william: good evening. i'm william brangham. judy woodruff is away. on the newshour tonight. a tragedy in texas, more than a dozen children have been killed in a mass shooting at an elementary school in uvalde, the late horrific act of gun violence here in the u.s. then. vote 2022, georgians cast their ballots in critical primary elections to determine the state's future, and the extent of former president trump's influence. and, opportunity on the menu. the new orleans non-profit works to counter the racial imbalance in the restaurant industry. >> it's not that there's a shortage of talent. it's not that there is a lack of diversity here. it's i believe it's a lack of access. william: all that and more on tonight's

pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- >> for 25 years, conser cellular has been offering no contract wireless plans to do it -- designed to help people do more what they like. our team can help find the plan that fits you. to learn more, visit consumer cellular.tv. >> the john s. and james l. knight foundation fostering informed and engage communities. >> and with the ongoing support 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. william: the nation's recurring nightmare has happen again. texas governor greg abbott said a gunman killed 14 children and a teacher at an elementary school today. it appears the 18-year-old shooter was killed by police. gunfire broke out in the city of uvalde, about 85 miles west of san antonio. school staffers and others waited and watched. the governor then spoke in abilene, texas. >> when parents drop the kids

off at school, they have every expectation to know that they're going to be able to pick their child up when that school day in, and there are families who are in morning right now in the state of texas, and the state of texas is in morning with him. william: i'm joined by an investigative reporter for the austin american statesman and he is covering the story. he is driving right now to uvalde as we speak. troy, thank you so much for being here on this yet another tragic day in texas. i know you have covered a lot of mass shootings in the state in the past. can you tell us what you have learned from law enforcement so far? troy: 14 children and one teacher, officials are still trying to also get an assessment

of the number of injuries. we know that other students -- san antonio is about 85 miles to the east of uvalde. according to texas governor greg abbott, the gunman walked into the school and opened fire. again, authorities are still trying to understd everything about what led up to the shooting but the gunman did also shoot and injure his grandmothet ckatta. william: you said his grandmother, i understand from what the govnor said earlier today that he was a local resident. so his grandmother it is believed was working at the school or was at the school today? troy: that is unclear. it is possible that he may have injured her at another location

and then traveled, that is one of the open questions right now that authorities are trying to ascertain. william: given that this is an elementary school, we are likely looking at children who are very, very young victims. dohe police have any further to say about who is in the hospital and the status of those young people? troy: just that they are very, very young. know that at least one of the people who went to the hospital in san antonio is a 10-year-old girl. they confirmed that they received at least twoman and tho euro girl. this is based on our understanding that this may

become the deadliest school shooting in the states history. william: it's really just remarkable that we have to keep having these conversations. for people who don't know uval de, is there anything about that community, you can give us a sense of who lives there, what families might be attending the school today? troy: uvalde is a long of major highway, it's a relatively calm town of about 16,000 residents here. again, it sort of stands in the shadows of san antonio, about 80 miles west of uvalde. certainly it is a community that

is in morning and in tremendous grief right now. and it will be for the days and weeks and years to come. william: i know as you mentioned before, you have unfortunately been in the position of having to cover these types of shootings. you find yourself in a vehicle right on driving to another one of these tragedies. i can only imagine for you and for everyone in this community, this is got to be another terrible, terrible day. >> my mind goes back of course to the el paso shooting that happened at a walmart in 2019, and then of course before that, th shooting just three years -- two years earlier in 2017. one of the things that i remember so strikingly, similarly now with uvalde, is that this gun violence does not

just happen in big cities across our country but also across texas and also across america. william: thank you so much for joining us and i'm sure we will be back in touch soon. for more reaction from texas to this mass shooting, nicole is the executive director of texas gun since, a not-for-profit advocacy group. nicole, thank you for joining us on this horrible day for your state and for this country. have you heard anything else about what has happened today gives you any sense of where this young man got these weapons, what type of weapons were used, anything about the shooting you can tell us? nicole: when we respond to these events, we don't focus on the shooter, we focus on the victims and survivors and the change that is needed.

what i want everybody to know into here is that we are devastated. i got involved -- and we are angry. i got involved in this work nearly 10 years ago because of a very tragically similar event at the sandy hook school. i had small kids of my own back then and i got deeply invested. in those years, we have seen some of the most high-profile mass shootings take place here in texas, and we also know that there is every day gun violence that disproportionately impacts communities of color and we don't hear about a lot of those in the news. we know we have a crisis, and after some of these events, our leaders promised action. governor abbott date out of school safety plan some very sensible measures, some of the same things we have fought for for years in legislation. things that would keep guns out

of the wrong hands, to have guns legally and temporarily removed from individuals who are at risk of harming themselves or others. mandatory reporting of lost and stolen firearms to prevent things like this from happening again. the legislare did not enact those things. the governor failed on his promises. and instead, today we are faced with another horrific shooting that might've been prevented. not only did the legislature not pass those measures, but they went in the opposite direction. last session they removed licensing and training requirements to carry a handgun in public in texas. we feel like we are screaming into the void. william: after the newtown shooting, there was again this promise from national leaders that those types of changes to try to address this problem would be passed and failed re

in washington, d.c. do you have any hope, and i know say this every time we have one of these tragedies, that surely, this time, people will recognize we need to do certain things. do you have any sense of hope that this, now, another tragic day, might move the texas legislature in the direction you would like them to move? nicole: i spent many years advocating in the legislature, and last session was brutal. as i said, it feels like screaming into the void. they have had their opportunities and not only have they failed, they have loosened the already lacks gun laws. i want them to hear me, but i also want to address the people and voters of texas and say, even if our lawmakers don't support their thoughts and prayers with action, you can care. you can demand action. i know you all are hurting and you all worry about your own

families and children and loved ones today. you can do something. please join with us. we have to be one loud voice, as a community, to let our lawmakers know that they can't just offer their thoughts and prayers and then move on to something else. william: you've touched several times on the since of futility, that you are screaming into the void. do you have any sense of hope that this will change, that we will be able to get our arms around this crisis in america? nicole: you know, i have hope, because i've seen this movement grow and grow and grow, from something smaller to something big with a collective energy across organizations and communities. i have faith that we will continue to advance action. however small, however big, i think we will chip away and that going to play the long

game. i don't know what the legislature will do. they have not shown that they are committed to this change, but i know that our movement is committed to this change, that eventually we will see the change we want to see. we have already seen some changes, thanks to organization like ours and our partners. if we -- if we weren't there, there will be no voice for common sense. i have hope in the movement and in our communies. william: nicole golden from texas gun since, thank you very much for joining us, and i'm terribly sorry about the reason we are talking today. nicole: thank you, and our hearts are with the uvalde families tonight. ♪ william: in the days other news, russia's war in ukraine passed the 3 month mark today, with no end in sight. the head of the russian security council said moscow is not

chasing deadlines, but its bombing of cities has intensified across ukraine's donbas region. meanwhile, the mayor of mariupol reported finding 200 bodies in a collapsed building. and the u.s. treasury department announced it will bar russia from using american banks to repay bond-holders. that could cause the kremlin to default this summer. we'll return to all of this, later in the program. president biden has wound up his trip to asia, warning that the world must do more against russian aggression. in tokyo today, he met with leaders of japan, india, and australia, where he pushed for stronger military and economic ties, and for greater action to defend ukraine. pres. biden: we're navigating a dark hour in our shared history. the russian brutal and unprovoked war against ukraine has triggered a humanitarian catastrophe, innocent civilians have been killed in the streets and millions of refugees are internally displaced and as well as exiled.

this is more than a european issue, this is a global issue. william: the president's message appeared aimed partially at india, which has yet to join in sanctions against russia. and, as the leaders met, russia and china conducted joint flights near japan's airspace. the japanese defense minister called it an increased level of provocation. a russian court today rejected alexei navalny's appeal of his 9-year prison sentence for fraud. the opposition leader says the charge is politically motivated. navalny appeared in court via a video feed from the prison colony where he's already serving time for a probation violation. he criticized president vladimir putin for starting what he called a stupid war in ukraine. the world health organization is expressing confidence that an outbreak of monkeypox is controllable. as of today, there've been more than 130 confirmed cases, and another 106 probables, in 19 countries since early may.

but, in geneva, w.h.o officials said the risk is low because the virus does not spread as easily as covid-19. >> what we know from this virus and these modes of transmission, this outbreak can still be contained and it is the objective of the world health organization and member states to contain this outbreak and to stop it. william: most monkeypox cases have been in europe, which raised alarms since the virus is rarely seen outside of africa. but one official urge, today, saying let's not make a mountain out of a mole hill. back in this country, earth were up 1% last year, the cdc says is still about 86,000 lower than before the pandemic. it's a slight uptick from 2020 when americans had the fewest babies in more than 40 years. an independent commission today recommended you names for fort

bragg and eight other u.s. army posts that are now named for confederate officers. it is part of military effort to address racial justice issues. among others, fort bragg would be renamed for liberty. in georgia, fort gordon would become fort eisenhower. automaker hyundai is recalling 240 9000 cars in the u.s. because seatbelt parts could explode and injured drivers and passengers. the recall expands and includes accent, a long truck models from 2019 halfing 2022 -- elantra models. the dow jones industrial average managed to gain 48 points to close at 31,928. the nasdaq fell 2%, the s&p 500 slipped 32. still to come, arise of new

covid infections raises questions about the u.s.'s current approach to the pandemic. we speak to a ukrainian coerced to leave his home for russia. plus, much more. >> this is the pbs newshour, from weta studios in washington and from the walter cronkite school of journalism in arizona state inversely. william: two may be that big it -- today made me the best test yet, as voters from five states had to the polls to pick party nominees for the midterm election. nicole ellis is here with what we are watching. let's start with this runoff election happening in texas. it is coincidently the district right next to where this terrible shooting has just occurred. obviously this happened well after the polls had been open for a while today.

you've been reporting on that. what can you tell us about that particular race? cole: all eyes are on the congressional runoff,cuellar has ld the seat since 24 but cisneros lost in -- and managed to close the gap just enough to force a runoff. it's a very important race, for a multitude of reasons. it's a benchmark for what the them a credit party may look like in the future. this tug-of-war between progressives and moderate views. for example, cuellar was the last person, democrat in the house that had an a rating from the nra. cisneros has been outspoken and bout her support ongoing legislation. the race has also gotten added

attention because of the leaked opinion about roe v. wade, speaking to the potential returning of roe v. wade by -- overturning by the supreme court. cuellar is the most conservative antiabortionights democrat in the house. cisneros on the other hand has been outspoken about her support for abortion rights and is supported by congresswoman alexandria ocasio-cortez, and senator bernie sanders. this speaks to a refrain we have seen ongoing between progressive and moderate ideals and what that will mean for the party as they strategically think about how they will place themselves in order to secure their very narrow majority in the house. william: the other big marquee matchup is in georgia, that's where president donald trump has very overtly been putting his finger on the scale, trying to

influence the outcome. tell us what you been watching there. nicole: all eyes are on the gop primaries. that's because georgia became the epicenter of election fraud allegations and trump's lies that the election was stolen from him in 2020. at the time, the elected republican officials in offi all spoke up and made it clear that trump lost in a fair election. two years later, in 2022, it has become a referendum on that 2020 election. trump has endorsed a litany of candidates down the ballot statewide in georgia. incumbent governor ryan kemp is up against david purdue, who has been endorsed by trump. he campaigned with former vice president mike pence last night and is leading the polls by a sizable margin.

he is popular among gop voters, in large part because he has enacted a lot of conservative laws, specifically voting rights law that help -- republicans able preserve the integrity of the election, while democrats say it it restricts access to polls, particularly for voters of color. whoever wins the race will ultimately be up against stacey abrams, who hopes for a rematch in a large part is credited for regaining lots of voters of color to the polls. william: i know there's a very closely watched secretary of state race. tell us a little about that race. nicole: the person who was in charge of those races was secretary of state brad roethlisberger whose depending -- defending his role. most people know him because of his conversation with tromp

where trump told him, find the votes that didn't exist in an effort to overturn the election. william: as always, great to see you. thanks so much for being here. ♪ william: voters and many of today's primaries are navigating new and sometimes controversial voting laws that were implemented in the aftermath of the 2020 election. to get a better sense of how these laws are affecting the current election cycle, i'm joined the editorial director of a newly launched newsroom dedicated to following elections and the voting process. jessica, great to have you back on the newshour. voters over the last few weeks and today have been going to the polls come in many cases under these new laws that were passed.

some of them very, very controversial and contested laws. what if you been watching and what if you been thinking about? jessica: i've been watching georgia and texas most closely, both of them are voting today and both have passed pretty significant voting laws in the wake of the 2020 election. so it has been interesting to watch how those laws have taken shape over time. in the last few months, and today has been fascinating to watch as well. william: i know georgia passed a lot of laws, this was an incredibly close election in 2020. president trump fought that in claim baselessly this there was immense fraud. governor kemp there is championing the law they passed saying we address the issues that people might've had. republicans have been saying that early voter turnout has been very high, thus there is no sense of voter suppression.

is that your sense that that is true, that voters have been able to navigate these new laws? jessica: i think they certainly have been able to navigate them, but that's thanks to the legislature and governor kemp. georgia is actually the most register state in the country and 95% of georgians who are eligible to vote are now registered, which is the truly amazing statistic. i think that it is because of the fervor that came out of the passage of these laws. activism groups have been incredibly instrumental in registering folks and turning them out to the polls in georgia . high turnout after a law that made voting less easy still doesn't make voting easier. i don't know that it is appropriate for them to take credit for this high turnout. think conversely, the anger over those bills is what is driving people to the polls. william: so interesting.

i know you have also been monitoring the polls today in different states. have there been any irregularities that rise to the -- to that level? jessica: not so far. we've been following the election closely in georgia and last week in pennsylvania. it's probably an exaggeration, but most of them have been basically routine, even in a place like lancaster, pennsylvania, in which there ballot vendor misprinted several thousand ballots that were unable to be scanned. they were able to remedy that problem and re-copy the votes onto valid ballots and count them with only a couple of days delay, which is really an amazing thing. given all the hubbub that is going on over election administration and voting rights in the last six months, that election administrators have been able to pull off essentially error free elections in the last couple of years is

really stunning. william: it's a terrific testament to the mechanics of democracy. speaking of the hubbub's, one of them has been the ongoing, much debunked lie that the last election was riddled -- with fraud and that it was stolen from president trump. a lot of those running in the states are proponents of that baseless theory and a lot of voters echo that in do believe there was terrible corruption in the last election. how do you see those views and candidates have actually played out in this election? jessica: i'm really concerned about the trajectory of this. there are certainly a lot of folks running for office that used to be sleepy, bureaucratic positions held by people who really did want to work in the bureaucracy and help their neighbors out. those positions are changing, they are heavily politicized and are now seen as a stepping stone to higher office.

so we are seeing a lot of really troubling conspiracy theories being spread about the people running for the very offices who are supposed to safeguard these positions. so that is really concerning. william: what do you think that dust of voters who in the back of their mind thinking, i've been hearing that th process is tainted? jessica: i think you can only tell people for so long that the system is flawed before they stop choosing to participate in it. georgia is an excellent example of this. there is not a single pollster in the country that would tell you that both senate seats in georgia in 2020 would flip to democrats, but they did. that's largely because republicans elected not to vote by mail. they figure, what is the point? i think i see that on both sides of the aisle. if you listen to the very far left that is convinced that every single law that changes voted even a little -- changes

voting even a little bit as voter suppression and they will face monumental hurdles going to the polls. mo detrimentally on the right, telling people the entire system is flawed and has been rigged for a specific party, we are really facing a time of troubling low confidence in elections in america and that has a huge effect on our ability to trust the working government in general. william: jessica, thank you so much. ♪ william: as we reported, it's been exactly three months since russia invaded ukraine. is the largest war in europe in 80 years, and at its peak, displays more than 13 million ukrainians. that is 30% of the country. tens of thousands of ukrainian civilians havelso died.

though theres no official number, u.s. and ukrainian officials have said that tens of thousands of russian and ukrainian troops have also been killed. to take stock of where we are, i'm joined by nickchifrin. the russians are currently focused on the eastern donbass region, but as we know, that was not their original intent. can you remind us of the evolution of this invasion? nick: the idea of overthrowing the government and targeting civilians, let's quebec to february 23, and the map before the invasion. crimea, parts of donath's, controlled by russian forces since 2014. did february 24, russian forces invaded in the north and from the south in crimea. u.s. officials feared thatkyiv could fall days.

fast forward held, but this is the high watermark of the invasion. russian forces were already bogged down in the east. ukrainian forces were beating them back. by april 6, what you see in blue in the north there, ukraine won the battle at kyiv and pushed russian troops all the way out of northern ukraine. this is the map today, russian forces have been pushed beyond artillery range in kharkiv and in the south they have consolidated their control around mariupol, and now russian goals have shrunk. that is the last ukrainian city held and that is the russian goal. u.s. and ukrainian officials fear the war could be a grinding stalemate that could go on for a long time. william: in that scenario, who benefits? nick: ukraine believes that over

time it will have more weapons online. missiles that could target russian ships, and officials tell me they are considering sending multiple launch rocket systems. ukrainian officials tell me those weapons will allow them to launch counter offenses. an official close to zelinski says it is unlikely the military will be able to dislodge the russians from territory they already occupy. that means they will either have to cede territory or the war will go on for eht long time because russia is not going to give up territory it already has. william: civilians are the ones who get stuck in the middle. nick: you mentioned the numbers of refugees and those displaced, in addition to that, ukraine says a half million ukrainians have been coerced to leave their homes and go to russia. during my trip to ukraine

recently, i spoke to one of them, a resident who is still in russia about the destruction of his hometown and his life before the war. two days before he lost everything, he stood in the lobby of this club, confident in the future. we are changing his name and keeping him anonymous because he is still reliving the hell of this day he could not foresee. he built amusement centers with star wars teams. his clientele were children on their birthdays. he had a long waiting list and plan to open a third club. >> when you help children celebrate and put them in a good mood, it's a wonderful energy. the business was a pleasure. we loved doing this. >> we spoke to him via skype from ukraine. >> when you do what you love, it gives you joy. >> what happened when the war began? >> i did not believe until the

last moment that they would bombard the city center. i didn't believe it until it was too late. pressure reduced mario pole to ruins. it became a city that belongs to the dead. officials say the seas killed at least 20,000 people. the bombardment was relentless. the only safe space was underground, and for andre, that meant the club for celebration became a shelter from the war. >> we stayed there for 43 days. 43 days, but it seemed like an eternity. sometimes normal life, we don't know when a day or week passes. but when we were down there, every hour seemed like a whole day. approximately a week after it started, the lights went off, then the gas. then after a while, the city was reduced to ruins, and it was impossible to buy anything,

anywhere. we all saw dead people lying around. we had a headless man lying at the entrance to our neighborhood. no one cleared it out for a week. >> andre photographed apartments now bombed, a city almost now powerless trying to read -- regain hope. >> we lived through a situation where there was no longer anything left to bombard. the humanitarian corridors into russia opened up, they were safe. i heard that some made it through the front line toward ukrainian held territory, but it was dangerous. people left in convoys and the convoys were shot out -- shot at. >> on april 8, andre, his wife and children traveled in a russian controlled convoy north. >> filtration takes two weeks.

people wait their turn. they are screened on various subjects and on any connections to the military. god forbid they find any ukrainian reality a. they would be led away, and not all of them came back. >> they received a request for resistance and evacuating people to russia. -- a request for assistance. >> the deportation of more than 500,000 ukrainians to russia and the so-called filtration camps are imitations of the deportations and concentration camps that the nazis organized in europe. >> the convention is adopted by this assembly. >> in response to that genocide after world war ii, the members of the general assembly signed a convention that defines genocide as an attempt to destroy a group in whole or in part and

transferring children in the group to another group. ukraine says that is what rush is doing today. andre, his wife and children were takencross the russian border. >> there is a tent camp where refugees are accommodated and fed. many volunteers understand the situation and help people. but back in mariupol, his grandparents and his wife's entire family stayed behind. he compared the destruction to chernobyl. his own apartment had tak this used to be the kitchen. this was his bedroom. just outside, russian troops. >> when i went to the city the second time, i had to go through filtration. i could pay money to go through an expedited process. usually it takes people two weeks to go through it. it took me one day. they check all of your social

media, take a photograph, take your fingerprints. you feel like a prisoner. >> he retrieved his in-laws and his exhausted grandmother. he did the right thing to leave, because most of the survivors cling to the memories -- the remnants of their property and the memory of the city as it once was. there will be nothing there in the coming years and will not be quick to restore it from scratch. >> today they live in a russian city with tens of thousands of ukrainian refugees. >> a lot of people here are against what has happen. a lot of people hugged us and cry and talk to us and say, we understand what is going on, but there is nothi we can do. there is huge anger at the government. i haven't been issued any documents, and i don't want them from a country that destroyed your city and your life. >> a life that felt limitless

two days before the invasion, today, like his hometown, destroyed and controlled by moscow. for the pbs newshour i'm nick schifrin. william: our coverage of the war in ukraine is supported in partnership with the pulitzer center. ♪ william: new orleans is one of america's most unique cities, its people are part of a rich and diverse melting pot that's also made new orleans cuisine world-famous. but many of the people whose families originally developed that cuisine over generations are now shut out of the top jobs in the city's restaurants, includg as leading chefs. and that's had serious consequences for black workers in the industry. communities reporter roby chavez has the story on efforts to change that. it is part of our coverage of race matters. >> kyle wilson has been trying

to make it as a new orleans chef for eight years. >>'s been rough trying to find a place in a kitche. >> there have been setbacks, he says, because he is black. >> i was painted as a bad guy in the situation in bothy managers, who were white men, took the side of the server and put me out. it may be feel like i didn't matter and also made me realize how far we have to travel on this path to diversity in the industry. >> it is largely rooted in creole and black culture and history. 80% of restaurant executives and 71% of general manager jobs are held by white workers. when it comes to the top job in the kitchen, it's the same story. >> if you google restaurants and chefs here, what will you find? >> majority white male. >> the lower jobs like

dishwashers and food preparers are done by mostly black workers. >> is not that there is a shortage of talent. it's not that there is a lack of diversity here. i believe it's a lack of access. >> he has faced a lack of access to top restaurant jobs. >> it did -- wouldn't matter what my resume look like. i would be treated the same way. >> bradley says he has been passed over for promotions, as was a former black colleague. >> he was there for 19 years. >> then the is the pay. quakes are not going to be paid what her normal person is paid. they are not going to be there long.

we just need to see more african-americans building businesses. >> bradley started a personal chef business to create his own opportunities in a were most well-paid hospitality jobs are held by white people. 69% or below living wage positions done by people of color. covid-19 have been a turning point. as pandemicestrictions were lifted and restaurants here in new orleans slowly started to reopen, they found themselves with a worker shortage. >> wean't hire enough people, we can't retain enough people. >> that what -- that's what restaurateurs tell him. it's not like there was a rapture, the people are here, they just don't want to work for yo quakes if you have a safe environment that values your staff with time off, benefits,

and a living wage, that's a place that people want to go. quakes the made in new orleans foundation is helping to train employers that want to be more equitable. >> nobody wants to be called a racist. it's le, now what can we do, how can we put our minds together and figure out a better solution? >> they operate five restaurants and have been working toward that better solution, starting with pay equity. >> what we decided to do was pay people in the front of the house , we also pay more in the back of the house and give a portion of tips to people in the back of the house. >> what a waiter, i'm this amou? >> now you maybe you're making $26 or $27 an hour. people in back of house are making $26 an hour.

>> the company stepped up recruiting in african-american communities. another goal is to involve staff in decisions. >> you start to really see great leaders emerge. we did not do a good job of that prior to covid. >> yethere is still work to do. quick stare so much learning and unlearning that you have to do. >> the general manager lowered the starting pay for a job opening so there would be room to grow, but she quickly learned it's a delicate dance. >> i offer this employee that lower amount, and they're like, you are offering that to me because i'm a person of color. >> did that person stay? was it a healing moment? >> they did. it was -- we were able to move forward from it and learn. >> but there are basic barriers

for the 32% of black new orleans who live in poverty. >> you can't have a job, keep a job and do a good job if you are homeless. >> they haven't had the same privilege or opportunity that others have. >> interns from at risk communities are trained to prepare and serve lunch in the restaurant. 19-year-old weber began earlier this year. >> it changed my life. >> so now, what does your future look like? what do you want to do? >> open up my own restaurant. >> i wasn't a big person on feedback. i always looked at feedback like criticism. but most of the time it is constructive, them trying to get you to better yourself. >> for the past year, cafe

reconcile has worked to diversify its own team. workers now make a minimum of $15 an hour, plus befits. and there is a wage floor for interns after they leave. >> we are not going to place them into a job that's paying them eight dollars or $10 an hour. we want them to have a chance to get bumped up to $15 or $16. >> a few years ago, kyle wilson got a scholarship tattend culinary school. he is now the lead morning cook and hos to move up in the industry. >> at times it's a little difficult to know they're not too many people of color in management positions, but it gives me hope to try to break that barrier and push forward and see if i can get to this position. >> he thinks more businesses will need to have an equity reckoning, since the new orleans

$10 billion tourism industry is wholly reliant on its workers. >> there is a proximity to culture that they may not feel at home. >> i would argue it's a closeness to black culture and a closeness to being -- being able to let your hair down and come as you are. when you coming you feel that, it invigorates your soul and makes you want to come back. ♪ william: now to the latest on the pandemic. cases are moving up again at a rapid pace, driven by a highly contagious offshoot of the original omicron strain. meanwhile, parents of very young kids are eagerly awaiting approval of covid ccines for children under 5 years old. for the latest on where we are

in this viral war, i'm joined by katherine wu, she writes for the atlantic, and has a ph.d. in microbiology. welcome back to the newshour. let's talk about the kids vaccines first. i know there are a lot of parents are very young kids who have been waiting for this to eventually come. iser says they have a three shot dose that is good for kids. what do we know about how effective these might be and when they might be available? katherine: so we are finally getting some good news for this youngest age group. the hope is that the f -- fda will convene a meeting to talk about the effectiveness of these vaccines. the data that is public is limited and preliminary. the vaccine makers are spending time analyzing the data. the estimates are luminary. the main thing vaccine makers wanted to do was see if they

could tickle out and anybody response in these little kids that was comparable to what they saw in adults, and they did that. they have released preliminary estimate saying modernity's to dose vaccine is about 40%-50% effective at stopping symptomatic cases of covid9 and kids under six and pfizer's three dose vaccine which has more to it, it will take longer to do with more doses, is about 80% effective at doing the same thing. william: how much demand do you think there might be for this? there is not been as much uptake as officials had hoped and there is even talk of a booster for that age group. do you think there wille better uptake for the five and under crowd? katherine: it's a great question, and a tricky one to answer. the pediatricians i've been talking to in recent weeks are optimistic that some parents will be very eager, but recent

polling and recent discussions ese pediatricians have had suggest that uptake may be lower. especially people under the age of 18, uptake has been pretty sluggish and that trend is expected to increase for infants and toddlers. william: i want to ask about the vaccines and their effectiveness. so many people are getting infected now, and people -- including people with double and triple shots or even a fourth booster shot. help us understand that. is that the vaccines losing their effectiveness, the potency of the new variance? katherine: it's a question that has been a little complicated to untangle for the past year and a half. most important to keep in mind is that in most cases, were doinan extraordinary job of stopping the worst outcomes.

it takes time to -- at the other end of the spectrum it doesn't take much time or work for a virus to just get inside a cell and start copying itself. the easiest thing for the buyers to accomplish is the toughest thing for a vaccine to prevent long-term. people who are vaccine -- vaccinated retain great protection, but unfortunately it does make it easy for the virus to re-infect someone in the months after someone gets her shots, especially if the virus is mutating and becomes less recognizable to the immune cell that has been trained on a shot from an earlier version of the virus. william: you use the metaphor of a mountain and that we have climbed a good deal of the distance up that mountain. the question in your pieces, are these new variances, could

potentially push us back off the mountain and back to square one is that going to happen? katherine: the short answer is, that is quite unlikely. it's really difficult for any version of this virus to slip entirely around our immune defenses, that would be really difficult. but the main thing to keep in nine here is that this virus is being pressured to continue to keep infecting us. the important thing is to make sure we are using as updated a trail map as possible, not using something that is two years out of date, as are vaccines in some ways are, making sure we are using updated intel so we don't lose any of the ground we have gained as the ground is shifting unrneath us. william: is anyone that has traveled around the country knows, most of the country is

moved beyond this pandemic already. they feel like it is in the rearview mirror. places are crowded all over again. do you think that if a new vaccine comes around that we will again take a new vaccine, that people, if cases continue to rise and hospitalizations rise, that people will be willing to put some of these precautions back into place? katherine: i certainly hope so, but there are some things that are working against that. pandemic fatigue is a very real thing. people are sick of thinking about the virus and any of the measures required to stop it, we can sort of think about flu vaccination as a benchmark here. flu vaccination is nowhere near some hope it might be. maybe 50% of adults take it each year. it's a little higher in older adults, but we love to see 100%, that would be amazing.

covid vaccines have been even more polarizing. that has had a kno on effects on a lot of vaccines. we know that only 30% of americans are boosted right now. ask them to get a fourth surface shot, we may see more drop-off with each iteration. i'm hopeful that t an updated vaccine, something that is not original recipe, that may have its own appeal. maybe it will have the appeal of an iphone upgrade and motivate some people to roll up their sleeves again. william: great to see you, thank you so much. ♪ william: that is the newshour for tonight. join us online and again here tomorrow evening.

for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you, and we will see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- >> architect, beekeeper, mentor. the raymondjames fancial advisor taylor's advice to help you live your life. life, well-planned. >> carnegie corporation of new york, supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement, and the advancement of international peace and security, at carnegie.org. the target foundation, committed to advancing racial equity and creating the change required to shift systems and accelerate economic opportunity. 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. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy.] ♪

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