05/12/20 05/12/20 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york city, the epicenter of t the pandedemic, s is democracy now! >> we have jurisdiction. we have the authority to do this. more importantly, it is fofor rl good c cause so whwhy should we consult about what?? it is just kind of a, i feel, something that is really not needed at this time. amy: standoff in south dakota.

the cheyenne river sioux and oglala sioux tribes erect checkpoints to protect against the coronavirus entering their communities, which they say are not equipped to handle an outbreak. the south dakota governor orders them removed. the checkpoints are still up. we'll get an update from cheyenne riviver sioux tribe chairman harold frazier. then to chicago, where "covid-19 took black lives first. it didn't have to." >> whehether it is d diabetes, t disease,e, upper respiratory illns -- the kind of things we have been talking about for a long time that plague black chicago that lead to life expectancy gaps. this virus attacks those underlying conditions with a vengeance. amy: 70 of chicago's 100 first recorded victims were black. we will speak with pulitzer prize winning reporter adriana gallardo about the victims she documented, and we'll meet people she profiled in her piece "los new yorkers: essential and underprotected in the pandemic's epicenter."

>> yes, we need money but there is also our health. if we can try coronavirus, this is serious because i have poor health and so does my son. we're trying to endure as much as we can. the situation is not easy with expenses. the little we have we spent on food. we have family members who have gotten sick and friends who have died. we a are trying to survivive. amy: we will also speak with adriana gagallardo abobout the investigative e series the and anchorage daily news she was part of called "lawless" about team wonch she and her a pulitzer prize. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now, democracynow.o.org, the quaranae report. i'm amy y goodman. the total confirmed number of coronavirus cacases around the world is nearing 4.2 million, with over 286,00000 known death.

in the u.s., the numbeber of confirmed infections is over 1.3 million with over 80,000 reported deaths. dr. anthony fauci is testifying today before a senate panel and is expected to tell lawmakers opening up the country prematurely will lead to "needless suffering and death." fauci is appearing remotely after white house staffers recently tested positive for covid-19. the chair the senate health education, labor, and pensions committee senator lamar alexander will also be remote after one his staffers contracted t the virus. as countriries around the world move to reopen their economimie, more surges in covid-19 cases are being reported. in germany, coronavirus infections are on the rise as the country gradually comes s ot of lockdown. france reported honest four times as many deaths monday then the day before as it began reopening its economy this week. the world health organization's director general warned

countries against t a hasty winding down of lockdowns monday. >> to protect lives and livelihoods, slow, steady lifting of lockdowns is key to both stimulating economies while also keeping a vigilant eye on the virus so t that control measures can be quickly implemented if an upswing in cases is identified. amy: in russia, president vladimir putin announced monday a phased relaxing of restrictions, even as the country is experiencing a surge in infections. russia has over 232,000 cases, becoming the country with the second highest number of confirmed cases bebehind the united states. in other news from russia, at least fifive coronavirus patiens didied at a st. petersburg hospital tay a after ventilator caught fire. this comes just days after a fire at a moscow hospital killed one cocod patient.t. backck in washington, d.c., president trump clashed with cbs

reporter weijia jiang whwhen she confronted him over the issue of testing. globalis this a competition to you if everyday americans are still losing their lives and we are still seeing more cases every day? pres. trump: they are losingg their lives everywhere in the world. maybe that is the question you should ask china. don't ask me, ask china that question, kate? when you ask them that question, make it a very unusual answer. yes, behind you, please. cooks sir, why are you saying that to me specifically? ," i am not saying it specifically to anyone. i'm saying it to anyone who would ask a nested student. >> why does it matter? .res. trump: please, go ahead >> i have two questions. pres. trump: next, please. >> you called on me. pres. trump: i did and you

didn't respond so now calling on the young lady in the back. gentlemen, thank you very much. appreciate it. thank you very much. amy: that second report addressing trump was cnn's caitlin collins as trump walked off the stage. last month, trump went after chinese-american reporter weijia jiang after she questioned him about his failure to warn americans about the virus in february as he held packed political rallies. he told her at the time to just relax and "keep your voice down." trump also falsely claimed at at his monday news briefing that anyone who wants a test can get one. pressed by a reporter, health and human services official admiral brett giroir later clarified "anybody who needs a test can get one," specifying this covered people with covid-19 symptoms or who were knowingly exposed to the virus. at the briefing, trump was standing in front of a banner that read "america leads the world in testing." meanwhile, "the washington post"

reports a planned visit to a pennsylvania factory producing personal protective equipment was scuttled last week after officials at the braskem factory expressed concerns for the health of its workers. trump has refused to wear face masks while out in public. last week he toured a honeywell plant in arizona without a mask, ignoring a sign ordering everyone inside to wear a facial covering. on monday, the white house ordered all west wing employees to wear masks unless at their desks, though the requirement does not extend to trump or to vice president mike pence. at the rose garden briefing, trump did d not wear a face mas. all l the reporters did. the e largest ststudy to date oe use of h hydroxychloroquine against the cocoronavirus has confirmed earlier research t tht the anti-malararial drug could cause serious heart problems and is not an effective e treatment for covid-19. trump has repeatedly t touted te drdrug. the latetest study, published monday in the journal of the american medical association,

looked at nearly 1500 patients in new york and found that those on hydroxychloroquine had a similar death rate to those who did not take it, but were more than twice as likely to suffer a heart attack. dr. william schaffner, an infectious disease expert and adviser to the centers for disease control and prevention, said -- "the nail has virtually been put in the coffin of hydroxychloroquinene." on monday, china warned it would take countermeasures in response to new visa rules imposed by the dedepartment of f homeland sece, which h will restrict entry y fr chinese journalists working for -- journalists to 90-day work visas. previously, chinese joururnaliss were regularlyly granted open-e-ended visas to the united states.. the united food and cocommercial workerers union, the country's largest meatpacking workers union, is condemning the reopening of 14 meatpacking plants under a recent executive order issued by president trump. the union is calling for cdc coronavirus safety guidelines to be made mandatory as at least 30 meatpacking workers have died of

covid-19 and over 10,000 have been exposed to or infected by the coronavirus. many of them meatpacking workers are immigrants. itit is moving t to ease i nationwide l lockdown despite registering daily cases. lolong-distance e railway servis are being restored today, which means many of the migrant workers who becameme stranded after india imsesed its strict lockckdown in march can finallyo home. india has over 71,000 confirmed cases and overer 2300 reportrted deaths. in related news, a train killed at least 16 migrgrant workers in the western state of maharashtra last week after it ran over a group of people sleeping on the tracks. the laborers were reportedly making their way home on foot. in yemen, aden was dececlared ininfested monday by local authorities as c coronavirus c s surge e in the war-ravaged city. the u.n. confirmed the coronavirus has taken hold in yemen, which is already reeling from widespread hunger and a

crippled health system after years of fighting. in easast africa, fafarmers cone to battle one of the worst locust invasions t region has seseen in dedecades. ethiopia, kenya, and somalia are at risk of major food shortages as crops a are destroyeded, whie the coronavirus and its economic implications threaten to further compound food insecurity for millions. meananwhile, the world health organization warns half a mimillion more people couldd susuccumb b to aids-relalated illnesses in sub-saharan africa due to shortages in vaccines and essential medicines caused by the coronavirus pandemic. the disruption to local health services could see aids-related deaths reachching 2008 levels, when it claimed nearly one million lives. coronavirus lockdowns have been easing in some african nations, including nigeria, the continent's most populous country. south africa, which imposed strict measures and has recorded the highest number of cases, has permitted daily outdoor exercise and for restaurants to deliver

food, though most of it other restrictctions remain in place.. a group p of over 50 organizatis sent a letter to presumptive democratic nominee joe biden monday urging him m to adopt a foreign policy thahat prioritizs diplomomacy and d multilateralim over militarism.m. the letter was also sent to president trump the effort was organized by demand prorogress and d backers include greenpeace u.s. our , revolution, muslim public affairs council, and the national iranian american council action. the group is demanding biden commit to a number of progressive foreign policy positions, including reducing the military budget, diplomatic engagement with iran and north korea, opposing undemocratic regime-change, supporting palestinian rights, and protecting the war powers act -- which requires lawmakers to authorize military action. in related news, joe biden said last month that as president he would engage with cuba, but that u.s. sanctions over its support for the government of nicolas mamaduro in venezuela could stil remain in place.e. joe biden also recently expressed support for venezuelan

opposition leader juan guaido and his "efforts to restore democracy." guaido has been trying to gain support for the ouster of maduro since last year's unsuccessful coup attempt. in related news, v venezueuela s it arrested three more mercenaries suspected of being involved in a failed coup against president maduro and seized three abandoned colombian combat vessels, reportedly equipped with machine guns and ammunition. in bolivia, anti-hunger protests broke out momonday in the city f cochabamba. ininjuries werere reporteded ame protesesters as popolice and militaryry clamped d down on the demonsnstrations.. protesesters are c calling outue lalack of foodod assistance and otother supporort from thehe governmentnt as people continueo lose t their livelelihoods dueuo the pandndemic. prototests are a also takingng e agagainst the unelected d rightg govevernment of interim prpresit jeanine e anez, who took powerer afafter the ououster last t yeaf prpresident evevo morales.s. this comes after anez issued a decree imposing criminal charges

on people who "spread doubt among the population" or "disseminate false information" online in the latest move to restrict freedom of expression and silence media that are critical of the government. in mexico, a 21-year old oaxacan environmental activist eugui roy was shot dead last week. the young biology student's friends, family, and other activists are calling for justice for eugui. local authorities say they are investigating the killing. back in the united states, outragage is mounting in indianapolis following a string of killings by police that took plplace last week in a span of less than n 24 hours. on wednesday night, 21 year-old dreasjon reed a black man, was fatally shot by an officer following a car chase that was live-streamed on facebook. the following day, 19-year-old african american mchale rose was shot and killed after what police described as a planned ambush against the officers. and in a third, unrelated incident that same day, a police

officer killed 23-year-old ashlynn lisby, who was pregnant, by hitting her with his car as he drove to work. at a protest saturday over sean reed's killing, police attempted to disisperse crowds by deployig pepper balls and arrested at least one person. and in legal news, supreme court justices will hear arguments today in three highly anticipated cases involving president trump's attempts to shield his tax returns and financial documents from lawmakers and a new york prosecutor. the public will also be able to listen to the live-streamed arguments as the supreme court continues to hear cases remotely amid the coronavirus outbreak. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now, democracynow.org, the quarantine report. i'm amy goodman. i am in new york city with my cohost one because alice joining us from new jersey. gonzazalez joining us from

his home in new jersey. juan: welcome to all of ourr listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. beginin today show with the standoff in south dakota whwhere two native amemerican in tribes are defying orders by south dakota governonor kristi noem to remove covid-19 checkpoints from their territories. the cheyenne river sioux and oglala sioux tribes say the checkpoints are the best way to protect against the coronavirus entering their communities, which are not equipped to handle an outbreak. the governor says the checkpoints -- which are set up on highways on tribal land -- are illegal. on friday, she gave the tribes 48 hours to remove them and threatened legal action. both the cheyenne river sioux and the oglala sioux have refused and the checkpoints are still running. in a facebook live video on saturday, oglala sioux tribe president julian bear runner said governor noem was threatening the sovereignty of the oglala people. >> governor kristi noem threatening sovereignty ofof the

people.. 's calculus our level of dedication to protect fromost vulnerablble peoplple cronony capitalism, throrows -- worse to trust uss to open our economy as they chosose to do s. there is no way to put a valueue on what we have to lose. my r relatives, we have beenen e fofor many years. whateverer they brought to our land proven -- amy: 17 south dakota lawmakers signed a letter over the weekend urging the south dakota governor to seek a resolution with the tribes. as of monday, the state had not yet filed any lawsuit. south dakota has a covid-19 death toll of at least 34 and has had more than 3600 confirmed cases. for more, we g go to eagle butt, south dakota, where we're joined by cheyenne river siououx tribe chairman harold frazier. chairman, welcome to democracy now!

can you explain what is happening now? how many checkpoints, covid checkpoints have you set up? and what are they for? what are you doing when the cars are stopped? >> good morning. right now we have nine checkpoints on a reservation. one of the biggest concerns we have is safety. we are looking and as soon as we get more equipment, we intend to put up another checkpoint. the main purpose of these checkpoints is to try to, number one, keep the virus out. and number two, is to t track if it comes i in. we h have always been saying tht the virus does nonot travel, its the people with the virus that travel. we know that is the only way that virus will get into our homes if it is brought in from the outside. and that is the main purpose of these checkpoints is to keep our people safe and also to ensure

[indiscernible] have the right to live. fraser, whatn about the governor's perspective or viewpoint t that these chcheckpoints are illegal? what is your response to that? could you talk about the treaties, the existing treaties between your nation and the federal government that might have some e bearing on this or o have bearing on this? >> well, you know, we try to look and, number one, the people who elected me to thisis positi, they are the ones thatat are against so-called my boss. the governor is not my boss or the federal government. it is the people who live here. that is who i work for and who i take directives from and such. this. stepped up to do

we feel we have every right to do this. .e have a treaty in that article, is as before any white man can travel or reside on our lands, they must get consent from the indians first. in addition to our treaty, there , even ourlaw constitution that we swore to uphold against all enemies foreign and domestic that gives us all the legal right to do what we are doing. a lot of times -- we have been studying the laws of this country for quite a while. how can somebody own something without paying for it? that is the way we look at it. that these lands, these roads, they are ours because we were never paid for it. we have every legal right to do

that. know,sn't matter, you what comes today or tomorrow. we are still going to be here. we're going to still maintain our checkpoints. amy: can you describibe what happens at a checkpoint and have you been at one? talk about the people who are ststopping the cars and what thy are dodoing when they stop t th. > well, i have been there to all of our checkpoints numerous times. if a driver rolls up -- it all depends. if the driver r rolls up and thy are asked some e health questio, there's a questionnaire that they have to be filled out and they are filled out by our deputies so there is really no -- i have seen some motorists where they just rolled on their window partway way and answer the questions. forhey are coming in essential travel, if they are

resident on the reservation or a member of the tribe or family to resident or member, they are asked the questions. and they come in. if you are a motorist coming from a hotspot, your license plates show that, every day we monitor that. the areas we have to be concerned with. if a vehicle is s coming from that, they wilill be asked too reroute their travel and not come through our lands. but we allow any commercial needles come in because we supplies just like everyone else. medical people, they definitely are rolled in. but also o essential. that is the postal service, agriculture -- that is a big , sog on the reservation

things like that they are allowed to come and go but they asked totopped and fill out these questionnaires. and d to expeditite a lot of the locals, particularly the agririculture, numerous times ty come andnd go. sometimes they have land in the area. what we put together was a process to obtain a permit, and agricultural permit or essential travel permit. then motorists usually just roll -- show theirir permit n number and they're allowewed to keep going.g. minute to atakes a minute and a half. if you're not coming from a hotspot, you're generally just allowed to roll-on. it is not really, in my opinion, a hindrance of any motorist. the e main purpose is to try to save lives.

[indiscernible] that we should work t together. that is s something that i agrge with. without t population, with the lack of medical facilities, things like that, we look to our relatives to the s south, ththe navavajo n nation, connected bs. -- a and that could be us. that is what we stepped up to do these kinds of actions, to try to keep our people safe and save their lives. juan: you menentioned the lack f medical facilitieses. cocould you talk about that? you issued a stay at home -- a strict stay-at-home measure while the governor of the state did not come a south dakota a dd not.t. what is the situation? you only have eight hospital beds and one icu on n your land? beds.s.ve eight hospital

we do not t have any icucu. there arare six ventilators. we have one respiratory therapist. i am being told by medical people that generally, they momonitor r two to thrhree vents and they could do four, but that is pushing it. the nearest facility for critical care is in rapid city. it is about a a 3 hour drive jut to get to rapid. that is always been the practice of the indian n health servicecs to get the care that some of our people need. they generally get referred out. but when we started this, we started looking at numbers and the number of residents. 50% we broke it d down, maybe could possibly get the virus. could they were sayingg 80% be handled at home and that left 20%. we looked at the numbers and we

realized there is the potential ththat we may need 1200 beds. and when we only 8,8, that realy woke up a lot of people here. can youirman frazizier, talk about the one confirmed covid case you have had on the reservation and how the checkpoint lead you to be able toto identify that person? > yeah. that patient come in a believe like on a thursday. they knew where they come frorom -- our c command center,r, which works s directctly with thee chececkpoints, , they knew the patient came from an area that we call the hotspot for mededicl people. immediately started monitoring every day. you know, being in contact and so forth. that following tuesday is s when ththe patient t was not feeling wellll. theyey took her in to t the

hospital. she tested p positive. less than probably eight hours i would say, because the very next morning, they already knew the contacts, who they w were, and people were put ininto quararan. right now the patitient is doing well and we are pretty happy about that, but that is the whole purpose of that. if we did not know any of that and the individual, and did not realize they were infected by the virus, they could have easily went and immediately went -- spread. we know we're definitely not capable of handling. juan: chahairman, the governor s threatened to take your tribe to .ourt over the checkpoints other lawmakers have urged her a try to negotiate and reach common agreement.

could you talk about the states relationship to your tribe over the yearsrs? know, as a matter of fact, i wawas just reading something last night, rapid city -- a lot of our members live out , rosebud, m us, oglala sioux. and thereome tests were 1 16 posititive cases. i was just readingng that. verification later today. the state department of health did not even contact the individual w who tested posisite until three dadays later. the treatment we get from the state and the federal government -- that is why we are doing these ends because we know

when times get tough, all we have is each other.. amy: this is a very significant situation -- >> it is important we step up. amy: you have the south dakota governor noem, when you look at the meatpackers in s sioux fall, for example, the mayor was begging the governonor to shut down the plant. this is before trump's executive that said the state could not. you had hundreds and hundreds of workrkers, maiainly immigrant, overwhelmingly immigrants, who are testing positive and yet the governor refused to do this. this is the same governor now that is sayaying she will challenge you, demanding you take down the checkpoints. what are you willing to take this too, chairman? could this lead to a showdown, stand up coming not just legally, but between the state and your tribe?

>> we have no other alternative. we won't back down no matter what they dodo. whether it is through the court or they come by force, we will still be thehere. because we livive here. we looked at everything. when we started planning and getting ready back in early march, that is some of the scenarios we throughout at our plans was for legegal as wewells medical. if she wants to take us to court, go ahead and do it. i believe on my heart we will be successful. the main reason we're doing is we're doing these things for the right reasons. it is not to benefit economically.. wewe'rere not doing this toto dy somebody's business, their lives. we're doing it for the good of god and what we have been saying is the number one right is the right to l live.

words being thrown out about liberties and civil rights and first amendment rights, second member rights, and so forth. at the right to live, i believe, is above all of them. and that is what we want to do, ensure our residents here haveve that r right to live. chairman, you mention courts. can you talk about the recent victory of the cheyenne river sioux over the trump administration where the trump administration attempted to use some federal covid-19 moneys that were intended d for the tribes to go instead to the alaskaka native corporations?s? >> yeah. theas nothing a against native villages, but we felt that is corporations not t federally recogngnized, we feltlt they s should nonot get t because e we believe that moneny was set aside for native

americanans. and you knonow the intereststing thining, as of tododay, we still have not been notified how much we are going to receive here on cheyenne river. i know a lot of our relatives in north dakota and thehe other soh dakota tribes have r received or at least been notifified how m h theyey're goi to receive. but as of this morning, we havae not been notified what we're going to receive. we have been thinking, well, i guess they're pretty upset for us taking them to court. maybe they're not going to give it to us. hopefully by today, we will know if we e will receive any of that fundining. amy: that is frorom the cares a. the tribes were demanding billion, like $20 ultimatelylysettled o on $8 billion, but that has been very slow to o make its way out to te various nations. finally, harold frazier, if you can talk quickly about a legal battle here and what it couldld mean, for example, for the future of ongoing struggles like your fight against the keystone

xl pipeline? > oh, yeah, most definitely. law,re has always been case the reese one in reference to roads anand how is of the 1990'. i just can't think where they're coming from. lawmakers come the state legislslature put t out there. and then even at that, the governor has b been on b briefis saying they have no jurisdiction. and totally shocked unbelievable what is going on because there is no way thehey n win. ththere's just no way. andwe are t trying to focus .tay prepared for this p pandemc just have another issue is kind of unbelievable. amy: i would thank you so much for joining us, harold frazier, cheyenne river sioux tribe

chairman. speakingng to us from the reservatioion. t towe come back,k, we go chicago where covid-19 took black lives first. it didn't t have to. new yorkerslk about who are undocumented at the center of the pandemic who are the central yet underprotected. we will speakak with a pulitzer prize-winning rereporter with propublica. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: v valerie adrian, an n ogla lakota in sweetwater, idaho, participatating in quarantine dance specials. this is democracy nonow!, democracynow.org, the war and peacace reportrt. i'm amy goodman. as top infectious disease expert dr. anthony faucuci prepares to testify before a senate panel opening up thehe country prematurely will lead to "needless suffering and death,h" we look at how the pandemic hahs

already taken a disproportionate toll on africacan-americans in cities like chicago, where black people account for 30% of the city's population and 72% of covid-19 deaths. chicago mayor lori lightfoot spoke to cbs news' "face the nation" about the disparity. >> this is an issue not unique to chicagoans, unfortunately. we're seeing similar kikinds of numbers reported d across t the country y in largrge urban ntnt. the ananswerhat we belelieve is right is because of the underlyiying condititions that pepeople of cololor, partiticuly blackk folks, suffer frorom, whether itit is diabetes, heartt disesease, upperespipiratory illnesses. the kinds of things we have been talking about for a long time that plague black chicago that lead to life expectancy gaps. this virus the tax those underlying conditions with a vengeance. amy: a new report by investigative news outlet propublica explores this issue by examining the first 100

recorded deaths in chicago. 70 were african-american. reporters obtained a cook county medical examiner's database that listed the names, health and location information of covid-19-related deaths, and reached out to the families and friends of each person who died -- ultimately, focusing on 22 of the victims. for more, we are joined by the newly pulitzer prize-winning propublica's engagement reporter adriana gallardo. part of the propublicaca and age -- anchorage daily news collaboration that just won a 2020 pulitzer prize for the investigative report, "lawless," about sexual violence in the state of alaska. wheeled to talk to her about that as well as her piece on "los new yorkers: essential and underprotected in the pandemic's epicenter." but first, the story you did on chicago. congratulations on your pulitzer. talk about the significance of what you foundnd in your hometon inin chicago stop >> thank you r having me. good morning.

e effort.eamm chicacago that happens when you peel back all of the jargon and thee numbebers and d the overrepresentation iss one of losing the fabric of the city. in thehe2 families w we were abe to speak with, you really learn , they lovoved chicagogo, hohow mucuch they did foror they -- veteterans, teachers, nurses come e everyday fofolks that are really the workers at ththe heat ofof what makes the city so gre. in examining the f first 70 deaths, we were able to understand how sophisticated structural racism m exists in a place like chicago and how it is quick to sort of throw off the arrows and try andnd u understsd how entrenched things are. it is easy to say, these folks were sicker and worse off than other folks and that is an

inevitable consequence. what we lelearned is it looks vy different when it is your lived experience. did y youififically, what learnn i in terms of why t thers such a disproportionate impact in the african-american communityy compared to the general whitite community? >> there were three things we learnened from speaking to these famililies and looking at the da in chicago. one was that the one-size-fits-all approach to covid carare does not necessariy work for everyone, especially those that are already facing other complications. so many folks waited until their sysymptoms were very severe to seek care. thatat is one thing that really- ththe second thing,, the thing t most chicagoans know, the uneven distribution of hospitals throughout the city. many of the folks were among the first to die live in

neighborhoods served by less equipped hospitals, what are called safety net hospitals. particularly, the south and west side. they serve low-i-incomee populations with fewer resoururces. and many of the folks that became ill would either travel 30 minutes, 40 minutes to the nearest hospital that they trusted or they got so sick that by the time the permit'ss arrived, dead to go off into a hospital that they did not trust or was not e equipped d to serve themem. the other heartbreaking thing is the social connections that made their lives so strong, that make them enter goal to the beat of the citity really work fofor thm weaponize st and were ofteten a trtrace of how they became sick. those three things really stand out fofor us. juan: were there any particular impacts for instance of the

kinds of work that people did before the pandemic struck or during the pandemic? in terms of some of the latino community, which as i understand it, now already makes up the largest portion of any demographic i illinois that t has b been struy covid-19 but many of them work in frontntline situations, oritors, work in restaurants in hospitals as maintenanance people. were there any particular among the african-american community employoyment situations s that y have contributed to the contracting the virus and dying? >> these arere the c city's front-line wororkers, the tranat workers come the serervice industry workers. many of those connections have a lot to do with who died first in the pandemic. amy: your specialty, your love, your passion for journalism is around engagement t and bringing

out the voices of the people that you're covering. can you tell us some of the stories alike -- like philman williams, 70 years old and love to travel and was in mardi gras inin new orleans. i'm very interested in understanding the image b betwen the didisparity ththat they y lg lived with.h. there's so much that happens in between and 70 people that were part of their lives. ththat is something that doesn't always happen -- [inaudible] froze for second. go ahehead. story, especially the ones that we covered, it is important to understand what is at stake for those that are most affected by whatever issue we

are talking about. and learning from them frfrom their own experience, can tell fullerer's stories that are representatative of what is at stake and who let who down n in ththe equation. in this case, itit was a fast moving tararget. the pandemimic was probablyly te only factor in ththings that people knew were hapappening in and did notses necessssarily have any control over. amy: so john hill and philman williams? was a man that grew up and met his wife down the street at the rock 'n' roll mcdonanald's. met his w wife and buiuilt a fa, ststarted a small caterering busisiness. catered to many of the local politicians. among his proudest accomplishments was cooking for the obamass in 2008.. can't get more chicago than

that. wasman williams family proud of him. he was a doorman at michigan avenue. he w was very well loved by his colleagues, by people in hiss building. had a longng careeeer in the s e , in his neighborhood, and in his community. for mamany of ththese famimilies was a c can b betrayal. they were not expecting j john hill who is 53 years old and out campaigning for election day last marchch in chicago. for a a lot of thesese families, when you call themem and talk ko them about covidid, they don't speak of it inin terms we might write about a. they speak of it as a sudden and incredible loss to the families and who they work. amy: we're going to go to break and d when we e come bacack we o people in thehe

epicenter of the epicenter of the pandemic, who gets counted in their deaths, whoho doesn''t. what kinind of support does the state give, , especially for the undocucumented. adrianana gallardo, pulitzer prize-winning reporter with propublica. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: "quarantine trio improvisation" by sonny singh, jonathan goldberger, and rohin khkhemani, friends playing together alone in their homes from los angeles to new york city. this is democracy now!, democrcracynow.org, the quarante report. i am amy goodman in new york new with juan gonzalez in jersey. turn now to meet some of the weturn now to meet some of the undocumented new yorkers living through it. their stories are told in a new propublica report headlined "los new yorkers: essential and underprotected in the pandemic's epicenter." this is adan, a former kitchen worker who lives in the bronx with his wife and two teenage sons, who are u.s. citizens. adan says he worked at the world trade center two decades ago and

he lost many friends on september 11, who were not identified or acknowledged in the death toll because their names did not match those on record or their families were unable to claim the bodies. >> the same think is going to happen as it did in the twin towers. a lot of people are going to end up in a mass grave. there were a lot of mexicans working at the restaurants. a lot of people died even though they said only a few. that is why most people who work in restaurants and deliveries come the same thing is happening right now. amy: for morore on the story, we are with pulitzer prize winning journalist adriana gallardo, engagement reporter at propublica.

you talk about the essential and unprotected new yorkers that you met, that you profifile? start with adan. adan is an example of the workrkers we have in the piece. they've been in the city for decades. they belong to the low-wagee service indudustry. case, surprise we had a flashback to 9/11. as you heard, he was so certain that many of the people who were delivering all types of service will also be forgotten in the ways that undocumented deaths are happening in the city. sherpa. sort of my we would talk for a few days and then he would have an updated people who knew who were sick and dying. he and his wife and hisis son hd all been illl with covid and bet

it at home. many folks like adan who are both trying to save themselvess and help others s like his brothers who were convinced that would not get care if they went to seek it.. jujuan: in listening to their ststories, what were some of the biggggest cononcerns that you he in terms of the undocumented community as it continues to face this pandemic without any kind of the kinds of governmental support, emergency payayments o on the federal government, extra unemploymement insurance -- all of the other support that congress and d the president have been giving to the general population? f felt failedm multiple times by not just local governrnment and things s such s that wasg assistance done available to folks without

a social security number until the middle of last week, they were disappointed by their own consulate that were very slow to react to the hundreds of deaths that were piling up very quickly. of there left with some most difficult decisions, which were to either continue working and risk the health of their entire families or themselves or sit at home and sort of wait for this to pasass while not having any sort of income, any sort of relief. and people like adan, except they kept knocking on the door looking for rent and he was unable to come up with next month's rent. various folks talked about how much they loved what they did and how proud they were to have never missed until things like this happened. i think for them it was a case of ultimate disappointment. ultimate isolation in a city

that is alreready difficult to navigate. amy: there is a me going aroundm, instead of paying rent we should just clap for landlords instead. but if it's good enough for nurses, landlords should have no issue getting by on it. i want to turn to berenice. she suffers from kidney problems and her son struggles with asththma. she'e's been home for r weeks ag with her husband luis, w who, before the pandemic, worked at a cab company. >> yes, we need money, but there's also our health. if we can track coronavirus, this is serious because i have poor health and so does my son. we are trying to endure is much as we can. the situation is not easy with the says. the little we have we spent on buying food. we have family members who have gotten sick and friends who have died. we are trying to survive. amy: this is sosonya. she became ill with covid symptoms i missed three weeks ago and was afraid to go to the hospital. >> i'm afraid to go to the

hospital because i have diabetes. i prefer to isolate myself here at home. i only brought home remedies and drink a lot of hot tea. the situation itself has been very sad for me because i am here in my community helping whatever way i can, but i also know a lot of people and i've seen that many of them have already died. many people i know. it is sad to know their ride with symptoms at the hospital and they don't leave there alive. that was my fear. amy: they are just two of the people you profiled in this very powerful piece. they talk about the number of people who have died. you pushed hard to find out about burial benefits. can you talk about what came of that? there's just been a change. "the wall street journal" reporting, sadly, they use the ," butillegal immigrants they talk about the burial

benefits going up for new to $1700,from $900 including undocumented. >> yes. when we started writing this piece, their work to deaths that we document in the piece, a and one of them is an undocumented kitchen worker who o worked in timemes square. his family was fundraising like ma other famamilies to cover the burial costs and the cost of cremation in a pattern that just seemed -- you know, sudden illnlness, maybe a brief hospitalalization. many werere in the frfrzer traiailers that lilined the strs of new york and d then the incinerator. fofor them, navigagating a all t process can be challenging. of course, all of thee week,cations -- just last the city of new york changed

regulations. befofore this, the person requesting burial assistance and the person who died both had to have a social security number on the application. that has evaporated. now all new yorkers qualify for the burial assistance. i did want to mention about berenice and sonia. i met both of them. organization in york that works with indigenous mexixicans, whih make up a majority of the mexican community in the city. they support many of them. we are also talking about folks who break into even smaller communities of vulnerabilities. they come from very rememote places in mexico and other countries in central america, and they are facing unsurmountable challenges now in caring for their dad. hen: adriana gallardo, c can

talk about the wholele situatio? there has been an estimated 400 mexican migrants who are known to have died off covid-19 in the new york area. but for r health reaeans, the govementnt of mexixico will only accept their bodies if they are cremated. can you share any updates on this? what does this do in terms of the cultural traditions for some -- new mexicans and is there any change in terms of the mexican governments decision for burial back in the home then? >> i believe there is been no chanange in ththat policy.y. what t this means is a disruptin to tradition. many of these folks who celebrate indigegenous cultures and practctice catholicicism, tr tradadition is to bury the body, returning to the earth, have ceremonial rituals of that kind.

the cremation has really altered that notion of death and who gives the ashes. for one of the families, the ashes are sitting at thehe funel home until t they are able t tod them back. there are t tons of flight restrictions. there are other barriers to gettining the bodies or thee ass back to their families. that has been a tremendous obstacle for many of these families. the brothers we profiled, they did everything together. they came to the country togegether. and nono one brother isis sittin queens figuring out how toto sed the ashes of their other to their mother inin mexico.o. it is determined as the difficult in ways i think are hard for u us to imagine. amy: mayor de blasio said in the last few weeks that whenen you had, for example, 300 peoplple dying a day or 600 people, another 300 -- 200 to 300 were dying a day who were not being

counted. they were dying at home. so manany of those peoplple are immigrants. afraid to go to o the hospital. is that what you fouound? > absolutely. we h heard things like families anding amongst them selves someone in the family would say, if we go to the hospital, it we will be sectioned myth, partng -- part fear, part distrust in health systems. we are trying to undo a notion that as -- healthth care is a privilegege in most places, and undocumented workers are not the first to be receiving access to health care. so even as they were hearing very encouragingng messages from the governor, they were keeping up with the news, they did d not feel comfortable stepping into clinics. we also hearard from many who le withinin walking distancnce of

hospitals and they were watching the chaos unfold outside their door and became even more afraid of comingn at the e peak of the crisisis. yes, we heard time and time again they were too afraid to go. by the time they went, it was too late. t think, more thann we know, died at home. that's for sure. , i wasdriana gallardo wondering if y you could talk a little bit about what drives you to cover these stories? some of your own experiences that have shaped your perspective of what the role of a journalist i is in society? >> yeah, a lot of this work is absolutely personal. that is just because of the two cities that we just discussed our this is that i care a lot about and i grew u up in thehe suburbs s of chicago. i lived in chicago for many, many years. i'm a mexican woman.

i came as an immigrant at just five years o old. i workeded in a a janitorial fa. and aa lot of my family lot of the people that we talk to first stories are peoplple tt i can relate to. i am lucky to work with the team that really values the perspective of the working and the perspective of journalists who o may be art froththe traditional backgrounds that we see. i care tothings that understand on deeper levels and be able to really - -- we setett ththe top ofof the segmement, ws remembered and how. what can we do as journalists or a bit more to give these folks a nod. amy: we want to thank you for being with us. we want to ask you to stay with us for quick post show to talk about your gorgeous piece, "the

lucky ones" about your own life and the alaska story for which you just won with a team of people the pulitzer prize. adriana gallardo, engagement reporter at propublica. [captioning made possible by democrcracy

in tokyo, every ingredient has its own story. hello, and welcome to nhk "newsline." governors from across japan are calling on the abe mfrgs to continue to support their fight against the coronavirus. even if the local states of emergency are lifted. tokyo, osaka and several of the