These children are dying because society has yet to decide that their lives are worth saving. Woodruff and, its friday. Mark shields and david brooks analyze the president s refusal to concede, and what a Joe Biden Administration could look like. 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. Fidelity wealth management. Consumer cellular. Financial Services Firm raymond james. Johnson johnson. 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 possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Woodruff covid19 set all kinds of records in the u. S. This week, and none was good. Just days after passing 100,000 new cases a day, the u. S. Reported 153,000 yesterday. More than 67,000 people are hospitalized, a record for a Third Straight day. The country has averaged nearly 1,000 deaths per day for the past week. The overall death toll so far at least 243,000. States are under huge pressure. In north dakota, hospitals are so busy, the governor will allow healthcare workers who tested positive to treat some Covid Patients if the workers have no symptoms. Minnesota issued new restrictions on bars, restaurants and social gatherings. New york city may stop inperson classes monday, sending students back to distance learning. The republican governors of ohio and utah issued statewide mask mandates. This afternoon, President Trump spoke about the larger situation in the rose garden. He took credit for the development of vaccines to come, and he weighed in again on the question of a national lockdown. Ideally, we wont go to a lockdown. I wont go this administration will not be going into a lockdown. Hopefully, whatever happens in the future who knows which administration it will be, i guess time will tell but i can tell you, this administration will not go into a lockdown. It wont be a necessity. Lockdowns cost lives, cost a lot of problems. The cure, you got to remember, cannot be worse than the problem itself. And ive said it many times. Woodruff lets look more closely at the costly impact of this surge, and what the Biden Administration might do differently. Amna nawaz begins with the latest in texas, home to one million cases to date. Nawaz judy, texas is also struggling with a big surge, in particular in the border city of el paso, home to one out of every six cases in the state. Hospitals there have added tents for extra bed capacity. Mobile morgues now sit outside the medical examiners officer, which this week dealt with more than 150 deaths. And, all this comes as a partial county lockdown has been extended. Dr. Joel hendryx is the chief medical officer of the University Medical center there, and he joins me now. Dr. Hendryx, welco to the newshour, and thank you for making the time. Lets start by telling people a little bit about what steps youve had to take, what adjustments youve had to make there to meet that surge of patients coming in. So within the city of el paso and with all the other hospitals, weve created almost 600 new beds, to be ableo take care of this influx of new patients that were taking care of. Understand, we also take care of other patients, those who need other medical conditions and have to be in our hospital, as well as our covid population. Nawaz dr. Hendryx, i recall an expert telling me weeks ago, the problem wouldnt just be beds with the surge, it would also be staffing. You need doctors and nurses and support teams who have that expertise in intensive care. How have you been able to meet that need the staffing need . So, youre right, and so, we are isolated out here and there is a limited number of bodies, if you will, to take care of it. But weve been very fortunate because the governor has sent an extraordinary amount of resources to us, as well as nurses, doctors, and its been a process of integting those within our systems with all the hospitals. We have the military, theyve embedded doctors into our hospital to help us meet the demands of taking care of these extraordinarily sick patients. Nawaz what about whats fueling this surge . Weve heard so much about pandemic fatigue, about small gatherings of friends and family from the cases and the patients. You see whats driving the surge in el paso . Well, thats a good question, and i dont think i have all the answers. Ive heard some good explanations. Certainly we talk about some of the younger population having the majority of the infections and unfortunately passing it on. We have we talk about gatherings, we talk about restaurants, big box stores. These are these are different areas that they have talked to us about. And im sure if thats the exact number we are border, we we are flying just north of mexico and we also fly underneath new mexico. So theres a lot of Cross Cultural traffic that continues. Nawaz now, we mentioned earlier that the lockdown has a partial lockdown has been extended. Theres been some back and forth from county officials and the mayor and others about whether or not to have additional restrictions. In your view, medically speaking, would a lockdown help to curb the surge youre seeing now . So i think it comes down to individual responsibility, that they need to know that even with a lockdown, you still have family gatherings, those type of things, and its a matter of preventing the virus spread. So, individuals need to use their masks. They need to follow the recommendations that that are generally proposed to help slow down and stop this virus. These have been utilized throughout the world. And we want to make sure that our citizens are our individuals prevent that transmission. Thats our goal. How you do that, that is can be a political process. But from our point, we just if ty dont get sick, they dont end up in our hospital and therefore we will have the resources to take care of everybody. Nawaz if people dont take those steps, what are you worried youll see in the next weeks and months ahead . Obviously there are limited resources and anything that you do and if we are able to get control of that, then were able to handle what we have to take care of our other patients and move forward. We have not gotten into the flu season yet, and certainly the resources we have now may not be here later because of other hot spots that can occur either in our state or around the country. Nawaz that is dr. Joel hendryx from the University Medical center in el paso, texas. Doctor, we thank you for your time and we wish you luck ahead. Thank you very much. Woodruff the problems we are hearing about in texas and elsewhere are likely to be just as bad, possibly even worse, in a number of states this winter when president elect biden takes office. This week, the president elect announced a Covid Task Force to prepare specific plans for the months ahead and assess what can be done differently. Dr. Vivek murthy is a cochair of that task force. Hes a former u. S. Surgeon general. Dr. Murthy, thank you very much for being with us. We have just heard about the stresses they are under in texas, extraordinary measures they are taking. What will president elect biden be able to do as soon as he takes office to curb this surging pandemic . Well, thanks judy, its go to go its good to be with you. The situation in the country is really dire. We have cases that are exploding, we have hospitals filling up. We have a death toll thats unfortunately marching upwards and its imperative we ask immediately. President elect biden put together a plan when he was running for office about how he would respond. Because of the job of the committee, the group hes put together on covid that im a part of is to take these plans and put a finer point on them to in fact use the latest science and inform them. I will tell you what they will generally center around. Theyll center around some basic principles that is stopping the spread of the virus, reopening safely and preteching the hard protecting the hard i was hit population and rebuilding a public trust for a foundation to this approach. The way were going to do this because were going to have to focus on a number of components including expanding Testing Capacity so we can do surveillance and diagnostic testing. We have to manufacture nevada ppe or protective equipment so our nurses and doctors and hospitals dont run out of mask. Were going to need a solid plan for Vaccine Distribution. We need to encourage the public to use mask because they work to prevent this spread. Above all, judy, were going to have to rebuild public trust by communicating honestly by leading with science and by ultimately delivering results. Woodruff number of things there i want to ask you about but first i want to pose, repeat what President Trump said just moments ago at the white house. He said he has no plans while he is in office to impose a national shut down. He said i dont know what the next president , whoever it is, suggesting it could be mr. Biden, will do. Can you rule out a national shut down by the Biden Administration . I actually think we should be thinking about this in a slightly differently than we did in the spring. In the spring, the talk was about shutting down or know but weve learned a lot since the spring about how this virus spreads and about how to reduce spread. What thats allowed us to really imagine the model thats more like a dial that you turn and up in terms of restricting increases and decreasing restricting. Those measures need to be specific but they also need to be targeted. We see whats happening in new york city right now. They are actually targeting down to the zip code level and determining what measures need to be implemented on that zip code level anyone owed of saying lets just shut down Everything Everything in the city. Thats the approach we have to take. The goal is to shut down the virus so we can in fact open up society, especially our schools because we know the cost of closing them down is extraordinarily high. Woodruff how is that different from whats already been tried in this country where different cities, different states have handled it locality by locality. Its the way europe has handled it and now europe is having to go to a shut down. I mean, what gives you confidence that this approach will work . Well first we have to approach this pandemic and all pandemic with humility. We are learning each and every day about this virus. We can never say a hundred percent something is going to work. Heres why i think we can in fact do better down the line. One is because we do see localities and states actually developing their own Alert Systems that tell thm when to pull the trigger if you will on different precautionary measures. Theres a confusion were hearing often from governors and mayors. What they want is a National System of alert levels they can tinker with and tailor a bit on their own one that gives them guidance. But the other challenge we have judy, its been tough for a lot of people to stick to this guidance. I understand why. Woodruff let me ask you about a vaccine. As you know an announcement from pfizer this week thats something very effective with fda approval theyre saying they can distribute millions of doses we were hearing it again in the white house in december, more in january. Do you have confidence that the Trump Administration will handle this Vaccine Distribution fairly and correctly. We certainly hopehat they will do a good job in getting the vaccine out quickly, fairly, equitably but the truth this, this is going to take more than just a couple months. First of all we dont have a vaccine thats received authorization yet. We have data that was issued earlier this week from pfizer about their kabt dat kanlt dateg it was quite promising. With a have to wait for authorizing, we have to wait for the fda to review the data. Once that happens we can start the process of actually distributing this vaccine but thats a process that will take months. Thats why its very important for president elect biden and his team to do what weve been doing is to build those plans and be ready to execute the distribution of the virus on day one. Woodruff rough timetable, though. Do you think most americans will be able to get the vaccine in the spring . Dr. Fauci through out late april the other day as a date. Does that sound reasonable to you that more than frontline workers and more than the most vulnerable will be able to get it in the spring . Well, ill tell you this, judy. We dont know yet what the time will be. Part of the reason is it depends in part on when the vaccine is ultimately approved. It depends in part on the logistics of distribution which wheans not just getting it to the states but the down stream processes after that and ensuring the doctors offices and hospitals and other entities are actually ready to deliver that vaccine. Our hope optimistically is by the spring we can start getting it beyond the first tier of individuals which would be healthcare workers and people in con great settings like nursing homes. We should be prepared that it may take the better part of 2021 for us to get the vaccine to everyone in the country and potentially beyond that depenalling on how this process goes. Woodruff i wanted to ask you about that because Many Americans are growing weary of this, as you said a moment ago. How do you inspire, encourage, urge americans for their own sake, for their family members and loved ones sake to continue to take these measures that they should take for the health and safety of all of us . Judy, im glad you asked that question because look i think all of us are having a hard time right now with where we are in this pandemic. It doesnt matter whether you are part of a big family or youre living on your own. It doesnt matter if youre wealthy or not so wealthy. All of us have had our lives turned upside down in some way although many of us have struggled more than others. I think in this moment as hard and as fatigued as people are, whats important for us to realize is there is hope around the corner. We do have good data from the first vaccine candidate and likely will have more vaccine candidate that turn up promising data in the months ahead. We have treatment that are starting to come on to the scene which arent Game Changers but they help to produce compilations from this virus. And we are Getting Better at guring out how to prevent the spread of this virus. We learning more, we are going to be able to overcome this pandemic but its just going to take us a little bit more time. So weve got to lien on each other and support lean on each other and support one another. Theres no shame in feeling fatigue or feeling distraught about where we are. A lot of us are feeling that. Weve got to lean on each other and look out for each other during this very dficult time. Woodruff dr. Vivek murthy who is cochair of president elect Biden Coronavirus Task force. Thank you. Thanks so much, judy. Woodruff as we heard earlier, this afternoon, President Trump made his first Public Statement since joe biden was declared president elect. But, in the rose garden, mr. Trump made no direct comments about the results. We turn now to newshours Yamiche Alcindor and lisa desjardins, for an update on the transition of power. Yamiche, fill us in on what the president did have to say in the rose garden. These are the first public remarks by President Trump since he was declared. Loser of the 2020 election. He came really really close to acknowledging there might be a Biden Administration with you stopped short of actually saying those two words together. We havent heard him acknowledge that at all. Instead the president want to talk about the Coronavirus Vaccine and want to be congratulated by the fact that he believes 20 million americans will be able to get the vaccine come this december. He didnt acknowledge though that his own actions might be slowing down the Coronavirus Vaccine from getting to millions of americans because experts say his refusal to have an official transition is stopping the Biden Administration, Biden Transition Team from going in and seeing what exactly needs to take place with that vaccine. Another thing ive talking to white house officials some of them on the carina virus task force tell me they dont want to get out ahead of the president. So as everyone is waiting for the president to roost all sorts of things hang in the balance including the coronavirus pandemic of this administration and the next administration. Woodruff lisa we know the biden team has been saying its so important for them to have the latest information on the vaccine. Hes now been president elect for a week as of tomorrow. Where do things stand . Well, when you talk to the Biden Transition Team and they tell you something a lot of folks know. This is the man the president elect who literally knows his way around the situation room. Hes very well equipped and has a large and long understanding of National Security in general. But they really need those real time threat assessments in order for them to plan out how to respond to them when biden takes over in january. Theyre not yet planning to sue or take legal action to get that transition authority. Talking to one Senior Advisor today they told me they think that the General Services administration will come around and will ultimately give them that authority. There are others who are worried about it though like former White House Trump chief of staff john kelly who said today that that lack of National Security briefings for incoming president elect biden is a real National Security threat. Another thing, judy, amid owl of this biden is still hiring and holding interviewers for top positions. They are Holding Announcements on personnel next week not cabinet positions but white house positions. A lot of us waiting of course to see White House Press secretary, things like that. Woodruff in the meantime, yamiche, we know that the Trump Campaign is winding down. People starting to leave. Any indication that the president may be getting closer to conceding. President trump remains defiant but we did get a little more information what the time line could be of all of this. The president told the shington examiner newspaper it could be two to three weeks of him continuing these legal battles. He said quote never bet against me. He also was talking about the legal battle there saying that he sees evidence that judy the judges that are seeing these cases have been throwing them out one after another, at least a dozen cases from the Trump Campaign have been dismissed. Today we saw pennsylvania and michigan, a number of lawsuits being thrown out. In michigan in particular, a judge said there was no credibility. The Trump Campaign was not meeting their burden of proof. And that they were presenting generalized arguments. Now my sources and the people ive been talking to in the biden chain as well as the Trump Campaign say it could be heading to a head in december because thats when the Electorate College vote and things in the Biden Campaign will be ranchated up and possibly legal and legal square off then. Woodruff back to you lisa on the biden transition. Weve heard a little bit about appointments, white house chief of staff we learned the other day. But what are you learning in terms of what theyll do on day one. With a just spoke with dr. Vivek murthy working on the corona task course. But what else are you learning. For the biden transition these things are hand in hand. They are thinking about who can enact their policy more than necessarily the persons resume. So when youre talking about those policies on day one as we heard from now newly appointed or newly named white house chief of staff. He said last night things that they plan to do on day one are pretty big. Things like reentering the paris climate accord. Rejoining the World Health Organization. On immigration. Were talking abouthings like a status for daca. Those dreamers who were brought here as children and perhaps even some orders about deportations. Maybe in fleapsin freezg deportn while they study the issues further. This operation right now is getting out paperwork ready even as it hires people to implement those policies at the same time. And thats my woodruff nothing slowing down. We heard that. Good to know. All right. Lisa desjardins reporting on the biden camp Yamiche Alcindor at the white house. Thank you both. Woodruff in the days other news, stocks rallied on wall street over optimism about progress on a covid19 vaccine. The Dow Jones Industrial average soared 399 points to close at nearly 29,480. The nasdaq rose 120 points, and the s p 500 closed at a record high for the First Time Since september, adding 48 points. At least seven people have died in north carolina, in flash flooding triggered by Tropical Storm eta. Roads and bridges were swept away after some places were inundated with as much as ten inches of rain. One person also died in florida. Meanwhile, Tropical Storm iota has formed in the caribbean. It is expected to become a hurricane late sunday as it barrels toward central america. The death toll from the catastrophic typhoon in the philippines has now risen to at least 42 people. 20 others are still missing. More than 400,000 people were evacuated. Cleanup efforts are underway now that floodwaters have started to recede. Residents who were able to return to their homes found virtually everything coated in mud. In ethiopia, the United Nations is warning of war crimes amid conflict between the Central Government and regional rebel leaders. Hundreds of civilians have been killed in the northern tigray state this week, in what Amnesty International has called a massacre. The u. N. Estimates more than 14,500 refugees have fled to nearby sudan. They spoke of the heartbreak of leaving their homeland. translated i left my mother in the church. She is an elderly woman. My brother is blind, we left him there as well. There is no food or water. Everyone ran away, and on the way, we found murdered people with weapons and axes and knives. Thats why we ran. What were we to do . We want to save ourselves. Woodruff heartbreaking. Refugees said that they witnessed bombings by government warplanes and civilian deaths in tigray. But, the Ethiopian Government insisted they are only striking military targets of tigrayan forces. Seven pharmaceutical Companies Leading the worldwide search for a covid19 vaccine have been targeted by cyberattacks. Microsoft said today that it tected intrusions from statebacked russian and north korean hackers. Most attempted to steal login credentials. Microsoft was able to block a majority of the attacks, but acknowledged some of the break in efforts were successful. The targeted companies werent identified. A historic first in Major League Baseball and the entire u. S. Sporting world. Kim ng has become the first female general manager of an m. L. B. Franchise after being tapped to lead the miami marlins. She is also believed to be the first female g. M. Of a mens team in any of the major American Sports leagues. The 51yearold has spent her entire professional caer with the m. L. B. , and has won three worlseries. And, a passing to note. Football legend paul hornung died in louisville, kentucky, after a battle with dementia. Dubbed golden boy, the half back led the Green Bay Packers to four n. F. L. Cmpionships in the early 60s. He also won the 1956 Heisman Trophy in college at notre dame, and in 1986, he was inducted into the pro football hallof fame. Paul hornung was 84 years old. Still to come on the newshour the coronavirus complicates efforts to counteract alarming infant mortality rates in pakistan. Mark shields and david brooks analyze the impact of the president s refusal to concede. We remember some of the many remarkable lives lost to covid19. Plus, much more. Woodruff a new study from the World Health Organization and the centers for Disease Control shows that measles cases in 2019 reached their highest number in 23 years. Health officials blame the rise on a significant drop in vaccination tes. Childhood immunization rates have dropped sharply during the pandemic. Special correspondent fred de sam lazaro began reporting todays story early this year on one group working to improve child health in pakistan. Its part of freds series, agents for change. And a warning some viewers may find graphic images in this segment unsettling. Reporter we filmed these images just before the pandemic, outside a karachi Public Hospital one typical morning where hundreds of people women and children, men waited for hours just to see a doctor. Months into the pandemic, the throngs are still lining up many people not wearing masks. Despite that, e virus seems to be under control in Pakistan Pakistan has been very lucky that covid has not been devastated like most other countries, a the jurys still out on why we have been lucky. Reporter i reached Ahson Rabbani on his phone recently. Back in january, wed visited a project he leads in hospitals across pakistan thats aimed at reducing the countrys high infant mortality rate. After a spike in covid infections in june, Public Health experts credit targeted localized lockdowns and luck for helping flatten the curve in pakistan, a crowded nation of 220 million. Thats been a huge relief in an underfunded, overwhelmed public halth system. Rabbani heads the childlife foundation, started seven years ago by a group of Business Leaders who stepped in to help the decrepit Public Hospitals deal with Emergency Care for young children. One of every 20 pakistani children doesnt make it to age five. The vast majority die before their first birthday. These children are not dying because of pneumonia or diarrhea, or overpopation. These children are dying because society has yet to decide that their lives are worth saving. Reporter he says pneumonia and diarrhea are treatable and preventable through better hygiene and immunizations. But its public indifference that allows them to claim hundreds of thousands of childrens lives every year in pakistan. Ill tell you whats the most difficult part when i go to e. R. The wailing of mothers. I mean, it shakes you, when you when you see a mother in pain. Reporter on the front lines are staff of the neonatal intensive care unit. The nurse who disconnects life support from an infant who didnt make it. The doctor who must disclose this to an exhausted mother. Daunting as the images are, the recovery rate has greatly improved since childlife set up this pediatric emergency room, particularly among the most critical patients. The survival rate was less than 20 ; now it has quadrupled, to 90 plus. And it happens because of traini, availability of doctors, systems, medicines, lifesaving medicine, and a second doctors opinion through telemedicine. Reporter cameras in every resuscitation unit are connected to doctors in this virtual exam room. They work 24 7 with front line providers across childlifes network of hospitals. telemed conference the pandemic has added stress and expense. Things like personal protective gear and plexiglass separators in the cramped neonatal intensive care ut. And, childlifes staff had its own covid issues. We had 28 people on staff who contracted covid. But the show went on. Reporter fortunately, all the staffers recovered. While pakistan overall has been spared, theres fear the pandemic has made children more vulnerable to easily treatable infections that come from conditions so many live in. Immunization rates were already low in pakistan, and theyve dropped 25 during the pandemic. Thats a very real risk, especially for things like typhoid, and measles and even polio, and who fears that we may have gone back a couple of years to get back to the same level of immunizations. Reporter that could mean more patients like this seven yearold boy brought in during our earlier visit, unconscious and shivering uncontrollably. Doctors suspected it was meningitis, something thats easily prevented with a vaccine thats recommended in infancy in developing countries. Two injections in quick succession stabilize his condition. For dr. Zareen qasmi, the next challenge was to coax his parents to consent to a spinal tap extracting a sample of spinal fluid to confirm the diagnosis and inform future treatments. consulting they listen, ask to have a family consult. After ten minutes, he came back and said, sorry, we are not allowing you. Reporter theyd heard of a case where a spinal tap was fatal, they told her. Their decision could put the boy at risk for a range of future complications. The problem is not just the parents lack of education. It basically boils down to trust. Exaly. Reporter and a lot of patients here dont trust the system. Yes. Reporter childlife tries to build that trust by building relationships beyond the emergency visit. Parents phone numbers are recorded when they come in, so text reminders can be sent when the children need shots particularly important now with the pandemic. On our prepandemic visit, Fatma Zulfiqar told us her four children are up to date on their shots. Still, she recently had to rush her thensevenmonthold khadija into the emergency room with acute diarrhea and vomiting. The problem is not poor hygiene, she says, but poverty itself. translated we have four families that share this space. Its hard to maintain cleanliness and hygiene. Shes a child, shes small. She crawls around, picks up stuff, puts it in her mouth. Life is tough, weve got nothing. One of the reasons people, especially poor people, have more children is because they face infant mortality firsthand. If you live in a lane which has 20 houses, and every third house had a child under five die, you believe that children die. So if you reduce infant mortality through preventive measures, through curative measures, people will have fewer children. Reporter theres hardly a higher priority, he says, in what is already the worlds fifth mostpopulous nation. For the pbs newshour, this is fred de sam lazaro. Woodruff freds reporting is a partnership with the undertold stories project at the university of st. Thomas, in minnesota. Woodruff and, to the analysis of shields and brooks. That is syndicated columnist mark shields, and New York Times columnist david brooks. Hello to poet of you. On this friday night, we havent seen you since the election was declared. Joe biden was declared the winner, mark. So what do you make . We have to ask you, with a do you make of the results and how some of these final states went. Arizona, georgia and the others. Well, i think i predicted one of them, judy. No, i guess im not surprised at the margin. The margin that was so close. I think that in retrospect reflection the campaign of donald trump deserves enormous credit for identifying and motivating and turning out voters who were not regular voters and gave trump the number of votes he had and probably made the difference almost purely on the republicans picking up house seatsnd retaining the senate. But the victory, it was rather remarkable to be here in washington at the time. It had a dj day quality to it, i mean not that dementia victory over japan in world war ii but sort of the public exploration, people smiling. Just good will which had to be rather unsettling for the president who came back from a golf club had to go right by it in Lafayette Park and see the sense of gaiety and new years eve festivity that we saw. Woodruff david, what do you make of the results, the call, the final call and how it ended. Well, there was people playing glory days, Bruce Springsteen song in miami too so in you are beamerica theres joy. I think there was victory on auction night or thereabouts. I happen to think joe biden was the only democratic nominee who won this election. There was a lot more protrump support than we thought. There was not a great pro Democratic Party generic support as much as we thought. I think the democrats need to get over this idea that they are the emerging majority party. That idea has been around because of the demographic things or other things. And theres been an assumption that democracy is on our side. I think its time to accept thats just not going to happen. Were going to be a pretty 50 50 country. Ill believe the change when i see it. Its becoming more polarized and more and more College Educated and becoming more and more the high school educated. And geography, the urban rural divide is wider than eve so we are locked in some sort of grid lock or compromise. Its 50 50, almost. Woodruff mark, what about that . You mentioned that the democrats didnt do as well as they thought they would in the senate or in the house. They lost some in the house. Yes, thats right, judy. David makes a good point. This has been a year of expectation. If you recall, and raised expectations. Donald trump raised the expection in the first debate that vic Vice President biden couldnt finish a sentence, he would fall asleep on the stage. None of which of course happened. Viceresident biden handled himself well, prevail and that may have been the defining event of the fall campaign. Democrats had expectations, Great Expectations about winning the senate, about enarging the house majority. All of which came up quite short. I think the argument that one party controlled is strong, that there was a resistance to that. The republicans made the case. I think just language like defund the police really came back to haunt democrats and hurt them in suburban and marginal districts. And i think see fractiousness in a decision and its already there within the Democratic House caucus, within the Democratic Party at large over this. And there isnt a natural democratic majority that is inevitable in the country and i think that was a lessen to be learned on november 3rd. Woodruff david is there a way to put a finer point of it. The country is divided as youre both saying lets not a natural democratic majority. So what do we have . Well, we probly have grid lock but i hope not. I spent a bunch of this week calling around the Senate Speaking to senators like mitt romney and asking is there any way to get 60 votes around some issues just so we can pass some things and help some people and romney came up with a whole bunch of topics, you know. The dreamers, immigration, some budget stuff, some healthcare stuff, prescription drugs. He said sure. And then i talked to other aids and they came up with Natural Service infrastructure. Owe theres at least an eagerness on the part of a lot of senators to actually vote for legislation, something they have not been allowed to do under Mitch Mcconnell and pass things. Will mcconnell allow votes to come to the floor, will he cooperate and play ball. Nobody would bet on that but im struck by a desire to get out of the stuckness that has marred legislative bodies for the past couple years. Woodrf interesting what romney said. Spking of Mitch Mcconnell, mark, he is staying with President Trumps insistence hes not only within his rights to challenge the selection, hes not conceding, that he needs to pursue every legal avenue. In fact, republicans are virtually in lockstep, only a few of them dont support the president. What lasti impacts of that . Is it just are we going to be over it soon, what do you see . Dy, Donald Trumps going out as a sore loser. I think hes making a serious mistake and his future obviously is not bright. He can talk about 24 but theres an awful lot of investigations and judicial action between now and 2024. But Mitch Mcconnell is kind of fascinating. To go back to december of 2008 which i did and youre free to look at it. The senate had a sendoff with joe biden who had just been elected Vice President and senators made their statement. Mitch mcconnell wrote his own statement. It was quite moving and quite personal about joe biden and that joe biden was a rare creature who could reach across the aisle to jessie helms, strawstromthurman and to me. I think this will be hessed. I tested. Hes key. Hes important in this. One thing that was lost in the campaign is that joe biden is one of the great retail politicians of his generation. He is wonderful with people, people of all sorts. He was surprised of that. We hadnt thought, we never saw him with people in the campaign, a Good Campaign and disciplined campaign i think when you get joe biden in the white house as president , put those personal skills together, i think chances are improved and im more optimistic i guess maybe than david is. Woodruff david, i want to ask you about the biden prospects but just quickly on the president s refusal to concede. Is this something that leaves a lasting scar or does it go away quickly . What do you see. I think trump has left a lasting scar, the whole intaryt the whole existential presence of trump on the norms, how we feel about each other, the way the world looks at us. Dictators across the world see the Election Results gives them encouragement and a set of norms they can queu cue to. I can feel the stages of grief, what is it, denial then rage then acceptance. Trump has more rage and more denial. But you feel the republicans walking away rightly or wrongly just not wanting to get in front of the train and push him out. Thats the wrong metaphor but you feel him losing, losing momentum. And i do think he will eventually whimper out probably without ever admitting defeat and without admitting joe bidens inauguration but that is the way the man is. Woodruff we are wondering about that. David i just want to ask david on bidens prospects. To respond to mark what you said a moment ago. Im maintaining my posture about realistic optimism. I do think theres some chance of us working together. You look at the people joe biden is hiring, their experncing chief of Staff Experience pandemic fighting, experience in washington. You look at people running the task force, Covid Task Force dr. Murphy the surgeon general. Were just getting an a i team. With trump we never got the republican a team. With biden looks like well get a democratic a teach. That will make you feel good. Woodruff when we talked to dr. Murthy he used the word humility several times. I interrupted you, go awe had judicial fuss following on President Trump. Power is perception of power. I think hes got power and david thinks hes got power. Thats the reality now. You can feel power has moved from donald trump to joe biden and the world is called, erdogan has called. Theres on the line, npr writing a letter to joe biden. But there are the hold ups, the bitter enders. Thats the reality that the power has left donald trump. And so the question when does that reality set in with him. Woodruff and david, to put a punctuation mark, you see it coming. Yes. I hope it will be before Inauguration Day but republicans are beginning to urge trump to give biden the intelligence briefings. As they begin to do that thats part process of withdrawal. Woodruff we will see about the inauguration. David brooks, mark shields on this friday night. We thank you both so much. Woodruff as covid19 continues to take a heavy toll on our communities, we take a moment to honor those who have lost their lives to this deadly virus. Mario arandas life work was to empower people, his family said. Raised mormon in chihuahua, mexico, mario immigrated to utah in 1959, where he met his wife of three decades. His work in linguistics then took him to chicago, where he advocated for latinos and promoted bilingual education. His marriage ended in the 1990s, and in berkeley, california, mario found love a second time. He and his partner had 20 years together. The spiritual father of seven enjoyed hiking, swimming, meditating and, like his mom, he was a voracious reader. Mario was 79. Those who knew 69yearold david d. Swart senior described him as a simple man who worked hard every day for his family and friends. A lifelong resident of upstate new york, he served as a lieutenant and 30year veteran of the amsterdam fire department. When he wasnt putting out fires, he was making hot dogs at his restaurant, daves dawgs, and devoting time to his family. His son said dave loved big and was a First Responder in both work and spirit, always showing up for those in need. Saludacion solon fontanilla grew up in the philippines wanting to go into medicine. In 1993, saludacion, or sally, moved to california to work in nursing. For more than two decades, the 51yearold was a bedside nurse at st. Mary medical center, where her husband also worked. The two were High School Friends in the philippines and married in 2000. Described by her husband as sweet and laidback, sally was 51 years old. Born and raised in brownsville texas, 60yearold Juan Carlos Rangel was known as the fixer juan, who went by charlie, fixed cars for a living. Neighbors and family called him the honest mechanic, and said he never overcharged for the job. He shared his passion for machinery with his four daughters, teaching them about engines and welding. One of them went on to become a mechanical engineer. Jim goulding served as a United Methodist chaplin, professor, and dean over his three decades at Macmurray College in jacksonville, illinois. Jim continued teaching even in retirement. After the 9 11 attacks, he created courses on islam to foster dialogue and understanding of the religion in madison, wisconsin. Jim also led sunday School Classes and enjoyed traveling with his wife of 51 years. A beloved father and grandfather, jim was 83 years old. Thank you to the family members who shared these stories, so important as we tell the lives of your loved ones. Our heart goes out to you as they do to all those who lost loved ones in this pandemic. Woodruff no matter what age you are, it has undeniably been a year of many firsts. Between covid and the election of the first woman Vice President , 2020 will be a year for historians to examine and dissect for decades to come. Tonight, biographer and historian Janice Nimura shares her humble opinion on how we can all help shape the story that is taught to future generations. This look is part of our ongoing arts and culture series, canvas. I started keeping a journal in 11th grade. It w an assignment for english class. But once i got going, i discovered what all writers know most of the time, you write not to set down what you think, but to figure out what you have to say. What youve written becomes part of your personal history. I can go back to that green notebook and remember what it felt like to be 16. Ive been keeping a journal ever since. You see, the rhetoric of powerful people can persist for millennia, but that kind of writing is a polished mask for an audience. Journals, on the other hand, are scribbled in private, and full of naked feelings. They preserve the voices we dont usually hear te very young, the elderly, the powerless. For biographers like me who seek treasure in archives, those are the most precious finds. And this is a critical moment to keep one. 2020 is a year none of us will forget, filled with grief, rage, anxiety, and confusion, and also determination, generosity, and hope. We have a lot to process, and what we write in this moment will capture it. We may not ever forget 2020, but our greatgrandchildren probably will. Our written voices will tell them the story of right now, and possibly help them face the crises of the future. So, keep a journal. Find a notebook, or jot notes on your phone. Write about what you had for dinner. Write about what makes you angry. Write about what you want. Or, if you dont feel like writing, draw. Paste in a photo of your cousins on zoom, or of a protest, or your best friend wearing a mask. On the first page of my 11th grade journal, i wrote this is just for me. Write like no one is watching. That is, write like no one is watching right now. Someday, a historian, or your own greatgrandchild, may lift your notebook from a dusty shelf, or open a file on a forgotten hard drive, and read your words with growing excitement. They will hear your voice reacting to the turmoil of 2020, figuring out what to feel. And they will learn something from it, just as you learned something about yourself when you wrote it. Woodruff such good advice. And before we go, i want to take a moment to remember my dear friend and coanchor, gwen ifill. It is hard to believe tomorrow marks four years since she passed, because there have been so many days when we ask what would gwen do . She has inspired many to keep up her legacy, and were grateful many of them are today part of our newshour family. As we come close to the end of a busy year of news, we like to think that she is looking over our shoulder and smiling. And thankfully, that smile remains on a forever stamp. I know it will be on my holiday cards. And that is the newshour for tonight. Im judy woodruff. Have a great weekend. Thank you, please stay safe, and good night. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by when the world gets complicated, a lot goes through your mind. With fidelity wealth management, a dedicated advisor can tailor advice and recommendations to your life. Thats fidelity wealth management. Consumer cellular. Johnson johnson. Financial Services Firm raymond james. Bnsf railway. 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 solutions to the worlds most pressing problems skollfoundation. Org. And with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. And friends of the newshour. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributions 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 and company. Heres whats coming up. We are in transion. Were well underway. President elect joe biden goes ahead. Inside with chris coons. Then as the white house purges toplevel defense officials, conversation with ambassador james jeffrey, just retired as trumps point man for defeating isis. Plus. We have our work cut out for us to get people to actually take the vaccine. Plus, the challenges ahead. Member of the biden Covid Task Force dr. Michael osterholm speaks with isan