this? >> they in part are saying there isn't an alternative right now. there isn't an opponent for the president or for democrats to compare themselves to at this moment. that will change, and they are arguing that even if we have not achieved our goals, they say, their policy aims at least are more aligned with these voters than what the white house sees as a public and policies. we shall see about that, whether that is enough to motivate midterm voters because midterm voters are notoriously fickle and un motivated except for the ones that are the hard-core partisans and tend to be older.

>> young voters tend not to turn out. speaking of republicans, i want to get your takes on a new slate of endorsements from former president trump. has a lot of people scratching their heads. he is jumping into some messy primaries. backing folks like david perdue, former georgia senator running for governor. dr. oz running in pennsylvania. adam -- running for senate seat in nevada and jb vance in ohio. what do you think when you look at these lists? >> these are candidates they are not clearly winning the primaries by any stretch. these are in some cases that the republican establishment would not get on board with because they do not know they are necessarily winners. these are people that are very aligned with trump and his lie that he won the election. and that has value and currency to him.

he also likes people who have a certain celebrity feel, which is how you get dr. oz and jd vance, even know he was supposed trump. he now supports him and that is good enough because it is all about trump, trump, loyalty or whever his definition of loyalty, which is accepting a lot. >> to be clear, he does not have to endorse anyone. he's choosing. >> he would like to be in the conversation. he is no longer the president of the united states. one thing i think is important to appreciate in places like ohio but even in pennsylvania, all of the republican candidates are telling their -- touting their support with donald trump. i took a look of all the ads that have been run since the beginning of the year, $24 million of republican aligned ads, candidates groups that support republican candidates have mentioned donald trump in their advertising in a positive way. candidates and, i am the pro trump conservative or we will build a wall. or i'm going to do is donald

trump would do xyz. no matter who wins these primaries in the states, they are going to be supported by donald trump. we are not talking about an anti-trump wing in these primary. what we're going to look for is does his primary give enough juice in a crowded primary to put somebody over the top? that is what the president, the former president wants to see. i endorsed you, you went from bottomo the top of the polls. but it does not tell us a lot about what, how these folks will be aligned ideologically or temperamentally once they get into congress. >> if they don't win, it risks his political currency. >> there was also that. have a feeling we will be talking about this some more. >> always good to see you guys. ♪

judy: living through this pandemic has been a shared experience but also a deeply personal one. it is a paradox highlighted in a newly published collection of poetry from people around the world. jeffrey brown reports from texas for our arts and culture series campus. >> dear vaccine. >> isolation. >> let me close the distance. let me hold my grandmother's hands and kiss the wrinkles on her knuckles >> of wonder. >> you break the skin to heal the body, killing illness to save the world you are a contradiction and the solution. >> of gratitude. >> i watched the nurse and thanked her and thanked her and thanked her once more. >> poems from a new book titled "dear vaccine, global voices speak to the pandemic," part of

a collaboration of kent state university and the university of arizona poetry center. helping shape the project -- >> this will be a course of community forces -- a chorus of voes welcoming the next vase. everyone was wistful and lonely for many voices mixed together. >> save us, ear vaccine -- dear vaccine. take us seriously. we had plans. we were going places. >> they created a template with their own poem. >> we liked our lives. maybe we did not thank them enough, being able to cross streets with people we did not know >> the editor of more than 30 books of poetry, she is the young people's poet laureate. her work as teacher and advocate for poetry has taken her around the world, bringing poetry into

all kinds of settings. we met recently at the catherine porter literary center in texas. she teaches classes for texas state university. this was the longtime home of porter, a writer who capture the 1919 pandemic in her novel "pale horse, pale rider." she knew the vaccine project would resonate today. >> i wasn't surprised by the response because i've been working in community for my entire adult life. >> which means, as a poet. >> as a poet working with lots of people who aren't identifying as poets. this hunger for poetry, everywhere i've ever gone, and by the way i have never been to a place where did not happen. not one place. andd that has always struck me as a miracle. >> people responded, 2300 homes and counting. some writing as or just after

they waited at vaccination centers. >> i just received my booster shot. >> scenting their poems to additional gallery. >> >> i'm dorothy from british columbia, canada. i am honored to be part of this global poetry project. the virus has separated us but this project is bringing us together. >> it has been a very depressing pandemic. >> a number like this kent ohio high school sophomore recording their thoughts and words on video. >> dear vaccine, restore us to each other, rescue us from a sea in which we are drowning. >> isaiah wrote of his close knit and separated family. >> from my grandma who used to laugh over a but if a bill from my little cousin always asking when the next family get-together would be. from my mom, afraid she might pass out in the kitchen in the wake -- and awaken a hospital. i stood in a line waiting for

your pension my arm. >> she used her native lan guage. [speaking native-language] >> we meet you and shake your hand in greeting. >> she wrote from saudi arabia. >> dear vaccine, we gather ourselves by precious fragile cargo, don't touch. we had to wrecked berries and become invisible. mask our faces, lose our smiles. >> what struck you about the themes that people wrote about? >> i think the theme of detail, hunger for detail, howeople wanted to acknowledge the little tiny things that they had felt a longing for. that touched me a lot as a poet, because i love detail. >> some addressed to the

divisions the pandemic including the vaccine had bught. >> some people are afraid of you. cannot bring themselves to trust you. >> or made a plea for more than physical health. >> vaccine, please while you're at it, immunize us from our inclination to hurt each other. >> it is the yearbook of our time. dear vaccine is a book which acknowledges what we have been through and also expresses profound gratitude. >> 100 years ago catherine porter was one of the few writers to address the pandemic directly and the trauma faded in cultural memory. the creators of dear vaccine hope this chorus lives on. >> i think we live in a time now where people feel, i hope that sometimes to remember things is an important act of humanity. of and hopefully it would guide

our behaviors. >> with the book now published, people around the world continue to set their poetic responses to the pandemic to be posted to the website. i'm jeffrey brown in texas. judy: amidst of all this division something to bring us together. and that is the newshour for tonight. i am judy woodruff. jonas online and again here tomorrow evening. for all of us at the "pbs newshour" thank you, please stay safe and we will see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- >> for 25 years consumer cellular's goal has been to provide wireless service that helps people connect. we offer a ride if no contract plans and our customer service team can help find one that fits you. to learn more, visit consumer cellular.tv. ♪ the kendeda fund

committed to advancing restorative justice and meaningful work through investments and transformative leaders and ideas. more at kendedafund.org. supported by the john d and catherine t macarthur foundation, committed to building a 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 new station from viewers like you. thank you. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy.]

to "amanpour & company." here's what's coming up. >> it pains me to see that we have learned so little from the holocaust. >> he is the last surviving nuremberg prosecutor, now 75 years after those landmark trials, benjamin ferencz joins me with an urgent call to action about russia's war on ukraine. plus. >> putin doesn't care about the babyn yar. doesn't care about holocaust, doesn't care about jews. >> exposing what putin means by nadefikyiv's holocaust more and morial at babyn yar. >> i have not stopped worrying about the people in poland. when would the hour of execution come? would this blind world only then see it, too light.

>> when many l