Of thousands of dollars worth of medical bills that they cannot pay. Woodruff all that and more on tonights pbs newshour. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by life isnt a straight line, and sometimes you can find yourself heading in a new direction. Fidelity is here to help you work through the unexpected, with Financial Planning and advice for today, and tomorrow. Carnegie corporation of new york. Supporti innovations in education, democratic engagement, and the advancement of International Peace and security. At carnegie. Org. And with the ongoing support of these institutions and individuals. 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 big new numbers keep coming in the covid19 pandemic. The coronavirus has now killed more than 75,000 people in the United States and infected well over 1. 2 Million People, including someone whose work in the white house has brought him near president trump. And, millions more jobs have been destroyed. William brangham begins our coverage. Brangham in a tsunami of closings, more than 33 million americans have now lost their jobs to the pandemic. That includes 3. 2 million just in the last week. Some would have been working in places like ocean city, maryland, usually packed with visitors and beachgoers, but now a virtual ghost town. Anna Dolle Bushnell owns a candy shop on the boardwalk. We went from 35 employees down to five. We had to lay off pretty much everybody. Anybody that was in manufacturing, anybody that was waiting on customers, theyre all gone just because our doors are all shuttered. Brangham Small Businesses arent the only casualty. Major retailers Neiman Marcus and j. Crew have now filed for chapte11 bankruptcy protection. And one of the countrys Oldest Department stores, lord and taylor, announced it will liquidate its stores when they reopen. All that lost business is also robbing states of tax revenue. California today projected a budget shortfall of more than 54 billion this year, after running a 21 billion surplus a year ago. Governor gavin newsom. We really need the federal government to do more and to help us through this moment. Well do everything we are responsible for doing and more. We punch above our weight in this state and well come back stronger, more vibrant, more resilient than ever. Brangham but exactly when states expect to reopen for business differs from region to region. So far, about half of all states have begun easing restrictions. Much of the west coast and northeast remain shuttered, while many states in the southeast and midwest have partially reopened. In montana, students at a handful of small ral schools were back in the classroom today. Theyre among the first in the country to open back up. The Associated Press reported the Trump Administration shelved a 17page document from the centers for Disease Control and prevention that offered guidelines to states, cities and businesses for how to safely re open. It was seen as a blueprint for making sitespecific decisions for everything from schools and churches, to restaurants and daycare centers. The recommendations were to have been published last friday, but the a. P. Reported c. D. C. Scientists were told it would never see the light of day. White house officials said today the c. D. C. s guidance had not yet been approved by c. D. C. Leadership. Separately, the white house confirmed today that one of the president s personal valets has tested positive for the coronavirus. Officials said both the president and Vice President have now been tested again, and are still negative for the virus. President trump was asked about it during an afternoon event. We test once a week. Now were going to go testing once a day. Ive had very little contact, personal contact with this gentleman. I know who he is, good person. But ive had very little contact. Mike has had very little contact with him. Brangham overseas today, the bank of england warned that the british economy faces its sharpest economic downturn since 1706, back when europe was engulfed in the war of the spanish succession. Russia reported yet another record daily spike in infections, with more than 11,000 new cases. But in china, the original epicenter of the outbreak, all regions have now been downgraded to low risk, with no new deaths being reported in more than three weeks. For the pbs newshour, im william brangham. Woodruff now, to another story making headlines a stunning reversal. Twoandahalf years after Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the f. B. I. About contacts he had with the russian ambassador, today the department of justice asked a federal judge to drop the case against president trumps former National Security adviser. In the court filing, u. S. Attorney timothy shea wrote the government cannot explain, much less prove to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt, how false statements are material to an investigation that. Seems to have been undertaken only to elicit those very false statements and thereby criminalize mr. Flynn. President trump reacted to the news this afternoon. I didnt know that was happening at this moment. I felt it was going to happen just by watching and seeing like everybody else does. He was an innocent man. He is a great gentleman. He was targeted by the Obama Administration and he was targeted in order to try and take down a president. And what theyve done is a disgrace and i hope a big price is going to be paid. Woodruff to help break down the Justice Department decision, im joined by neil katyal. He served as acting solicitor general in the Obama Administration. And brett tolman. Hes a former federal prosecutor and also worked as chief counsel for republicans on the Senate Judiciary committee. Gentlemen, thank you both for being here. Brett tolman, to you, first. How could a case, after two and a half years, when general flynn pled guilty, suddenly disintegrate . Well, you know, the disintegration comes as a result of, i think, an honest assessment of the facts, and what i mean by that is you have to understand what the facts are at the time when the decisions were made. Here, theres no question, its not just about misconduct of the f. B. I. Theres that. Its concerning. There are statements, there are notes, weve all seen them. Were concerned when an f. B. I. Agent asks the question whats our goal, is it to get somebody to do something criminal as opposed who what if they lie in our investigation, what will happen, instead he said are we going to get them to lie. The problem is and you asked the key question, how does a prosecution disindependent grate . Is disintegrates because you exercise proper prosecutorial discretion. Woodruff well, neil katyal, we know what brett tolman is referring to is information f. B. I. Agents it may have been asking questions, planning this investigation in case that was improper but, at its core, why is it this case should stand up . You read the filing by the Justice Department, and theyre saying this is something they cant stand by anymore. Yeah, i dont think the Justice Departments filing today stands up. I think its a devastating decision, judy, that cuts the rule of law. This is a president who has been trying to interfere with this prosecution since the start. He told jim comey hed let him go, stuff like that. That was the whole reason to have a special counsel investigation to ensure there would be an independent investigation, and nothing, i think, is more corrosive than the idea that the Justice Department is now weapon idessed to help trumps friend and hurt his enemies. Here the evidence is overwhelming. First of all, flynn admitted himself twice in open court that he did it in 2017 and 2018, and this isnt like some obama prosecution, this is the f. B. I. And Justice Department, and that prosecution was signed off by ltiple checks. First you have line attorneys, career prosecutors doing so, then you have trumps own guy, the Deputy Attorney general Rod Rosenstein signing off on it, and then you had a federal judge, judge sullivan, a very respected judge also signing off on this. By contrast, todays decision, not a single line prosecutor signed that document. Indeed, the line prosecutor the prosecutor van grak withdraws. Something is rotten in denmark. This is devastating and coronavirus to the rule of law. Woodruff and what about that, mr. Tolman . Because what we have is a process that involved a number of people over a period of months has now been done away with by one prosecutor under acting under, presumably, the direction of the attorney general, and we have accusation that the Justice Department has now been completely politicized. Well, im glad neil brought up the politicization of the Justice Department. Theres no question jim comey was at the heart of that political response. If you look at what he did, he sent in investigators with an agenda after the department of justice had already made a determination that there was not a logan act violation at issue and there was not a pharr act issue to be investigated. So they sent them in with the strict purpose of being able to find something that they could bring. Now, im going to tell you, in neils world, then, no innocent person ever pleads guilty, and no misconduct ever occurs, and no prosecutor makes a mistake. Here, a big mistake was made, and you can argue as much as you want that mr. Flynn appeared in court. There are other reasons why somebody would plead guilty, and ive seen it, having been in the criminal Justice System 20 years. This was a right decision, not a political decision, and the people who reviewed this did it at issue absent any political mandate. Woodruff do you want to respond to that, neil katyal . Yeah, of course i believe that there are sometimes people who plead guilty when they shouldnt, but when you have Something Like someone like this with massive Financial Resources who served his country as a general and has been accused of lying to the f. B. I. And he agrees to plea twice . Of course not. You fight for your honor in that circumstance. You dont plead guilty when youre someone like that with all the resources and the like. If they were so sure they couldnt make the case which sounds thoroughly by czar since statements would be admissible in court including flynns plea let them provit out in court and see what happens, but the idea you truncate that at the getgo, and for this one prisoner, there are 172,000 federal prisoners serving their sentences right now, but you have this one person who magically the Justice Department happens to single out who happens to be trumps pal and ally, theres something seriously and deeply, deeply wrong that has happened here. Woodruff and brett breast, quickly, going back yeah. Sorry. Woodruff go ahead. This same analysis was entirely absent when this same Justice Department determined not too forward on the prosecution of andrew mccabe, admittedly having found to have lied by the office of inspector general. It should give us great comfort that a decision is made in the mccabe case to not bring a case and a decision is made now to reverse a wrong that was going forward. Its political to say anything otherwise. Woodruff weve only got a few seconds left. I want to ask both of you what you expect judge Emmett Sullivan to do, neil katyal. I think the judge to do last year when a different Justice Department set of attorneys had t withdraw because of lies the Trump Administration had made inquired into it and i expect judge sullivan will inquire into why is this attorney withdrawing and he under rule 48 has to approve the dismissal of this prosescution and i think he already held that this evidence is material and the like and, so, i think there should be a searching inquiry as to what happened here today. Woodruff and brett tolman, i mean, the judge the final decision is in the hands of the judge, correct . Yes, it is. This same judge should dismiss this case for simply the brady violations that have occurred in the case. He should know. Hes the one who warns the government to make sure they turn everything over, having ruled on the prosecution of ted stevens case. So i think the decision is easy for him at this point. Woodruff brett tolman, neil katyal, we thank you both. Thank you. Woodruff in the days other news, the u. S. Supreme court overturned the convictions of two former new jersey officials in the socalled bridgegate scandal. They helped engineer a huge traffic jam to punish a democratic mayor for opposing thenrepublican governor chris christie. The scandal helped derail christies 2016 president ial bid. The high courts unanimous decision said the scheme did not amount to a federal crime. China issued a strong rebuke today to u. S. Secretary of state mike pompeo for linking the coronavirus to a lab in the city of wuhan. Pompeo has said there is enormous evidence to back the claim, but hes also acknowledged there is no certainty. In beijing, the Foreign Ministry denounced his rhetoric. translated the reason why he made such self contradictory comments is because he has been making up lies and covering up a lie by fabricating more lies. It is very regrettable to see some people in the United States shifting blames around and shirking their responsibilities. Woodruff the spokeswoman said china will work with the World Health Organization to investigate the origin of the pandemic. In southern india, an Industrial Gas leak killed at least 11 people today and left 1,000 gasping for air. The styrene gas left dozens unconscious in the street. It happened as workers readied an l. G. Chemical plant to re open after a covid19 lockdown. In 1984, a gas leak at a Union Carbide plant in bhopal, india, killed at least 4,000 people. Iraq finally has a new government, ending months of political deadlock. Lawmakers endorsed former spy chief Mustafa Alkadhimi as Prime Minister, along with most of his cabinet, early today in baghdad. translated the iraqi politicians should listen to the voice of our people and youth across the country and to their legitimate demands. This government has come in response to social, economic, and political crises to be a government of solution not a government of crises. Woodrf the previous govement crumbled after months of protests over a crumbling economy and political corruption. Back in this country, the u. S. Senate upheld president trumps veto of a ban on military action against iran. 49 senators voted to override the veto, but it takes a two thirds majority. The war powers resolution passed after a u. S. Air strike killed a top iranian general in january. Wildfires burning in the Florida Panhandle have forced some 1,600 people to leave their homes. The largest fire started monday, and has grown 10 times larger, fueled by high wind and low humidity. Bytoday, it had had burned 2,000 acres and shut down interstate 10. Automakers in the u. S. Will not have to recall another 56 million air bag inflators made by takata. They already recalled 50 million inflators after some sprayed metal shards and killed at least 25 people worldwide. Today, the national Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Industry Research suggests that takatas newer inflators are safe. And, on wall street, investors focused on hopes that job losses may have peaked. The Dow Jones Industrial average gained 211 points to close near 23,876. The nasdaq rose 125 points, and, the s p 500 added 32. Still to come on the newshour dozens of states relax restrictions despite a dire shortage of testing for covid19 the dire consequences of millions losing their employer based health care in the midst of a pandemic. A report from india where an ongoing lockdown is exacerbating societal divides. And much more. Woodruff more than half the states in the u. S. Have started to partially reopen their economies or plan to do soon. But even as pressure grows to reopen, there are questions about how to do that with social distancing and a shortage of tests for some who want one. Theres an average of about 250,000 tests being taken each day here. Doctor ashish jha is focused on those very questions as the director of the Harvard Global health institute. Were going to talk about that and the c. D. C. s role in responding to the pandemic. Dr. Jha, thank you for joining us again on the newshour. So what should ideally happen before a state starts to reopen . Yes, so thank you for having me on. You know, the president s own guidelines, which are ones that w all largely agree with, suggest that states have to dramatically reduce the number of cases and then have adequate testing, tracing and isolation infrastructure. Both of those are necessary. Some states have reduced their number of cases, but very few states have the kind of testing necessary to really safely reopen. Reporter and, so, when we learn, as we did today, that the white house has rejected a proposal a very detailed proposal put together by the centers for Disease Control