Transcripts For KQED PBS NewsHour 20240713

Students lives are upended more. Everybody assumes that first generation, lowincome students have the same access to resources, have everything that all the privileged ss have. Th e second covid19 hit eaks. S, you saw those you saw those gaps in access. Woodruff all that and more, on tonights pbs newshour. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by when it comes to wireless, conser cellular gives its customers the choice. Our nocontract plans give you as much or as little talk,at text andas you want, and our u. S. Based Customer Service team is on hand to help. To learn more, go to consumercellular. Tv bnsf railway. Financial Services Firm raymond james. Fidelity investments. 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 this program was made possible by the corporatiofor public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Woodruff the covid19 pandemic is pushing past new milestones tonight. Some two Million People have been infected worldwide, and 125,000 have died. The u. S. Toll exceeds 26,000 dead. That includes 10,000 in new york city, where officials added hundreds of presumed victims, who never tested positive. All of this, as a struggle began over what hanext. Stephanie sy begins our coverage. Reporter a battle is brewing over who has the power to reopen tst country, the es or President Trump . New York Governor Andrew Cuomo t reject president s claim that he has absolute authoritc to make thation. Country. T have a king in this we didnt want a king, so we have a constitution and we elect a president. Reporter President Trump fired ck over twitter, writing, cuomos been begging for everything. I got it all done, and now he seems to want independence that wont happen the democratic governor refused to take the bait in his daily briefing. The president is clearly spoiling for a fight on this issue. The worst thing we can do in all of this is start wittical division. The president will have no fight with me. I will not engage in it. Reporter cuomo wasnt the only governor to speak out. On monday,arylands republican governor larry hogan told cnn that President Trumps claim of total authority was not my understanding of the constitution. While the federal government does have broad constitutional authority, the 10th amendment grants states the powers not specifically delegated to shington. Still, the Trump Administration is working to form its own team to determine how and when to g e nations economy back up and running. California governor gavin newsom said today his state is moving forward with its own plan to lift restrictions. You may be having dinner a waiter wearing gloves maybe a face mask. Dinner where the menu is disposable, where the tables, half of the tables in that restaurant no longerr. Where your temperature is checked before you walk in to the establishment. These are likely snarios as we start to process the next phase. Reporter that comes a day ter six northeastern states announced theyll work to coordinate their reopening pls. Today, the nations top fectious disease expert, dr. Anthony fauci, warned incread, quality testing is key to determining when to reopen. We have to have something in place that is efficient and that we can rely on, and were not there yet. Ultimately, the virus is going to determine when we really can safely reopen, not only in general, but in a particular location. Reporter some help is on the way. Today, south korea sent a shipment of kits to the u. S. Soat are capable of runnin 600,000 tests. Were winning our battle, were winning our war. Reporter in the meantime, the president met with covid19 survivors at the white house. Ve they inimum numbers of 100,000, and i think were goint to beat th. 100,000 deaths, can you believe that was a minimum. So we made the right moves. Now we have to get our country open again. Reporter but amid all the talk of reopenings, new closures have been ordered atce meat ping plants in south dakota and pennsylvania, after hundreds of workers tested positive for the virus. One of those plants in south dakota produces 5 of the u. S. Pork supply, raising fea m about possibt shortages at supermarkets. With many t of work, foodnw pantries natioe are already seeing high demand. Ub like others, rys food pantry ro green bay, wisconsin has turned to driveugh distribution to ke staff and recipients at a safe distance. Theyll just pull right on through, and we have volunteers that will bring it right out, and they just pop the trunk open, we set it right in their trunk for them, close the trunk and away they go. Reporter overseas, austria is one of the latest countries to ease its lockdowns, reopening small retailers and garden stores. In spain, the number of covid19 infections and deaths rose slightly, after several days of declines. And, the Worlds Largest lockdown, in india, has been extended two more weeks for the countrys 1. 3 billion people. For the pbs newshour, im stephanie sy. Woodruff also today, the u. S. Treasury announced thate x largest u. S. Airlines have agreed in principal to a payroll support package totaling 25 billion. Fund warned that the pandemicry will very likely cause the worst worldwide wnturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Predicd a partial rebound, but not until next year. Even so, wall street rallied today on talk of reopening businesses. The Dow Jones Industrial average gained 559 points to close at49 23 the nasdaq rose 323 points, and the s p 500 added 84. In the days other news, former presint obama ended months of neutrality and endorsed his former Vice President , joe biden, for the democratic nomination. He saibiden has the character and experience to guide the nation through one of its darkest times and a long recovery. And, he appealed for an end to the trump era. We need americans of goodll o unite in a great awakening against a politics that too often has been characterized by corruption, carelessness, selfdealing, disinformation, ignorance, a just plain meanness. Woodruff the former president also urged action on addressing economic inequality, expanding the affordare act, and rejoining the fight ainst climate change. The pentagon is extending a halt to nonessential travel fortr ps, their families and civilians due to the pandemic. B it hn set to expire on may 11. Et defense sey mark esper said today he hopes to announce a new target date for ending some of the restrictions this week. The u. S. Justice department sided today with a church that bssued over coronavirus c one of several such fights nationwide. Greenwood, mississippi handing out 500 citations to worshippers attending drivein services. In a statement, u. S. Attornem general willrr supported health restrictions, but he said religious groups must not fa special burdens. Federal appeals courts have weighed in against newbortion barriers related to the pandemic. On monday, one court upheld a ruling against oklahomas ban abortis as nonessential procedures. A second court ruled that women in texas will still be allowed to take socalled Abortion Pills to terminate pregnancies. The u. Senate joined the housees of representatoday in delaying its return to work until may 4, citing covid19 concerns. That came amid a stalemate over another 250 billion to aid Small Business. White house ad warnedhat the initial ec50 billion for the paycheck pron program is nearly gone. The run rate is theyre going to be out of money. The program, the Paycheck Protection Program is going to be out by this week, maybe by thursday or friday, so we could use the 250 to colete that program. Woodruff on the democratic side, House Speaker nancy pelosi ain rejected the ministrations request, unless it also provides more aid for hospitals and for ate and local governments. In israel, primeinister Benjamin Netanyahu and his rival benny gantz reported significant progress toward forming a ity government. The countrys president , reuven rivlin, extended their deadldae until wedn an agreement could end a year long political deadlock. North korea has fired a barrage of shortrange missiles, in a new, highprofile weapons test. South koreas military says the missil were launched from both the ground and air, and landing at sea. North korea has fired off a series of weapons in recent months. Back in this country, the death toll rose to 34 today after severe storms ravaged the south on easter. The National Weather service said that it appears at least 27 tornadoes hit the regn. In alabama and half a dozen other states, crews began clearing debris and removingll trees. Officials said social distancing and other coronavirus restrictions could complicate the effort. He and,nvironmental Protection Agency says that it will not tighten the air qualitp standard flution from soot. Tougher regulationad recommended the auto and Power Industries p. Opposed any change, and administrator Andrew Wheeler said tay that the existing rule isufficient. Still to come on the newshour covid19 comes to Nursing Homes. Vulnerable patients, and the threat of the virus. When to reopen . The question thats beginning to dominate the u. S. Dcollege students are for off campus and face an uncertain future amid social distancing. A swarm of locts, and the risk of starvation in east africa. Plus, much more. Woodruff more than 3,600 deaths from covid19 in this country are believed to be linked with Nursing Homes and assisted living centers. Th that doll has shot up in the past two weeks, and the since it is just an estimate. Unt amna nawaz is going to look closer at some of the specific problems and challenges these facilities face, and how families are coping. Nawaz judy, we can only give an estimate because the federal eagovernment hast been rng a full count of whats happening io these facilities. More than one mipeople live in a nursing home or assisted living center. Were going to begin wme personal stories what families are encountering right now. Well hear from a wife, an adult grandson, and from the head of a company that runs facilities i florida. Im amy johnsonnd i am 38 years old, living in windom, minnesota. My husband, mark, has a rare form of dementia called the frontatemporal dementia, and he lives about an hour away from us in mankato, minnesota. He has been diagnosed for about three years now. So hes in assisted living. Ive got four little kids under the age of eight, and so, they ar. Used to going to see dad even if they dont go every week, its usually every other week, so, they are definitely noticing the huge change. And theyve asked repeatedly, when are we going to go seey . Da my name is keith myers. De i am pre and c. E. O. Of Morselife Health system in west palm beach, florida. We are one of the largest senior Care Organizations in the southeast. We offer the full continuum of care. We can no longer have communal activities, so we have to look at another way. But that was very hard at first, especially in our independent and assisted living facilities, because they enjoy eating with their friends. He we need to letesidents understand that if they want to go out of the campus, they will be quarantined, because i have no idea who they will meet. My name is jaime patino, councilman for the city of union city, california. My grandmother is emma patino. Nursing home in hayward, california. She is curntly at kaiser, san leandro, in the i. C. U. , with a very grim outlk. We were only allowed to visit my grandmother througthe window of her room. She has dementia, so she didnt reallynderstand why we couldnt go inside and why we couldnt visit her. But thats what we did for about two weeks, until this past wednesday, when i got a ne alert via email from the east bay times saying that six people had passed away theret the gateway. On friday morning at 3 00 a. M. , my dad received a phone call at she was being transported to kaiser hospital, san leandro, because her her oxygen levels had gone down. And when she got there, they found out that, not only was she covid19positive, that it had gone into her lungs, but her kidneys were starting to fail. Her heart was being stressed because it was fighting the ptsease, and she also had shock. The pandemic has definitely influenced the way that weve beenble to interact with him we did go up this last weekend and dropped him off some different clothes, because hiswe nt fitting right. And it was basically just, you know, drive an hour, drop it in the entryway, and walk acay, e were not allowed to really be in contact with the staff there. I have to make sure i have the right amount of equipment to be able to get the resources to our employees, so they feel hecomfortable in providing quality of care that our residents and tients expect. At first they were making sks, they were bringing in bandanas, until i was able to procureem so now were able to offer surgical masks. If gods going to take her, e she lived a great life, and we were all blessed to have her. And as for the future, one of the things im going to do is im going to use whatever platform i can to push for more transparency, so that people know exactly whats going on in these Nursing Homes. I cant be there. If he did decline to the point where he would require, you know, end of life or hospice care, which is what the form of dementia he has, its very possible that it could decline that quickly. ,d with that being the ca it, you know, thats hard to think about. Nawaz and before we go on, a sad update. Jaime patinos grandmother passed away after we so him yesterday. Ea she was 84 old. Our condolences to him and his family. We reached out to the gateway care and reh center, but have not heage back from mant there. For more on what jaime and others have been dealing with, anhow this industry is grappling with the coronavirus, im joined by david grabowski. Hes a professor of healthd policy at harvdical school. Sk david grab thanks for being with us. People are going to look at those numbers that we reportedve earlier,3,600 deaths, up from just a few hundred in a matter of days. Ites an alarming rise. What is behind that rise . Its incredibly alarming. If you can believe it, its actually an underestimate. Whats behind it is just how deadly this virus is iun nrsing homes. We have older adults with high levels of chronic illness. When this gets started in a nursing home, its incredibly harmful to the population there. Woodruff nawaz you called it the perfect storm. Explain to me why. Well, you have oldderults living close together. You have Staff Members mov room the room, potentially spreading the virus. Remember, we dont have testing. Many of these workers dont havl perotective equipment like masks or gowns or glo so theyre slowly spreading it throughout these buildings. It really is this perct sto of lots of older adults with chronic illness and staff slowly ving it around the building. Nawaz why do you believe that an undercount . Do you think we have an accurate tracking facilities within the facilities . Is there any mechanism at the federal level for tracking this . There is no mechani at the federal level currently to track these number, so were totally dependent on state departments of health. Some states have done a great job. Other states are doing nothing. Thats first source of thisng underrepors just that we have a lot of missing data. A lot of states arent reporting. Within states, theres going to be a lot of undocumentedases, and then we know theres a lot of asymptomatic case, that means individuals who arent showing any symptoms of the vius. So i think the number is much higher than the one you reported. Woodruff nawaz we heard about Nursing Homes being locked down, no visitors allowed. Theyre barring all the communal activity, too. Staff, of course, have to come and go, but what else could they be doing . Could they ban new entries, newi ts from coming into the facility . Thats one step. And i think many facilities have stopped taking new patients in from hospitals. Hospitals are looking to discharge patients into Nursing Homes, and many Nursing Homes have held the line and said, we cant safely care for these patients. E trying the keep the residents currently in the facile safe. Y nawaz what about whu facilities and aisted caresing facilities handled these things. You had the believe there was a plan if place the handle an infectious outbreak, right . Unfortunately there wasnt a this has not been a strong suit of Nursing Homes or assisted ling. I think its easy right now just assisted living facilities. The i also think we have to point the finger at how we pay for these services and how we regulate these rvices. We have often uderfunded Nursing Home Services in this country. We have had poor models of oversight and acchentability. Atnd of the day we get nawaz a lot of families have loved ones in these facilities. Theyre reading e headlines, and theyre worried. I want you to speak to them anh tell themt you would advise. Should people be pulling loved ones outf their facility . Should they think twice before pulling someone into the facility . My heart goes out wh everyone with a loved one in a nursing home. This is an incredibly trying time. I dont know many us canull our loved ones out of a facility at this point. I think it maye too late actually. As we were just discussing, the virus is already ia number of nursing hopes around the country. If you do bring them into your house, you have to kep yor loved ones safe are. You able to sort of have a high le Infection Control to keep the virus out of your home . And then finally, remember, therewas a reason they in this nursing home to begin with. They need lots of assistance with activities of daily living like bathing and dressing. Are you an you faily going to be able to provide those serv pes . You coultentially hire somebody into your home, but you are facing the same set of chclenges you might have f in the nursing home with staff bringing it into your house. I very much like the idea of pulling Family Member out of a nursing home, but in practice i dont know how feasible it is for most families. Nawaz before i let you go, david, let us know, based on the steps youve seen so far, do you think the numbers are plateauing in these facilities, or do you expect them to go up . U fortunately theyre not plateauing. I think theyre really going to go up. Im really scared for older adults here in the state of massachusetts where i lival st have of theovidrelated fatalities to date have been nursing home resaridents. Im as we see this go across the country what the numbers will ultimately lok like. Nawaz such a worrying time. David grabowski of harvard medical school, thank you for being with us. Thank you. Woodruff if you are not dealing with a critical family alth crisis, the central question facing so manyic ams is, when will we begin to return to normal life . There are few, if any, easynd answers,he debate has pitted the president againstn some governorsth coasts. A number of those state leaders e now teamheg up. One ofis Governor Ned Lamont of connecticut, who joinf us nm hartford. Go governor lamont, thank you for talking to us. Connecticut has a population of three Million People. Less than a month ago you announced first death in the state. Right now ielieve its 671 deaths, 14,000 people almost tested positive. Ere are you in the fight against covid19 . O thern connecticut, fairfield county, was part of that whole new york pandemic. That part of our state was hit early, hilt hit hard. There the curve is beginning to bend as social distancing is working, but the rest of the state, the virus is going right up the i95 metro northco idor, new haven up to hartford. Woodruff in other words, rising in the rest of the state thats right. E have not bend the curve in the rest of thstate yet, but we are still thinking about the day after and the months after. Woodruff President Trump has spoken, as you know, about may 1st as being a time to think about beginning to go back to normal. You have said the date shod be closer to may 20th. Where do you come up with this date . What factors go into your thinking . What i said to or schools is were not going to open before mao20th. I saidur Small Businesses, youre probably not going to open anything before may 20th. But by may 20th were going to have a lot of testing in elace. Well have an iof where the infections are. By may 20th well have a lot of the ppe and the gowns and the masks that we dont have right now, an well be in a much better position to make a determination as to what we can open, how we can open, and when we can open. Woodruff how are you confident you will have all of those things . Im not sure im confident. I know we have a much better chce to have it in theex few weeks than ive hait before. Lets face it, aot of the ppe gets rerouted at the tarmac at t j. F. K. But riow it look like supply is catching up with defend. Supply in. Nning to get s well have masks. Masks allow me to get peple back t work sooner. The testing protocols are room. Ing up. I think within a week were to well be able to do a lot more of the Antibody Testing as well as the molecular test toee who we know you and other governors in the northeast are coordinating, beginning to talk among yourselves about how you might do this together. The president meanwhile has said he has total authority to decide when restrictions are lifted. Who is right . I think the governors workinh to. The governors were ahead of the curve on taking this virus seriously, and i thisty governors are ahead of the curve knowing how to get out of the pandemic and thoughtfully open up our states. Ok, judy, i cant open up bars and restaurants in connecticut if andrew cuomo keeps them closed in new york and viceve a. Youll have a flow of traffic back and forth. Some of these things well cotogether. Woodruff how do you make those decisions . One governor could have one set of factors he or she is looking at. Another governor could have a different set. We all have very different situations, thats want to come up with a set of data. We want to set up protocols tht work. I have an amazing group, a task force thats going to be hlping us decide, including the lead epidemiologist from yale is cochairman of it along with the head. Together they put together a business ad Scientific Team thats going to help us come up with a strategy to slowly get our state back to wo woodruff and what about coordinating, im goininto be talkin moment with the head of the chamber of commerce. What about talking to businesseu in state and big institutions in terms of how they begin to open up. Tell us about how youre coordinating with them, the process of sharing ideas and views of all this with these other leaders. Sure. Weve got major dfense manufacturers with big factory floors that are required to be open, and i talked to them every day about the necessity of getting feer testing to mak sure nobody goes in there with a temperature. We said anybody with a temperature of 100. 4, you cannot go to the factory floor. Were getting masks for everybody. Were setting up social distancing. In im working with businesses, an im also wowith labor. Lets face it. Theyre fighting for folks whome mes are fod service workers. Theyre at stop shop. Maybe they dont have the masks they need and the protection they need some they will all be at the table if we think about woodruff quickly, governor, you have also mentioned july 1 as a key dat where did you come up with that . I camith that because at that point all of the federal programs run out. Thats what makes me worry. We have two months ppppaycheck protection. Thats too much. We have folks who get thei insurance forgiven for two months. You know, at that point even all of the state aid, the money we need to keep our government going, starts getting a little tighter. Sonk the governments going to have the make up its gsnd, the federal government, if we dont get th opened up 1st, there will betherk by july supplemental funding necessary to keep our hospitals going, our Small Businesses going, a lot of individuals on unemployment. Thats a big date. Woodruff ad we know congress has Just Announced they will be away for several weeks coming back i believe in may. So we will see. About those deadlines. Governor ned lamont of connecticut, we thank you verysh much and we wou the very best with everything youre dealing with. Tha, nk youdy. Woodruff and now, hear from a leading voi in business about how and whether some economic activitshould resume again, and under what conditions. Suzanne clark is the president of the u. S. Chamber of commerce, its a group with some three million membs across all seors of the economy. She presented a gradual plan to her members for returning to work, but it includes many issues that have yet to be resolved. Suzanne clark, thank you very much for talking with us toda tell us, as you think about all, this how big a allenge is the country facing, the private sector . Its not as simple as turning on a light switc . Is it no, no, it isnt. Thank you forving me me today. Our members represent all sectors and all sizes and all geographies. The idea of getting back to work and getting back tfe is so important to them. We know that there are experts, public officials, me tcal experlking about when its safe to get back to work, so we think our job is to help Business Leaders to begin the plan for how to get back to work. Woodruff yr memo tht you sent out the your members, it starts out by saying that th returnork will be gradual, fazed in, and will vary by several factors. What are the factors . I think we hit on them tonight on the show. Different geographys have been hit in different ways. S different sectill find it easier to ramp up than others. Andwhen you look at everything you talked about from testingng and trao the availability of equip such as masks and thermometers and training on while care and transit. Thr this is unpredented crisis in this country, and there is no playbook to take off the shelf and just execute. So its why its so important its time to go back to work, people are really ready. We want tol hep both government leaders and Business Leaders anticipate what newio restri, what new equip, what new risks are out there so that they can really be ready. You cant underestimate what as job me a family or to a community, and once we return to health, we need to be ready to return to work. Woodruff when youhink about things like, and you include this in the memo, social hstancing, and when younk about having protective equip, which may still be necessary months from now,k lie masks and perhaps other pa fa neyla, as well, are businesses prepared to do these things that youre talking about . You know, imagine being a Small Business owner right now and not only ving the Financial Stress and fear that you have in your community, bust ow trying to tackle a kinds of new learning, not only new acquisition equipment, but how to use it and how to train for it. Again, its so unpre hdened that ye to figure out new york a world thats going to have imfect information, the c. E. O. S are not going to have perfect equip, perfect information, or perfecttr ning, how can we help them take the right kind of risk, because it will be a little bit of a risk, right, one that people take going to their businesses to work or as a customer. So i think a lot of that will typpen at a local commu level. Woodruff im asking y, because, for example, think about a business, whether its haeware store or a rstaurant, theyre not used to being in the business of asking ople the take their temperature when they walk in the dr or maing sure wear a facemask, but these arehe wht the kinds of things we normally expec we go out to a store, for example. And, in facve kind ofright, trained businesses to be the opposite because of concerns discrimination or different types of liability. And so this is a real gray area that were all going to have to confront. And this gets back to our goa which is what can we anticipate . We can try to find y firm ground for c. E. O. S to stand on, or all the way up to really big companies. I thought the government made a good point when he tald about businesses have been deemed essential and how they are working. We talk about a return to work, but a number of peopldn leave work. What can we learn from the experieant that theyve alr been through. Woouff and suzanne claro the other thing is wh pays for this . Some of these businesses are going to b coming back. Theyre going to be turning the lights back on but with a much tighter payroll situation. How are i mean, how do you look at that question . Its really complicated. Thow is it all goibe paid for . Th ong we have been looking back goes back the childcare. If youre having social distancing, you is accept fewer children or you need more aults. Does mean less revenue penses . More ex so how do we make that stretch . I think its going to require moit aid. I thin going to require both at the federal level and at see state level an assistance. Some businwill get back to work faster than others. Are comfortable going into big, crowded places again. Numbers of people might needast more aid an more assiofance. A bi optimism, too. Were seeing a type of resilience and a coming together in this comunityhats really a beautiful thing. So as mr. Rogers used to say, look for the helpers. I think were allooking for the innovators, the scientists, the doctors, but also the Business Leaders and how tcan innovate. Whenever there is areat time of depression, there is a time of innovation. A harvard epidemiologist said one thing about getting through this surge and this peak is it will gi doctors and scientists a minute to look at the data and learn from it. Whatid they say . Were children transmitting the disease . What did the immunities look like, et cetera. That gives me hope that theres more learning and maybe quileckr ning to come. Woodruff no question about it. Hopefully re all going to be learning a lot fr this experience. Suzanne clark with the u. S. Chamber commerce. Thank you. Thank you very much. Woodruff the coronavirus pandemic has disrupted the lives of some 20 million college students, as campuses are shuttered across the nation. Many of those young people are continuing their studies through online classes. But, as john yang reports, the shift has affected some more than others. Its part of regulaeducation coverage called making the grade. Yang Stanford University senior michael ocon has been living here these days a tent in his parents back yard. After his College Closed because of the coronavirus pandemic,s he moved to rents two bedroom house. Moved out, and our parents kinds of ded, expecting, y know, wed be gone forever. N yang but ts mother, a drug counselor whos kept working, got sick with covid19, like symptomo ocon moved his space outside as a precaution. Were havg issues in terms of looking for a new place, in terms of affording rent, in terms of food. D now we have to make su that our broadband and our internets upgraded, tensure that we alhave access to zoom. And those are financial constraints that seem small, but, but translate to, again, serious burdens to a lot of people. Yang this has been a challenging time for college students. Sudden moves. I packed, like, a backpack with foutshirts and maybe clothes for, like, five or six days. And i expected to go back to my school. Yang . Online classes. My house is really loud, and the wifi connection, when everyone is using and at the same time, it can be really slow. Yang even professors are adapting. Theres a certain way in which i would jump into the conversation. Now, i have to be much more selfconscious of the fact that there are delays inio communic yang but this crisis has laid bare that there are significant inequalities on campuses. Among the hardest hit . Low income, international and wesleyan University Senior melisa olgun, the first in her family to go to college, helped organize a fundraiser for students struggling withus g, food, and technology. When you go to an elite liberal arts unirsity withlo of financial aid, everybody assumes that first generation,me lowintudents have the same access to resources, have everything that all the privileged sd dents have. E second covid19 hit campus, you saw those breaks. This Public Health crisis is likely going to exacerbate Education Equity issues that we yang christophlum is as hit. Researcher at Education Trust west, a California Group that advocates for equaty in higher education. I think there are a lot of assumptions made about college students, and the idea that udents can go home and still have access to the same types of technology. What is the environment these students are going home to . Are their parents home . Do they have siblings . Do they have Family Members that they may live with . Or are they returning to a situation where they may have work themselves . Yang some universities are refunding fees for housing and meal plans. At schools that arent, some students are suing. And the congressional stimulus package, known as the cares act, does throw students a lifeline. It suspends some federal student loan repayments until the end of september, and sets aside more than 6 billion in grants for students. But, that money will be distributed through individual schools, which will take time. Whats more, students who are claimed as dependents wont receive government stimulus checks, and their parents wont receive any extra money fordr ch older than 16. Another major concern for graduating seniors . The job market just a few wks ago, it lookedf like the class20 would join the workforce in a Strong Economy with record low unemployment. My biggest fear was, was slally just a recession, where things started t down. Yang indiana University Senior tommy lewis already had a job offer with o of the nations largest airlines. That was actually sort of my dream job. Ive always wanted to work in the airline industry, since i was a little kid. That now is up in the air. College graduates entering the labor market in a recession will see earnings losses tha last about ten years, depending on how deep the recession is. Yang u. C. L. A. Economist ll vn wachter. The longer the crisis lasts or the deeper it is, the more likely it will be a lot of individuals looking for jobs and a lot of unemployed. And that is the environment where sort of labor market entrants more generally end upat he bottom of the pile. Yang and colleges are facing financial concer of their own. The pandemic could cost some schools upwards of 100 million. Those numbers will only go in the fall which is also art concern for high school seniors, like angel delich. S shill deciding between three schools in her home state of michigan. I dont know where were going to be in september. N so i going to pay a lot of money to go to a more Prestigious School and live on campus, if theyre just going to be online. Yang meanwhile, universitiep have canceleostponed lcommencement ceremonies,oss thats especially poignant for students who will be the first in their family to graduate college. Having that physical experience is so symbolic. It would mean th everyone i love would be in one area, celebrating this accomplishment with me. Ea i wasy looking forward to the opportunity to attend because i want to be a roleally model for my siblings. My parents both came from d turkey and my father pasay when i was six. And my mom made a decision essentially to stay in the u. S. Because she wanted me to go to college. To have that ability to walk up the stage, and look around and be like, i did this. This system was not made for me, but i did it. For it to not have that that materialit it is frustrating. Yang but these seniors say theyre still deteined to graduate, with or without a ceremony an achievement no pandemic can take away from them. For the pbs newshour, im john yang. Woodruff it sounds biblical, but as the world grapples with the covid pandemic, africa is facing another plague lo sts. As Nick Schifrin reports, the threat to food securityous throughout the region. The air carries twagues. Loassts swarms with as man 50 billion insects. Covid19 threatens the people, locusts threaten livestocand their food. translated they are being a menace, eating our grang and even getnto our homes. When we slaughter our livestock, we find locust fecesn their stomachs. Without a doubt, they are affecting our health, ou animals health, and the environment. Schifrin in february, eight east african cntries experienced an initial swarm, the largest for parts of the region in 70 years. And now, a new wave is 20 times larger that the first wave. There are swarms that are its not uncommon to be, lets say, the size of manhattan in new york city. So so they can be a very big. In one day, that swarm can eat the same amount of food as everybody in new york and california combined. Schifrin Keith Cressman is the food and agriculture organizations senior locast forecasting officer. Struggling with food security,dy more than 33 Million People ared now nsecure, and require assistance. Vulnerable. Ion is very, very for the past three years,d theyve faoughts, on this year, they faced heavy rains and floods. So already, you know, theyre living in a very precarious situation. Schifrin pesticides can fight the locusts, and the f. Ioo. Is appealing for mill of dollars of aid to deliver more, but bocaer closures e of covid19 can slow gathering to combat the locusts, often without success, could spread the coronavirus. U. The is instead pushing for the use of biopesticides and remote data collection, and is working with governments to ensure the people who are fighting t locusts can travel, despite travel restrictions. The governments realize, u know, not only covid19 is serious, but also locusts are serious. So they have given waivers to all of those involved in the locust campaign, and theyre considered as essential services. Schifrin the outbreak originated in the arabian peninsula, where heavy rains in 2018 and 2019 created the insects ideal breading ground. Climate change might only be making the problem worse. Theres eight cyclones in 2019. Usually theres none, or one. So, you know, obviously somethings going on with the weather. It could be climate change. T, you know, whatever it is, i oian, if we see this trend continuing, its to mean that theres going to be moroc desert lust upsurges like were facing this year. Schifrin while the world fights the coronavirus, much i of east afribattling a second threat, with no reprieve in sight. For the pbs newshour, i Nick Schifrin. Dr wf there is news this evening from the Daily White House briefing. President trp says the u. S. Will halt funding to the world tHealth Organization duris global pandemic. The u. S. Is the largest current contributor to the w. H. Our White House Correspondent yamcihe alcindor has been watching, and is here with the latest. Yamiche, what is the white house saying . Whats the president g . Alcindor well, there was big news, as you said, at the White House Briefing today, to halt and is halting fundings to the world Health Organization. He lashed out at that organization and said its a severely mismanaged the coronavirus pandemic. He said ey chose Political Correctness when they were opposing travel res that, of course, the president and others were putting into place. He also says they wasted time and they should have talked about this pandemic, ben e serious about it. Now, the president is accusing rld Health Organization what many of the president s critics are acusing the president of. Many say the president was slow he react soin low slow to take this seriously was downplaying the virus. The resident also says the world Health Organization was prsing chinas transparency, but the president also praiseda chtransparency. The president is in ways blaming the world Health Organization for how bad this has gotten. Woodruff yamiche, we knp thsident has been saying he might do Something Like this. Hes bn threatening, if you will, talking about the possibility. Yo know what actually triggered the decision . Alcindor i think what triggered the decision was the lashing out that the psident did yesterday when he felt like he was being attacked and bei accused of being slow to act. There are real questions about what the president was doing in february when he was downplarung the and when it was spreading across the United States and other countries. But there are also are things the president said. Thhe said the big thingat were weighing on his mind were, one, that the who against travel restrictions, and the second thing is the organization was talking about not having humantohuman transmission when this was happening, ich i what china was saying at the time some the president is saying the who is sounding too money like china, but again, critics of the president say this is a really bae mov the middle of a world pandemic. Woodruff and just quickly, yamiche, we know the president has been saying and said againe thatthe one with all the authority, in his words, totaly author make a decision about when to lift restrictions. Is the white house saying any more about that today . Alcindor the white house and President Trump are still as president he has total that authority over states. But there are governors that ar speaking out pretty forcefully, the governor of new york, ani taj, of an degree andrew cuomo said thats the king and the United States does not have a king. There is an amendment that says the federal government has limits to its power and the states have their own rights. Woodruff yamiche, earlier in the program we interviewed the governor of connecticut who says he disagrees with the president. He and governors in theas nortare looking at coming up with their own coordinated plan. Or following the White House Briefing for us. Thank you, yamiche. Alcindor thanks, judy. Woodruff next tonight, ae hather look, and listen, to somof the music being posted across social media as part of hashtag songs comfort, for a moment of diversion from difficult news. Jeffrey brown has culledur selections forngoing arts and culture series, canvas. Brown two italian bo playing coldplays when i ruled the world that defines the songs ocomfort project. Fans of the young fiddlers offered this up bwne artistic response to the Coronavirus Crisis was started by famed cellist yoyo ma a way to try to s souls amidst such uncertain times. Ma himself continues to post songs on social medih as this one he had originally performed for children whenpe ing on mr. Rogers brown the response has been extraordinary. Brown a bit of blues from reie garrett in seattle. Enter the roma, texas varsity mariachi band. There are many examples of accentuating the positive in these times. Some sing it quite literally tu ae the positive brown sometimes,ts not thewhat someone plays, as much as theyre playing at all for others. This banjoplaying high schooler was posted by a neighbor, who he couldnt be in school, so he took a musical break from online classes to lift my spirits. D anere are other acts of being a good neighbor, such as these sheltering in place on a deck and one on a roof. Ne their video is rough, but their music quite smooth. N and, in a fashat is becoming more popular, this toronto opera singer took to a balcy to sing an aria from la boheme. Ve songs came in various forms, including international chanteuse Angelique Kidjo petits riensoustic cest nd. His man played over the rainbow by request of his best friend, his wife. Theres also a growing kind of sentiment love and respecfor alth care wo sers. Dan erdmd his song, sunset, is for them. And on a final note, lindon o beckford, erly at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in boston coworkers wrote how he has used his voice to comfort patients and colleagues for years. Now, more than ever. For the pbs newshour, im jeffrey brown. Woodruff we hope that if you woodruff love all. This just be careful of playing that violin on the roof. We do hope if you have art thejo share, you wil us. Upload your videos to twitter, instagram or facebook using the upload your videos to twitter, instagram or facebook using the hashtag songs of comfort. We will be watching, and may use them in thfuture, on air, and online at www. Pbs. Org newshour. Ewso, well be launching a segment on air and online tomorrow ask us, where we take your questions on t coronavirus to experts who can provide the answers you need. Teu can learn more about it by visiting our web www. Pbs. Org newshour, or checking our facebook, instagraa and twittes. Later tonight on most pbs stations, the definition of insanity, a documentary on the court to move the mentally ill out of the criminal Justice System andnto programs toward medical recover. That is tonight at 10 00, 9 00 central, only on pbs. And that is the newshour for tonight. Im judy woodruff. Join us online, and again right here tomorrow evening. For all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you, please stay safe and see you soon. 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. Fdelity is here to help you work through the unexpected, with Financial Planning and advice for today, and tomorrow. Financial Services Firm raymond james. Bnsf railway. Consumer cellular. Carnegie corporat new york. Supporting innovations in education, democraticen gement, and the advancement of International Peace and security. At carnegie. Org. And with the ongoing support and individuals. Tions this ogram was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contrutions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc io cad by Media Access Group at wgbh access. Wgbh. Org youre watching pbs. Hello, everyone. Welcome to amanpour co. Gres whats coming up. Imng to have to make a decision and i only hope to god that it is the right decision. President trump under pressure for lking down too slowly and wanting to open up again too fast. I asked New York Times columnist and Nobel Laureate paul krugman. How do youevise a dormant economy . Then dr. Robert gallo helped discover the hiv virus. Nowe tells Walter Isaacson why he thinks the polio vaccine could give short term immunity against the coronaviru plus, genetics and the human female. Does it give us the edge against