i want to bring in byron pitt.age. >> reporter: well, george, without question. he was a 25-year-old activist, an idealist, a man of deep and abiding faith. he talked about how he prayed as he crossed that bridge, the edmund pettus bridge. as rachel said, named after a confederate officer who went on to be a leader in the kkk and a u.s. senator from the state of alabama. that bridge, george, is about four football fields long. john lewis says when he was crossing it, his biggest concern because he had confronted police before. his biggest concern was they might be tossed off the bridge which was about 100 feet off the ground, because john lewis couldn't swim. but he was willing to go forward anyway. i think about we just saw that image of his close friend, dr. martin luther king jr. who said not long after bloody sunday, that the arm of the universe is long, but it bends towards justice, and i think in some ways, today symbolized that. in 1965, john lewis was an agitator. he was confronted by the police. he showed

here's abc "nightline" anchor byron pitts. >> keep marching, keep sitting in, keep standing in, keep protesting until the sagging walls of segregation come tumbling down. >> reporter: john robert lewis didn't simply witness history, he shaped it. marched for it. bled for it. not once, not twice, but every time he was called upon. as lewis liked to put it, by just getting in the way. >> we must cry, and we all must cry together, that we want our freedom, and we want it now. ♪ >> reporter: the montgomery bus boycott drew the attention of one teenager, and soon civil rights would become john lewis' life work. and it nearly killed him. as would become his habit, where john lewis put his heart, his head followed. that's him bruised, bandaged, shedding blood, and standing up when others could not or would not. that became lewis' calling card. a sharecropper's son, born in troy, alabama, 1940, back when segregation was law, jim crow the enforcer. by 1963, at the age of 23, alongside martin luther king jr., he was dubbed one of the big six leaders of the civil rights movement. >> my friends,

but we are on our way and there will be no turning back. >> reporter: byron pitts, abc news, new york>> san francisco city hall is lit up in red, white and blue this morning to honor john lewis and flags are at half staff. those in the bay area who knew the congressman say that his legacy on equality and civil rights will endure. abc 7 news reporter cornell bernard continues our coverage of his passing. >> there have been teachers men and women throughout history who stood and said no, you can't take an eye for an eye. if you do, we'll all be blind. >> reporter: jeff steinberg reads from "walking of the wind" a memoir of john lewis. >> he was the soul of america in many ways. >> reporter: steinberg is the founder of the bay bay bay bay y sojourn project. john lewis has shared his story of struggle with almost 100 sojourn groups leading some across the edmund pettis bridge in selma where lewis and other peaceful protesters were beaten about i police known as bloody sunday. >> who is more courageous nan john lewis? arrested over 40 times, beaten many times, and yet always nonviolent. >>

>>> "nightline" starts right now with byron pitts. >> good evening, thank you for joining us. tonight the disparity in cases of covid-19 in america. soaring among the hispanic population, working some of the most underappreciated and vital jo jobs in this country. here's rachel scott with her "nightline" debut. >> reporter: for years, this was the highlight of the day. returning home from work to his wife and children, cal a carrngith him theaily pride of his job as an essential worker in the construction industry until everything changed, and he brought home something terrible. [ speaking in foreign language ] >> reporter: first came the chills, then the loss of taste and smell. like many in his industry, he says he contracted covid-19 in early june, but his fear was for his family and whether he'd given it to them and what that would mean for not just their health but their life. [ speaking in foreign language ] >> reporter: it is a unique and terrible situation many essential workers across the country deal with every day. those working quietly in the shadows, keeping our c

. >> now, "nightline," with byron pitts. >>> the extra 6$600 a week in unemployment benefits. some say it's too much. but for millions, it's the one thing keeping a roof over their heads and food on the table. this woman never used to worry much about paying for she's usually surrounded by meals working at an elementary school. but now, trips to the grocery school are filled with anxiety. >> i spent $41. it was a light shopping day for me. but sometimes this bill can be very, very big. >> reporter: laid off in march, the mom of two had to rely on the $776 she's receiving every week. a combination of federal and state unemployment benefits. it's a little less than what she was making between her day job and part-time jobs before the pandemic. what does stress look like in your house? >> we struggle to pay bills. with the kids home, it's rough because they eat more, they need clothing, the electricity bill is going up, and the price of good food is going up. >> reporter: next week, the income will be cut down to $176, unless congress comes to the rescue in the next three days. a

. >> that was our byron pitts with the late congressman john lewis on the steps of the lincoln memorialning me now on the powerhouse ronaldtable is byron pitts, our chief white house correspondent jonathan karl, leah wright-rigueur, former new jersey governor chris christie, and heidi heitkamp, the former democratic senator from north dakota. welcome to you all. and byron, you've had many poignant observations for the fight for civil rights and equality, we just saw those excerpts from your interview with john lewis, your thoughts this morning on his importance? >> well, good morning, martha. i think john lewis symbolizes what's possible in america. right, what's possible with courage and conviction. this is a man from troy, alabama, a sharecropper's son, he wasn't the most eloquent, he wasn't the most dynamic member of the civil rights movement in the '60s. but what a force he was. john lewis was 5'6" in dress shoes, right, as i described him on the air yesterday, he was an acorn to stood up to oak trees, this was a man because he loved america so, because he was so optimistic about am

but we are on our way and there will be no turning back. >> reporter: byron pitts, abc news, new york>> an amazing man. san francisco city hall is lit up in red, white and blue this morning to honor john lewis and flags are at half staff. those in the bay area who knew the congressman say that his legacy on equality and civil rights will endure. abc 7 news reporter cornell bernard continues our coverage of his passing. >> there have been teachers men and women throughout history who stood and said no, you can't take an eye for an eye. if you do, we'll all be blind. >> reporter: jeff steinberg reads from "walking of the wind" the memoir of his long time friend and mentor, john lewis. >> he was the soul of america in many ways. >> reporter: steinberg is the founder of the bay area based sojourn project. john lewis has shared his story of struggle with a sojourn groups leading some across the edmund pettis bridge in selma where lewis and other peaceful protesters were beaten about i police known as bloody sunday. >> who is more courageous nan john lewis? arrested over 40 times, beaten ma

>> "nightline" starts right now, with byron pitts. >> good evening, thank you for joining us. tonight the pause before the big holiday break this weekend. more than 40% of the country either stopping or reversing their plans to reopen. the meat industry also trying to bounce back with farmers some of the hardest hit, now bracing for a possible second wave of covid-19. here's my "nightline" co-anchor, juju chang. >> reporter: raising pigs is a family tradition for randy jay wurtsma. >> hog farming is built on flow of lots of numbers, tight margins. >> reporter: for three generations, this 2500-acre farm in rushmore, minnesota has kept food on the table for his own family and thousands of others across the country. >> of course we're in business to make a profit, make money and make a living, but we an essential cog in feeding the world. many farms like mine. this is where pork comes from. without us, there wouldn't be any. >> reporter: wurtsma is contracted to sell his pigs, 24,000 a year, to one of the biggest pork processing companies, until it was interrupted two months ago.

. >> "nightline" starts right now with byron pitts. >> good evening. thank you for joining us. tonight, as the 4th july creeps closer, the explosion of cases of covid-19 across america. doctors in hot zones now asking for help. while warning the worst is yet to come. here's abc's kaylee hartung. >> honestly, i was an idiot, straight up. i know when i'm wrong. i didn't take this virus seriously. i didn't take my own health seriously. >> reporter: jimmy flores has a warning for everyone. don't be like him. the once-healthy 30 year old from scottsdale, arizona is now at home with covid-19. >> i got 103-degree fever. i started developing loss of sense of taste and smell e. >> reporter: he suspects he contracted it after a busy night out at a bar. >> there was action that could have been better, like sharing drinks and whatnot. there was a really high risk of getting covid there. >> reporter: and as now he sees the number of cases explode he's urge being othevigilant. >> i was looking at my friends on facebook, still partying, still doing all this other stuff. >> reporter: 35 states

. >> "nightline" starts right now, with byron pitts. >> good evening. thank you for joining us. walmart making masks mandatory po for shoppers starting monday. tonight, the fierce departmebat between those who wear masks those who don't. >> from a grocery store in north hollywood to a drive-through in medford, new york. >> put your mask on before you get your employees sick! >> the simple decision to wear or mott not to wear a mask has e america's latest flash point. >> back off! threaten me again! >> coronavirus cases are surging across the u.s., from california to texas, to florida. more than 3.4 million people in the country have been diagnosed with the virus. deaths are now up in 25 states. yesterday, robert redfield pointed out one of our best weapons in this fight. >> i think if we could get everybody to wear a mask right now, i do think in the next four, six, eight weeks we could bring this epidemic under control. >> so i take these wipes. >> small business owners like keith walker in virginia believe there's only one way to successfully stay in business right now. >> ove

with byron pitts. >>> good evening, thank you for joining us. tonight the wide ranging abc news investigation into this country's response to covid-19. now some of the nation's top doctors and experts on why they say a series of missteps and ignored warnings created the crisis we're facing >> we are always at threat for the next pandemic. >> a mysterious new virus appearing in china. >> chinese health authorities are still working to identify the virus behind a pneumonia outbreak in the central city of wuhan. >> you have a brand-new virus that jumped species from animal to human. >> concern rising. >> there were a number of people raising red flags. >> as covid-19 rapidly spread around the world and arrived in the u.s. >> it is the perfect storm and my worst nightmare. >> tonight we go in ic catastro puic health flure in our naon history. >> how did we get >> ever t covid pandemic hit we're trying to determine if any one knew anything about a contagion sweeping through wuhan last year. >> everybody at the state, local, there's a lot of blood to

. >> "nightline" starts right now, with byron pitts. >> good evening. thank you for

we'll start with abc's byron pitts, "nightline" anchor. byron, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, dan. with courage and conviction john lewis helped change america. he's been described as one of the giants of the civil rights movement and that's true, but at just 5'6" tall, john lewis was an acorn who stood up to oak trees. john robert lewis didn't simply witness history, he shaped it. marched for it. bled for it. not once, not twice, but every time he was called upon. as lewis liked to put it, by just getting in the way. >> keep marching, keep sitting in. keep standing in. keep protesting until the sagging walls of segregation come tumbling down. >> reporter: a share cropper's son born in alabama in 1940 back when segregation was law, jim crow the enforcer. the montgomery bus boycott drew attention of one teenager and soon civil rights would become john lewis' life work and it nearly killed him. as a student at fisk university, lewis graduated from lunch counter sit-ins and bus boycotts to freedom rider. as would become his ha

. >> byron pitts, abc news new york. >>> and this morning tributes to the indomitable john lewis pouring in from around the world. . >> i can't begin to tell you the loss he represents in this country because he could heal both sides by his presence. and he had a humility greater than he was. he had this humility. that few members of congress have. and i just loved him with all my heart. >> former san francisco mayor willie brown had also been close friends with lewis from activist work in the sixties. brown says young people could carry on the legacy by continuing the type of activism seen after the death of george floyd. >> when the demonstrators took to the streets in america, if not all over the world. it brought a smile to john lewis' face. because for the first time all of the things that he stood for was beginning to make sense to every body in the world. >> lewis would visit san francisco many times over the years often to support local charities. and senator kamala harris release ad statement on his passing. we are grateful that john lewis never lost sight how great our country

. >> and byron pitts, it comes at a time when america as i said is so divided and is trying to figure out where the fights are for this new generation. and i think, george, we can look to the life and activism of john lewis. in 1965 john lewis was considered by many in power in this country as an agitator. as a troublemaker. as an extremist. that bridge into the arms of hate. today he rides into the warm embrace of history. george, at the end of this journey, john lewis did make i dr. king and when they arrived in montgomery dr. king said these words appropriate then. they seem appropriate now. i know some of you are asking today how long will it take? i come to you to say this afternoon however difficult the moment, however frustrating the hour, it will not be long, because truth pressed to the earth will rise again. how long? not long because no lie can live forever. how long? not long because you reap what you sew. how long, not long because the arm of the moral universe is long but it points towards justice. how long? not long because my eyes have seen the glory of the coming of t

byron pitts, "nightline" anchor with us as well. ebenezer baptist historic church.s' church. >> he was a member of ebenezer for years before he became ill. he would go back to atlanta every weekend, and every sunday morning, he would go to the early morning service. the 8:00 a.m. service because he rose at 5:00 in the morning, and this church meant so much to him. it's where he and his wife lillian were married. it's where her funeral service was held there. these images i can recall of john lewis and his wife, lillian's funeral. you see this man brokenhearted. his partner for 41 years was gone, and so today for people of faith -- i know people in that church are mindful that john lewis is with her again, his partner, this woman who they worshipped god together in that place. and ebenezer is a special place. it was the eaccep epicenter of civil rights movement in the 1960s, and america will be exposed to something. it will see the grandness of a black church, that historically in a black church, that's where we discuss politics. that's where people find comfort. tha