Transcripts For KQED PBS NewsHour 20240711

If you get caught with covid 19, the closest hospital is probably one hour away for most people here. Woodruff 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. The lemelson foundation. Committed to improving lives through invention, in the u. S. And developing countries. On the web at lemelson. Org. Supported by the john d. And catherine t. Macarthur foundation. Committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. More information at macfound. Org and with the ongoing support of these institutions 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 this has been a day for honoring americas military veterans, of peace and war, amid the political war over the president ial race. President trump still shows no sign of conceding to president elect biden, or to clearing the way for a change of government. Lisa desjardins begins our coverage tonight. Desjardins rain fell at a veterans day ceremony at Arlington National cemetery, where President Trump made his first public appearance since the Associated Press called his reelection defeat over the weekend. He attended a wreathlaying and saluted at the tomb of the unknown soldier, but did not speak. taps playing in philadelphia, president elect joe biden made his own veterans day stop, he and the future first lady, jill biden, laid a wreath at a korean war memorial. But he, too, had no public comment. The days solemn ceremonies unfolded against the backdrop of mr. Trumps refusal to recognize the Election Results or commence the transition. On twitter, the president continued to make unsupported claims of voter fraud in states he lost or is trailing. One of those states is georgia, where the secretary of state today announced a hand recount of all ballots in the president ial race. There will be plenty of oversight. We want to make sure both parties have opportunities to observe this because we know the stakes are high. Desjardins mr. Biden leads in georgia by about 14,000 votes. The recount comes after the Georgia Republican party and the states entire republican congressional delegation sent a letter to the secretary of state, alleging fraud, without evidence. They asked him to investigate serious allegations of voting irregularities in both the president ial and two u. S. Senate races. The two senate races are headed for runoffs in january. The Trump Campaign also continues to file legal challenges to the president ial vote count. Today it sued michigan to block the state from certifying joe bidens win, which it is scheduled to do on november 23rd. He leads there by more than 140,000 votes. President trump did score one victory today. The Associated Press formally called alaska, for him, increasing his electoral vote count to 217. Woodruff lisa joins us from wilmington, delaware, and Yamiche Alcindor is at the white house. Hello to both of you. Lisa, to you first, and this is the first day, i guess, joe biden has not made public remarks since he was declared the president elect, but we know the transition planning continues. Tell us where that stands. Not a day off for the biden transition, judy, thats for sure. They have more than 4,000 positions, about that many, to appoint in government, and theyre on their way going through that list. Judy, its interesting, i talked to an advisor yesterday who told me that the way theyre going about that is to look at the policy, try and find the people who will best enact policies joe biden wants from healthcare and supporting the Affordable Care act to climate change, to a range of other things including thincludingthe minimumwage. On that front, i can also report that we do think that they will start announcing some potential top staff starting at the top with the chie chief of staff, af that announcement for the white house chief of staff under President Biden when he takes over could come as early as this week. At the u. S. Senate, a lot of swirl around several senators, a lot around Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, about whether they would take positions in this administration. Speak to have the senate, i talked to the Republican Senate office, allies of President Trump, who tell me one reason theyre not speaking out publicly about whether the president should accept the result is they think they can do more behind the scenes. This office tells me there conservative senators spoke to President Trump on the phone and told them, of course, from their point, continue whatever questions you have to raise, but ultimately the senates asked the president to do whats right when the time comes. Woodruff and we will be talking with senator sanders in just a few moments. Yamiche, to you now, we know the president has also not spoken publicly. Weve seen the tweets, weve seen him just now, but we know that his team is still very much trying to win some battles in the court, challenging the results, where does all that stand . Well, President Trumps refusal and the trump caaigns refusal to acknowledge that joe biden is the president elect and to continue to file lawsuit after lawsuit comes down to two big things, politics and money. On the money side, they are raising boatloads of money, thousands of dollars every day by sending out next messages and emails, messaging that they need to keep up the fight, but they want to have money for an election defense fund. When you look at the money being raised, it tells a story. 60 of that money goes to save america pac, a Political Action committee. Aft that if someone donates thousands of dollars more, that money goes to the trump recount account. This is important the Political Action committee faces restrictions on how money is spent. Unlike candidate campaign accounts, the money raised can be spent on personal expenses. 40 goes to the Republican National committee. This money can go to benefit potentially other republican candidates. Critics say this is a slush fund that can go to funding President Trumps lavish lifestyle. The margins are on President Trumps side. Allies of the president told me that today. We want to look at the popular vote margins in the state contested by the Trump Administration and the Trump Campaign. In michigan in 2016 President Trump won by 10,000 votes, joe biden is leading by more than 146,000. In pennsylvania he won by 44,000. In 2016, 50,000 is what biden is leading by. In wisconsin 22,000 is what trump won by. Hes leading, president elect joe biden, by 20,000. Those tell stories and older Establishment Republicans tell me the numbers are not going to work out for the president while younger republicans are continuing to workday and night to try too find more voters to get people to overturn the margins. But its a really, really uphill battle. Woodruff ia niche, we know, with regard georgia is going to have a hand recount. What do we know about President Trumps involvement in that . President trump is continuing to pressure republicans all over the country, including in georgia, to really publicly challenge the integrity of the election. Now the Georgia Republican georgia secretary of state was out a few minutes ago saying that the white house has not contacted him directly to pressure him the do any sort of recount, but the Trump Campaign sees that recount as a huge win, they want to see that the president might be able to wrestlet it back but as you noted joe biden is winning by 14,000 votes, so it will be tough. Woodruff finally, quickly to you, lisa, the fact there will be a narrower margin for democrats in thousands waiting to see what will happen in the senate till january, what does that mean for biden planning . Judy, quickly, the senate new Senate Convenience january 3. The Georgia Election is january 5. That will make it tricky to organize the senate and we will have to watch it closely. Woodruff and we thank both of you. Both of you standing in the rain. Lisa desjardins, in wilmington, Yamiche Alcindor at the white house, we appreciate it. Woodruff joe biden has won the presidency by securing more than 270 electoral votes, and leading the popular vote by a five million vote margin. But democrats wont have a majority in the u. S. Senate, and lost seats in the house. Losses that exposed ideological differences between the progressive and moderate wings of the party on issues from health care to policing. Senator Bernie Sanders of vermont joins me now. Senator sanders, thank you so much for being here. It is clearly a win for the democrats in the white house. Joe biden is the president elect, but disappointment in the results in the senate and the house. What went wrong . Well, i wish i knew di de fientively, but i think diff idefinitely, but i think dt candidates focused on defeating a pathological liar and thats enormously important, but i dont think we did quite a good as job as we should have. In speaking to working families who, today, are probably in worse economic shape than anytime since the great depression, and we did not make the case that were prepared to take on powerful special interests, were prepared to raise that minimum wage to at least 15 bucks an hour, provide equal pay for equal work, make it easier for workers to join unions, create millions of goodpaying jobs, rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure, making public colleges and universities tuitionfree, expanding healthcare to all people, so i think we probably were not as strong as we should have been in explaining what a progressive economic agenda would mean to working families throughout the country. Woodruff but now that democrats are going to have fewer seats in the house, now that you may have 50 seats in the senate, but you may end up with 48, are you going to be able to do the kinds of things you just listed, senator sanders . Youre going to have great opposition from republicans and not even support from all democrats. Well, look, i think all of the ideas that i have talked to you about, judy, and many more, are popular ideas. I mean, the truth is that the American People understand that our current Healthcare System is dysfunctional and cruel and wasteful. They understand that 7. 25 an hour minimumwage is a starvation wage. Its insane that our infrastructure is falling. That we are not addressing the existential threat of climate change. That is what the American People understand and want to see us address, and our job is to explain to the American People where the opposition is and put pressure on republicans, especially those coming up for election in two years, that they have got to do what the American People want. Woodruff and at the same time, we know President Trump, as you purchased, received 71 millionplus votes. So republicans are going to point to that, and oppose, we assume, much to have the democratic agenda much of the democratic agenda. So my question is are you going to have to have scaledback expectations for what President Biden is able to accomplish . Look, i think start off with the agenda that want speaks to the American People. What i want all over this country is that ordinary americans, including those who voted for donald trump you know what . They cant afford healthcare, they cant afford to send their kids to college, they dont want veterans sleeping on the street, they dont want to destroy their car by going over some pothole, they want action to improve the lives of working families, so does everybody else in america. So i think the very first thing you do is make the case, here are the problems, here are the solutions, then you can sit down with republicans and see where we go. Now my hope is that in early january, democrats will pick up two more seats in the georgia runoffs, and that will make our life a lot easier. Woodruff one thing about the election, senator, im sure youve heard the complaints, the comments from democrats, moderate democrats who say all the talk about at the funding the police, using the term allowing republicans to repeatedly accuse democrats of being socialists, hurt democrats, and they are saying the idea that youre going to move to a Green New Deal, that youre going to move to some form of dramatic form of Police Reform, that that will only hurt democrats going forward. What do you say to your democratic colleagues about that . First of all, im not aware maybe im wrong on this, but i dont know there are any Democratic Candidates that talked about defunding the police. Do we want Police Reform so that innocent africanamericans are not shot and killed . Of course, we do. So do the vast majority of the American People. In terms of some of the arguments against us, the problem is theyre just not true. To the best of my knowledge, 100 congressional candidates ran on medicare for all. Do you know how many lost . Zero. I think one candidate who ran on a Green New Deal lost. The reason for that is these proposals are popular proposals. So the idea of blaming our ideas on their defeat, im not sure that thats true. I think the converse may be true. Got a lot of people out there listening to some democrats and saying, what do you stand for are you going to represent us when we are hurting so much . Do you have the guts to take on powerful special interests . Are you going to raise that minimumwage . Are you going to fight for healthcare for all . I dont want to go bankrupt because i cant afford to pay my medical bill. What are you going to do about it . How are you going to make sure my kid can afford to go to college. I want to turn the argument around and say to my more society of democratic friends is maybe the working class of the country did not perceive that you are prepared to stand up and fight for them. Woodruff two other quick questions, senator, one is theres talk of your being interested in being labor secretary in the Biden Administration. Are you interested in doing that . Let me just say this, judy, the working class of this country is in a lot of pain right now unemployment very, very high, wages are low, workers cant form union, people are not getting the pensions theyre entitled to. So im going to do whatever i can whether in the senate or whatever in fighting for the rights of working families. If i am asked to become a member of the Biden Administration and if im given a portfolio that can make a difference to the working families of this country, would i accept it . Yes, i would. Woodruff and do you have a favorite for treasury secretary . Well, i think there are a number of good candidates out there but i think Elizabeth Warren has a track record of standing up to vair powerful wall street interests. I think she knows the interests backwards and forwards and she would be a very powerful secretary in the treasury. Woodruff even giving up a seat in the senate . Well, i think well, going into all of the details, i think there are ways to protect that seat. Woodruff we will leave it there. Senator Bernie Sanders of vermont, we thank you. Thank you very much. Woodruff the deep divisions in this country can also be found this week within the republican party. A majority of elected g. O. P. Officials are standing with the president s false claims about election fraud. A number remain silent, but here is a sampling of some of that support. 72 million americans instinctively know somethings not right here. And if you just look at the state of pennsylvania, where the unequal treatment of the voters in that state, some counties low voters to cure their ballots. Some didnt. Some counties allow pre canvassing of ballots. Some didnt. Some counties along with satellite voting offices. Some counties didnt. And you can imagine which counties allowed those things to happen. What are the democrats trying to hide . Right now, youve got half this country that has doubts about the veracity of this election. And thats why the process that exists in the law. Theres a long process in the law that exists after the election, before the results are certified. That process has to be allowed to move forward. Otherwise, were going to have a result here that half the country will harbor significant doubts about. And thats bad for the country. Thats why both sides should be welcoming, having this process be open, transparent, and according to the rights afforded to both candidates by the law. Woodruff on the other side of the divide, more than thirty former republican lawmakers are calling his allegations of voter fraud unacceptable. Former missouri congressman tom coleman is one of them and he joins me now. Tom coleman, thank you so much for talking with us. The president says fraud has been committed and the American People deserve to know what happened, and hes pursuing multiple lawsuits. Hes within his rights to do that, isnt he . Yes, he is. You have a close call in some of these states, and this is a very close election in some states. Gradually joe biden has extended his lead in most of the questionable states that are still out. But, yes, the candidate has a right to do that within certain limitations. The problem is the president has filed seven lawsuits that i personally know of and all of them have been tossed by the courts. They are absolutely baseless and without foundation. Woodruff so when you hear, as weve just a few moments ago heard congressman jim jordan of ohio talking about things that he says went wrong or should be looked into in pennsylvania, he said some counties allow voters to cure their ballots, some didnt. Some counties allow precanvassing of ballots, some didnt. I mean, are those the kinds of things that would call an election result into question . No, certainly not. All the states have been polled by the new york times, and its in this mornings paper, and none of the elected officials that are in charge of the elections found any fraud, any irregularities other than the normal one when you have 150 Million People voting. So this is all something ginned up by the president to create more chaos on his way out the door. And weve had four years of chaos, the public didnt like it, and they voted him out of office. Its hard for him to take. This is just a little tantrum by the president , but, at the same time, judy, he is putting our National Security interests in very big limbo here because we dont know whats going on in the pentagon and we dont know whats going on in other agencies where biden people have not been able to go in and start making their transition. Woodruff what is your worry, i mean what do you fear could happen if this drags on . Well, in the first place, hes trying to undermine the legitimacy of the outcome, just like he tried to undermine barack obama for not being, allegedly, born in the United States. The birtherssue is what got donald trump on the political map and hes trying to do to joe biden what he tried to do to barack obama. It didnt work then and its not going to work now. But if enough people in the country lose faith in our democracy and our ability to choose our elected officials through a fair and free election, were in a heap of trouble, and thats what i think this could end up being. Woodruff but as someone who served in the congress, you were a republican when you served in the congress for 16 years. What do you make of the fact that the vast majority of elected republicans right now in the congress are backing the president up and saying we need to go through with this, the president s in the right . I guess one word would be disappointment, extreme disappointment. Unfortunately, i think weve seen for four years the inability of congress to be an independent branch of government. All the republicans who are in the majority, at least in the senate, have tied themselves to this president. I dont know what it would take, because we have a pandemic of 250,000 americans have died through it, its rising and spiking as we speak, and what has the president been doing . Playing golf and making counterfeit charges about the election. This is the reason hes being voted out of office. Its unreal people will stand with him this long. We had a great election, we had a turnout of record proportions and, for that, the public deserves to know that their votes counted, and all this business about jim jordan stirring the pot in pennsylvania, the people in pennsylvania dont see this, and there are republicans and democrats all over this country, this is something that they have manufactured to try to destroy, i guess, Joe Bidens Administration before it takes office, and its wrong. Woodruff but you not only have, you know, members of coress, you have the leader of the Senate Majority in Mitch Mcconnell saying that the president needs to be allowed to pursue this. Well, and i did said that, too. I think you have to look at Mitch Mcconnells words very closely. He hasnt really stood tall during the Trump Administration, but he did not say, and i donte didnt throw his entire lot into what the president is doing. So let him file more lawits and see what happens. But again, politics over untry. He knows there are two open senate seats in the state of georgia which would mean the majority of other the republicansen or the democrats taking control of the body in january, so he is not going to alienate the trump base. This is about the trump base, getting them riled up so that, at least in georgia, they will want to go out and serve the president as he is leaving. Woodruff former Missouri Republican congressman tom coleman, thank you very much for talking the us. Thank you, judy. Woodruff in the days other news, republicans won a 50th seat in the u. S. Senate. The Associated Press declared dan sullivan the winner in his reelection bid in alaska. Senate control now hinges on january runoffs for two seats in georgia. The a. P. Also projects that democrats will control the house representatives, but with a smaller majority. Republicans could gain a dozen seats. Facebook now says its ban on political ads will likely last another month. It originally covered only the week after the election. The ban is meant to limit misinformation about the president ial results, and about those Senate Runoffs in georgia. Covid19 infections acrosshe u. S. Hit more records today. The nation recorded nearly 140,000 new cases in the last 24 hours, with nearly 62,000 people hospitalized with the virus. In response, more states announced curbs, including new york and indiana, where Governor Eric Holcomb said hospital workers need help. They are exhausted and overwhelmed and need us all to do what we can on the outside that will slow the number of patients that need hospitalizations and their treatment inside. Woodruff deaths are also rising, with more than 1,400 reported on tuesday. Tropical storm eta headed today toward a second strike at florida, this time, north of tampa bay. It briefly regained hurricane strength before weakening again. High winds and heavy rain struck the coast all day as the storm moved closer. Conditions forced a major bridge and the Tampa International airport to close. In hong kong, prodemocracy lawmakers have announced theyre resigning, in a sweeping act of protest. The 15 legislators acted after four of their colleagues were dismissed from the city assembly. Their ouster is part of Mainland Chinas efforts to curb dissent in the semiautonomous territory. Well hear more on this, later in the program. Pope francis is pledging again to eradicate sexual abuse by Roman Catholic clergy. His renewed promise today followed an investigation of ex Cardinal Theodore mccarrick. It found that mccarricks misconduct went ignored for decades. The pope read a statement at the vatican. translated yesterday the report about the painful case of exCardinal Theodore mccarrick was published. I renew my closeness to the victims of every abuse and the commitment of the church to uproot this evil. Woodruff francis also spoke in praise of Pope John Paul ii today. The vatican investigation concluded that john paul knew of mccarricks misdeeds, and made him archbishop of washington anyway. And, back in this country, wall street worried about new coronavirus restrictions on businesses, and that held back the broader market. The Dow Jones Industrial average lost 23 points to close at 29,397. But the nasdaq rose 232 points, with tech stocks rebounding, and, the s p 500 added 27. Still to come on the newshour covid19 continues to take a devastating toll on essential farm workers. The Chinese Government jettisons the remaining prodemocracy legislators from hong kong. And a young mississippi guitarist keeps the tradition of the blues alive. Woodruff as the nation grapples with the latest surge in covid19 cases, some workers are trying to cope with illness and economic hardship, even while fearing deportation. Stephanie sy visited the Coachella Valley in california, where workers deemed essential by the federal government are suffering in the shadows, and finding support in a patchwork of Grassroots Community organizations. Sy nineyear old rosita and her friend bounce on a trampoline, while her mother, marisela, looks onweighed down by worries i am sick with thyroid cancer. Sy marisela, who preferred we not use her last name, has continued to work in the fields, even through the pandemic. translated im afraid because its different in the fields. Im afraid of being infected or that someone in my family will become infected and ive told my doctor that stress might be affecting me as well. Sy not far away, sonia barroni, a diabetic without access to health insurance, is being squeezed financially. translated without work and food, we have to feed ourselves. The rent keeps coming, the bills keep coming. So my concern is how am i going to do it . Sy both of these women are single mothers who, because of their immigration status, are ineligible for the covid relief checks that have helped millions of americans get by. The Coachella Valley may be best known for its music festival, tennis tournament, and luxury resorts. But the eastern part of the valley is a separate world. Almost 50 of residents live below the poverty line. And winds here blow toxic dust from the decaying salton sea, californias largest lake. We have a large group of people that are living in conditions that you dont see in other parts of the country, mobile homes that are old, that are falling apart. Sy at a Community Event offering free flu vaccines we met conrado barzaga, c. E. O. Of the desert healthcare district and foundation, which oversees Healthcare Services in the region. If you get caught with covid 19, the closest hospital is probably one hour away for most people here. Sy covid has taken its toll on the lowwage workers, many who work in the areas vast date farms and make up the backbone of the valleys 600 million agricultural economy. Across the country, coronavirus has infected more than 125,000 farmworkers, people who literally keep the country fed. Farmworkers endure tough times even in good times. But during the pandemic they were deemed essential and kept working, even while lacking the safety net theyd need if they got sick. Farmworker Marisol Cisneros and her children got covid over the summer. translated you feel frustrated because you have to go to work because we live day to day. And if you get sick or your kids get sick, you have no choice but to go to work. Sy after she tested positive, she did stop going to work, but now can barely make ends meet. Half of the farmworkers across the u. S. Are undocumented. They dont have Social Security numbers. And its impossible for them to get any of the benefits that one would expect while they live in the United States. Sy as essential workers. As essential workers who cannot eat. Sy the food supply depends on these workers. You got it. Sy rosa lucas, a nurse practitioner, has been working in the community for over 30 years, and says covid has presented unprecedented challenges. When youre picking in the field, you can be sort of apart. But then its lunchtime and i theyre all they all go in each they go at the same time and all of there they sit on a bench thats under a shade on a truck. And theyre all there together with their masks off, eating and coughing and drinking. They go home and they get other people sick. Sy the fear of being deported says the county supervisor manuel perez, himself a son of former farmworkers, creates a dire situation. Theyre fearful of even being tested. And if they do get tested, theyre very reluctant to let them know to let them contact ace or know who theyve been around, you know, for the last few days. So thats a very real issue. Sy since an earlier spike in cases, perez says theyve ramped up education and outreach, and have distributed funds to a patchwork of nonprofit groups such as lift to rise, an organization that provides rental assistance to people like sonia batturoni. translated thank god there have been Many Organizations that have helped us financially. Theres definitely a sense of kind of desperation. Sy lift to rises Deputy Director Araceli Palafox has seen the lines for help swell in recent weeks. You have families coming with their children. And you can you can kind of sense from the children kind of the same traumatic experience that that perhaps the parents or the head of households are going through. Sy marisela and her daughter have depended on Community Organizations during covid. On this day, they received a package of Household Essentials from luz gallegos of todec legal center. Since midseptber, gallegos has gone door to door, dropping off deliveries to farmworkers in need, many of whom have tested positive for covid19. But lift to rises palafox worries that things like food aid and Housing Support are only temporary fixes. I think we always say internally that this work is like triaging oxygen. This is rental assistance. Its a one time 3,500. We know that we need permanent solution. So folks stay permanently housed. Sy this is a bandaid. Yes. These are the types of measures and policies that we need to advance if we really, truly care about essential workers, in this case farm workers. But its not going to be enough until once again, we have comprehensive immigration reform. Sy for now, bandaids are all many immigrant essential workers can hope for. For the pbs newshour, im stephanie sy, in the Coachella Valley, california. Woodruff the number of coronavirus cases in india, appears for the moment to have peaked, with a decline in daily infections in recent weeks. However, indias economy, the worlds fifth largest, has yet to recover from a steep decline, compounding the suffering of millions of its poorest citizens. Special correspondent fred de sam lazaro has an update. Reporter its a typical morning at delhis main bus depot. Thousands of migrant laborers returning from their rural homes, hoping to regain jobs they abruptly lost in march, when india went into a total lockdown. 38yearold Netrapal Yadav used to drive for a taxi companywork that helped support his wife, four children and elderly parents in their village about 150 miles away. translated when the lockdown happened, i went back but theres no work there. Its been very hard. Ive had to take on nearly 35,000 rupees in debt so i came back to delhi. So now im going to see my old boss. Reporter worried about debts that total about 500 u. S. Dollars, he decided to skip the rickshaw ride to his old workplace. The 3 fare is about what he used to earn in a full day. A lot of urban migrant workerwere largely in the informal economy reporter i reached delhi based economist radhicka kapoor. They went back to the security of their villages where they were sure they wouldnt actually starve. Essentially, there was a lot of rural distress even before covid19 struck. And now that has just got exacerbated. Reporter with the economy cratering, most recently at an annual rate of 24 , the government began easing its lockdown in may, despite falling far short of the goal of flattening the curve of covid infections. So laborers are back in the cities, anxiously they wait each day for work, but the cities are not back to normal, as yadav would soon find out when he arrived at his boss place. translated i just have no work, right in front of you there used to be ten cars, now i have only two. I got rid of eight of them. translated tell me, how am i going to feed my children, where am i going to get bread for them . They go full days being hungry, its for their sake that i came to you. Reporter the best that the boss Harinder Singh could provide was a cot in his open air taxi stand. translated people are using their own personal cars, no one is using taxis. Reporter theyre also simply not going many places. Delhis oncethriving middle class Shopping Centers sits nearly empty. Its leading to a chicken and egg situation because businesses will invest only if there is demand. But at the same time, vast majorities dont have jobs. Reporter and thats unlikely to change soon, says prof. Ramanan laxminarayan, who divides his time between india and princeton university. Its going to take probably years for the economy to climb back, because a lot of small businesses, Medium Enterprises all been wiped out. And it takes time for that whole cycle of borrowing money, setting up an enterprise and then being able to make things happen. Reporter small and Medium Enterprises employ more than 90 of indias urban workforce large number of them rural migrants. Some critics place blame their abject suffering on the governments hasty, abrupt lockdown, but supporters say the country had to buy time to build testing capacity, supplies of equipment and temporary isolation and care centers like this one in a delhi athletics complex. So far despite high numbers this facility has never hit its 500 bed capacity. Dr. Rajat jain, a volunteer physician here, has one troubling explanation. The stigma is definitely a very, very big challenge. There are a lot of people who are scared of getting themselves tested. And thats a pretty big challenge, because if they are not getting themselves tested and they are not aware, they are the one who are spreading the disease. Reporter some Scientists Say the actual number of infections is possibly three to four times the official total of about eight point six million. The official death toll is 128,000. The disease is pretty much uncontrolled at this point in time, its spreading from the urban areas which have better testing into rural areas, which really dont have Health Facilities to take care of patients. Reporter through all this, polls show Prime Minister Narendra Modi remains widely popular. What was positive about the Indian Response was that there was never an attempt to sweep covid under the carpet and say, this is not serious, as we saw in many other countries like mexico, in brazil, and certainly in the United States as well, that did not happen in india. Reporter but the prospect of sustained stagnation in a once fastgrowing economy is a worry. Half of indias population is below the age of 25. The risk of social upheaval has certainly gone up. Reporter meantime with Netrapal Yadav at the taxi stand. translated i went to three, four different taxi owners; didnt get any work. I might as well go back to the village. The boss is giving me 100 rupees to wash the cars, but i can probably make that at home. Reporter washing cars for a 1. 50, surviving on ramen noodles, he decided his third night in this makeshift sleeping arrangement would be his last. He spent his next night on the bus home. For the pbs newshour, with rakesh nagar in delhi, this is fred de sam lazaro in st. Paul, minnesota. Hes part of the undertold stories project at the university of st. Thomas in minnesota. Woodruff today in hong kong, the government removed four pro heres nick schifrin. Schifrin in the end, their final act of resistance, was solidarity. Together we stand. Together we stand. Schifrin today, the entire prodemocracy camp of legislators quit, and held a press conference alongside their ousted colleagues. Theres no point to sit there like sitting ducks and be ousted one by one. Schifrin one of the legislators who resigned today was 63yearold claudia mo. We spoke to her later, by skype. Today would mean the final nail in the coffin of hong kongs being hammered in. Theyre telling hong kong people, especially those in the political sector, that if we dont like you in any way politically, we can just chuck you out. Schifrin Hong Kongs Legislative Council has been the primary arena for prodemocracy politicians. They fight, often literally, laws they say erode the citys freedoms. Today beijing changed the rules to allow the Hong Kong Government to remove pro democracy legislators, even though they were democratically elected. The Hong Kong Government is led by the probeijing chief adminsitratior, carrie lam. translated every lawmaker who enters such an important Legislature Must shoulder their responsibility of being loyal to the peoples republic of china, so that we are able to have a political system dominated by patriots. Schifrin for beijing, patriotism in hong kong means subservience. This summer beijing passed a new National Security law that allowed police to arrest protestors not only for what they did, but what they said. Hong kong residents and visitors now face jail time if they ask for foreign assistance or call for hong kong independence. In august, police used the law to frogmarch prodemocracy media tycoon jimmy lai out of his own newsroom, and charge him with foreign collusion. Hong kong used to be such a robust, international, cosmopolitan city. And now its, its become practically a police state. And the people would need to guard their words. And thats very orwellian. Its 1984. Schifrin back in 1997, the british handed over hong kong. And under a deal known as one country two systems, communist china promised hong kong could keep its britishwritten laws and independent judiciary, but turn over its defense and foreign policy. It was supposed to last 50 years. Free hong kong, Free Hong Kong schifrin but not even half way to that halfcentury mark, millions of hong kong residents said beijing was chipping away at freedoms that arent available in Mainland China. Those peaceful protests, became violent. Beijing cracked down further, leading to new National Security law, and todays announcement. The authorities now are taking advantage of this coronavirus panic and you wouldnt see two million hong kong people are taking to the streets to protest. They hope obedience would become a Second Nature and that everyone will just be reined in. Today i signed legislation and an executive order. Schifrin since the National Security law, the Trump Administration has punished beijing. On monday the state Department Sanctioned four Security Officials who have helped impose the law. In august, the us sanctioned carrie lam, the police commissioner, and eight others. In september, the u. S. Issued a travel advisory warning of the risk of arbitrary enforcement d last month, the u. S. And 38 other countries signed a joint statement at the United Nations criticizing the National Security law. It violates hong kongs high degree of autonomy and it directly threatens rights and freedoms. Schifrin but international judgement hasnt restrained beijing, or hong kong residents from leaving the city. Last month, taiwanese protested to save the 12 12 hong kong residents caught and jailed for trying to flee hong kong. Their family members held a press conference, and were so scared of government retribution,hey covered their faces. I do expect some sort of exodus from hong kong. I mean, you cant blame people, especially young couples with young children, with toddlers. They need to think of their childrens future. Schifrin and today, hong kongs future, looks like any other city in Mainland China without the prodemocracy lawmakers, who once stood in the way. For the pbs newshour, im nick schifrin. Woodruff now to the blues a quintessentially american art form, one whose early masters have mostly passed away. The genre relies on each succeeding generation to renew and reinvigorate it. Special correspondent tom casciato looks at one standout who showcases that gen z will not disappoint. The story is part of our american creators series, and ongoing arts and culture coverage, canvas. Reporter in clarksdale mississippi, the spiritual home of the delta blues, covid19 has done its best to hush the vibrant music scene. But on this autumn afternoon, at the Delta Blues Museum, a local guitar hero has agreed to play a few tunes. Before im old i was born at the turn of the century lucky to be born at all i grew up way down in mississippi when i heard Robert Johnson call reporter with a command of his instrument and a firm grasp of tradition, christone kingfish ingram represents the next generation of Great American blues guitarists. Well im just trying to fly high and not to die before im old reporter you might say he grew up here in the museum, where he took guitar lessons and learned blues history. Son house. Reporter he scrutinized the masters on youtube to learn their techniques. Playing to different tunes, like some of the old blues standards, and muddy waters, albert king, otis rush, son house, everybody. Reporter when you were a young kid, you were listening to the blues while a lot of other kids were listening to other more, more popular kinds of music. Did people think you were peculiar . Very peculiar. Like, they thought it was strange as heck, man. They used to come up to me, man, they was like, what you doing listening to that boring stuff, old stuff . And id be like, man, this is our history. Im doing this for the culture. Reporter do you still know any of those people . And do they now understand what yowere talking about . I doubt it reporter others have understood very well. Ingram was heralded a prodigy as a teenager, showing skill and confidence at just 15, playing at the white house where the Delta Blues Museum received an arts and humanities award. Here he is at 17, burning up the frets like a seasoned pro. Now just 21, he says hes grown as a player since then. Around that time i was listening to a lot of eric johnson, and a lot of eric gales, and a lot of fast, like, blues, shreddy type of things. And i just felt everything that i played had to be like a thousand miles a minute. So yeah, these days ive ive incorporated more feel and more slowness in my solos. But i still you know try to, try to, try to get the youthfulness and attack and the speed of notes every night. Reporter for those who might wonder how such a youthful man can play the blues with such authority, theres this. I wasnt in a troubled childhood, but i did have my share of troubles. You know, people in your school, you know, trying to pick at you because of your appearance and stuff like that. And not only that, you know going through things, you know theres no secret, you know, i saw my parents, they got a divorce, and me and my mom became homeless for a minute. And thats actually, when i started to i started to dig a little bit more deeper into the blues and guitar. All of that was just just a big, like, melting pot for my blues. I didnt have to deal with my woman leaving me until like later. Reporter ingrams 2019 debut release, kingfish, garred a ammy nomination, as well as five of this years american blues awards, including album of the year. But he says none of that might have happened had not an older, legendary blues master stepped in to kickstart his recording career buddy guy. We get this call mr. Guy wants to work with you, you now. He wants to produce an album on you, because i didnt have a record. Reporter were you completely blown away by that . Most definitely. Most definitely. I didnt think it was going to happen at first, because uh, you know, at the time, the reason why we didnt do a record was because we just didnt have the funds. So he even put the funds up. Reporter an enduring relationship was born. Sometimes i would rather hang around older people and soak up the wisdom from talking to them, than just hanging out with kids my own age or Something Like that. Im digging you know, to look at the way that our ancestors paved the way for us to play, and we should, you know, we should take that, you know, and embrace it. Reporter early this year, kingfish got up onstage at buddy guys legends club in chicago. There, an audience video captured a telling moment. The younger man had been taking a solo, when suddenly his guitar rig malfunctioned. The older one stepped in, passing kingfish his own guitar. Or maybe that was a torch he was passing. Go ahead now. Reporter if so, it was to a musician who plans to keep the flame burning. For the pbs newshour, im tom casciato. Woodruff remember the name. King fish ingram. Well be hearing about him for a long time. On the newshour online right now, novelist don delillo talks with chief arts correspondent Jeffrey Brown about his new novel, the silence, and what happens when Technology Fails and screens go dark. Find their conversation on our web site, pbs. Org newshour. And thats the newshour for tonight. Im judy woodruff. Join us online and again here tomorrow evening. For all ofs at the pbs newshour, thank you, please stay safe, and see you soon. 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