today sadly we said good-bye to one of the brightest scholars, lani guinier as our friend elie wrote,clearer voices how to protect the rights of people of color in this country. i want to give you a chance to give us your thoughts on lani guinier and her impact in this world. >> this is an incalculable loss. i didn't have the privilege of learning from her but every other that came after her, we know that we walked a path that she blazed and she was truly an amazing scholar and researcher and she showed us that even professional set backs, when she was for example withdrawn as a nominee for a civil rights office in the clinton administration, she used that set back to advance another academic theory about what democratic participation should look like and again, she was a model for all of us. this is a terrible, terrible loss. >> yeah, indeed. she was an incredible woman. i did get a chance to meet her once and she was a smart interesting character that could explain the law in smart simple terms you could understand and a huge advocate for voting rights. very quickly, i want you to c

lani guinier was 71 years old. to come on the newshour: our correspondents share memories of the day the u.s. capitol was attacked, and reflect on the time since. david brooks a jonathan capehart on vaccine mandates, and the messages of january 6. how the late sidney poitier pad the way for other black actors. and much more. >> woodruff: today, kazakhstan's president promised to “shoot to kill” protestors after a week of demonstrations. kazakhstan lies at the strategic crossroads of russia, china, a central asia, and has large energy reserves with billions invested by american companies. despite that wealth, many kazakhs live in poverty. and, as nick schifrin reports, economic frustrations are boiling over into demands to upend the country's authoritarian politics. >> schifrin: in western kazakhstan, the protest became a revolt. >> shal ket, shal ket! >> schifrin: protesters chant“ shal ket”-- “old man, out!"-- a reference to 81-year-old nursultan nazarbayev, who's helped lead kazakhstan since independence 30 years

. >>> this morning we are celebrating the life of civil rights champion and legal scholar lani guinierwas nominated to be assistant attorney general in 1993 by then president clinton but failed to win republican votes because of her support for affirmative action and went on to become the first woman of color appointed to a tenured professorship at harvard law school. she was 71 years old. >>> three-time olympic snowboard champion, shaun white is getting ready to compete in this weekend's olympic qualifying match hoping to land a spot on the u.s. team heading to beijing. he sat down with kaylee hartung revealing he tested positive for covid last month but he is doing better. >> i was feeling like a cold during that competition and i was getting tested every day and right as i was starting to feel better from that a new sickness hit me and i was like what the -- uh-oh, here we go. and, of course, it was covid and so from that point, you know, i didn't really get any training during the holiday break and then i got covid and thankfully i'm here and i tested negative multiple times to get

. >>> voting and civil rights champion, litigator and legal scholar lani guinier, who led the votingand the legal testifies fund. in 1993 she was nominated by president bill clinton to be the assistant attorney general for civil rights, only to be withdrawn in the face of stern republican opposition. she was also the first woman of color to receive tenure at harvard law school. lani was also a student of democracy who believed that we all have a part to play in its upkeep. >> living in a democracy is not something that we inherit, it is something that we inhabit, it is not something that we consume, it is something that we actively build together. >> today tributes for guinier poured in across the country to, paying tribute to her decades long champion of voting rights and her passing comes as democrats once again ramp up efforts to pass two stalled voting rights bills in the senate, today senator schumer again reiterated plans to hold a vote on changing senate rules to help facilitate passage of a voting rights bill by martin luther king jr. today on january 17th. king's family plan

i really think this is something we think of lani guinier's passing, i can't believe we're still fightingt. i've been saying, you know, to friends and everything that i get voting rights advocates and activists pressuring -- putting pressure on the president and the vice president and democrats in congress to do something about voting rights, but that gives a pass to republicans, particularly in the senate. why won't you let the bill just come to the floor for a debate? no one is asking you to vote for it. it would be great if you did, it would be american if you did, but just let the senate debate the bill and let it pass or fail on a simple majority vote. congressman, why do you think republicans are so afraid to have a debate on voting rights? >> well, you know, i think that the republicans are certainly led by people who do not want us to participate in this democracy. they do not want us to have voting rights because it gives us influence. it gives us power. it puts us at the table. so that we can be advocates for the least of these. this is not something that they have any real issu