Transcripts For KQED PBS NewsHour 20240712

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Woodruff covid19 keeps spreading across swaths of the United States, and National Experts are telling congress they are worried. They are also calling for more testing. Congressional correspondent Lisa Desjardins begins our coverage of the days events. Its a mixed bag some good, and some we have a problem with. Desjardins from the nations top Infectious Disease expert, dr. Anthony fauci, the latest assessment of where things stand, more than three months into the pandemic. He and three other top National Health officials testified at a congressional hearing. At the top of the agenda rising numbers of cases across much of the sunbelt. Were now seeing a disturbing the next couple of weeks are going to be critical in our ability to address those surges that we are seeing in florida, texas, and arizona, and in other states. Theyre not the only ones that are having a difficulty. Desjardins in fact, a dozen states across the south and southwest are hitting new infection records. New hot spots are emerging, even as some states move to reopen their economies. That includes places like myrtle beach, south carolina, a popular vacation spot thats helped bump the states new infection rate when adjusted for population to fourth place nationally. Still, fauci said today he is optimistic that a vaccine to counter the spread could be ready by the end of this year, or early next. And he vowed that officials will not cut corners to get there. I would be very disappointed if we jumped to a conclusion before we knew that a vaccine was truly safe and truly effective, because i wouldnt want a perpetual ambiguity of not knowing whether or not it is truly safe and truly effective. Desjardins also testifying today, admiral brett giroir, assistant secretary of health at the department of health and human services. He focused on testing. The only way that we will be able to understand who has the disease, who is infected and can pass it, and do appropriate contact tracing, is to test appropriately, smartly, as many people as we can. Desjardins thats become a contentious point within the administration, after President Trump said he called for scaling back tests he said bluntly because testing was driving up case numbers. Aides said he was kidding, but today came this. I dont kid. Let me just tell you, let me make it clear. Desjardins leaving the white house for arizona this morning, mr. Trump doubled down testing is a doubleedge sword. In one way, it tells you, you have cases. In another way, you find out where the cases are and you do a good job. Desjardins back at the House Committee hearing, fauci said that, in fact, the president has never asked them to cut back on testing. None of us have ever been told to slow down on testing. That just is a fact. In fact, we will be doing more testing. Desjardins all of this as the virus continues to pass new milestones around the world. Cases in south africa topped 100,000 today, totaling nearly a third of all infections across thafrican continent. The spread is also accelerating in india, where 15,000 new cases were recorded in the past day. The picture is starkly different elsewhere. Today, we can say that our Long National hibernation is beginning to come to an end, and life is returning to our streets and to our shops. Desjardins british Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the country will begin to ease social distancing restrictions, including at pubs and restaurants, by early july. For the pbs newshour, im Lisa Desjardins. Nawaz as lisa reported, texas is taking a particularly hard hit right now. The state recorded more than 5,000 new cases in a day, a new alltime high. For about a week now, texas has been reporting roughly 4,000 new cases a day and the houston region is reflecting those broader trends with nearly 32,000 cases overall and almost 500 deaths in that region. For a report from the front lines, we turn to dr. Hillary fairbrother. She works in emergency medicine at the texas medical center. Dr. Fairbrother, welcome to the newshour and thanks for being with us. Lets talk about those numbers, that surge in infections were seeing across texas. What are you seeing on the ground in houston . So on the ground in houston, i am definitely seeing an increase in cases. Were seeing an increase in volume in ou emergency department, both public and private, and we are seeing more and more people worried that they have the symptoms of coronavirus. Nawaz we should point out there was a statewide stayathome order. Governor abbott issued that for all of april. Ever since then, texas has been on a steady march to reopening. Now that youre seeing this surge in infection, do you think thats due to the reopening . You know, texas was an anomaly, so when we first started dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, like everyone else, we had these horrifying projections of what was to come and all sorts of scientists really trying to prepare us for what to expect when it came to the pandemic and the number of people who are sick and all of those things, and in texas those numbers never came true, and so initially the governor, like many other governors, issued stayathome orders and everyone stayed at home, and socially isolated. The business and economies were shut down. After, you know, a decent while of not seeing those numbers come to pass, the governor and the state started to open, and without a question, coronavirus has never left the houston community. We have always had cases. We all had this kind of steady spate of cases that was in our community. So i dont think that anyone could say that reopening did not adversely affect the number of cases. The real question really is i think can we handle this increase in volume. Nawaz we mentioned the new alltime singleday high today. Governor abbott also said yesterday the virus is now spreading at an unacceptable rate. Hes urging people to continue social distancing and Wearing Masks and wash their hands. Do you think that message is getting out, and are those practices enough to slow the spread that youre seeing now . So i applaud the governor for those important messages. We do. We beg you, please stay at home. Please socially distance. Please wash your hands. And when you absolutely have to go out, please wear masks. This helps everyone and this includes people like myself who have to go to work so we can take care of everyone who gets sick in the city of houston. Whether it wilbe enough to keep. In my mind we have this duty. We reopened the state, and that was so important to so many businesses, but we always have to balance everything, whether its the economy or any other resource, with our healthcare resource that we have available, with the number of ventilators and isue beds and hospital beds that we have available. And it is when one of those things becomes completely imbalanced that i think we will see our state and the city of houston really suffer. So its just about balance. Whether the increased urging to stay at home is getting through to people and changing their behavior, i think it has yet to be seen. There has to be some more personal accountability so that hopefully we can keep our economy open and also take care of and have the resources to take care of anyone who gets sick in the state of texas. But its a balance. Nawaz it is a balance indeed. Were wishing you and the people in houston all the very best. Dr. Hilary fairbrother, houston emergency medicine physician. Thanks for being with us. Thank you so much. Woodruff in the days other news, President Trump vowed to sign an executive order against tearing down statues of confederate leaders and others. He cited a federal law that punishes vandalism of monuments to military leaders by up to ten years in prison. We are loing at longterm jail sentences for these vandals and these hoodlums and these anarchists and agitators, and call them whatever you want. I will have an executive order very shortly, and all its really going to do is reinforce whats already there, but in a more uniform way. Woodruff we will take a closer look at this debate, later in the program. The president spent much of the day in arizona, touring the southern border wall before holding a rally in phoenix. His visit marked more than 200 miles of wall built. Thats less than half the total that mr. Trump had promised to build by years end. Mourners gathered in atlanta today for the funeral of rayshard brooks. Police shot and killed brooks as he was running away after an attempted arrest for intoxication. Todays funeral was held at atlantas historic Ebenezer Baptist church, where reverend Martin Luther king jr. Once preached. The f. B. I. Now says a noose found at a nascar speedway in alabama had been there since october. It was in a garage space assigned last week to bubba wallace, nascars only black driver, for a weekend race. The f. B. I. Says that means there was no federal crime. In mexico, a powerful earthquake rocked the southern and central parts of the country, killing at least two people. Thousands of people in mexico city took refuge outdoors, as the tremor swayed buildings. Initial damage reports were relatively minor. The quake also triggered small tsunamis along the pacific coast. New york, kentucky and Virginia Held primary elections amid the pandemic today. In kentucky, democrats chose a u. S. Senate nominee to face republican majority leader mitch mcconnell. The Convention Center in louisville served as a single, giant polling place for more than 500 precincts. Thousands of voters flowed through, with relative ease. This process was very smooth, very simple, very easy process. People walked you through, everybody was there, i loved it. People need to understand the new norm and get with the program. Theres nothing wrong with this process. Mailin or coming out to the one location. Woodruff other voters complained that the single site was too far from where they live. Officials also faced an outpouring of mailin ballots. And on wall street today, the Dow Jones Industrial average gained 131 points to close at 26,156. The nasdaq rose nearly 75 points, and the s p 500 added 13. Still to come on the newshour we discuss the pandemic, protests, and more with supporters of the president at his latest rally. Questions remain about public statues and monuments across the country. Covid19 compounds alreadydire circumstances in wartorn yemen. And, much more. Woodruff as we reported earlier, President Trump traveled to the state of arizona today. Our stephanie sy is in phoenix, and joins me now. So hello, stephanie. You are just outside of the president s event. Tell us what else youve learned about his visit to arizona today. Thats right, judy. I am outside the dream city megachurch here in phoenix. The president landed in this coronavirus hot spot to hold a rally at this church behind me, which has the capacity of about 3,000 people. The church i am told is filled to capacity waiting for the president to speak. This was billed as an event for students, but we saw much more than students here, really a mix of ages that we saw, and its 110 degrees out here, so it does feel like a slightly more low key trump rally, just handful of vendors and not the carnival atmosphere that im used to seeing at a trump rally. Earlier today, the president was near yuma, arizona. He had a roundtable with border officials, and the white house had touted that visit as a way for trump to talk about the 200 miles of border wall that had been built. In fact, since trump took office, only three miles of new barrier has been erected. Judy . Woodruff so stephanie, you told us that you talked to some of the people who waited for hos in line to get in to see the president in this 110degree heat. What precautions ae being taken around health and around the covid virus . There were people that were waiting for hours in this heat, judy to, get in to the church. That also means theyve been sitting inside that church with the circulating air for hours as theyre waiting for the president to take the stage. Some people were Wearing Masks. I would say about 20 were Wearing Masks in this heat. A lot of people said they would put masks on once they got inside the venue. Some people said they would not put masks on unless they were forced to do so. And a few people really said they were making a political statement by not wearing a mask. I think i think the whole covid thing is kind of like a slippery slope. Pgee what they can get away with. They see how many people are going to be sheep and wear masks, and they say okay, if we can get away with that, what other rights can we infringe upon . Now the phenix city council, judy, did pass an ordinance just a few days ago requiring people to wear masks in public places, but the phoenix mayor said shes not planning to enforce that and hand out citations and 250 fines among the people at the rally. And, of course, not with the president either. I will say that a local reporter inside that ive been talking to says there is absolutely no social distancing in there, and there is a minimal amount of mask wearing. Obviously this mass gathering goes against c. D. C. Guidelines. The mayors Statement Today also said there really is no safe way to hold a rally like this in this pandemic. Woodruff stephanie, one other thing, we know all this takes place at a moment, a time of widespread public protests over racial injustice, including protests there in phoenix. What are some of the president s supporters telling you about all that . You know, we did speak to at least one person who was sympathetic to the death of george floyd, but overall what we heard is a focus on those isolated incidents of rioting and looting, including at the scottsdale mall that happened here a few weeks ago as as oppod to thinking or talking about the legitimate grievances of the black lives matter. Here is how one trump supporter we tech to earlier framed the issue. Its divided. I dont think its Donald Trumps fault, i think its the left. They are definitely pushing narratives that theres always been police brutality. Its nothing new. And i think that black people kill black people more often than that, anyway. I think thats the least of our concerns. That is a common refrain from people who oppose or dont support the black lives matter movement, judy, as a way to detract from real incidents of police brutality. I will say that earlier today i spoke to a white family that had come out here as sort of a mini counterprotest. They were Holding Small signs that said black lives matter. Their children were holding those signs. When i asked them about their political persuasion, they said simply, were christian. And on that point of protestors, were not seeing them right here in the vicinity of dream city church, but we do know on the perimeter there are several protestors, antitrump protestors that have shown up. Woodruff all right. Stephanie sigh reporting fm the site of President Trumps visit right now to phoenix, arizona. Thank you, stephanie. Thank you. Woodruff as the country faces a moment of reckoning about its treatment of black americans and other people of color, the display of memorials, monuments and statues is being reexamined once again. President trump doubled down today, threatening prison time for vandalizing or destroying statues. Part of our race matters coverage, we begin with this report from jeffrey brown. Brown heits on a horse, tall in the saddle theodore roosevelt, 26th president of the United States, in a pose symbolizing american strength and confidence. But below him, two men a native american and an african, nameless figures in different poses, and for many, different symbols of american racism and brutal expansionism. Sunday, the American Museum of Natural History in new york announced it would remove the statue from its central park entrance, where its stood since 1940. Its keeping roosevelts name elsewhere in the museum to honor his role in conservation. The removal brought different responses. If this makes some people upset we dont worship statues, so why not tear it down . Its terrible. I think that when you start eliminating history and you start eliminating statues. We have to remember how we got here, through the history. Tear them down brown the killing of george floyd and its aftermath have brought demands for racial justice, and for a new reckoning with american history. Last night, protesters in washingtons Lafayette Square tried to pull down a statue of president Andrew Jackson, before police moved them back. The protests first centered on confederate monuments. The giant statue of robert e. Lee in richmond, virginia has been the site of massive demonstrations. cheers in washington, d. C. On friday night, demonstrators pulled down a memorial of confederate general albert pike. cheers the same night, protesters in raleigh, North Carolina toppled a confederate statue. cheers the next morning, crowds cheered as historians and analysts have noted, many of these statues were built well after the civil war, and with a purpose well beyond remembering and celebrating the past. The first real push to erect these monuments were in the early 1900s, and this was also, at the time, right after emancipation, during the reconstruction era, and at the beginning of the establishment of jim crow laws. So, these monuments went up specifically to assert White Supremacy and to intimidate African Americans. Brown their impact is felt by many to this day, including john jones of california. For me, a lot of these monuments represent times that members of my family and my culture and my race have suffered. Brown but the passions and demands for pulling down monuments have moved beyond those of civil war figures. Statues of Christopher Columbus have been defaced or brought down by protesters, who see not the great discoverer of the americas, but a colonizer and destroyer of the indigenous population. In albuquerque, new mexico, street battles broke out over a statue of juan de one, a 16th century colonial governor known for his cruel treatment of native americans. The statue was finally removed. And the legacy of the nations Founding Fathers, such as George Washington and thomas jefferson, who both owned slaves, continues to be fought over ain, statues have been toppled. Heritage sites have grappled with these issues in a variety of ways. Two years ago, for example, Jeffersons Monticello home added an exhibition dedicated to the life of Sally Hemings, an enslaved woman who had a decadeslong relationship with jefferson. Historian niya bates. We, as americans, dont address some of the more complex issues of slavery, of sex, of power, of ownership. And that is what is really interesting about Sally Hemings and her story. Brown other countries have gone further than the u. S. In acknowledging and attempting to reconcile legacies of racial oppression. In 2015, protests at the university of cape town in south africa prompted the removal of a statue of cil rhodes, a diamond trader and colonial leader. But in the capital, pretoria, now called tshwane, thenmayor Solly Msimanga told me in 2017, he wanted to keep statues of older figures, while adding heroes of the antiapartheid struggle. I am against taking down any kind of statue. Im all for having all statues, and using them to tell a part of history. I am not here because a certain part of history didnt exist. Im here because that history happened. Brown in recent days, we heard from some in this country about how they feel about the monuments. Michelle sewell of maryland were going to take down these monuments. And the monuments that are too big to take down, were going to give them context or put them in museums so we know where we were as the United States of america. Because you keep saying that as if it means something. So let it mean something. Brown xander matik and dillon marks are supporters of President Trump. They spoke outside of his rally in arizona today. I mean, we cant erase our history, even good or bad. And i think them tearing down the statues of different figures from history, i think ats totally wrong. We had a civil war in the country, and there is, of course, a racial divide. But i think having these statues up leaves a reminder not to go back to these events. Brown monuments of the past, mirrors of our embattled present. For the pbs newshour, im jeffrey brown. Woodruff as jeff reported, the debate and activism in many communities right now goes well beyond the tributes to the confederacy. Lets pick up the discussion with three people who have given this a lot of thought. Peniel joseph is a professor at the university of texas at austin, examining issues of race, society and american politics. W. Fitzhugh brundage is a professor of history at the university of North Carolina chapel hill. And Arielle Hudson was one of six students who petitioned the university of mississippi to relote a confederate statue on campus. We welcomell of you to the newshour. Thank you so much for joining us. Arielle hudson, to you first. Why was it so important to you and the others to get this statue, this monument down . It was important because of the rich racial history that is at the university of mississippi. I think because of its close ties to the confederacy specifically during that time, most of the enrolled students saw in the war on the confederate side. So the univerity of mississippis history is not new in terms of the White Supremacy and the oppression that it has played now, and so once it came to. There are a lot of things that actually unfolded as fenway park as us decided we wanted to write a resolution to get the statue relocated. But i think the came issue came when students started to become more vocal about these symbols that we were seeing on our campus and what that meant to African American students and how that could potentially affect African American enrollment and the retention of African American students. We knew that those symbols had to come down. Woodruff fitzhugh brundage, there does seem to be more public support for removing some of these monuments, these statues that are so offensive to Many Americans. Are we in the middle of some kind of shift as a result of the focus right now on racial justice, do you think . Absolutely. I think the shift began in 2015 after the massacre in charleston. Its been accelerating, but its certainly accelerated with an intensity and speed i wouldnt have anticipated. I think the real sign of that is the efforts to transform monument avenue, which is arguably the most sacred confederate space in the nation, the fact that monuments are being removed or there are plans to remove monuments on that avenue tells you how far and how quickly we have proved in the last couple years. Woodruff peniel joseph, how do you see that . There are Public Opinion polls showing an increase in sentiment for removing these symbols of the confederacy. How do you see change in the thinking on the part of Many Americans . Well, judy, i think we have a generational opportunity to transform american democracy, and people are really acting and taking proactive steps. These monuments are part of that. Nascar and the Confederate Flag is a part of it. What the n. F. L. Has done and said that black lives matter, but these symbols of White Supremacy, i think more and more people realize that those symbols actually are connected to substance. So when you have a society that glorifies White Supremacy and antiblack racism and these memorials dedicated to people who try to preserve that and try to portray the union, people are coming around to the fact they dont want to live in that society. So in a way gettingry of those monuments brings us closer to the beloved community that Martin Luther king talked of that was free of racial and economic injustice and free of violence against any of our citizens. Woodruff and tov w you, Arielle Hudson. The focus is widening nw beyond the confederacy. We saw the statue of Teddy Roosevelt, president roosevelt coming down in new york. There was a statue next to him of a black man, an african man symbolizing the continent of african, thats coming down. Last night in washington protestors tried to take down a statue of Andrew Jackson. How do you think about what should be standing and what should come down . How do you think about drawing that line . I think that they should come down. I think it was only a matter of time before those monuments that are dedicated to our Founding Fathers also came into the conversation of what monuments will stand, how their legacies will continue to be recognized, because the fact is that the very foundation of america was founded on slavery and the oppression of people who were not of european descent. I think this is a conversation thats long overdue for our nation. Im glad that were finally addressing monuments and statues that are not confederate monuments. That are the monuments and statues and legacy of people who embraced even as president the idea of White Supremacy and the oppression of black labor and black people and indigenous people. Woodruff and fitzhugh brundage, pick up on, that because the conversation does go back to the founders of this country, not just Andrew Jackson, but George Washington, thomas jefferson. How are americans, how should americans be thinking about it . How do you think about it . I think its a very good question, and i agree, its a long overdue conversation for us to have. I think there are i think were going to have to probably engage in a conversation that i might call triage. Well have to decide some basis upon which to decide what to leave intact and what to take down. I think, for example, a monument to Teddy Roosevelt that clearly represented a hierarchy of civilization with white people at the top and primitive people in air quotes beneath, that is a very problematic statue. There are other statues to Teddy Roosevelt, for example, that we may choose to leave up. There are certain figures like Andrew Jackson that i think are going to be very vexing for us to decide how to commemorate Andrew Jackson. There are others i think it will be probably a long time before we get in a conversation about whether or not we want to rename the state of washington after someone else. So i agree that we need these conversations, and i think the conversations are going to have to come up with a way to deal with the complexities of the past, recognizing who it is we want to honor and who it i who we dont want to honor anymore. Woodruff i want you to pick up on that, peniel joseph, because were raising some very hard questions here. How do we honor or do we continue to honor the very founders, the founders of this country, the people who came here originally from europe to settle this country, and yet pushed out native americans. A lot of questions being raised about them, about Christopher Columbus. How far back should this go . I think the positive here is the conversation and really forcing all of us to squarely confront the history. So i think the history of american democracy is filled with both triumphs and tragedy, but when we think about this ideal of american exceptionalism, we often evade the tragedies and we just focus on the triumphs. So i think that you can talk about american democracy and talk about George Washington, thomas jefferson, and slavery and racial slavery and also say that, well, people like Frederick Douglass and sojourner trh and Harriette Tubman took those words and expanded them and turned them into deeds and created the most expansive, thrilling, democratic experiment in american history. So even though we have flawed origin, we can say those origins provided a template to build that beloved community and for this great opportunity that we have to transform american democracy and make it a democracy as good as its citizens. So i think having that conversation is very, very important. If we can embrace that history its totality and in its complexity, there are going to be some people who we now know more deeply about and intensely about when we say, look, those statues can remain because they provided a context for others to build upon these ideals and the make them a reality. I think the lowhanging fruit is the confederacy. The confederacy should all be relegated to museums, because they tried to betray american democracy. The confederate generals are war criminals, and they have nothing to do with the ideals that the Founding Fathers had articulated. Woodruff Arielle Hudson, who should be making these decisions . Clearly what happened on the campus of ole miss was led by students. It was a locally made decision. But are these conversations that should be made in washington, d. C. , . Should they be made in local communities . How should we think about it in because there may be some communities that would have a different view of say a Christopher Columbus or a Teddy Roosevelt than other communities. I think that the conversation to start at the ground level within our communities, our elected officials are elected to represent us to be our voice in washington, and even at the local and state level. So i think that having communities, having those conversations first within our community is, you know, the stepping stone to create that larger conversation within our actual political spector. Woodruff fitzhugh brundage, as we go forward, should there be some sort of structure to all this, or is this just something thats going to evolve . I think we should expect this conversation to go on for a long time. The one thing that i think National Political leaders should do is they should encourage this conversation instead of announcing this conversation or the controversy about monuments, they should recognize it for what it is. Its a conversation about who we want to honor in our past. Its entirely appropriate for us to have this conversation, especially at this moment in time. So if National Leaders would simply support that process, they dont need to be actively involved in it, just endorse the process and let the people get on with it. Communities will decide what should stand in their midst. Woodruff and peniel joseph, finally, maybe thats a reference to President Trump among others. Hes basically said that people should be punished, arrested if they try to bringown these statues, who should be doing the bringing down and who should be deciding what comes down and what stays up. Well, i think local people should be deciding, but i think with the mass demonstrations weve seen, weve seen the passions that these monuments have elicited. I think its really about even more than just who we honor. I think these monuments are deeply connected to racial slavery and the wealth that has been produced by black labor historically and how that wealth continues to remain unpaid and unaccounted for. So these monumt rest mind us of this deep investigation into the american past that we have to d thats all around us that a lot of times ignore. These monuments were built at a time period where mesh was at a different crossroads still trying to wrestle with these ideas of plaque black citizenship and black dignity. Now were at another crossroads in 2020, still wrestling with the same issues, but it seems like we have momentum to finally achieve our country in a way thats free of racial injustice, thats free of that past history of brutality and that embraces the compressionty of who we are. Woodruff well, it is a consider sayings thats being had across this country right now. We want the thank all three of you. Peniel joseph, fitzhugh brundage, Arielle Hudson. Thank you so much for joining us. Woodruff it was near dawn today that two large explosions rocked ritadh, saudi arabia, smoke billowing in the morning sky. The missiles came from yemens Iranaligned Houthi movement. Violence in yemen is surging, after a sixweek ceasefire prompted by the pandemic ended last month. The warravaged nation has been facing disease and hunger for six years now. Special correspondent Jane Ferguson reports. Reporter every day in yemens Southern City of aden, theyre digging more fresh graves, struggling to keep up with the rising body count. Rows of deep mud holes ready to accept the dead, as families bury their loved ones quickly, with little ceremony. In this cemetery, many of the graves have already been filled. These are busy days for grave diggers like mohammed obaid. translated thankfully yesterday and today have been better, with less funerals. Before, had about 50 to 60 dead a day. We hope to god that people live longer. Reporter officially, there have been fewer than 300 deaths in yemen from the virus. But the bodies keep coming, and with limited testing, there is no real way of knowing how many people across the country are sick and dying. War, hunger, and disease have already ravaged people here for six years. Now, death stalks this country again, in a new cloak. translated we hear of so many cases of people dying, and sometimes from our friends in other places too. Recently, our next door neighbor died and no one knows why. Reporter in yemen, the virus is only the latest in a long list of calamities. The war here broke out in 2014 when Houthi Rebels seized control of the capital, sanaa. Their support comes from neighboring saudi arabias arch enemy, iran, so the saudis formed a coalition of local and Foreign Forces to fight the houthis. Their aerial bombing campaign, supported by the United States, and a blockade of rebelheld areas has destroyed much of the countrys infrastructure, and collapsed the economy. The houthis constantly interfere with International Aid sent to help, trying to tax the goods and force aid organizations to give them control over distribution, leaving millions of innocents to suffer. Severe flooding struck aden last month, damaging whatever was left of sewage and water systems, only helping to spread the disease. Now, some frightened medical staff are refusing to come to work, according to dr. Ishraq al subaee, a Government Official trying to contain the spread. translated medical personnel are terrified, as all medical staff in the world. Around five of them have died. Reporter the internationallyrecognized government isnt able to offer much help, since they are all in selfimposed exile in saudi arabia. I am very worried because i can be infected. Reporter despite these risks, dr. Hisham farook still comes to help his patients every day. In this hospital in taiz, on the front lines of yemens war, the need has never been more desperate. For the people of yemen, the fighting brought with it pestilence. Diseases such as cholera, diphtheria, dengue fev, malaria, have all run wild, and now, covid19. Add to that, devastating hunger. 80 of the people here rely on aid for their survival, and famine continues to strike the most vulnerable here, unable to afford to buy food with the countrys economy in tatters. Half of yemens medical facilities are shut down because of the wars chaos and destruction. If 100 confirmed cases emerged that required health care, im sure that the rest of the Health Care System will collapse even more than it is now. Reporter the virus is not stopping the violence. Its only getting worse. Peace deals and ceasefire agreements are failing once more, and even the United States has stood in the way of call for laying down arms. Last month the u. S. Blocked a u. N. Security council vote that called for a global ceasefire to help combat coronavirus. In an email to the newshour, the state department wrote that their goal was always to support the secretary generals call for a global ceasefire. Unfortunately, the peoples republic of china was determined to use this resolution to advance false narratives about its response to the covid19 outbreak in wuhan. The u. S. Provides intelligence and logistics to saudi arabia and its Coalition Partners fighting in yemen, while american firms have profited through billions of dollars worth of weapons sales. The u. S. Government that is involved in yemen to a certain degree, needs to actually back these efforts for a ceasefire and not block them. Reporter samah hadid is the spokesperson for British Charity oxfam, a major provider of aid on the ground in yemen. The country cannot deal with ongoing fighting and a Health Crisis of this magnitude. So instead of hindering peace processes and peace talks, a government like the u. S. Needs to actually back the calls for a ceasefire and back efforts for warring sides to actually come together and contain this virus. Reporter right now, the opposite is happening. Fighting between Coalition Forces and the houthis rages on, and now a second war within this war is emerging. While Saudiled Coalition air strikes rain from above, yemeni groups on the ground do the fighting. Those factions are a mixture of militias and government soldiers. Supposed to be fighting the houthis, now, they are also fighting one another. Saudibacked Government Troops are clashi with separatist groups. Yemens north and south were once two separate countries, and they hope to gain independence once again. From our point of view, the peace will never happen unless we get to our original state, the south becomes an independent state and also the north is an independent state. Reporter the government of yemen did not respond to o request for comment on the coronavirus or renewed fighting. translated no one cares about us not the separatists, not the official government, and not n. G. O. S. Everyone just cares about their own interests. Reporter in the rebelheld capital, sanaa, the houthi government has banned all filming by foreign media. The Group Insists there have only been four positive coronavirus cases in the capital, and has not released any additional test results to the aid agencies. Yemen has dealt with disease, famine and conflict for so long, its hard to imagine a place less prepared to handle a pandemic like this. For 30 Million People who have alreadysuffered so much, the odds on their daily struggle to survive grow ever longer. For the pbs newshour, im Jane Ferguson. Woodruff Distance Learning, or learning from home, has been a difficult experiment for many and underscoregaps in access, income and race. School districts are now trying to figure out the fall. William brangham looks at that, right after we hear from some viewers about their own experiences. My name is jose kincaid. Im a second grade teacher in baltimore, maryland. Most of my students are primarily spanishspeaking, as their first language. Online learning in one sentence or one, onehalf a sentence, it would just be organized chaos, and sometimes not even organized. Just chaos. My name is maria sanchez. I live in the state of california. I have two children. Because we didnt have internet at home or wifi we had to look for a provider, and we only have theres only one provider that services our area. And well, then there was add to that one provider. So whatever theyre charging is were going to have to pay. My name is julia garcia. I am the mother of 12yearold girl. I live in california and she just finished sixth grade of Distance Learning. It is exclusively selfguided. And i do believe that built into that system is an assumption that there is a parent at home that is sufficiently familiar with technology, that is sufficiently comfortable with some teaching methods in general, and that has time and availability to engage with the student on some level. So, the teachers have done a terrific job. My kids have a lot of a. P. Classes and or orchestra classes, you know, things that you would think would be difficult with Distance Learning. But the teachers did a great job with the a. P. Classes, the orchestra classes, maintaining the workload for the students, communicating with the students. My name is judi hayes. I live in florida. I have my husband. And then we have two sons who are 12 and nine. Our nineyearold has down syndrome. Weve found that in terms of Distance Learning, even though our principal and the paraprofessional and the teachers have undertaken what i would consider to be herculean efforts to try to get him the help that he needs, it really just isnt working because he doesnt have as much assistance as he needs to get him to attend to his task and to just to be as successful as he needs to be. My name is megan reid and i am a sixth grade math teacher. I have two daughters. My youngest is in second grade and my oldest is in fifth grade. I honestly, i can use the word terrified about Distance Learning in the fall. I just i feel like no one knows its new territory. We dont know what were going through. And everyone is so up in the air and about it and how it should work and what it should look like. My name is Elizabeth Wayland seal. I live in rhode island. I have four kids. The youngest is seven. The oldest is 14. Two of them have autism spectrum. So Distance Learning in the fall if my seven year old has Distance Learning in the fall. I cant. He cant, i cant. No. No, no, no. I have two boys alex, whos 11, and mattel, whos 14. The idea that kids will wear a mask in the classroom, that theyll stay six feet apart . I feel that was all made up by people whove never actually been in the classroom. Do i want it to continue . How do you keep fiveyearolds, when you have 20 of them in one classroom, socially distanced . Thats a concern that i have. Especially when five and six yearolds put everything in their mouth, and they touch everything. And it creates almost a petri dish environment, even outside of covid. Brangham as you just heard, there are a lot of different opinions about how best to educate kids in the middle of this pandemic, and we turn now to someone whose sole job is doing just that. Dr. Mark bedell is the superintendent of kansas citys Public Schools in missouri. He oversees the education of more than 15,000 students, many of them black and brown students, and 100 of them qualify for free school lunches. Superintendent bedell, very good to see you. I see from your outfit today, youve been presiding over some of the many graduations youre having. Congratulations today. Before we talk about what happens come fall could you just tell us a little bit about how this year was, educating at a distance . I will tell you, we learned a lot about some of the disparities that exist inside of the urban corridor of kansas city. And when this pandemic hit us towards the end of march, we realized that while we may have devices, a lot of our families did not have wifi access or even more broadband access. And we felt that had put us already behind the eight ball once that first week in april started. Brangham so literally, you couldnt even go on the assumption that every kid could access a digital classroom. Thats correct. Brangham so thats a huge challenge just to just to get kids over that technical hurdle. How did the instruction go over the course of the year . So i will tell you that our district worked hard to create a digital platform that included professional development for our teachers. Now, i think thats something that we ran into where a number of our teachers had opportunities to do the digital professional development, and we found that we had teachers in different tiers. Some were exemplary. There are a number of them that would fall in that average category. And then we had some that was in the lacking category where they needed more intensive support. Brangham so, do you have plans . Whats going to happen come fall for you guys . Well, i can tell you right now, we have ordered enough laptops that everybody in our system, even including our prek kids, will be able to have a device, so if were in a situation where we have to go 100 virtual, our School District is prepared. We have enough wifi hotspots right now in Stock Available for our families. And so what im doing now is working with a federal task force here, to be able to provide Broadband Internet connectivity, not just for the urban communities, but were also looking at it for the Rural Communities because we have a number of Rural Communities that are impacted just like we are without having the connectivity. Brangham i mean, obviously, theres so many costs associated with teaching in a pandemic. Do you have the budget you need to educate the kids the way you think they should be educated . What i will tell you is, because we have been excellent stewards of our budget, we do have a very Healthy Fund Balance here in the kansas city public School District. Our board is in the process of getting ready to approve the budget for tomorrow. But when i dont have all of the information that i need right now, were still waiting on some guidance from our state department of education, were still waiting for guidance from our health department, we are still waiting on and guidance from the c. D. C. And what we told our board is, we would love to be able to come back probably sometime in mid july, now that were starting to collect survey data from our families to say, heres the things that weve learned. Heres what we believe we will need in order to get through the school year if a scenario a happened, scenario b, your scenario c. Brangham all right, superintendent mark bedell of the kansas city Public Schools. Congratulations on graduation. I hope you have a good summer and good luck in the fall. Thank you. And i appreciate you having us participate in this hearing. Woodruff on the newshour online, as protests have expressed agony over Police Killings of black americans in recent weeks, black bookstore owners say they have seen titles on race and racism flying off their shelves the same books they have been carryg for years. We explore how they see this surge in interest on our website, www. Pbs. Org newshour. And that is the newshour for tonight. Im judy woodruff. Thank you, please stay safe, and well see you soon. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by when the world gets complicated, a lot goes through your mind. With fidelity wealth management, a dedicated advisor can tailor advice and recommendations to your life. Thats fidelity wealth management. Consumer cellular. Financial Services Firm raymond james. Johnson johnson. Carnegie corporation of new york. Supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement, and the advancement of International Peace and security. At carnegie. Org. And with the ongoing support of these institutions and individuals. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by Media Access Group at wgbh access. Wgbh. Org youre watching pbs. Hello, everyone, and welcome to amanpour co. Heres whats coming up. Coronavirus cases rising, millions out of work, and a reckoning with racial injustice. Could this be the fork in the road to Building Back a better world . I asked the imf chief. And taking up dr. Kings mantel, reverend William Barber joins me about fighting the structural poverty that platforms structural racism. Then when the rule of law is under threat in america, what does that mean for democracy around the world . I speak to former federal prosecutor anne milgram about trump firing a top attorney investigating his allies. Plus all ous know we need