JUDY WOODRUFF: Good evening. I'm Judy Woodruff.
On the "NewsHour" tonight: ongoing outrage.
Protests for racial justice continue nationwide,
with pockets of violence, as the president
visits Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Then: feeling the pain. We explore the economic
costs of COVID, as Congress remains deadlocked
on any more aid.
And health care abroad. We visit the United
Kingdom for an up-close look at the benefits
and drawbacks of a single-payer medical system.
OLIVE PARFITT, Dorchester, England: If I have
a heart attack tomorrow, it's the best thing.
They will take me in. They will do it. But
when you have got what I call disabilities
that are not life-threatening, they can't
cope.
JUDY WOODRUFF: All that and more on tonight's
"PBS NewsHour."
(BREAK)
JUDY WOODRUFF: President Trump has spent much
of this day in Kenosha, Wisconsin, touting
his law-and-order campaign. The city erupted
in outrage last week, after police shot a
Black man, Jacob Blake, in the back.
Today, Mr. Trump toured burned-out stores,
praising police and denouncing Democratic
officials. We will hear more after the news
summary.
Protests broke out overnight near Los Angeles,
after sheriff's deputies killed a Black man.
Officials say he resisted arrest, and then
dropped a bundle containing a gun, and the
deputies opened fire. Dozens of people swarmed
to the scene after nightfall, in protests
that turned tense when officers pushed into
crowds to disperse them.
Two sheriffs located outside of Portland,
Oregon, are refusing the governor's plea to
send deputies into the city. There have been
months of anti-racism protests, almost nightly
violence, and a counterdemonstrator was killed
over the weekend. The sheriffs say that the
city is doing little to calm things, so they
won't risk their deputies.
In New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio today put
off public school reopenings for another 11
days, until September 21. It is to give teachers
more time to prepare for having students back
in class.
Meanwhile, schools across Europe began reopening.
Students in France practiced extra handwashing.
And, in Italy, faculty members warmly welcomed
pupils.
DANIELA GIANETTI, Italy (through translator):
After six months of being apart from our children,
who are our passion in life, today, I was
thrilled to be able to be with them once again.
Unfortunately, we haven't yet been able to
hug them, but we will. I was longing to see
the mothers, and I can't wait to begin living
again.
JUDY WOODRUFF: In Hong Kong today, a universal
COVID testing program began. But pro-democracy
advocates warned that authorities might use
it to collect citizen's DNA.
Meanwhile, a study of 30,000 people in Iceland,
the largest yet, found that human antibodies
last at least four months after COVID infection.
That is hopeful news for vaccine efforts.
Republicans in the U.S. Senate may roll out
a slimmed-down pandemic relief bill next week.
It could total $500 billion for the unemployed,
businesses and schools. But Democrats favor
a $2 trillion measure, and talks are stalled.
At a House hearing today, Treasury Secretary
Steven Mnuchin called for passing what's possible.
STEVEN MNUCHIN, U.S. Treasury Secretary: We
should agree on areas where we can agree,
and move forward for the benefit of the American
people. That's what we're all here for. Again,
let's not get caught on a number. Let's agree
on things we can move forward on a bipartisan
basis now.
JUDY WOODRUFF: We will look at this in detail
later in the program.
The Pentagon is projecting that China could
double its nuclear warhead arsenal over the
next decade. A report to Congress says that
the Chinese stockpile may grow to more than
400 warheads. The U.S. has 3,800. The Pentagon
estimates that Beijing wants to become the
dominant power in the Pacific by 2049.
Back in this country, more than 50 Black former
franchise owners of McDonald's sued the fast
food chain today. Their federal lawsuit, filed
in Chicago, says the company of steered them
to low-profit locations in crime-ridden neighborhoods.
McDonald's denies the allegations.
And on Wall Street, stocks rallied as construction
spending and factory activity increased. The
Dow Jones industrial average gained 215 points
to close at 28645. The Nasdaq rose 164 points,
and the S&P 500 added 26.
Shares of Zoom video surged to 40 percent
-- surged 40 percent today, making it worth
more than GM and Ford. The Internet business
has exploded with the pandemic.
Still to come on the "NewsHour": protests
for racial justice continue nationwide, as
the president visits Kenosha, Wisconsin; Congress
remains deadlocked on a coronavirus economic
relief package, as jobless claims remain high;
we visit the United Kingdom for an up-close
look at the benefits and drawbacks of a single-payer
health care system; plus, much more.
Race, justice, law and order. We face a critical
moment in America.
As Yamiche Alcindor reports, protests in the
streets are a key issue at the ballot box,
and Wisconsin was at the center of attention
today.
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: One day after comparing
police shootings to golfing and defending
a Trump supporter who allegedly killed two
people, President Trump came to Kenosha, Wisconsin.
The city is still reeling from the police
shooting of Jacob Blake. The president toured
damages stemming from the unrest and met with
law enforcement.
DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States:
We have seen tremendous violence, and we will
put it out very, very quickly, if given the
chance, and that's what this is all about.
Yes, I keep hearing about peaceful protests.
I hear it about everything. And then I come
into an area like this, and I see the town
is burned down.
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: The president's visit today
spawned even more demonstrations and some
confrontations between his supporters and
Black Lives Matter protesters.
He did not meet with Jacob Blake's family.
They say the 29-year-old is paralyzed after
a Kenosha police officer shot him seven times
in the back. Blake's uncle spoke this afternoon.
JUSTIN BLAKE, Uncle of Jacob Blake: Our nephew
was shot seven times in the back. Nothing
can justify that. He had no weapon. And he's
paralyzed right now in the hospital.
We don't have any words for the orange man.
All I ask is that he keep his disrespect,
his foul language far away from our family.
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: The shooting on August 23
touched off a week of turmoil and almost daily
protests.
PROTESTER: Black lives matter~!
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Many were peaceful gatherings,
but some evenings saw fires, vandalism and
looting, before Democratic Governor Tony Evers
sent in the National Guard.
City officials estimate the cost of damage
to city property so far at nearly $2 million.
And, today, Evers announced state loans to
assist local businesses. For his part, the
president also pledged to provide millions
of dollars for small businesses and law enforcement.
Democrats across Wisconsin repeatedly requested
the president not to visit, saying he would
only ignite tensions.
NARRATOR: This is Trump's America.
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: And the national Democratic
Party released an ad today that echoed that,
blaming President Trump for scenes of violence.
His meeting with law enforcement today comes
after he told FOX News last night that police
officers face high-pressure situations. He
then compared police shootings to golfing.
DONALD TRUMP: They can do 10,000 great acts,
which is what they do. And one bad apple or
a choker -- you know, a choker. They choke.
I mean, in the meantime, he might have been
going for a weapon, and you know there's a
whole big thing there. But they choke, just
like in a golf tournament.
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Yesterday, President Trump
also defended 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse,
who is charged with shooting three people
and killing two last Tuesday during the protests.
DONALD TRUMP: He was trying to get away from
them, I guess, it looks like. And he fell,
and then they very violently attacked him.
He was in very big trouble. He would have
been -- I -- he probably would have been killed.
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Prosecutors say Rittenhouse
shot one person before protesters charged
him. They tried to take his gun away before
he fired again.
In that same interview, President Trump also
encouraged a baseless conspiracy theory that
powerful people in -- quote -- "dark shadows"
were behind the protests.
Wisconsin Democrats, such as U.S. Congressman
Mark Pocan, who represents Madison, condemned
the president's words.
REP. MARK POCAN (D-WI): We don't want people
coming in from out of state with guns, acting
like vigilantes, thinking that they're running
the streets. And yet that is exactly what
Donald Trump is promoting, as he promotes
his racial division.
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: The presidents' comments
are not the first time he has appeared to
condone violence.
After a woman was killed protesting against
a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville
in 2017, he said this:
DONALD TRUMP: You also had people that were
very fine people on both sides.
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: And on the campaign trail
in 2016, he said of a protester interrupting
a rally:
DONALD TRUMP: I'd like to punch him in the
face, I'll tell you.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Back in Kenosha, the family
of Jacob Blake led a community cleanup, food
drive and voter registration event at the
site where he was shot.
They are still calling for the officer who
shot him to be charged.
For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Yamiche Alcindor.
JUDY WOODRUFF: The economic crisis stemming
from the COVID-19 pandemic has worn on for
months now. Congress is still a long way from
passing a new round of economic relief, and
one of the limited actions that President
Trump took a few weeks ago is still in the
middle of being implemented.
Here to explain where things stand is our
own Lisa Desjardins.
So, hello, Lisa.
We know there are something like 27 million
Americans who are receiving some form of unemployment
benefits, and it was just a matter of weeks
ago that President Trump promised an additional
$300 a week. But the states had to sign on.
What do we know about where all that stands?
LISA DESJARDINS: Judy, nearly every state
has to apply to get that money. But it's interesting.
They have to make a choice to do it.
States can either ask for $300 per person,
and because of some creative guidance by the
Trump administration, the state doesn't have
to contribute anything, or the state could
choose to add another $100 on its own, for
$400 a week for each unemployed person.
But the trick is, Judy, each state has a different
system. Many are outdated, so it is taking
weeks, in some cases maybe months, for the
states to process and get this going.
So let's explain what is happening through
a series of maps. First of all, let's look
at this. Look at the red state here, South
Dakota. That is the only state that has declined
to participate, that state saying that its
economy is good, it doesn't need that extra
money.
Now, the next series, let's look at these
five states. These are the five states that
have decided to give $400 a week for their
unemployed. That is their plan. But, as you
can see here in yellow, nearly every other
state is opting for that $300, because most
states say they just don't have the budget
to contribute themselves.
Now, Judy, here's the big question, though.
How many workers are seeing this money right
now? Those are these states. Just five states
so far have been able to get out this extra,
in most cases, $300 per person.
And, Judy, this money is coming from a disaster
fund that is also meant for hurricanes. That
money is running out quickly. We're not sure
how long it will last. There is a race to
get this money. And it seems that maybe only
four or five weeks total will be available
for any state.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And, Lisa, if you step back,
what does this mean for people who are counting
on this money? I know our team has reached
out to number of -- a number of people who
are unemployed.
LISA DESJARDINS: That's right.
We spent a day -- the day today really talking
to a lot of people. And, Judy, it was $600
additional that these unemployed workers were
getting. But that ran out weeks ago. And Congress
has sort of been stuck in negotiations since.
So, for many of these families, that's $3,000
less that they have. And that means a lot
of anxiety. I have heard of families cutting
back, trying to pool resources, but they're
just not sure how long they will be able to
make it with those tactics.
And, in fact, one of those people is Elizabeth
Bartholomew from Grand Rapids, Michigan. She
is an event planner who lost her job because
of the coronavirus.
ELIZABETH BARTHOLOMEW, Michigan: Before this,
my husband and I kind of shared mortgage and
split up our bills and stuff. And now all
of that is on him.
And so I think he feels a lot of pressure
because of that. And my -- whatever little
I make is just -- I'm -- I'm buying groceries
for my kids.
LISA DESJARDINS: That theme of family and
trying to help people who depend on you was
apparent.
Another quote, this one from a woman named
Kim in Mesa, Arizona. She was a church coordinator
who -- also laid off because of the coronavirus.
She told us: "It's pretty much between the
choices of paying car insurance at this point
or buying food or keeping the Internet on
for my children, who are paying to go to college
online."
So, Judy, a lot of very difficult choices
right now. People telling us they're getting
creative, but they're not sure how long this
can last. And anxiety is rising very quickly.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And, meanwhile, Lisa, everybody
is looking to the Congress to see what they
are up to, where everything stands. What do
you know?
LISA DESJARDINS: That's the frustrating part.
All of these people agree they expected Congress
to come through with something by now. But
Congress is still negotiating. Senate Republicans,
I'm told, feel that they are close to having
their own plan, a small plan dealing with
unemployment and small businesses, largely.
But it remains to be seen, Judy. And one issue
is that the House itself is only supposed
to be in session for three weeks in September.
So, everyone agrees, experts, unemployed,
everyone, that September is the window to
get this done. And if Congress isn't able
to come up with more relief, then we will
have a more serious economic problem very
soon.
JUDY WOODRUFF: A lot of people waiting to
see what happens.
Lisa Desjardins, following it all for us,
thank you.
LISA DESJARDINS: You're welcome.
JUDY WOODRUFF: We continue now with our series
on universal health care.
Tonight, William Brangham and producer Jason
Kane turn to the U.K., where its National
Health Service covers everyone, while it sparks
both inspiration and alarm in the U.S.
This story was filmed before the pandemic
erupted.
WOMAN: good morning to you. Did you have a
good sleep?
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Even with the help of his
mom, Liam Murphy still struggles to wake up
each day.
ANGELINA MURPHY, Mother of Liam Murphy: I
thought you would be dreaming about Charlotte,
right? Why Charlotte?
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Liam has Down syndrome,
epilepsy and chronic lung disease. He's dealt
with these since the day he was born.
The 11-year-old lives in Watford, England,
with his parents, Gary and Angelina, and big
sister Laura. They have to be constantly vigilant
for trouble, like this seizure.
ANGELINA MURPHY: Don't start. Don't start.
Don't start. Can you get the mask, please?
No, I can't have that on -- not on the nasal
cannula. Turn it down.
GARY MURPHY, of Liam Murphy: You're all right.
Come on out of that. Come on out.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Dozens of times a year,
episodes like this will send Liam to the hospital.
He is always at risk of dying.
Liam's life, and the incredible care he gets,
is a testament to the United Kingdom's National
Health Service, known as the NHS. Residents
of the U.K. pay taxes to the government that
support the NHS.
The government is then the single payer for
health care. It pays doctors and hospitals
and covers nearly all costs. For Liam, that's
all his medicines and hospitalizations. It
pays for caregivers that come several times
a week. The NHS even paid for this chair and
standing frame to help him exercise.
ANGELINA MURPHY: So, he's been up for about
half-an-hour now, hasn't he? So that's really
good, Liam.
GARY MURPHY: No one says, well, that's going
to cost too much, so we're not going to do
it.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: You have never heard those
words?
GARY MURPHY: No. And if we call an ambulance,
an ambulance will be here in five minutes
to pick Liam up and take him to hospital.
A specialist team will come out, pick him
up, put him on their ventilators, take him
to intensive care.
An intensive care bed will cost 2,000 pounds,
so, $3,500 a night. No one mentions the money.
They just do what you need to do. Without
the NHS, we would be bankrupt. Liam would
probably be not with us.
NARRATOR: On July 5, the new National Health
Service starts.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: The National Health Service
was built from the wreckage of World War II,
something of a gift from the government to
a battered and impoverished nation, which
welcomed it.
And, today, it's still considered the U.K.'s
great equalizer. Everyone, regardless of profession
or income, has access to that system, from
primary care, to, as needed, the full range
of specialty services.
Do you ever think about how much things are
going to cost when you come to the doctor?
DOLORES CLEMENT, Patient: No, it doesn't cross
my mind. But the thing is, because I'm diabetic,
in England, if you're diabetic, your prescriptions
are free, so I don't have to pay for it anyway.
So, it doesn't cross my mind.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Despite those benefits,
per person, the NHS spends less than half
what we spend in the U.S., including a lot
less than we do on administrative costs.
And the NHS generally gets better health outcomes
than we do. Life expectancy is longer here
than in the U.S., in part because people in
the U.K. suffer much lower rates of chronic
diseases, like asthma, diabetes and hypertension.
It's hard to overstate just how beloved the
National Health Service is here in the U.K.
Some people have referred to it as the closest
thing this country has to a national religion.
In fact, in 2018, when the service had its
70th anniversary, they had a huge celebration
here at Westminster Abbey.
When the pandemic hit, a big part of the government's
stay-at-home appeal was, protect the NHS.
BORIS JOHNSON, British Prime Minister: We
must be sure that the infection rate is falling.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Even so, disillusion has
grown in recent years. In the rural town of
Dorchester, England, I met 77-year-old Olive
Parfitt.
OLIVE PARFITT, Dorchester, England: I was
supposed to have the operation in August.
And 14 hours before the operation, they canceled
it.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Parfitt needs to have her
knee replaced, but she's been on a surgical
waiting list for nearly a year. She said she
took four painkillers just to make this short
stroll.
OLIVE PARFITT: Because I have walked so badly
for over a year, I'm starting to throw the
other knee out.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Oh, really? Because you're
compensating?
OLIVE PARFITT: Yes, so you wobble, so makes
it difficult.
If I have a heart attack tomorrow, it's the
best thing. They will take me in. They will
do it. But when you have got what I call disabilities
that are not life-threatening, they can't
cope.
I was told six months, and that was a year
ago. And now, last week, I was told, it's
a year.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Parfitt has been a strong
supporter of the NHS her whole life, but now,
after a lifetime of paying in, she feels left
out.
OLIVE PARFITT: Suddenly, when you get to a
certain age and you want to get it back out
again, it's not there anymore.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: An estimated 10 percent
of U.K. citizens pay out of pocket for supplemental
insurance, in part to avoid long waits. And
these delays also cause tens of thousands
of residents to seek some care abroad.
For people like Parfitt, it's dispiriting.
OLIVE PARFITT: So, you just think, nobody
cares about me anymore. I'm an old girl. Probably,
if you carry on long enough, she will pop
her clock, and then we won't have to worry
with her. I do feel that you become invisible.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Funding for the NHS has
been a constant problem and a political flash
point. Different administrations fund the
NHS at different levels, and the U.K.'s recent
austerity measures have delayed upgrades,
and made serious staffing shortages worse.
This has also led to a series of scandals,
as seen in this 2017 BBC report. Emergency
rooms were overflowing. And in recent years,
after being rushed to the hospital, hundreds
of thousands of patients were stuck in ambulances
for over an hour.
SIR ANDREW DILLON, Former CEO, National Institute
for Health and Care Excellence: There are
always choices, and, inevitably, and in every
health care system, there are always limitations
on what the system can do.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Sir Andrew Dillon was, until
this spring, the longtime head of the National
Institute for Health and Care Excellence,
known as NICE.
It's a sweet acronym, but some conservatives
in the U.S. liken its work to a death panel.
NICE is one of the NHS' crucial cost-control
mechanisms. It studies evidence to recommend
which treatments and procedures give the most
cost-effective benefit.
SIR ANDREW DILLON: So, making sure that we
really understand the benefits of one option
over another, making sure we really understand
the value for our money, particularly in a
publicly funded system that has to account
for how money is used, is really important.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Sir Andrew says, wait times
for elective surgeries, like Olive Parfitt's,
have improved, but funds aren't infinite.
DR. ASHISH JHA, Director, Harvard Global Health
Institute: I love how open and explicit they
are about the fact that there are always choices.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Dr. Ashish Jha studies health
systems around the world. He's now the dean
of Brown University's School of Public Health,
and he's been a collaborator on this series
with us.
DR. ASHISH JHA: It's not like, in the U.S.,
we're not making choices. We have rationing
in the U.S. It's primarily based on your ability
to pay and whether you have health insurance
or not.
So, the National Health Service tries to make
explicit the rationing choices it's making.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Jha says the U.S. could
learn a thing or two from a fully funded version
of this system, access for everyone, transparent
cost controls, and people rarely going broke
because they got sick.
DR. ASHISH JHA: It's really clear to me that
we could not do a wholesale adoption. Where
I think we get lost is the idea that somehow
we could take the National Health Service
and just import it into America.
And I think what's really lost is all that
context, the history behind the National Health
Service, the meaning people assign it. We
don't have any of that.
But there is a lot we can learn. There are
strengths of it, of the National Service that
we could absolutely do better with in the
U.S.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Since we first filmed with
them back in February, Liam Murphy was hospitalized
and in critical condition, this time right
in the middle of the U.K.'s worst stretch
of the pandemic. But he's back home now and
doing OK.
ANGELINA MURPHY: The general ethos that I
have experienced is that nobody has given
up. And every time we have an episode where
it could go either way, we come together and
say, he hasn't given up, therefore, we aren't
giving up, and then the health professionals
go, good enough for me.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: The Murphys say the NHS
isn't perfect, but it's given them more precious
time with their son.
For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm William Brangham
in Watford, England.
JUDY WOODRUFF: The U.S. is drawing down in
Iraq from 5,200 troops to 3,500. It is part
of a plan developed with the Iraqi government
to hand over security responsibility to Iraqi
forces.
But the country faces larger challenges that
a new, U.S.-backed prime minister is struggling
to solve.
Nick Schifrin reports.
NICK SCHIFRIN: In life, Reham Yaqob led a
clarion cry of Iraqi protest. She opened a
women-only gym and advocated female empowerment.
And she campaigned against Iranian-backed
militias.
In death, she was a symbol of those militias'
strength, and of government weakness.
YASSEN HABIB, Uncle of Reham Yaqob (through
translator): We are still in shock. We didn't
expect this. It is really a state of horror.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Her murder last month helped
spark protests in her hometown, Basra. Demonstrators
torched the local parliament, furious the
government couldn't keep them safe.
(GUNFIRE)
NICK SCHIFRIN: Iraqi security forces responded
with live gunfire. In the last 10 months,
they have killed more than 500 protesters.
Those protests condemn not only insecurity,
but also an economic calamity, a lack of jobs,
basic services, and smothering government
corruption.
AHMED SAEED, Protester (through translator):
Each government comes, gives us hope, and
says it will honor our rights. But, until
now even, our demands are still not being
met. We don't have anything.
NICK SCHIFRIN: In Basra, Prime Minister Mustafa
al-Kadhimi fired the police and intelligence
chiefs and ordered an investigation.
MUSTAFA AL-KADHIMI, Iraqi Prime Minister (through
translator): This is a new government that
is working to establish the prerequisites
of security. Its goal is to establish security
and prevent crime.
NICK SCHIFRIN: But he has struggled to de-arm
Shia militias likely responsible for Basra
assassinations.
The U.S. is reducing troop levels and transferring
bases to Iraqi control, saying the Iraqi military
is more capable. But the main challenge is
governance. Kadhimi, who is U.S.-backed, has
positioned himself as a reformer since becoming
prime minister in May.
But he inherited crises of security, economy,
and leadership all at once.
And I'm joined now by Ali Allawi, the finance
minister of Iraq.
Mr. Minister, welcome to the "NewsHour."
It seems like your job is massive. One expert
described it this way. You have to deregulate,
de-corrupt and de-militia. What is the size
of that challenge?
ALI ALLAWI, Iraqi Finance Minister: Well,
it is actually quite a large challenge and,
I think, a very serious challenge. But we
have to do what one must, given the circumstances
of the country.
NICK SCHIFRIN: We saw this horrific blast
in Beirut recently, really caused by negligence
and apathy of the government for many years.
And some of the observers that I talked to
about Iraq fear that there's a paralysis in
some of the government, and that major changes
aren't happening, just like in Lebanon.
Do you see the Beirut explosion as some kind
of cautionary tale?
ALI ALLAWI: It is.
I mean, it shows you what happens when a state
becomes hollowed out. We have not yet reached
the same level, but we're not very far from
it. We have to reassert the authority of the
government, not to allow the state to become
basically an instrument of extraneous parties
who then use it to derive advantage and benefits
from the diversion of state resources for
illicit purposes.
If we don't take remedial measures soon, the
process might have gone too far. We have to
take very important and very radical measures
soon.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Let's look at the region and
relations with Iran. Is it possible for Iran
to play a constructive security role in Iraq,
when it funds and staffs militias that are
loyal or sometimes controlled by Iran?
ALI ALLAWI: We think that Iran's involvement
in the past and in certain -- at certain times
has been problematic.
And inasmuch as they are responsible for sustaining
some of the more out-of-control militias,
I think they will -- they will need to change
and recalibrate their engagement to these
-- to these entities.
So, I think that Iran is beginning to recognize
that the way that it interacts with, engages
with Iraq, through -- sometimes, through these
militias, needs to be changed. And I think
they will move in that direction.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Let's talk about the U.S. role
in that effort.
As you said, the prime minister talks about
trying to reform those militias. He talks
often about improving government, reforming
the bureaucracy. Is the U.S. helping enough
with those efforts?
ALI ALLAWI: The United States has pulled back
from many areas in which it has been active,
had been active before.
And now it appears to limit its engagement
to mainly the area of providing support to
the Iraqi security forces. We also would like
to see the U.S. reaffirm or expand its engagement
to include sectors which it's not active now
as it was in the past, for example, in the
economy, helping us to reform, restructure.
We're not really looking for additional financial
contributions or investments from the U.S.
government, but we want to see the United
States stand behind us in various international
forums and to support us as we proceed along
this path.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Ali Allawi, the finance minister
of Iraq. Thank you very much, sir.
ALI ALLAWI: Thank you.
JUDY WOODRUFF: The U.S. census is always a
daunting challenge, now made more complicated
by COVID.
Amna Nawaz explores the hurdles facing the
once-in-a-decade population count.
AMNA NAWAZ: The deadline for counting the
2020 census is fast approaching.
The Census Bureau announced that it's ending
door-to-door outreach efforts at the end of
September, a month earlier than planned. That's
sent local organizers into a scramble to reach
hard-to-count communities.
There are hundreds of billions of dollars
in federal funds at stake, and pivotal congressional
seats hang in the balance.
NPR's Hansi Lo Wang has been reporting on
the census, and he joins me now.
Hansi, welcome back to the "NewsHour."
Let's start with that timeline and help people
understand what it is behind it. What drove
that shortened timeline, moving it up from
the end of October to the end of September?
And what's the potential impact?
HANSI LO WANG, NPR: Well, this is a surprise
move by the Census Bureau, who -- and the
bureau's director, Steven Dillingham, has
said this was following a directive from the
commerce secretary, who oversees the Census
Bureau.
Essentially, the Trump administration has
taken the position that they want to cut short
counting for the 2020 census by a month in
order to meet a current legal deadline, which
is by the end of this year, December 31. The
latest state population counts are due to
the president. Those are the counts used to
redistribute seats in Congress.
What's interesting is that, recently, President
Trump issued a memo saying that he wants to
adjust those counts once he gets them as president.
He wants to exclude unauthorized immigrants
from those counts, even though the Constitution
says that those numbers should include every
person living in the country.
AMNA NAWAZ: So, let me ask you about this
new process the Census Bureau has had to undertake,
because a shortened timeline means they're
crunched to reach communities they have already
had trouble reaching during a pandemic.
We have already seen a lag in response rates
from a number of census officials we have
spoken to, as compared to 2010. I want to
play for you a little bit of sound from one
local official we talked to who is seeing
that kind of lag.
This is Michael Thurmond. He's the CEO of
DeKalb County, Georgia. He said it's a very
diverse area, a big Latinx, a big immigrant
community. He says he is worried about a severe
undercount. Take a listen to him.
MICHAEL THURMOND, CEO, DeKalb County, Georgia:
The best, clearest most -- example as to why
the census is so important, as to why every
resident must and should be counted is, look
no further than the CARES Act dollars that
are being distributed across this nation.
Undercount in the census results in underfunding
to fight one of the most challenging diseases
we face.
AMNA NAWAZ: Hansi, that concern we heard from
Mr. Thurmond, how unique is that?
HANSI LO WANG: You hear that a lot from a
lot of places around the country. We're in
the middle of an unpredictable pandemic, a
historic hurricane season.
We don't know what these next few weeks are
going to -- what's going to happen, and whether
or not Census Bureau workers, door-knockers,
who are already out there trying to reach
those households that have not participated
yet, what new challenges may be coming their
way?
Already, the census workers that I have been
talking to, they say they're having trouble
with the iPhones that they have been issued
to try to collect this information. They're
seeing delays in being trained and a lot of
pressure to go out in the field, while having
not feeling adequately trained in these situations.
There are a lot of challenges here, and this
shortened time frame really just exacerbates
all of them.
AMNA NAWAZ: Hansi, you mentioned something
else I want to ask you about. That was the
Trump administration's attempt to exclude
the undocumented population from some of those
counts for reapportionment purposes.
But we also heard a lot about their attempt
to add a citizenship question to the census.
That was eventually shot down by the Supreme
Court. But we asked census managers about
this around the country.
I want to play for you a little bit of sound
from Nestor Lopez. He's the census coordinator
for Hidalgo County, Texas. He says the effort
alone to try to add that citizenship question
is already having an impact. Take a listen.
NESTOR LOPEZ, Census Coordinator: Even today,
we still hear people asking, are they going
to ask me about my citizenship status, because
my family or the people living in my household,
we do have mixed status. So that fear often
just results in inaction.
AMNA NAWAZ: Hansi, have you heard from others
that the messaging alone, the attempt to add
that question could have some kind of chilling
effect?
HANSI LO WANG: I have.
And you also hear from community groups who
have spoken to some of the challengers of
the apportionment memo that President Trump
recently issued. All of this rhetoric and
all of this talk about who should be included,
who should not be included, even though, again,
supposed to be a count of every person living
in the country, there is a lot of concern
that there is a lot of mixed messaging going
around.
And, in fact, a lot of people still don't
know that the 2020 census does not include
a question about citizenship status. It also
does not include anything about a person's
immigration status, which is one reason why
people say, experts say, that President Trump's
call to exclude unauthorized immigrants from
the enforcement count, that it's not possible
and it's not legal, that there is no way to
do that in a legal way and in a practical
way, because there's no question on immigration
status.
So, the Census Bureau is collecting people's
information not knowing what people's immigration
status is. And so it's going to be really
hard to try to exclude certain populations.
AMNA NAWAZ: Hansi, there is this other concern
we have heard from a number of census officials
across the country, and that is that their
bureau is being politicized. Have you heard
something similar?
HANSI LO WANG: I have heard there's concerns.
And, recently, the Trump administration appointed
two new political appointees, a political
science professor who specializes in African
politics, a new senior adviser to this new
deputy director for policy. Both of them,
their qualifications are very unclear.
And you have the American Statistical Association,
other professional associations raising questions
about what qualifies these individuals to
take on top-level policy roles at a time when
the Census Bureau is trying to finish a once-a-decade
head count.
AMNA NAWAZ: Hansi, before we go, very briefly,
with all of these concerns, is there any way
that this will be now done right? Have we
reached a point of no return?
HANSI LO WANG: It's really hard to say at
this point.
There are a lot of factors against the 2020
census. But one thing to keep in mind here
is, the Constitution calls for a count once
a decade. And there is a chance that, whatever
numbers are collected, the data collected
over the next weeks may be the data we all
as a country have to live with for the next
10 years.
AMNA NAWAZ: That is NPR's Hansi Lo Wang, who
covers the Census Bureau, joining us tonight.
Thank you so much, Hansi.
HANSI LO WANG: You're welcome, Amna.
JUDY WOODRUFF: More than 2,000 newspapers
have closed since 2004, and now, amid the
global pandemic, local news is again struggling
to keep the presses running.
Jeffrey Brown recently spoke with Margaret
Sullivan about this decline. It's the focus
of her new book, "Ghosting the News: Local
Journalism and the Crisis of American Democracy."
JEFFREY BROWN: Margaret Sullivan, thanks so
much for joining us.
I want to start with the title, "Ghosting
the News." Even beyond the numbers, what do
you see happening?
MARGARET SULLIVAN, Author, "Ghosting the News":
Well, we have a very serious situation with
the local news ecosystem in the United States,
in which local news in many communities is
either withering or dying out altogether.
News deserts are springing up. And, in some
cases, newspapers which have been very stalwart
in their communities for many years have become
just ghosts or specters of what they once
were. And citizens are not being well-served
in those communities by local news outlets
anymore.
JEFFREY BROWN: Your concern goes even further
than that, and that gets to the subtitle,
"The Crisis of American Democracy."
So what's the link between the loss of local
news and the loss of a larger ideal nationally?
MARGARET SULLIVAN: You know, in order to function
as citizens in our society and in our democracy,
we need to have kind of a common basis of
facts. We don't have to agree about those
facts or what to do about them, but we need
to kind of all be functioning from the same
set of -- you know, the same set of facts.
And as local news goes away, we lose that
in our communities. Yes, we may still have
wonderful sources of national news, but we
have to think about our local governments,
our town councils, our city government, our
school boards, all of those things.
And, as that dwindles, you know, citizens
become less politically engaged. They become
more tribal in the way they vote. And all
kinds of things happen that are not really
good for a functioning democracy.
JEFFREY BROWN: You know, we're at a time where
-- you mentioned facts. We're in a time where
facts themselves are questioned, right, where
the whole idea of objective reporting is questioned.
Can you give me an example of what you think
is being lost when we lose the local journalism?
MARGARET SULLIVAN: Yes.
In some ways, it is challenging to describe
it, because when we don't have reporting taking
place, it's that expression, you don't know
what you don't know. But if you just think
of some of the great reporting that has happened
at the local level -- I mean, for example,
the way The Miami Herald, a McClatchy newspaper
that is under siege right now, really brought
the Jeffrey Epstein story, resuscitated it
and created the situation in which that came
further to justice.
If those reporters if Julie K. Brown of The
Miami Herald hadn't been doing her job, justice
may very well never have taken place there.
And then it can happen in a smaller way, too.
Who is covering the school board? Who is covering
the council meeting?
JEFFREY BROWN: What is interesting, though
-- and, as you write, even while this is happening,
a lot of Americans, maybe most Americans,
don't even realize that it is happening.
And I wonder. A lot of people -- most people
feel like they're getting plenty of news,
right? I mean, in the age of social media,
the Internet, more often the complaint is
there is just too much information out there.
So how do you convince everyone that they're
missing something?
MARGARET SULLIVAN: Well, this is actually
why I -- a big reason that I wrote the book
I did, because I read some very good research
that said that seven of 10 Americans think
that local news organizations are doing swimmingly.
And very few people are willing to or do pay
for any form of local news. So I thought that
it would be important to sort of sound the
alarm before we lose this really important
resource that we have for being good citizens.
It is a hard message to get across, because,
as you say, we have this fire hose of information
coming at us, but, very often, that has to
do with national politics, national and international
news. It doesn't have to do with our community
news, which comes from other sources.
JEFFREY BROWN: I know that you wrote about
some of the solutions, and we can't go into
all of them, but are there signs of hope that
you see?
MARGARET SULLIVAN: There really are.
In many cases, there are digital start-up
news organizations. I mean, you think of The
Texas Tribune in Austin. And there are many
of them around the country that have been
-- that are really a new model. They're not
newspapers. They're maybe nonprofits or digital
sites that are really doing good work.
And they're based not on advertising generally,
but on membership, philanthropy, events, running
events. They are really important. I don't
think that they fully take the place of newspapers,
and I think we need to do both. We need to
shore up and support newspapers, while also
supporting these new measures that are going
to take us into the future.
JEFFREY BROWN: All right, the book is "Ghosting
the News."
Margaret Sullivan, thank you very much.
MARGARET SULLIVAN: Thank you very much for
having me.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Stay with us to hear how tracking
your kids digitally might expose them to more
risk.
But, first, take a moment to hear from your
local PBS station. It's a chance to offer
your support, which helps to keep programs
like ours on the air.
Now we take a second look at Paul Solman's
conversation with author and illustrator Mo
Willems.
This encore presentation is part of arts and
culture series, Canvas.
PAUL SOLMAN: At the Kennedy Center in Washington,
D.C., a musical about a pigeon who really,
really, really wants to drive a bus, based
on a book by one of America's bestselling
authors.
MOST WILLEMS: My name is Mo Willems. I'm a...
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
MO WILLEMS: Thank you.
PAUL SOLMAN: This latter-day Dr. Seuss even
spruced up the time-honored TV walking shot
to cover our narration introducing him, letting
his pigeon do the walking.
Mo Willems has created over 50 books about
characters from the boisterous bird to anxious
elephant and upbeat piggy, to abandoned Knuffle
Bunny to Nanette's Baguette.
Willems is now the Kennedy Center's first
education artist in residence, making music,
art, the pigeon musical.
MO WILLEMS: They're grown adults playing with
puppets, yelling and screaming and running
around. Hopefully, that's going to engender
not just laughs on stage, but when the kids
go home, the grownups will pick up a stuffed
animal and pretend that it's a puppet and
start to be silly again.
I'm more interested in sparking some sort
of creativity, some type of joy that happens
after the show, after the performance, after
you read the book.
PAUL SOLMAN: Is that why the drawings are
so simple?
MO WILLEMS: Absolutely.
Every one of my characters is designed so
that a 5-year-old can reproduce it. I want
my books to be played, not just read. The
most important part of the book, the heart
of the book, is the audience reacting to what
I have splattered on the page.
PAUL SOLMAN: and by audience, you don't just
mean the kid. You mean the parent or, in my
case, grandparent who's reading it...
MO WILLEMS: Absolutely.
PAUL SOLMAN: ... acting it out, the voices.
Hey, can I drive the bus?
CHILDREN: No!
MO WILLEMS: I need you. You are my orchestra.
And if I write a book called the happy bunny
had a happy time in happy land you're going
to read it. The happy bunny had a happy time.
And you skip a couple pages.
PAUL SOLMAN: Oh, God.
MO WILLEMS: And you're at the end.
PAUL SOLMAN: I have been there.
MO WILLEMS: Right. We have all been there.
But if I write something that jazzes you and
get you to get the shame-ectomy to start yelling
and screaming and jumping up and down, and
maybe tickling or what not, now, suddenly
these books are magic.
PAUL SOLMAN: Willems' work is silly, sure,
but it also explores questions central to
kids.
MO WILLEMS: You're just dealing with fundamental
things. Why are we here? Why are people nice?
Why aren't people nice? What can I do? Can
I drive a bus?
PAUL SOLMAN: Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the
Bus! was Willems' first book in 2003.
MO WILLEMS: So the pigeon was rejected by
and I tend to exaggerate, so we will just
cut that number in half 23 billion publishers.
(LAUGHTER)
MO WILLEMS: And they said the exact same thing
as the publisher that took the book. They
said it's unusual.
They were all right. The question is, is unusual
pejorative, or is it positive?
PAUL SOLMAN: So why did they all say no?
MO WILLEMS: Well, because it's terrifying
doing something that hasn't been done before,
right? I mean, it's a book all in dialogue
with sort of a chicken scratch drawing. The
audience is told it has to yell no back at
the book. But we never tell them that they
need to do it.
Also, it's a pigeon. It's a rat with wings.
Like, a children's book is supposed to be
an adorable bear or a wonderful bunny, something
that you want to hug and nobody wants to hug
and squeeze a pigeon.
PAUL SOLMAN: That first book earned Willems
the first of three Caldecotts, the highest
prize in kid lit.
MO WILLEMS: The pigeon just arrived one day
in a sketchbook, and literally the first drawing
I made of the pigeon, the pigeon said, why
are you drawing other things? And he just
he was a jerk from day one.
PAUL SOLMAN: But you didn't hear him say that?
You...
MO WILLEMS: We communicate through doodles,
yes. So, part of the exploration for this
play was for me to ask, who is this pigeon,
which is also me asking, who am I, which is
why I need to be with very close friends who
can tell me the honest truth.
PAUL SOLMAN: Willems co-wrote the script with
Tom Warburton, a friend since the two were
animators 25 years ago, and an admirer of
Willems' first film, The Man Who Yelled.
MO WILLEMS: An animated film by me, Mo Willems.
TOM WARBURTON: Mo was very good at branding.
He was already Mo Willems even before he was
doing he was doing his picture books.
PAUL SOLMAN: In that film...
TOM WARBURTON: Yes.
PAUL SOLMAN: ... he must mention his name,
I don't know how many times.
TOM WARBURTON: Not just in that film. In everything
he does, he mentions his name over and over
and over again. Yes, yes. That was that was
just the start.
ACTOR: Oh my goodness. A sheep.
PAUL SOLMAN: Over the years, the two collaborated
on the Cartoon Network's short-lived Sheep
in the Big City.
MO WILLEMS: And when we would look at the
ratings, you would get a 5, that was the number
of people watching it. It was an unpopular
show.
PAUL SOLMAN: But their show "Codename: Kids
Next Door" was a hit. Willems went on to write
for "Sesame Street," for which he won six
Emmys.
The musical poses a different problem.
TOM WARBURTON: How do you take a 40-page book
about a pigeon not being able to drive a bus
and turn it into an hour-long musical?
PAUL SOLMAN: Stick to a good story for kids,
says Deborah Wicks La Puma, who wrote the
music.
DEBORAH WICKS LA PUMA: You can't linger in
a moment for the sake of lingering in the
moment or sounding beautiful. You know, the
kids want to know what the story is and what's
happening.
ACTOR: What if I don't like school?
PAUL SOLMAN: Willems' work has always kept
the child's point of view front and center.
MO WILLEMS: Childhood is inherently unpleasant.
And nothing is to your scale, right? The chairs,
these chairs, are saying...
PAUL SOLMAN: Immense, yes.
MO WILLEMS: They're giant. They're saying,
you don't belong here. You really shouldn't
even be sitting here, right?
And everything is big, because you don't know.
You're new. And the grownups, they take you
out of situations. Like, if you're doing something,
and you're having fun, some giant pair of
hands grabs you and picks you up, and puts
you in another room. And you get in trouble
for complaining?
For the "PBS NewsHour," this is Paul Solman,
a new friend of Willems, an old friend of
his books, in Washington, D.C., and my house
outside Boston.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Million of students return
to school this week, many learning primarily
online, offering a trove of new data to companies.
But what about the apps and the Web sites
parents use to keep kids safe?
Law professor and Internet privacy expert
Leah Plunkett shares her humble opinion on
why parents should shy from high-tech surveillance.
LEAH PLUNKETT, Author, "Sharenthood": The
other day, my 9-year-old-son tried to convince
me that he is ready to walk to school by himself.
His pitch: Put one of those smart watches
on me, so you will know where I am. My response?
No one should be spying on you, including
dad and me.
When our kids think the best way for them
to get more freedom is for us, their parents,
to use surveillance technology on them, we
are failing them. I'm the mom of two young
kids. I'm also a technology researcher and
a law professor.
With my parent brain, I understand the appeal
of tracking our kids. With my professor brain,
I understand the risks if we go ahead and
do it. We can put a surveillance doorbell
system on our front door to see when our kids
come and go. We can put a smart watch on them
with geofencing that alerts us when they go
outside bounds we have set for them.
We want to keep our kids safe, but, actually,
we're jeopardizing their physical safety.
If the technology we're using on them, from
smart watches to tracking apps on their phones
and beyond, isn't fully secure, their whereabouts
could be tracked by people who might want
to harm them.
Remember, kids who are survivors of abuse
often know their abusers. We don't need to
make it possible for potential predators in
our networks or hackers to access the surveillance
technology we put on our kids and stalk them.
We could also be jeopardizing their future
opportunities. When a technology monitors
our kids' location, movements, or other behaviors,
we typically have no ironclad guarantee that
the information stays put. The tech provider
could sell information about where our kids
go or how fast they drive to a data broker,
which then might sell it to schools and employers.
We know that college admissions are increasingly
informed by big data analytics. Without ironclad
guarantees that a tech provider won't share
our children's information, we should assume
that they will, either now or in the future,
in ways that we can't predict or control.
When our children veer off course, we want
it to stay in the family. Parents, choose
not to stalk your kids. You're unlikely to
be the only ones watching.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And on the "NewsHour" online
right now: We have collected ways to help
survivors of the devastation left by Hurricane
Laura.
You can find that on our Web site, PBS.org/NewsHour.
And that is the "NewsHour" for tonight. I'm
Judy Woodruff.
For all of 
us at the "PBS NewsHour," thank you,
please stay safe, and we'll see you soon.
