Transcripts For KQED PBS NewsHour 20240712

Woodrf all that and more on tonights pbs newshour. F majording for the pbs newshour has been provided by life isnt a straight line, and sometimes you can find urself heading in a new direction. Fidelity is here to help you work through the unexpected, with Financial Planning and advice for today, and tomorrow. The william and flora hewlett for more than 50 years, advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world. At www. Hewlett. Org. And with the ongoing support of these institutions and individus. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributns to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Woodruff the nation echoes again tonight with protests over Police Violence against black and, there are mounting calls for wholesale changes in policing. All of this comes amid final farewells for the man whose death galvanized a movement. White house correspondent Yamiche Alcindor begins our coverage. In ar lines of people snaked around houstons fountain of praise church, as family, friends, and strangers paid their final respects to george floyd. Separately, the prese democratic president ial nominee joe biden and his wife jill met privately with floyds family. Meanwhile, in minneapolis, derek chauvin, the nowfired Police Officer who pinned floyd to the ground with a knee on his neck, and his first urt appearance. He faces an upgraded charge of seconddegree murder. Floyds death two weeks ago has sparked nationwide and now global protests against Police Brutality and systemic racism. In the u. S. , massive peaful protests continue across the country, from small towns and suburbs to thousands in large cities le los angeles, where an estimated 20,000 people came out on sunday. La prosecutedders announce thed would not charge thousands ofes protestors ard for curfew and other violations. And in senator mitt romney of utahican marched with protestors near the white house. Today in washington. Tda in washington the world is witnessing the birth of a new movement in our country. Alcindor . Congressional degcrats introduced a sweep set of policing reforms in protesters demands. Ath and the justice in policing act bans chokeholds; develops a National Standard for use of force; limits the transfer of military weapons to Police Departments; defines lynching as a federal hate crime; establis National Police misconduct registry; and, limits qu, ified immuniich protects officers from lawsuits overd allesconduct. Congressman Hakeem Jeffries of new york is among those. Ading the pu all weve ever wanted is to be treated equally. Not better, not worse. Equally. Whhas that beeso difficult to achieve . Thats all wevever wanted. World is they they led a round table with Law Enforcement officials. He and his campaign have attacked democrats including Vice President biden for wanting to quothte defune police. There wont be defunding. There wont be dismantling of our police. There is not going to be any disbanding of our police. Our police have been letting use live ince. Today bidens campaign pushed alcindor today, bidegns campai pushed back and said he does not believe the police should be defunded. In minneapolis, nine of the 13 City Council Members have called for dismantling the Police Department and replacing it wit a new Public Safety system. Other proposals, backed by progressive activists and a few elected officials do not call for Police Departments to be fully abolished. H instead they pate and local governments to decrease police budgets, while increasing spending on things like education and housing. Now outside the white house people have gathered to protest for yet another day. Theyve be than a week. For more they tell me that they are going here until america confronts inr a meaningful way the devastating and often deadly imct of racism, judy. Woodruff woodruff in the days other news, new york city began a gradual reopening for up to 400,000 workers, after months of pandemic restrictions. At its peak, in april, the disease killed more than 500 people a day in new york. The number now is in the single digits. Meanwhile, in geneva, the World Health Organization warned that, getting worse. Pandemic is still i know many of us would like this to be over, and i know many situations are seeing positive signs, but it is far from over. Activities, we need to build up the activities and infrastructure that in place in many countries and continues to not be in place inc mantries. G woodruff elsewhere, india began reopenlls, hotels and places of worship, despite reporting nearly 10,000 new caseof covid19. But, new zealand announced it has eradicated the virus. Wall streets rally started its fourth wk today, on optimism that the worst of the pandemic recession is over. The Dow Jones Industrial average gained 461 points to close at 27,572. The nasdaq rose 110 pots, and, the s p 500 added 38. In paris, work began tod to clear 200 tons of melted scaffolding atop notre dame cathedral. It had been installed for renovations before last years disastrous fire. Crews were lowered into the wreckage today. They will work through the summer and dismantle 40,000 pieces of charred, twisted metal. And, a Tropical Storm that came ashore sunday along the u. S. Depression, dumping rain as it goes. Flooding paralyzed parts of mandeville, louisiana today. Communities near new orleans were also inundated, along with christian, mississippi. Still to come on the newshour Defunding Police a majorre effort tlocate funding to invest in communities. We discuss the massive protests and potential reforms with senator cory booker. Despite the risks of covid 19, the Postal Service and delivery workers continueito carry out al duties. And much more. Woodruff as weve se in minneapolis, theres a shift underway in some places on when practices. O reforming police namely, some are arguing reform does not work. Thats behind the idea of defunding the police. It includes a range of views. That can mean shifting money and budgets to other social Services Agencies that might be betterpp eq to handle issues assigned to the police. In some cases, people are calling for outright abolition of Police Departments. Were going to spend some time could mean. At these changes Charlene Carruthers is an organizer with movement for black lives and author of unapologetic a black, queer and feminist mandate for radical movements. And chuck wexler is the ecutive director of the Police Executive research forum, an organization of Law Enforcementl offi and welcome to both of you to the newshour, thank you for being here. Charlene carruthers, to you first, what is it that you would departments acrosscountry . Ce how should they operate. So fundamentally the problem that people are rising across the country right now is the issue of how much our Police Departments are invested in and how much our communities are not invested in. So what i would like to see happen in a city like chicago where i currently live, is that our over 1. 7 billion budget which amounts to just under 5 Million Dollars a day be grely reallocated and invested in our community and oupublic education and our health care and quality public housing, jobs and our environment. And frankly thats not happening. What we are seeing with Police Departments is surlavee, violence, and the death of our people. E. D that simply must cha and we know that bandaid reform woodruff so to clarify, what would the role of police be. D and you woave some money for Police Working on crime tha isommitted, right . Process to living a societythe where safety exists beyond policing will take a very it will take time, it wont hapen overnight. Local governm and also localour Police Departments commit to a essential safetyservices from the power ad control of Police Departments into our community. That means crisis response, and that also means with how we deal with violence, conflict and harm means that actually, eventually, the police are not up tances of crisis,vene or show conflict, harm or violence but, am ft, it is a communitybased response that is outside of systems of polioncing, prand jail. Woodruff chuck wexler, what about thicos ncept of shifting these kinds of responsibilities, at lst initially, for issues that around situations around Mental Health counseling, drug counseling, immediate yaition, that mediation, that money be shifted to other social Service Agencies. Well, actually, i agree with a lot of what miss carruthers said in terms of, this is joint responsibility with the community. Mental health, homeless, dealing with the opioid issue, this cant be done with the police alone. We need the community. And i agree with her about we need to get kids to have jobs. We need to working in community policing. We need to be doing problem solvin so there is not really much which i disagree with miss carruthers. Except for the fact that at the spotlight on police, that is the time to take a hard look at how they do their job. But we ed the police, we need smart police, so i dont sagree with miss carruthers said about the need to help prevent crime. We neecommunity people. Ive worked in chicago. I know the crisis of people that work, and they prevent gang violence. Those people in chire gang interrupters that prevent violence. We need them. But here is where we today. We had a huge incident in minneapolis it is a de fining moment for this country. Bu we have some choices. Do we walk away from the police or do we say hey, you know what, we tried to hange the police. But we, this was an eye opener. What happened minneapolis was a total police failure. But there are some goodcops out there. And when you are in crisis we need a good cop. We cantust walk away from police. Now is the time to get into policing, to do proem solving, to work with the community, to be better at what we do. Charlene carruthers, in your view, is this a choice between reforming policing further, we know some reforms are clearly already instituted it is it a choice between reforming wpolicing and just doing with policing or how do you see it . So actually mr. Wechsler and i have fundamental i actually do notelieve that we agree about the role of the police. I do not believe that we should have a partnership between community and the police in order to deal with conflict, harm and violence in our community. What that power, those decisions and that rl including the money needs to actually be completely shifted. And not just social Service Agencies because we also know and understand that many social Service Agencies act in proxy to the Police Department across th country. And what were seeing in minneapolis is not simply a casa few bad apples. He reality, we know that t entire tree is rotten. It has been rotten since policing was even developed in this country. We know its origins as serving as slave catchers foreign slaved africans. We know how police played a role, a major role in jim crow. We know how Police Continue to play a role in the mass incar raise of black incarceration of blacks pd brople, what we are talking about a radicalln shifting transforming the world that we live in. We know that defunding the police is one step, but one essential step. Because power, how it works in this world is to organize resources, meaning money, and organize people. And so were going towards the source of what we know the corporations undd, and, Police Unions understand. Is that were coming to say we want power shifted into our community. Woodruff and in essence chuck wexler wh i hr miss carruthers saying is that police as an intitution doesnt work any more. Well, you know, maybe if i was in her shoes i might feel the same way. Ti dont take away anything shea. She has lived this, i havent. But heres what i know at the end of the daythere are 18,000 Police Departments in this country. 90 of us, 25 officers are left n have no gaid on use of force. We put out guide lines on use of d rce six years ago we believe in the sank tit of human life. We believe in the duty to intervene, rendeng first aid. We need humane police, we donpl have n b. If you said in minneapolis were ice,g to des band the pol what does that mean. Swub needs to respond to someone when they are in crisis. If you ned a Police Officer and are you in crisis, there is absolutely Nothing Better than n good cod absolutely nothing worse nan a bad cop. We need police in socty. But we need humane police, we need good police, we need to be working with groups like yours we cannot do this alone. We cannot change police. We need the community wh us this was a de fining moment in e minneapolis but lets is moment to change an institution. You know, Society Needs police. We need humane police. Were better than what happened in minneapolis. Woodruff miss carruthers, what about his poin that aa country, as a society we need police in crisis situations. L so i e on the south side of chicago. And every singlemya community is sur vailed by the d chicago polipartment. Billion dollao the chicago a Police Department every single day. At the same time we see story after story of violence that is happening in our community. The police are not keeng us safe. Any semblance of safety that we have comes from within our community. We know things like good jobs, good edcation, good health esre, Mental Health crisis actually rediolence that happens in our communities. And to mr. Wechslers point, in crisis, imagine that you are being assaulted by your partner or are you in the middle of a Mental Health crisis and instead of a person showing up with a gun and a taser and an entire it is a al service worker. Hem, worker, it is a second allis assault crisis Sexual Assault countries is responder. More cops than weveschools have counselors. What i am saying here is something that some neighborhoods an communities already know. We know wealthy communities and White Communities know what it is like to actually have resourads insf having more cops. And thats what were talking about here. Its not a vision that is itunattainable. S a vision that invites more community into the press. Woodruff chuck wexler, final word, is that something that isr wokable . I think that is workable. I think teaming up, men Mental Health workers with the police can be absolutely workable. L we dont fke we have a monopoly on Mental Health issues, be drug issues, on people in crisis. But heres the reality. It is 3 00 in the morning. Are those other social Service Agencies willing to step up . If they are, come join us, we need all the help we can get. F woodrell, we certainly hear you both it is a conversation ongoing for sometime to come. Carruthers, we thank you both. T nk you. Woodruff while defund the police has become a rallying cry for black lives matter activists and some of the thousands of protesters across the country, Democrats Congress are considering a different set of proposals. Amna nawaz has more on that. And just today, the new jersey state attorney general released video of the fatal srmoting of an u black man, maurice gordon, by a white state trooper last month. It happened just twokiays before thing of george floyd in minneapolis. In congrs, more than 200 house and Senate Democrats have signed onto the justice in policing act. As wlaid out earlier in the program, it would, among other things ban chokeholds. End noknock warrants in drug cases. Mandate Police Training on racial bias. And collect data at the federal level on the use of force. One of the bills sponsors is senator cory booker of new jersey, and he joins me now. Welcome back to the newshour, lets talk about this legislation now because there are some elements in here at have been on the table before, efforts to stop militarization of policeto end racial profiling. Neither of those bills came to a vote under pressure from Police Unions and others. Sohat is different about the proposals now other than the moments in which they are beingo broughard . Well, i think first of all the moment is the message that we have toay there has been no great bills of from workers rights to civil rights, lgbtq rihts, that hasnt had large scale efforts, Mass Mobilization of nonviolent protesters. Change doesnt come from washington, change com to washington. So when you have hundreds of thousands if not millions ofga americans ng in norms of nonviolent protest in all 50 states, multiracial,ig muerational, multigenerational coalition this bill wouldnt have gotten many cosponsors a month ago, now has two thirds or more of the democrats in senate and a hundred plus, close clsing to 200 house members. So this bill has a lot moreo momentum. And you are right, and that is almost a ridiculous reality. Is that many of these common sense ideas in this bl have been around for decades of people demanding those the change to happen. Now the demand has grown louder some of these practices that should have been banned decades, believe we now have a chance of getting it done. You mentioned the cosponsors, st worth pointing out you dont have a single republit n cosponsor those many that you listed right there. Why not . You pride yourself on reaching across the aisle, working with your reespublican colleawhat are they telling you is their hesitation on signing on to this. T i will not a spotlight on anybody right now that i am in good faith negotiations with, but im talking to republican colleaguescross the aisle. It is a long process. It took me years to get many of my republican colleues who were earlier on in my senate career, who were talking against criminal justice form but ultimately we have a bill that liberated thousands of people from prson. Something people told me was impossible to get done. So again, this is at is right. And this bill son the right side of history. And i know this isust the beginning. This is less than 24 hours since we presented this bill but now we go to, without. And the great thing again is that the community at large, is demanding these changes. Beyond partisanship. You see people just saying this is right. That we dont have noknock warrants where plain clothes officers barge into peoples houses, ns drawn. That is a recipe for disaste like brnna taylor. We have already seen a few dozen Police Departments ban the kindf hoke holds that killed eric garner. These are very common sense things at a Police Officer does he greejous wrong shouldnt have virtual immunity in federa court. So these are things that the average american would say are commnse, enable us to hold people accountable, and will stop things like tamir rice being shot and killed by a Police Officer who was on the rge of being fred from another Police Department and just ducked out of that one and einto another one becae have no National Database of misconduct. These are common sense reforms lives. Ill protect peo and it is the right side of history and were going to keep fighting until we get them done. Senator booker, i wanted to ask you abut the other conversation around the police right now. That is this defund the police comovement andversation. You said you wont use the phrase but that you understand the sustance. So what does that mean . Do you belrtve police dents today constitute too much of a line item budget, too big of a line item budget in local and ci governments. First of all im i watchingtr p weaponnize this slog, that is not a conversation we need right now, what we need ask to talk to the real issue going on in our nation,that we are the of the global population but one out of every four incarcerated people are here in america, one in threce incerated women here in america. You go into our prison and see who we treat in police, and prisons and jail. It ithe most vulnerable in our society. We need help. We overwhelmingly incars rate people with mental illness. That is not a policing problem, that is a healthcare problem. We overwhelmsly incarcerate thosraddicted tougs over and over again, costing us millions treatment. Before they ge that is not a police problem, a medical care problem. Blem and we now criminalize poverty in this country and e for years. Ask anybody who has warrants out for their arrest because they couldnt afford the hundreds oh dollars wo Traffic Violation tickets that they have. So clearly we are a societthat is investing in things, it costs taxpayers much more mohat are an affront to human dignity, that dont elevate Human Potential and dont reflect our common values. So im not going to get into false political argument. What i want to get into is how community in our nation, when we care por those people hurt and in pain and struggling and help them to avoid the need fore police in rst place. If we were making investments. I am sorr to cut you off, i know your time is limited. I hear you saying you think those funds should be reallocated to meet the problems on the front end but this is an issue for mayor, this is an issue you have had to make before in newark back2010 when you were facing a budget crunch, you made the decision to cut about 150 Police Officers out of that budget crunch and back then you said when i first came in we werdisarving ou city departments to push more resources into the police other miers today could make the same argument, was that a mistake back then . I think it is because are you dealing with this as if it is a zero sum game. The reality is what we started doing tend of my term yoas r is experimenting with bringing in the psychology of iminology to see if we could attack some of the problems, drug crime, drug violence, not with Police Intervention but with community sstervention and we saw tremendous sucn that. This is not a zero sum game, pulling a dollar from oe place and putting it another it is about deconflicting our society, its ag out stoppe overreliance on police, prisons and jails and finding soutions, evidencebased solutions that work. And if we keep constructing it in a way that it is a zero sum game we will start lining up people on both sides, if we taln larger way, that there is a way to keep our society much safer with t less use of taxpayer dollars, in fact, a better investment, i can give you case after case to study cities for the greater part of my 20s and 30s. I can show you cities and communities that have made these shown that they could saveand taxpayer dollars, stop crime more than any police can, and elevate Human Potential. And that is what we should be having a constructive kfertionz abounversation about. Before i let you go, vase President Biden has not yet picked someone to run alongside him. Given race relises are morey urgent priorr america right now, does he need to pick a black woman. I am not going to tell the nominee from our party who ius with being the president of the United States, im not going to tell him who he has to pick. I that joe biden will pick someone who is prepared to be president of the United States. Pick someone who elp to heal our country and bring us together, and someone who is qualified for that job. I know he has a lot on his mind and a lot to weigh. Is is the most important election of our lifetime. And i trust that he will make not just the right decision this case, but as president of the United States he will make many of the right decisions to help our country heal,ome together and envision and establish a more beloved nation. Senator cory booker, democrat from the state of new jersey joining us today. Thank you very much, senator. Thank you. This pandemic, millions ofof people are relying on mail carriers and delery workers for essential supplies. The Postal Service, meanwhile, is struggling financially, seeking help from coress, and under fire from the president , who says he wont back financial relief, unless the Postal Service raises prices. Amna is back with a report based on talks with postal and delivery workers on the frontlines every day, about the risks they face, and the challenge of staying safe. Nawaz every morning, in louisville, mississippi, latonya outlaw and the mail clerks she supervises at this post office gather in a circle. Outside, and sixfeet apart. E ffective immediately and until furtr notice follow the nawaz its their daily safety protocol meeting. Standard, during the pandemic. Avoid ringing the doorbell i. Possib nawaz latonya has added another team ritual. We start a prayer saying that we pray. Dat, you know, were cove through the day and that we can be at work and work safely and return home to our family safely. Nawaz latonya and her team are some of the 630,000 u. S. Postal service workers, sortinge and deliring mail to millions of americans every day. But that is not without risk. More than 2500 Postal Service employs have tested positive for the virus and, according to 0 e americ postal workers union, more thanve died. They arent the frly ones on the tlines, they join, workers from Companies Like fedex and u. P. S. , who are among the essential, workers keeping people connected, delivering packages from shuttered businesses, groceries to families sheltering in place, and prescriptions straighto patients doorsteps. U. P. S. Calls me a service provider, but im a truck driver. I deliver packages for a living. Dada. Nawaz Steve Oconnell has been with u. P. S. 15 years, and says hes never been busier. I gotta go to work nawaz ten to 12 hour days are his new normal. Ill have nightmares of the loads and the amount of packages that are in the truck on a daily basis that you really have to stop and take a deep breath when you see it. Nawaz and he knows the risk hes seen it up close, at the boston u. P. S. Facility where he works. It was just weekly. Out and one would come back and another one would go out. You would ask, where is this guy . O oh, he on covid. Nawaz according to oconnells union, teamsters local 25, five empp. Yees at that facility tested positive for covid19 and another five p wesumptive positives. U. P. S. Told the newshour thatt they do sclose positive cases to the media and said in a statement that they are vigilantly takins to protect the health and welfare of employees, customerl and the geneblic. But back in march, oconnell rries he carried the vir home from work. His wife hanna was diagnosed by testing negative. Ovid 19 despite just 33yearsold, she was hit hard. Watching her and trying to walk from the couch to the throom and then come back in tears because she nt breathe. And with the two year old running around and he doesnt understand whats wrong with his mom. Nawaz today hanna is slowly recovering. And after two weeks of self quarantining, oconnell is now back at work. Wearing this boston strong mask for protection, in a place he says social distancing is ne impossible. Every truck is right next to each other. Everyones crammed in a hallway together trying to get, you know, the board in the morning. And there are guys in my building who have kids with brain tumor as wives whos got over breast cancer. And theyrscared to death. Ey dont want to bring the virus home. Nawaz as a shopper for shipt, argets delilvery service, willy soliss an essential worker right now. But the job is essential for him too. K i honestly open up my b account to see how much money is there and figure out if its something that i have to go out venture out into the int the world to kind of expose myself to make money. Toys one of those days, i nawaz sos, who is rituals to stay sa has his own before entering a store, he repeats his rules, to reduce his remember socialncing. Remember to give you yourself some space. Six feetpart. After he leaves each store. Nawaz . An exhaustive decontamination disinfectant spray on his clothes and even washing his clothes and showering once back in his home. Its stressful, he says, but he cant afford to stop wking. If it wasnt for the limited amount times that m out there, i wouldnt have any money to put him gas in my car or food on the table. Nawaz the work of ntese esl workers can seem thankless. Their customers are hidden d behirs the less contact, the safer they all stay. But more and mor during this pandemic, some customers are finding ways to connect, andtu show their gra to the workers theyve come to rely on. In sioux falls, south dakota, 11 year old emerson weber, an avid, decided to write one to her own mail carrier, doug. Why diyou decide to write him a letter . L, i didnt know his nam or anything about him. And i knew he saw a lot of letters, but he may not receive a lot. Nt so i just to put it in there to brighten his day during work as he was picking up my letters. Nawaz doug shared the lettes withoss. Who shared it with more colleagues. Who shared it with more. Next thing shenew . Emerson was getting letters from postal workers acrosthe entire country. Th e are people writing and things like i work alone in a small rural st office. People write little thing. My kids all live far away. Strangers would open up like that . I certainly didnt. Nawaz her father, hugh weber as a family, just read them all aloud. And it was emotional at times and it was also this moment w recognizing ch we needed that kind of echo back. Nawaz new connections made, even as old ones are tested. At the end of evy day for latonya outlaw, another ritual before she can greet her two young children. And i always try to keep that distance before i actually gomy and gelf ready for the end of the day. Nawaz is that odd for you to not walk in the door and immediately be able to hug yr kids . It is very odd and its course, theyre there with open inms and, you know, its hurtful to a ceregree. But i know we have to maintain that distance just for a short period of time until i can get myself in a position i feel safe enough to give them hugs and kisses. Nawaz for the pbs newshour im amna nawaz. Deoodruff the sheer magni of protests in the streets has raised a Public Health question over the past week or if people are not social distancing and theyre gathering in t thousands and tens of thousands, arent people exposing themselves to a greater risk of covid . D how should that risk b weighed against Public Health concernsver the lives and Living Conditions of African Americans . Lisa desjardins explores. Ome of that n desjardins judy, those estions are part of what protesters, physicians, and Public Health ecialists have been weighing as people mobilize. In fact, nearly 1300 Public Health professionals signed a letter supporting the protests, arguing that systemic racism had contributed to or led to a disproportionate number of deaths among africanamericans. More than 20,000 African Americans have died from covid already. Dr. Geors benjamin is executive director of the american Public Health association. Dr. Benjamin, i want to start right away with how we balance these two thin these protests are happening about a Public Health cririsis, namericans being killed or harmed by police. But theyre also happening in a Public Health crisis, the coronavirus. How do you weigh those two things . You know, it is a difficult decision. But people have to make a thcision, recognizing thaere is a risk of going out. They may get infected. T theallenge is that particularly africanamericans are fearful each and every day. And thats a risk that we have to take. Now i tell folks that if you are going to go out, then you need to protect yourself. You need to wear masks. You need to carry hand sanitizer, you need to try to physically distance as much as you can but understand you are having a risk when you go in public like that. Should they be doing things like shouting, for example. And how do they keep from kind of getting too other peoples small base. When they are in a also, how about the authorities . What should they be doingo try and minimize the covid exposure for themselves and for e ople there. We have seen a lot of reports about how the use of tear gas may be a Health Problem because of this. Can you talk to both ofthose groups . Absolutely. So those out there, just trying to stay as physically separate as you can,ecognizing that yeah, youre going to talk, youre goin g out. The more you do that, the more likely you put yourself at risk but keeping your mask on as much as you can. And for the police, tear gassing is a problem. You know, yoshould use that under very shall very strict guance. It causes inflammation of the lungs, it causes people to coug putting people in a little box which brings them all together, is a problem. And of crse the plastic bullets, those rubber bull epts that they talk about being nonlethal are also very, very, very dangerous. But you know, this is a gloenl phen. And we see that people are very concerned. And as a nation, this is phenomenon. And people making a riskbased decision that they would muc rather be out there letting people know that black lives matter versus, andng that risk each and every day, versus the sk that take simply walking down the street being i want to come back to that big picture in a second. But one more specific question were learning a little bit por about how the virus spreads. Do you have a sense of the bes and worse case of what may happen in these crowd situations from the virus spread right now . Anybody can tell that you they can reallmodel it, they cant really tell you but we do know that it will increase. It will gete peopl that will be sicker. The good news is the vast majority of folks thaget this disease have a mild case but the concern is for that 15 to 20 that have a vey is he r case. And just to point out that anyone with a cron you can disease, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, lung disease, yoi are at greatersk. And we also know that communities of color, paanicularly africanamer are even more at risk because they disprortionately have those diseases. You are the executive director of the american Public Health asveociation. I to ask you, looking in a much bigger way which is our privilege to be here on newshour, eere would you pl the role on race, this is a big question, on the american health. What kind of a effect does it have in our system. Race tragically is the original sin which causes health inequities. We need to change things so that we value all peoe equally. And if we dont do that, were not gointo really process as a society, race mat some people are looking at these protests and saying wait e mimost states still are not allowing large gatherings. Even as we phase in some reopening, people arented suppo be meeting in groups of 25 or 50 but they are allowing these protests. You support these protests, can you tell us why . You know, i believe that everyone has to make a skbased decision in lif i would prefer that geor george didnt need to be killed. I would prefer that we didnt Police Brutality. Im a strong supporter of sound policing but when things get out of control rassn hey have ir society, then we have to speak out, we have to do something. And th american Public Health association has been a strong oponent ohuman rights, and we would not be who we were if we did not believe in this ent that weice mov are seeing. It is a risk but at the end of the day, if he with dont take this risk right now, when are we going to do it . Dr. George benjamin of the american Public Health association, thank you for joining us. Thank you. Woodruff its been a momentous two weeks in american life, with the potential to transform political discourse, policy and the 2020 president ial campaign, which is now officially down to President Trump and former Vice President joe biden. Biden quietly crossed the delegate threshold to clinch the democratic nomination on friday night. Our politics monday team is back to take on where things go from here. Thats amy walter of the Cook Political Report and host of public radios politics with amy walter. And tamara keith of npr. She also cohosts the npr politics podcast. So good to see both of you, especially after this tumultuous days thaweve been through. Lets talk first about the pressure w that democratic members of congress, tam, must be feelg right now. We heard a little bit earlier in the show from senator cory t oker. But wh all these protests what does that add up to if you are a democ the house or the senate. It ad up to they are working on legislation and pushing ideas fori ward. An certainly they do feel some pressure from the protests to get out there and stand for something. But also theyre out there trying to create a contract with President Trump and his administration which has not really talked much about police utality in a systemic way. The president has been very e cused on the casof george floyd but he hasnt, he hasnt ouen willing to broaden i o. He has talked about bad apples being involved in floyds cas but not willing to talk about Police Reform moe seriously. He nodded to it a teeny bitat an eve today. But democrats are out there saying that the ty wastand for something. Amy, you have protestors as we heard earlier in the program, people saying we need to get rid of Police Departments. We dont just neeto add on more reforms, which they say havent made any difference. We need to do something drastic, if you are fan electedcial, what do you do with that . Well, we know what one person did, the person who isthe democratic nominee for presidt, scwhroa biden cam out with a statement saying he wants to see Police Reforms but the idea of de funding the police is not something that we were talking about the contract right now between where joe biden is ad where donald trump s the onus really is on President Trump ght now. Overwhelming majorities think that the president has not handled these protests very well. Majorities believe that the protests themselves are valid. More people than ever, we talked about this last week, judy, especially white voters believe that there is systemic problems within policing, that black folks are identified more likely than whites to Police Violence. So the shift of balance right now, the pressure really on donald trump right now to change where the raisce, the race and also where the conversation is. And right now weve seenun a er of polls come out in this last week where the president is down against joe biden anywhere from 7 to4 points. Woouff so tam, is the thinking whether its from these polls or other evidence that what we are seeing in the streets of america is having an s well on trump voters as democrats who are presumably many of them energized by ll this, to vote against President Trump. But what about the people who voted for him the last time. Are they hearing th the people who voted for President Trump last time are hearing the message that President Trump is delivering now. And that message is a law and order message. He said hes the president of law and order and he has been pushing this idea that thets protare violent or hes really highlighted, keed on the aspect of the protests that have turned violent or the looting. St really familiar territory for him. He did the same thing back in 2016. And the difference this time thou is as amy said, Public Opinion has moved a lot. I was talking to democratic pollster without lo at that polling but also looking at who is out there protesting. And he sayshen you have suburban white kids out there protestingk then this lawand order theme that republican candidates including President Trump going back to Richard Nixon has used, it doesnt have the same resonance on the suburbs if suburban kids are marching in those protests. Woodruff and thats my question, amy. Ishis actually cutting into voters who chose donald trump the last time . I dont know that it is necessarily cutting into trump voters. He still has incredible support among republicans, still getting 90 plus something of their vote but even when you ask the question on that npr, news poll whether they thought donald trump was handling it well, a third much republicans thought the pre otests wl aid. A third of republicans that presidt trump wasnt hadling it very billion well but are still supporting the president in theeelection. The challenge for this president has long been that he keeps going back to these same issues, the same strategies over and over again which tend to bring his voters in but do not bringni les along for the ride. And that is what you are seeing right now, is hes losing independence by bigger margins. s always lost democrats and the bigger concern i think going into the fall for the president is that this suddenly doesnt work to even energize his base enough. Its always about priming and pumping his voters out. Es at some point his start to lose that energy that hes counting on which is wy hwere hearing today that he is intending to start his rallies against, probably in the next woodruff which will be interesting to watch given social distancing. Extent joe biden needs an the energized, excited, motivated oup of voters turn out, if his position is not where some of the bla lives mater activists are in terms of defunding e,e polyoure saying you dont think thats a problem for him . You know,ink there is a real range in view points among the people protesting and marching and what they are calling for. In this position that he doesnt support de fund the police t comes at the defund the police is a lot more nuanced than the words wod let on. And certainly nuance doesnt always work in politics. But biden is certainly trying to figure out where hes standon this. He does have a justice plan on his website. But the Trump Campaign is certainly trying to affiliate him and tie him to the de deund idea and being able to run against that for trump is easier than having to talk about what he is going to do to address the concerns of the protestors. Woodruff well, wet hearing l now it is just the first of june but were forecasting all the wa november shall, which is what i asked both of you to do everyee singleand well continue to do. Tamara keith and amy walter, thank you both. Youre welcome. Welcome. Woodruff its been almost six years since the Fatal Shooting of Michael Brown by a Police Officer in ferguson, missouri sparked national protests. Tonight, we revisit our brief but spectacular interview featuring filmmaker damon davis. His documentary whose streets followed the unrest in ferguson and explored the experience of black americans. There are there are things that you must think about to survive daily being black in america. The clothes you got on. The way you talk to people. Being black is a weapo understand . The weight that you carry ande rker your skin is so, terrifyiat, like, youre whole life. G on eggshells your and the level of anxiety that comes along with that. I dont know any black person that doesnt know what im talking bout. Ouhad been harassed by police. I had been pulleof cars, sat on the curbs, humiliated. Theres a huge chunk of the t populatit this is everyday life for. And think about how, how privileged you must be tnot be afraid, every day you walk out of your house. To not be worried abou im driving and one of my tail lights is out. Or im driving in the wrong neighborhood. This tally list you have to go through being black in america. I hope people that are finding out about this that actually care, try to use that privilege that they got to do something anmake it a little more even for everybody else. Over the last few years, i personally think the tracty my life has changed monumentally. And the events of ferguson and mike brown chaed my entire life i can honestly say. Whose streets is a call and response chant that was used out in the streets in saint louis and in ferguson. Its also asking whose streets is it . The police are working for the people, and your rights are to hesemble, says the constitution, are they our areour streets . Who whose streets actually are they . History i dont thingsmerican have changed much from three years ago, or 30 years ago, 300 years ago. We been talking for about two, 300 years. And i think that its time to take some responsibility, me culpability, and really get uncomfortable, tnk about the everyday role people play in racism. Whether it be, locker room jokes that, uh, thanksgiving dinner jokes, down to systematic and systemic racism in the jobs and ros that people play in it you know when they talk about being an alcoholic the first step to covery is acknowledging you have a problem. Well, america has a pretty big problem with doing that, you know . Its like, why dont yall just get over it, you know. Its like, but you had a 280 year head start. Its kind of hard to get over it when people run around the trac en they shoot the gun for you to start. I think until we Start Talking about that the conven is a waste of time. You know what i mean . I think its i think id s, um. s and its patronizing at this point. It really is. My name is damon davis, and this has been my brief, butta splar take on courage. Woodruff you can watchon additi brief but spectacular t and tonight pbs newshour online, the latest episode of our podcast, america interrfrted. We hea protesters in ounneapolis and washington, d. C. About why theyrnow and what makes this moment feel different. Listen on our website, thats org newshour podcasts, o subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. And thats the newshour for tonight. Im judy woodruff. Join us online and again here tomorrow evening. Of us at the pbs newshour, thank you, please stay safe and see you soon. Major funding for t pbs newshour has been provided by suppo catherine t. Macarthur foundation. Committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. More information at macfound. Org of these institutigoing support this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. Urand by contributions to bs 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. Welcome to amanpour co. Heres whats coming w. E want you all over the world to stand with us. 8 46, and make tha commitment to justice in the name of george. As the world watches justice for george floyd is in the hands of this man. Minnesota attorney general keit. Elli he joins us. Then how will history regard Donald Trumps defendants and hows does donald trump look at america . I speak with eliot cohen and author ann applebaum. Then later, heading up the Civil Rights Division after the killingn missouri