terri sewell, you're a congresswoman. you grew up where amelia boykin and others were tear gassed on that bridge. we walked across, beaten by alabama state troopers. yet you're a member of congress, which was unthinkable 60 years ago. and as you are in the community and have grown up among those that were the original foot soldiers, what can you say today to those of us that are complaining about the retrenchment of a lot of those rights? what should we take from this day? >> i think that what i'd like for folks to take is an opportunity to reflect on the significance of what happened 60 years ago, but to rededicate ourselves to the challenge and. >> to. >> the cause for which those marchers march. it was a call to action in my in my view, i am honored every day, and it's never, ever lost on me that i get to walk the halls of congress as alabama's first black congresswoman, because amelia boynton robinson dared to run in 1964 for this very same seat with 1% of the vote. and, you know, it's because of our foremothers and o

we're thankful for the leadership of terri sewell.ore than 200 democrats are original cosponsors of this legislation. we are unified on the issue of protecting the voting rights of every single american all across the country. and we ask republicans to join us. voting rights is not a democratic issue or republican issue. it's an american issue. and we should all stand behind the john robert lewis voting rights advancement act to make sure that it passes the house, passes of the senate can get signed into law so we can keep our great american democracy going into the future. thank you. >> thank you mr. liddy. we bring to the mic that another amazing brooklynite, the chair of the congressional black caucus yvette clarke. >> thank you very much, congresswoman soldier i am congresswoman yvette clarke, chair of the congressional black caucus and and i probably rt new york's ninth congressional district which is in central and southwest brooklyn. i want thank my esteemed colleague representative terri sewell, leadership has been tremendous

this past week democratic congresswoman terri sewell of alabama introduced a bill to restore some ofse provisions. the measure hasn't drawn any support from republicans, who control the house. still to come on pbs news weekend. the enduring impact of the covid-19 pandemic five years later. and, centuries after their extinction, beavers return to the wild in england. announcer: this is pbs news week and from the david m rubenstein studio in weta in washington, home of the pbs news hour weeknights on pbs. john: it was five years ago this week that the world health organization called the covid-19 outbreak a pandemic. in the united states, officials declared a national emergency, triggering travel bans for non-u.s. citizens and shutdowns nationwide. many who lived through the pandemic, including those who treated infected patients, are still dealing with the fallout. ali rogin has their story. ali: john, the events, which began in 2020 changed people's lives. nearly 75% of people said the pandemic took a toll on them, according to a new pew research survey. we spoke with people across t

ella bama democratic congresswoman terri sewell is pushing back against republican led voting efforts while these new laws may not may cause count how many marbles are in a jar? i have to say that modern-day efforts and modern-day barriers to voting are no less pernicious. the debate comes as the country prepares to mark the 60th anniversary of blood. he sunday, a pivotal moment in the fight for voting rights reporting in washington. reshad hudson. >> still ahead, a few seniors in the east bay are in the running for a big prize after being recognized among the top one percent of high school seniors nationwide. todd takes prevagen for his brain and this is his story. hi, i'm todd. i'm a veteran of 23 years. i served three overseas tours. i love to give back to the community. i saw a prevagen commercial and i did some research on it. i started taking prevagen about three years ago. i've told my coworkers and family, since taking prevagen, how much of a difference it's made in my life. i feel really good. prevagen. for your brain. >> all right. busy news day. want to check in with dan th

alabama congresswoman terri sewell spoke of its importance just days ahead of the 60th anniversary ofd i. >> think that 60 years. 60 years after john was bludgeoned on a bridge, that the cause for which john lewis and those foot soldiers, foot soldiers march would be our cause too. we know that, as john said, that ours is not the fight of one day, one week or one year. ours is truly the fight of a lifetime, and we will stand boldly with the american people to ensure that the sacred right to vote is protected, and that every american who is eligible to vote has access to the ballot box. >> this renewed effort comes after that same voting rights bill that bore john lewis name failed to reach president biden's desk while he was at the white house. doctor jay bhattacharya, best known for being an early critic of covid 19 lockdown orders, is now president trump's pick to lead the nih. he faced scrutiny today at his senate confirmation hearing, repeatedly questioned over how he would respond to trump's cuts. >> so do. >> you do you. >> support further cuts. >> at nih. funding or staff? >> s

walking peacefully across the edmund pettus bridge there, because you have alabama congresswoman terri sewell lewis voting rights advancement act. and she said this quote, never did i think that 60 years after john was bludgeoned on a bridge, that the cause for which john lewis and those foot soldiers marched would be our cause, too. i mean, do folks have a sense of that, that they're still locked in this sort of bloody sunday fight for voting rights and other rights, just without the optics of dogs and water cannons? >> the optics of the dogs and water water cannons was what drove a lot of attention 60 years ago. but it's more subtle now. but just as disenfranchizing because they're stopping people from voting based on various state laws. we even talked about this morning how when you have the president talking about dismantling the department of education, let the states handle it. well, brown versus the board of education, the landmark civil rights decision of 1954 that was to stop states from being able to decide on education policy in their state because they were ruling. then blacks cou