Transcripts For KQED PBS NewsHour 20240713

Mark shields and david brooks examine the politics of the pandemic, the effects on the 2020 campaign, and controversial statements by the candidates. All that and more on tonights pbs newshour. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by moving our economy for 160 years. Bnsf, the engine that connects us. Consumer cellular offers nocontract wireless plans that are designed to help you do more of the things you enjoy. Whether youre a talker, texter, browser, photographer, or a bit of everything, our u. S. Based Customer Service teais here to find a plan that fits you. To learn more, go to consumercellular. Tv the john s. And james l. Knight foundation. Fostering informed and engaged communities. More at kf. Org. And with the ongoing support of these institutions and friends of the newshour. This program was made pssible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Woodruff President Trump declared houses of worship essential today, a called on governors to reopen them this weekend. Some beaches and lakes are also reopening, as americans mark the memorial day holiday. Th all comes as the number of covid19 cases in the u. S. Climbed to roughly 1. 6 million. William brangham has our report. Brangham the flags stood at halfstaff at the white house today for the more than 95,000 americans who have died from covid19. The staggering death toll comes as the u. S. Enters the unofficial start of summer this weekend. One mayor along the new jersey shore said hes committed to keeping beachgoers safe were gonna have personnel specifically dicated to enforcing social distancing, to making sure that groups stay with who they came with and that theyre keeping that six foot radius at all times. Brangham mayor kanitra said hes cut beach parking by half to try and curb the number of outoftown visitors. And, beaches along lake michigan, like this one in northwest indiana are also slated to reopen this weekend. Park Ranger Bruce Rowe said theyll be watching the crowds carefully two weeks ago we shut down a beach in the National Park because overcrowded dangerous conditions, if that becomes necessary well that again. Brangham meanwhile, a new report from the Lancet Medical Journal notes that hydroxychloroquine, the anti malaria drug that President Trump says hes been taking to prevent covid19, linked to a higher death rate among people who are sick with the virus, and it can double or triple the risk of an irregular heart rhythm. Separately, theres no good evidence the drug prevents covid19, and the president this week hinted he might stop taking the drug soon. A at a press briefing the president said the order for the centers to have Disease Control to issue new guidance to allow place of worship to reopen doors this weekend. The governors need to do the right thing and allow these very essential places of faith to open right now. Reporter and he said eh will oerride governors who do not comply, though he doesnt have the authoty to do so. The c. D. C. Also updated other coronaviru and, the centers for Disease Control updated some of their coronavirus prevention guidelines, now saying that the virus is not as easily spread on contaminated surfaces as originally thought, or through animals. Across the globe today, muslims are preparing for their normally big eid celebrations, which mark the end of ramadan, a bit differently. From this indonesian outdoor market, to this one in kabul, crowds of people, some in masks, shopped for the holiday. A kabul official warned the city will be under lockdown during eid and urged families to avoid large gatherings. translated we ask all to stay at home and avoid going out for eid celebrations, going to relatives homes, picnics and all other means of celebration. The reason for this restriction is the spread of coronavirus in kabul city and the unexpected increase in number of positive cases. Brangham meanwhile, in europe theres a rush to implement new safety and prevention measures as businesses start to reopen. Like at this upscale salon in rome. Owner Giada Capuano says shes happy to get back to work, but says new Safety Measures will also be costly translated to re sanitize an area between one client and the next takes as a minimum halfanhour which means taking less appointments and bringing in le money at the end of the month. Brangham and, in portugal one coastal resort town says it will test all its 200,000 residents for coronavirus antibodies. Officials say the sults could provide peace of mind and hope it can lead to a busy tourist season to revive the sluggish economy. But for each new reopening, new hotspots are appearing india reported 6,088 new coronavirus cases in 24 hours, its biggest one day spike. And, in what is considered by many to be an underestimate, more than 20,000 brazilians have died from the virus, a fifth of those in sao paulo, including daniela dos santos mother. translated this disease is silent. We dont believe it happens and look at this, im burying my mother. Brangham in that city, graves are being dug at an unprecedented rate, creating the largest cemetery in latin america. For the pbs newshour, im william brangham. Woodruff in the days other news, a passenger jet in pakistan crashed into a crowded Residential District in karachi today. Most of the 98 people aboard were feared dead. At least two passengers survived. Smoke billowed up as ambulances raced through the busy neighborhood. Emergency workers combed throu the wreckage, looking for signs of life beneath cavedin roofs. translated i saw from the rooftop of my house lots of smoke in the sky, so i ran towards the scene and saw the wreckage of the planes cockpit and the body of a pilot inside. We came to know that the plane was unable to land and crashed here. Woodruff its unclear how many people on the ground were killed or injured. In china, deliberations began today over a bill to limit opposition activity in hong kong. The proposal was formally submitted at the annual National Peoples congress in beijing. Meanwhile in hong kong, chief executive carrie lam backed the effort. translated hong kongs Government Supports the National Peoples congress deliberation of the decision to establish and improve the legal system and enforce mechanisms at the National Level for the Hong Kong Government to safeguard National Security. Woodruff prodemocracy activists say the bill amounts to a crackdown on freedoms in the semiautonomous city. Chinas move comes after months of antibeijing protests in hong kong last year. Well discuss all this, after the news summary. The sons of slain saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi said theyve forgiven their fathers killers, a move that spares the five saudi agents from execution. One son explained that forgiveness was extended in line with the islamic tradition of offering pardons during the holy month of ramadan. But in a tweet, khashoggis fiancee, hatice cengiz, said, no one has the right to pardon his killers, and i will not stop until we get justice for jamal. Back in this country, the f. B. I. s director ordered an internal review of its investigation into President Trumps former National Security adviser, michael flynn. It will examine whether any f. B. I. Employees engaged in misconduct during the probe. Earlier this month, the Justice Department dismissed the criminal case against flynn for lying to the f. B. I. The District Attorney prosecuting the Fatal Shooting of Ahmaud Arbery in georgia spoke for the first time about the case today. Joyette holmes is the fourth prosecutor assigned to lead the case, after arberys death, believed to be at the hands of a white father and son, sparked a national uproar. We are going to make sure that we find justice in this case. We know that we have a broken family and a broken community down in brunswick. Now, i do ask, i know that there are a lot of people who have questions about next steps, about the facts, about where do we go from here, but we ask you that you allow us to try this case in the courtroom for the sanctity of this case. Woodruff her remarks came a day after the arrest of the man who videotaped the incident. William roddie bryan jr. Appeared in court today Via Teleconference to face charges including felony murder. His lawyer insisted bryan was nothing more than a witness. The f. B. I. Today identified the gunman who opened fire at a Texas Naval Air base in corpus christi, and wounded a sailor. The gunman, 20yearold adam salim alsahli, was killed during yesterdays attack. The f. B. I. Is investigating the incident as terrorismrelated, but offered no specifics. The university of california wont require s. A. T. Or a. C. T. Admissions exams through 2024. And it will eliminate them altogether for california residents after that. The governing board for the bloc of 10 schools voted unanimously to do so yesterday. Critics argued the exams put lowincome and minority students at a disadvantage. And, stocks were mixed on wall street today. The Dow Jones Industrial average lost nine points to close at 24,465. The nasdaq rose more than 39 points, and the s p 500 added seven. Still to come on the newshour we explore the Science Behind Antibody Tests for covid19, and their limitations. Chinas governme looks to exert greatecontrol on semi autonomous hong kong. Mark shields and david brooks break down the latest politics of the pandemic. Plus much more. Woodruff we return to the drastic proposal from china to tighten its grip on hong kong. At their annual gathering in beijing, chinas leaders today unveiled a new set of measures designed to curtail freedoms enjoyed in hong kong since its transfer to china from britain 23 years ago. Amna nawaz has more. Nawaz hong kong is supposed be semiautonomous under the so called one country, two systems policy. But in recent years, pro democracy activists have resisted efforts to bring hong kong under tighter mainland control. The new chinese legislation is short on details, but would seek to ban what it refers to as secession, sedition and subversion in hong kong. All this as chinseeks to emerge from the covid19 pandemic, which began there, and relations with the United States continue to worsen. Joining me is Bonnie Glaser, a Senior Advisor for asia at the center for strategic and International Studies, a washingtonbased think tank. Welcome back to the newshour. So as we mentioned, we donts have a lot of details, but what do we think the Practical Impact could when it comes to businesses or people, freedom of press in hong kong . Well, it remains unclear, i think, as to how beijing is going to implement if law. It will likely lead to further erosion of rights and freedoms in the territory, possibly greater control over the media. The law will permit mainland Security Forces to operate in hong kong, and that could potentially result in new Law Enforcement organs that operate alongside those that already exist. We could see an implementation of chinas patotic education that preaches Chinese Communist partyapproved messages that essentially political indoctrination. The law could give new authority to remove opposition lawmakers or even prosecute them. There could be further erosion of hong kongs independent judicial system. Reporter whats behind this . Why would president xi make this specific move at this spcific time i think the massive protests in hong kong last year with millions of people on the streets clamoring for democracy and desecrating the prc flag was very embarrassing for xi jinping, and i think he wants to avoid a resumption of those kinds of largescale protest as the pandemic gets under control. So with this fear in china that the situation in hong kong will deteriorate, i think that the cheese have decided to take preemptive measures to strengthen their control over hong kong, so the basic law, which is hong kongs mini constitution, really enabled the people of hong kong to keep their freedoms and have separate laws from Mainland China. Through there was but there was also a provision of article 23, which would have contained these National Security laws, and it was never ever really built out by the legislature in hong kong, so what the National Peoples congress has done is take a preemptive step to pass the law themselves. Reporter could a preemptive move like this spark more demonstration and, if they do, what would be the likely response from Mainland China . This move could spark greater demonstrations, bt there may be some people who dont want to return to the street because they fear that the new law will enable more people to be imprisoned and tried and incarcerated. But i think that the radical activists, those who are really committed to democracy, will take to the streets, and we will see greater violence. The question, of course, always in everyones mind, is whether the chinese will intervene with force. Reporter bonnie, were already seeing some response from u. S. Lawmakers. One statement from jeff merkley from oregon, a democrat, he said today is a dark day for mcand the world, any illusion china honors its obligations to respect hong kongs autonomy is shattered by this power grab. Beyond statements, is there anything u. S. Allies could do to pressure china and make sure hong kongs autonomy is protected . The united stat can work in concert with other countries to put pressure on hong kong. Certainly, through rhetoric, but that probably wont be enough. I think there does need to be consideration of sanctions in specific instances, and, so, we need to develop targeted sanctions that might be placed on police units or Chinese Communist Party Officials and even maybe banks that engage in transactions with individuals and entities that are violating one country, two systems, and i believe thats what the new legislation that is under consideration in congress is really going to take a look at. Reporter Bonnie Glaser from the center for strategic and International Studies joining us today. Thank you very much. Thank you. Woodruff that Party Congress in beiji was postponed as china battled the coronavirus. The Trump Administration has highlighted the possibility that covid19 was accidentally released from a chinese lab, by chinese scientists. That accusation is unproven, but as Nick Schifrin reports, questions of science have challenged u. S. china collaboration, and given way to increased the confrontation. Schifrin it feels like a descent into the heart of darkness. Chinese virus hunters, in wuhan, looking for coronaviruses, in bats, in a video posted as the pandemic began. Scientist tian junhua acknowledges in narration, there are serious risks. translated because when you find the viruses, you e also most easily exposed to the viruses. Schifrin tian says he hunts for viruses to create vaccines, before viruses hunt people. And the promotional video ends with a brag how many vuses chinese scientists have discovered. translated now, this may seem shocking, but its normal work for virus hunters the world over. And chinese scientists have been trained by the west. Were working in caves across southern china, where the risk is highest, and who is at most risk of this new disease. Schifrin peter daszak is the head of new yorkbased ecohealth alliance, which received bush, obama, and Trump Administration funding to researcin china. Pbs newshour filmed him five years ago with our Partner Global health frontiers, as he tried to improve defenses to viruses that jump from animals to humans like sarscov2, the virus that causes covid19. What were trying to do is, whats the next one coming ong, and can we stop it before it evolves into a lethal human pathogen. Schifrin tian works in a wuhan lab to do that work, and received one of the first live samples of sarscov2 on december 26. He and chinese colleagues wrote one of the first papers about a covid19 patient. In fact in the last weeks of december, teams of chinese scientists collected dozens of sarscov2 strains to share online. And chinese scientists submitted the first full genome after just two weeks of work. Thats incredibly fast, a sign of how far chinese scientists have come, says dr. Gregory gray is an Infectious Disease epidemiologist whos worked with chinese scientists since 2011. The majority of scientists i work with are excellent and often very much western trained and western thinking. They value truth. Schifrin but the Chinese Government put a break on that truth telling. On january 1st, Wuhan Institute of virology director general yanyi wang messaged her colleagues, saying the National Health commission told her the labs covid19 data shall not be published on social media. And shall not be disclosed to the media. And on january 3rd, the commission sent this document, never posted online, but saved by researchers, telling labs t destroy covid19 samples or send them to the depository institutions designated by the state. Secretary of state mike pompeo has repeatedly called that a coverup. The party chose to destroy live virus samples, instead of sharing them or asking us to help secure them. Schifrin last friday, the Chinese Government admitted to the destruction, but said it was for public safety. translated we released a guideline on january 3, aiming to prevent biohazards of labs and the occurrence of secondary disasters caused by unknown virus. Schifrin those seconry disasters have occurred before. The World Health Organization says in 2004, the virus that caused the previous years sars epidemic accidentally got out of a beijing lab where it was being analyzed by scientists. Causing small, brief outbreaks. Scientists believe a 1977 influenza epidemic spread after a russian lab accident. And leaks have even happened in the u. S. We learned today that about 75 government scientists were exposed to live anthrax. Schifrin the Trump Administration has repeatedly raised the possibility of a lab accident sparking the pandemic. Theres enormous evidence thats that where this began. Schifrin National Security advisor Robert Obrien added a crucial caveat. Look theres certainly the potential that it came from the laboratory. Schifrin some scientists we interviewed, agree the potential exists, and worry about lab security. Theres still this culture of compliance rather than a culture of safety. Schifrin tim trevan is a biological safety expert. He questions whether the Chinese Government would allow scientists to point out mistakes. If you have a society where its extremely hierarchical and people dont question their superiors. If, on top of that, you have a political system that disappears whistleblowers, then its a very difficult starting point to have a learning organization where everyone feels safe to speak up when ty see things which arent going right. Schifrin but trevan and other Scientists Say there is no evidence of a lab leak. And over the last few decades, the chinese have dramatically improved their facilities. Theres a lot of scrutiny now. Theres video cameras monitoring who does what. Often they have rules like we do where junior personnel have to be partner with senior personnel. Schifrin gray also says schifrin but the Chinese Government has admitted, it needs to strengthen bio security. Chinese president xi jinping says Epidemic Prevention and control systems must be strengthened. Schifrin in february xi jinping announced new biosafety rules. The procommunist party tabloid global times wrote that labs faced chronic inadequate management issues, though denied this had anything to do with covid19. But at the Wuhan Institute of virology, at the center of many u. S. Accusations, Deputy Director yuan zhiming wrote a par about chinas lab security last year that admits most laboratories lack specialized biosafety managers and engineers, this makes it difficult to identify and mitigate potential safety hazards. The u. S. Argues the Chinese Government must allow chinese scientists to voice those concerns, as a matter of life and death. As deputy National Security advisor Matt Pottinger put it, quoting a famous chinese writer in mandarin. translated those with the fortitude to seek and speak the truth in china today may take comfort, however, in something lu xun wrote lies written in ink can never disguise facts written in blood. Schifrin for xi jinping, todays meeting is designed to project, and ensure, national unity. He has centralized authority. And thats hindered the scientists. Some of our best collaborators come from beijing and from one of the leading military epidemiological institutions there. And in the last few years, theres been me scrutinywith respect to me going, visiting them in their facilities, their availability has been somewhat reduced. So i, attributed to sort of a consolidation of power, xi jinping. Schifrin but it goes both ways. The Trump Administration ended Peter Daszaks grant to work with chinese scientists. Collaboration is eroding, as the two countries, increaseies, confrontation. For the pbs newshour, im Nick Schifrin. Woodruff Scientists Say Antibody Testing may eventually be a key tool in the fight against the coronavirus. There was encouraging news on that front this week researchers said that antibodies found in a patient who had sars 17 years ago were able to neutralize covid19. Still, many questions remain about the effectiveness of Antibody Testing, and what a positive test means for immunity. John yang has the story. Yang around the world, an increasing demand for Antibody Tests, as people try to find out if theyve been exposed to the coronavirus. Patrick easley was tested in chicago. My thinking was if i got the Antibody Test and it came back positive, that means that id already had covid. And it had already gotten in my system and that i should be a okayish yang in west texas, coyne gibson drove three hours to get tested. My rationale comes from my science and engineering background and that, you know, knowing is better than guessing. Yang sara cureton said she was the sickest shes ever been in midjanuary, and was surprised when her Antibody Test was negative. The question has changed from, did i have it . Can i help someone . To, how accurate is that test . laughter yang thats the question even scientists are asking. Gigi Kwik Gronvall is a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins center for health security. There are a lot of things we dont know about the antibodies. Its not the simple black white, yes no go nogo type of Decision Making tool that i think people want it to be. Yang antibodies are a crucial part of our immune system. They attach to viruses, or virusinfected cells, and, ideally, neutralize them, helping our body remove them. Testing for antibodies is different from testing for the virus itself. Antibody tests rely on a blood sample. A positive test indicates exposure to the virus, and an immune response to it, even if you never have symptoms. Or at least thats the goal. These tests, especially for a new virus like covid19, can be wrong. Somebody may get the information that theyve been exposed and then they think, oh, im good to go. And then it turns out they were actuallyulnerable and they could get sick themselves and then transmit others. Yang in march, under pressure to quickly ramp up testing, the food and Drug Administration allowed manufacturers to start distributing tests without confirming their accuracy. The market was flooded with more than 150 of them. It was kind of a let a thousand flowers bloom strategy and they really opened the gates to a lot of different kinds of tests. And that led to a lot of tests being less accurate than advertised. Yang earlier this month, the agency began requiring that test makers prove their products are accurate, or risk having them pulled from the market. But even if every Antibody Test was completely reliable, that wouldnt tell us much about immunity. Thats because scientists dont know yet if antibodies protect someone from getting covid19 again. So who should get an Antibody Test right now, and why . Whats the right reason somebody should want to get an Antibody Test . And i dont i dont fault people for wanting to know if that terrible, terrible sickness they had a couple of months ago, if that really was covid 19. But, you know, you just, i just hope that people understand the limitations of our knowledge, yang even so, doctors across the country are making tests widely available. Its important and we are opening it up to anyone who wants it. People are saying, are going to say, youre over testing. Theyre gonna say, you are over testing. But were not. Were screening. We do, you know, rapid flus with that, knowing we know that theyre not perfect. Rapid strep tests are not perfect, but it helps better inform the patient and helps people make decisions for their own lives. Yang Stanford University bioethicist hank greely sees it differently. I think the tests are not good enough to be pushed for almost all of them, and people dont need them at this point. If there are good tests, they should be used for Important Scientific Research and not to yang studies from california to massachusetts have tried to use Antibody Tests to draw conclusions about the prevalence of the virus. In new york city, researchers estimate that one in five residents was likely exposed. And researchers recently announced results from what they called the First Nationwide antibody study. They tested about 5,600 Major League Baseball employees. The result an estimated positive rate of less than 1 . One of the studys lead researchers, Daniel Eichner of the antidoping Sports Medicine research and testing laboratory, urged caution when looking at the data. Were just looking at people employed by this one company. And so we know is you know, weve got to be careful before extrapolate out to the whole nation on that one. Its a very good study. And so its really good data. But i think that, you know, the infection rates are going to vary throughout the country and they will also vary through different population and demographic areas for sure. Yang some hope Antibody Testing could eventually lead to socalled immunity passports those with immunity would be allowed to end social distancing measures. But the World Health Organization said theres not enough evince for that yet. And even if there was, stanfords hank greely said, there are ethical questions. In a sense, it almost could lead to a kind of apartheid where some people are allowed to do some things and others arent. If we had a thoroughgoing immunity certificate system and it lasted ry long, i think thered be a lot of public discontent because people would sa look, thats not fair. And they would be right. Yang so for now, the advice from most experts is the same stay the course until more is known. For the pbs newshour, im john yang. Woodruff on thursday, the f. D. A. Did move ahead with its crackdown on Antibody Tests. Regulators published a list of more than two dozen tests that should no longer be sold in the u. S. The f. D. A. Says it will continue to add to the list as it learns more. Woodruff and now we turn to the analysis of shields and brooks. Thats syndicated columnist mark shields and New York Times columnist david brooks. Hello to both of you. I want to start with President Trump today ordering the nations governors to open up houses of worship, saying theres nothing they should do to prevent churches, synagogues and mosques from opening up. Mark, the president told the governors that if they dont go along with this, hes going to override them, although its not clear he has the authority to do that. What do you make of the president s really relentless push to get the country to open up his leadership at this moment in this pandemic . Well, judy, the churches are intriguing and complex problem unto themselves. Some would order the churches to open, and the reality is the biggest concern has been gatherings of ten or more people, and chrches frequently involve a lot more than ten people in close quarters, and also they have the problem of separation. The president s commitment as a churchgoer brings to mine the phrase making world safe for hypocrisy. This seems more political than ecclesiastical or theological on his part. Woodruff david, i want to ask you, too, and i want to bring in the fact that we are seeing, as the president pushes harder and harder for the country to open up, the support for this is breaking along partisan lines. Npr marist poll is showing more republicans are with the president and more democrats are more cautious. How do you lookt at all this . Yeah, first, the president is not subtle in his culture war fighting. He wanted to defend christmas against the alleged war on christmas and now is doing this. Its a pretty naked attempt to try to appeal to angelical voters. Churches happen to be one of the places were seeing it spreading. One of thecine churches is one of the worst things that happened. And, so, you know, its just foolish. The second foolishness is that a National Policy here is just not a good policy. This is very contextspecific. This virus is very essentialized. It hits one place, not another, so every decision that should be made and my view should be in the local populist level and, so, trump is just its just politics, just words out of his mouth. Woodruff mark, in terms of the president s overall determination to get the country to open up, is this something that, in the long run, he looks stronger as a leader for having done this . Well, judy, i think the president understandably wants to switch the subject. Its interesting, abc news, each month peoples confidence in the president s leadership and their trust in him handling the coronavirus, it was reached a high of 54 in march, and it dropped down to 44 , and now in the latest in may, its at 39 . So the president wants to get off his coronavirus shepherding and get back, he hopes, to an economy which was his calling card for reelection and that, somehow in the next six months, he could five months, i guess, now, in a couple of weeks, it could get revitalize quf dense and optimism in the econy and show some progress. Thats it. It hasnt worked for him as surgeon general, and hes got to try and do it as the economic chief. Woodruff quickly on this, david, one other thing, a lot of people commenting, when the president goes out, as he is trying to, he is not wearing a mask. Does it matter that the president doesnt . Yeah, thats exceptionally poor leadership. You lead by example. Thats Elementary School leadership. I think the worst thing that could happen now is opening and not opening became a partisan issue. Republicans and decrats do differ but not all that much. You still get 75 , 77 of the country supporting social distancing, and in our polarized state, you dont get that much. If you look at the movement in red and blue states, theres not a big difference in how people are behaving. Democrats by a gigantic percentage say the worst is still ahead of us, republicans by some gigantic percent say the worst is still behind us. The fact is the opening up is happening and is happening in all 50 states and will happen everywhere, and its not a political decision. Its a question of striking a balance between safety and economic opportunity. So its not an i ideological issue. Its a delicate balance that will be different in every single place. Woodruff well, it is a political year, its a president ial election year. Both the president and joe biden, in the last couple of days, gotten in hot water for some statement theve made. I want to first let you hear what joe biden said this morning. He was being interviewed by a radio host who goes by the name charlemagne the god, and heres what joe biden said. Listen, youve got to see us when you come to new york, v. P. Biden. I will. Ts a long way till november. Weve got more questions. You have more questions. If you have a problem figuring out whether youre for me or trump, then you aint black. It doesnt have to do with trump, it has to do with i want something for my community. Take a look at my record. I extended the voting act 1250 years. I have a record that is second to none woodruff after Vice President biden said if youre not voting for me then youre not black, heres what he said a few hours later, he called into a conference of the black u. S. Chamber of commerce. I never ever ever taken the Africanamerican Community for granted, and i shouldnt have been such a wise guy, i shouldnt have been so cavalier. Woodruff does Something Like this, mark, hurt him . It hurts. I think he corrected it quickly, but it was a serious mistake, judy. It showed, first of all, a sense of entitlement of the black vote, of the africanamerican vote that somehow they have to vote for joe biden, and that was wrong, and it was haughty and it had a certain arrogance about it, and, quite bluntly, in america, this marvelous mixing bowl of a country, whites dont get to tell blacks what being black means, and i think that was a mistake on joe bidens part. Woodruff david . Yeah, hes got the africanamerican republican senator from South Carolina had a good tweet, said 1. 3 million africanamericans voted for donald trump and didnt make them less black. Its a bad rule to say someones less blacks jewish, catholic. We dont need this. He was trying to be a funny in a show thats very edgy, and he apologized for it. So to have a president who apologizes . That might be a relief to a lot of people. Woodruff so, mark, the president got in some hot water himself in michigan yesterday visiting a Ford Assembly plant. He referred to henry ford, the founder, of course, of the company, spoke about what great blood lines he had which a lot of people picked up on. Henry ford was known to be antisemitic. He praised Adolph Hitler back in the 1930s. How does this add or not to our understanding of President Trump . Well, its either hes stupid, unaware of henry ford anis talking in code language about blood lines which smack of eugenics and racial superiority doctrines, which henry ford was a major. He was a practicing and convincing antisemite who accepted the cross of the german eying ail ward from the nazis in 1938. I mean, so it wasnt just a casual thing. So it shows the insensitivity or its some sort of a subtle whistle to white racists and White Supremacists that he admires them. Woodruff david, do you think it hurts the president . Im going with ignorance on this one. First, he dog whistles, trump is not subtle, so i dont know why he would start being subtle now. He doesnt read books. So the henry ford, what he did in the 20s and 30s would require reading a history book. It could be that he knew all this but i dont think you see it watching cable news ten hours a day. Ill give him the benefit that he just didnt know. Woodruff while were talking about the contest between these two men, the president has been on a campaign against mailin voting. The democrats are talking this up. The president is saying it leads to fraud, its illegal. Is this something that could end up a serious issue in the fall in november . Well, it could be an issue, judy, but this is not the opening sell, though. Just to point out, it has been a republicanorganized effort in the last decade to limit the number of voting precincts to make registration more difficult, to introduce a photo i. D. Requirements, to all of this totally bogus and fraudulent idea of the voter imitation and that there are people voting many times under several identities. The most exhaust study under this subject is done by Loyola University high school between 2004 and 2014. Theyve got 31 documented cases of voter fraud, over a billion ballots cast in those ten years. This is a way of trying to discourage and make more difficult. Criticized the secretary of state of michigan sending out applications for absentee voters to all the voters of michigan, but, at the same time, he didnt mention nebraska, idaho, iowa, south dakota, where similar letters have been sent by the secretary of state, all of whom are republican states. So its a suppressed turnout, not to encourage people to vote, to discourage people to vote. Woodruff david, there is no real evidence, serious substantive evidence of voter fraud in connection with mailin voting, so how do you see this . No, there isnt. Encouraging people to vote is good, discouraging people to vote is bad. Were living in a democracy, voting is a specific act that we should be encouraged. Im also struck not only by the wrongness of it but it might be the stupidity of it for republicans. They have it in their head they ed to suppress voting. Who likes mailin voting, its a lot of western states. They dont want to drive so far in normal times and now dont want to endanger themselves. Mitt romney said, in you tau, we overwhelmingly vote by mail and works well for us. Trump has a lot of rural and disengaged voters, lowinformation voters who arent too active in politics and showed up for donald trump in 2016. Seems he would want to lower the barriers to keep those people engaged with him. Its all mystifying. Woodruff all right. Well, i wanted to get to the inspectors general. Maybe you want to Say Something in ten seconds. The president in six weeks, mark, has gotten rid of four different inspectors general. Its unfair to ask you about it but maybe three words each . Well, its obvious that the president , Susan Collins was right, the president was chastened by the impeachment experience and is far less arrogant ant overreaching. This is just unforgivable. Woodruff and david. Its sort of a haiku. Woodruff well take haiku. Thank you both. My polling for not giving you my apology for not giving you more time on that one. David brooks, mark shields, we thank you. Woodruff as another week comes to a close, we want to honor some of the remarkable people who have fallen victim to this horrific virus. Arlene saunders was as captivating as her soprano opera voice. Born and raised in cleveland, ohio, arlene spent most of her career in germany performing with the hamburg state opera on stage and on television. She would go on to sing at the biggest opera house in the world, the met. Down to earth and elegant, arlene moved to new york in 1986, where she married the man she loved to dance and sing with raymond raskin. Arlene was 89 years old. Abdelfattah abdrabbo was often the first person at his canton, michigan mosque arriving at 4 00 in the morning to lead the sunrise prayer. A palestinian immigrant, abe arrived in the u. S. In the 1970s with close to nothing. Devoted, tireless and hardworking, he worked overtime and on holidays to build his importexport business always with a smile on his face. His six children say he gave them the american dream. He was 65 years old. Hailey herrera was nurturing and compassionate; the first person her friends called for comfort and advice. The 25yearold bronx native was working to become a therapist. She helped care for people with Mental Illnesses and earned a masters degree in marriage and family therapy. Her mom says she was a ball of energy and a joy to be around. Hailey loved throwing themed parties and making memories with her friends and family. Ralph pabon had an eye for fashion and a spirit of adventure. Both came through in the bridal gowns he designed in new york city. When his beloved mother remarried in 2014, ralph walked her down the aisle. She wore the Wedding Dress he designed. Gregarious and fun, ralph loved that his most recent work as a Flight Attendant allowed him to explore the world. He was 51 years old. 82yearold patrick petits family dubbed him the family philosopher, a nod to his ability to listen and offer wise advice. After serving in the navy, he became a Community Organizer during the civil rights movement, taught sociology at a university in minneapolis and raised three children. His last words were a message to his grandkids be happy, be kind and keep learning. Woodruff now, the millers tale. Many among you will know that weve borrowed the title of this story from the medieval british poet geoffrey chaucer, and his canterbury tales. Unlike that poem, full of adultery and trickery, we bring u a tale of uplift, from a picturesque water mill of chaucers era, pressed back into Service Today to provide bakers and grocers fresh flour amid covid19 shortages. From the county of dorset, 120 miles south west of london, special correspondent Malcolm Brabant reports. Reporter at sturminster newton, the dawn chorus and torrent of the river stour provide an eternal soundscape. For more than 1,000 years various water mills have stood here, producing high quality flour, first for aristocrats, then, the most powerful medieval monastery in england. And now, during the dark ages of covid 19, ordinary folk like thee and me. If you could bring back the miller who was here in those days 1,000 yrs ago, and stand him by the mill stones, hed know exactly how they worked. So things havent changed very much as far as the milling process is concerned, over that time. Reporter retired art teacher Pete Loosmore cranks up the water turbine that replaced the traditional water wheel over a century ago. We have absolutely every scrap of the grain that goes into the millstones is actually used in the flour so nothing is sieved out and nothing is added as well so what we produce here in the way of flour is absolutely pure flour, no additives whatsoever. Reporter during the lock down there havent been that many food shortages, but one staple thats been rather hard to find has been flour. And thats largely due to the popular british pastime of he baking. So during the Lockdown People have been sourcing flour from wherever they can to make bread cakes and pies. And stop yourself right there, because i know exactly what youre thinking. Who ate all the pies . The 500 year old mill is normally a museum, only grinding small quantities of flour for visitors. But loosmore stepped up production, when the supply chain for local bakers and supermarkets collapsed. They didnt seem to be able to restock. And here we were, ready for the next season, with Something Like a ton of grain stored away in the roof. We had the facility to make that grain into flour and local people needed it. Reporter the mills flour has been a godsend for this nearby artisan bakery, which set up a drive in service to kick start business. My husband likes white sliced fortunately. And that is just revolting i mean its horrle texture and its got no flavor at all really. But this, its dense and its chewy. It makes wonderful toast and it fills you up. Itsust good. It feels good and its nice to eat. Reporter dawn harvey is buying flour to make sourdough. How much difference does it make to the bread itself . So the way you can work. The feel of. The way you can work it and the taste. Definitely better than the supermarket. Reporter baker steve oxford is reaping the benefits of the new simplicity. The grain thats milled at stuminster is done in such a way that its milled in a more old fashioned, softer gentler way on softer milling stones so hardly any of the nutrients are lost. And so what you get is a much better flavor. A superior loaf for bakers like me who use a long fermentation process to produce their breads. The mill is no good for very quickly produced bread, modern day bread, but for a funny old bakery like rs its perfect. Reporter the feedback delights artist and Museum Curator Imogen Bittner, enjoying a third career as a miller. Its satisfying because you see the results straight away. Its not just about putting it through the millstones. Theres a lot of, sort of little techniques. Its the smell, its the, hearing how it is, its bouncing everything to produce the flour. Its almost like alchemy what comes out at the end. Reporter along with other entrepreneurs, steve oxford recognizes that covid 19 has forced a major reappraal of values. What this situation has done is that its raised awareness about things we should be appreciative of, things that can step up, things that do help, things that are so important to the heritage of our country, and the fact that, actually, when the world falls apart, there are men that can speak to men, and women who can speak to women, and do business and get things moving without the need of corporations without the need of mass production. Reporter Imogen Bittner also sees positives emerging from the lockdown. The lesson is we should do that more often with all our food. I mean, if you buy vegetables by the side of the road they taste better. Were importing so much. The commercial aspect of it kills the taste i think. If you can get back to basics, then you get better quality food. Reporter although the experiment suggests the mill has commercial potential, it is a historic landmark and the sense here is that once the crisis has subsided, this National Treasure will return to semi retirement. For the pbs newshour, im Malcolm Brabant in sturminster, newton. Woodruff on the newshour online right now, a new episode of our podcast, america interrupted, tackles why misinformationbout the coronavirus is so hard to fight. Find that on our website, pbs. Org newshour, or wherever you listen to your podcasts. And thats the newshour for tonight. Im judy woodruff. Have a great weekend. Thank you, please stay safe, and good night. Major funding for t pbs newshour has been provided by life isnt a straight line, and sometimes you can find yourself heading in a new direction. Fidelity is here to help you work through t unexpected, with Financial Planning and advice for today, and tomorrow. The william and flora hewlett foundation. For more than 50 years, advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world. At www. Hewlett. Org. Supporting social entrepreneurs and their slutions to the worlds most pressing problems skollfoundation. Org. And with the ongoing support of these institutions and friends of the newshour. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contrutions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by Media Access Group at wgbh access. Wgbh. Org. Hello, everyone, and welcome to amanpour co. Heres whats coming up. 5 million coronavirus cases worldwide and still counting. World famous epidemiologist who helped discover ebola joins us with the latest on a vaccine and what he learned from his own brush with covid. Then a person, not a statistic. A sisterseartfelt poem giving a human face to the dead. Also ahead. We are not all in it together. We havent been and were not all in it together in the pandemic. Writer Anand Giridharadas says how this plague exposes inequality in america and what congress