JUDY WOODRUFF: Good evening. I'm Judy Woodruff.
On the "NewsHour" tonight: at capacity. Some
hospital intensive care units in hot spots
like Florida and Texas are nearly full, as
COVID-19 cases continue a summer surge.
Then: after a weekend of gun violence in cities
across America, how police and other officials
are responding to the spate of shootings.
Plus: more and more evictions. A growing number
of Americans who lost their jobs during the
pandemic are now being forced out of their
homes.
NICOLE PALUZZI, Attorney: What we're seeing
now is a significant bump in the nonpayment
of rent cases. And a lot of that is related
to people being unemployed during COVID-19
during the shutdowns.
JUDY WOODRUFF: All that and more on tonight's
"PBS NewsHour."
(BREAK)
JUDY WOODRUFF: New COVID-19 infections are
on the rise in 42 states, as the total number
of U.S. cases nears the three million mark.
In the hardest-hit areas, hospital intensive
care units are filled to the brim with patients,
and communities are grappling with testing
shortages and delays.
John Yang begins our coverage.
JOHN YANG: The burden of new COVID-19 cases
is still growing, with 28 states today reporting
spikes in hospitalizations. In Florida, more
than four dozen hospitals say their intensive
care units are completely full.
Governor Ron DeSantis dug deep into those
numbers for a silver lining.
GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): As we have seen
more traffic into hospitals in the past few
weeks, we're seeing a smaller number of residents
of longer-term care facilities admitted.
And so, look, we obviously would like to not
be here, not to have anyone admitted, but
those residents of the long-term care facilities,
and when they are admitted, they have a much,
much higher rate of mortality. And so to see
that decline is something that's very, very
positive.
JOHN YANG: Cases in Florida have now topped
300,000, but that hasn't stopped officials
from pushing to reopen the state.
On Monday, the state's education commissioner
ordered schools to reopen in the fall, a move
President Trump said today he hoped will be
mirrored across the country.
DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States:
What we want to do is, we want to get our
schools open. We want to get them to open
quickly, beautifully, in the fall.
JOHN YANG: Harvard is among many colleges
and universities saying that, beginning this
fall, all instruction will be online. That's
a problem for international students.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says
students at schools that are fully online
won't be allowed to enter the country, and
if they're already here, they will have transfer
to an institution with at least some in-person
instruction or leave the country.
It threatens the visas of more than a million
students, many from China.
Today, China's Foreign Ministry tried to offer
some assurance:
ZHAO LIJIAN, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman
(through translator): China is now closely
following the U.S. moves on relevant policies
and will make utmost efforts to protect the
legitimate rights and interests of Chinese
students in the U.S.
JOHN YANG: In Brazil, President Jair Bolsonaro,
who from the outset dismissed the threat of
the coronavirus, said he has tested positive
for COVID-19 and is taking hydroxychloroquine,
a malaria drug President Trump has touted,
but has not been proven against coronavirus.
JAIR BOLSONARO, Brazilian President (through
translator): It started on Sunday, July 5,
with a certain feeling of unwell that worsened
during the day on Monday, July 6, with malaise,
tiredness, a bit of muscle pain and a fever.
JOHN YANG: Over the weekend, he attended a
Fourth of July celebration at the U.S. Embassy
hosted by Ambassador Todd Chapman. Photos
of the two showed no evidence of precautions
like distancing or masks. Today, the embassy
said Chapman, a career diplomat, had tested
negative.
Even though Brazil has the world's second
highest number of cases behind the United
States, it does not have a coordinated national
policy to contain the virus. European countries
that imposed tough restrictions early on are
already eying a return to more normal life,
from pubs in Britain to the newly reopened
Louvre museum in Paris.
Australia, once considered a success story,
is again cracking down. Its second largest
city, Melbourne, reimposed a six-week lockdown
in an effort to beat back a new surge of infections.
DANIEL ANDREWS, Premier of Victoria: I think
a sense of I think that each of us know we
have got no choice but to take these very,
very difficult steps.
JOHN YANG: A recognition that the virus is
far from being fully contained.
For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm John Yang.
JUDY WOODRUFF: This afternoon, President Trump
said it was ridiculous that Harvard will do
its instructions online, and he accused the
school of taking the -- quote -- "easy way
out."
We will take a closer look at the reopening
of the nation's K-12 schools later in the
program.
In the day's other news: The Trump administration
has officially notified Congress and the United
Nations that the U.S. is withdrawing from
the World Health Organization, despite the
ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. But the withdrawal
cannot legally go into effect for at least
another year.
The U.S. has previously contributed over $400
million a year to the WHO, more than any other
country.
Later, the presumptive Democratic presidential
nominee, Joe Biden, tweeted that he will rejoin
the WHO on his first day as president.
The Democratic mayor of Atlanta said that
the city doesn't need National Guard troops
to protect it, after a weekend of gun violence.
Last night, Republican Governor Brian Kemp
sent the troops to patrol the streets, after
he declared a state of emergency.
We will examine the recent spike in gun violence
across the country later in the program.
One person is hospitalized after a driver
sped through a protest in Bloomington, Indiana,
late Monday. The driver struck two people,
as demonstrators protested an assault on a
black man at a lake over the weekend.
Vauhxx Booker said that a group of white men
attacked him July 4 and threatened to -- quote
-- "get a noose."
His attorney spoke to reporters this afternoon.
KATHARINE LIELL, Attorney For Vauhxx Booker:
I can confirm that an official investigation
has been opened up by the FBI. I believe it
has been approved by the United States attorney's
office, and they are investigating this as
a hate crime.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Authorities are still searching
for the driver of the car that struck the
two people at yesterday's protest.
The FBI sounded the alarm today about the
growing number of threats emerging from China.
Its director, Christopher Wray, highlighted
several areas of increased Beijing aggression,
including targeting U.S. military technology
and economic coercion.
He told a Washington think tank, the increase
in Chinese cases at the bureau is concerning.
CHRISTOPHER WRAY, FBI Director: We have now
reached a point where the FBI is opening a
new China-related counterintelligence case
about every 10 hours.
Of the nearly 5,000 active FBI counterintelligence
cases currently under way across the country,
almost half are all related to China.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Wray also urged Chinese-born
people living in the U.S. to contact the FBI
if Chinese officials try to force them into
returning home to China. He said it is part
of a Chinese coercion program designed to
silence criticism of Beijing's policies.
New York regulators fined Deutsche Bank $150
million for its dealings with the late sex
offender Jeffrey Epstein. It is the first
disciplinary action against a financial institution
over business with the financier. Epstein
killed himself in a Manhattan jail last August
while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
At least 55 people have died in Southern Japan
after torrential rains and floods swept across
the region. A dozen others are still missing.
In some towns, floodwaters submerged cars,
and the record-breaking rain triggered landslides.
Meanwhile, rescue crews rushed to evacuate
residents.
YOSHIHIDE SUGA, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary
(through translator): About 80,000 members
from the police, fire department, and Japan
Coast Guard are on a search-and-rescue mission.
Our policy is saving people's lives first,
and we will make our very best effort in our
mission.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Some three million residents
have been urged to evacuate Kyushu, which
is Japan's third largest island.
A bus crash in China today killed at least
21 people. The bus lost control and plunged
into a reservoir in southern city. It was
carrying students who had just completed their
college entrance exams. Fifteen people were
injured.
Back in this country, it was primary day in
New Jersey and Delaware. Many voted by mail
on account of the pandemic. Official results
won't likely be announced until next week.
Meanwhile, in Utah, the results are in from
last week's Republican gubernatorial primary.
Lieutenant Governor Spencer Cox narrowly defeated
former U.S. Ambassador and former Governor
Jon Huntsman.
Details emerged today about a new tell-all
book written by President Trump's niece. Mary
Trump, a psychologist, alleged that her uncle
is a narcissist, and that he paid someone
to take his college SAT test for him.
She wrote -- quote -- "No one is less equipped
than my uncle to manage the current crises
facing the nation." The White House called
the memoir a book of falsehood. It is set
to be released next week.
The European Union has projected a deeper-than-expected
recession from the pandemic. It now forecasts
that the bloc's economy will shrink 8.3 percent
this year. Meanwhile, in the U.S., stocks
took a dive on Wall Street today.
The Dow Jones industrial average lost 397
points to close at 25890. The Nasdaq fell
nearly 90 points, and the S&P 500 shed 34.
Still to come on the "NewsHour": the debate
over when to reopen schools in the fall; more
people are facing eviction from their homes
in the midst of the pandemic; what is driving
the recent spate of gun violence across the
country; and much more.
Across the country, parents are wondering
what the next school year will look like for
their children. The decision of how to reopen,
and when, will ultimately be up to state and
local officials.
But that is despite President Trump saying
at a White House event today that he would
pressure governors to reopen schools this
fall.
DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States:
We hope that most schools are going to be
open.
We don't want people to make political statements
or do it for political reasons. They think
it's going to be good for them politically,
so they keep the schools closed. No way.
So we're very much going to put pressure on
governors and everybody else to open the schools,
to get them open. And it's very important.
It's very important for our country. It's
very important for the well-being of the student
and the parents.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Meanwhile, in a virtual hearing
on Capitol Hill, the president of the National
Education Association offered a different
view.
She said that America's educators are alarmed
by what they are seeing from politicians.
LILY ESKELSEN GARCIA, President, National
Education Association: They see people who
are making decisions to race back into that
school without the proper plan to distance,
to disinfect, to have the PPE, to have the
health checks and the COVID testing.
They will be at risk or put their own families
at risk, put their teachers and the lunch
lady and the janitor at risk. And so we are
scared.
JUDY WOODRUFF: It is a balance that policy-makers
and educators across the country are weighing.
To discuss the push to reopen schools, I'm
joined by Noel Candeleria. He is the president
of the Texas State Teachers Association, which
represents about 60,000 educators in Texas.
And Elliot Haspel, he's a former elementary
school teacher and education policy expert
from Richmond, Virginia.
We welcome both of you to the "NewsHour."
Mr. Candeleria, let me start with you.
At this point, what are Texas -- what, five
million public school students facing? Is
it known yet what the plan is yet with regard
to opening schools?
NOEL CANDELERIA, President, Texas State Teachers
Association: No.
The commissioner wants the schools to be reopened
and educators want to start the school year
up here in August. What we don't have yet
clearly is a plan, a clearly outlined plan
of not just from the state, but from school
districts across the state, as to standards
that we can all expect to go back into when
it comes to our schools.
And we have districts who are right now looking
at doing only remote learning. Some districts
are planning face-to-face. Some districts
are planning some type of hybrid models, but
there has been no consistency or clarity across
the state.
JUDY WOODRUFF: So, Elliot Haspel, President
Trump, as we know, is urging, urging school
systems, educators to open up. He says, it's
good for the students, it's good for the schools.
What is known at this point about the argument
for opening the schools in September?
ELLIOT HASPEL, Author, "Crawling Behind":
So, I think it's important to start by realizing
the argument is nuanced, right?
Opening schools in a place where there are
spiking transmission levels, like Texas, like
Florida, it should be a different conversation
than opening schools in a place like Michigan,
which yesterday recorded zero deaths from
COVID and only 300 new cases.
So, sometimes, the U.S. is one country. Sometimes,
we're a lot of different states and localities.
This is one of the latter.
But the argument basically boils down to,
we know that, for elementary school students
in particular, the children themselves seem
to be at pretty low risk for catching COVID.
There's some evidence that hints to the fact
that young children don't transmit to other
kids or to adults at a particularly higher
rate.
And so where there isn't very high levels
of community transmission, it may be relatively
safe, if you have all the precautions in place,
and if you are fully funded to be able to
make sure you have the sanitation, the PPE,
all those things, to send particularly the
younger students back, and that the tradeoff
of not sending them back is a tremendous amount
of harm to their mental, socioemotional well-being,
certainly, as well as their educational well-being.
But, in some ways, that is secondary to the
cost to their holistic well-being.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And, Noel Candeleria, I mean,
from the perspective of educators in Texas,
do you see a difference between what it's
going to be -- take to be safe for the younger
children in the elementary grades, for example,
vs. children in high school or middle school?
NOEL CANDELERIA: Right.
I mean, as part of the challenges that we
have had is that not enough educators have
been part of this conversation when it comes
to putting plans together in place at the
local level. Educators are the experts in
knowing and understanding student movement
across the campus, how students move from
campus to the restroom, from the school bus
to home.
And with all of these that are that are critical
pieces, I mean, putting a well-thought-out
plan together, both at the elementary level,
at the middle school level, and at the high
school level -- I mean, in Texas, we have
schools with as few as 50 students, and we
have schools with as many as 6,000 students
in them.
And so, obviously, those plans are going to
differ from community to community, based
on the school's needs. But what we are not
seeing right now is clearly outlined plans
to ensure all of the safety for the students,
for the educators, and really the community
as a whole, in how the community is going
to engage and interact with their public -- with
the neighborhood public school.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, let's talk about the
things, Elliot Haspel, that schools are going
to have to have in place in order for schools
-- for the parents to feel safe, for the faculty,
for teachers to feel safe.
What are the essentials that schools are going
to have to have?
ELLIOT HASPEL: Well, there are a few things.
First, we know that masks and PPE are going
to be critically important. That is just -- that
is essential. The -- with the new recommendations
the American Academy of Pediatrics, the World
Health Organization have put out, saying it's
basically just about as good to have three
feet of distance between students, between
the CDC saying six feet of distance.
And if you're doing six feet, it's almost
impossible to get a full classroom. So, the
three feet is sort of the way into having
full classrooms. But, importantly, that is
three feet with a mask.
So, particularly for middle elementary students
up, being able to have that enough masks -- masks,
that's really important. We do need to make
sure that we have a robust staffing plan.
We want it to be so, if any teacher feels
at all sick, they're able to stay home and
know that their class will be taken care of.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, as you listen to this,
Noel Candeleria, is this the kind of thing
that's going to make teachers in the state
of Texas feel safe going back, this debate
about three feet vs. six feet, the question
about whether masks are required?
What's going to make teachers feel safe about
going back into the classroom?
NOEL CANDELERIA: Right.
I mean, it's not just talking about the mask.
It's talking about social distancing. How
do we ensure proper social distancing within
the day-to-day movement of the classroom?
But we also need to be talking about ventilation.
A lot of teachers here in Texas are fearful
because of -- over the majority of our schools
have 30 to 40 -- are 30 to 40 years old. So,
proper ventilation within our schools has
always been an issue even prior to the pandemic.
There's always a shortage of cleaning supplies.
And we don't have enough staff. I mean, a
lot of our schools are without a school nurse
right now. A lot of our districts haven't
been fully funded to be able to provide a
school nurse on every campus, to provide for
paper towels to dry your hands, handwashing
stations.
Even prior to the pandemic, most of our campuses
had transitioned from paper towel to air dryers,
which are advised to not be used during this
pandemic, because it'll spray all over the
campus.
So, there are so many things that, right now,
our campuses are struggling with when they're
trying to plan out opening the school, not
having the supplies and equipment that they
need or the staffing that is going to be needed
to properly clean and disinfect the school.
I mean, our custodians right now are following
a model that has been laid out, with one custodian
for about 500, 700 square feet, which is not
going to be manageable right now, when you
have to do some thorough cleaning on surfaces
that are going to be touched by various adults.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Elliot Haspel, I think everybody
agrees, ideally, the good thing would be to
get children back in the classroom.
That would be the ideal for everyone. But
the reality is, there are these concerns.
When you have the White House saying, we really
want this to happen, we know we can't require
schools to open, how much -- how much pressure
do you think school systems will be under?
ELLIOT HASPEL: I think they're going to be
under an immense amount of pressure.
And it's really unfortunate. This is not one
of those issues that should become political
and partisan, but it already has. We saw this
with the Florida Department of Education commissioner
of education basically requiring all of the
schools in that state, as it is experiencing
an enormous outbreak right now of community
transition -- transmission, to at least have
a plan to open.
There was -- the conservative author Jonathan
Last wrote in a piece recently that anyone
who says that all schools should open or no
schools should open is either foolish, hysterical
are pushing an agenda.
And I think that's fairly accurate. I think
we have to take this community by community
and by -- really lean into the local context.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, we are certainly going
to be keeping an eye on this and many decisions
yet to be made.
But we want to thank both of you for talking
with us about it today.
Elliot Haspel, Noel Candeleria, thank you
very much.
It is one of the federal government's signature
efforts to help small businesses weather the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Now there is new data from the Trump administration
about the Paycheck Protection Program, or
PPP, the most detailed information yet about
some of the forgivable loans issued over the
last 3.5 months.
Initially, there were questions over whether
the program had enough funds to aid all of
the small businesses that requested it.
Later, there were questions about which businesses
were getting the loans.
Lisa Desjardins has been digging into this
new data, and she joins me now.
So, Lisa, you have been through all this material.
There's a lot of it. What did you learn about
who got money and how much they got?
LISA DESJARDINS: Judy, this was an incredible
trove of data.
For someone, like for us and for a person
like me, it was incredibly informative.
Let's just take a look at the big numbers
involved here. First of all, we learned from
these numbers that 4.9 million loans were
given out in this program since April. That,
of course, is historic and unprecedented.
Those loans were connected to 51 million jobs
at businesses across this country.
Now, Judy, some of those companies said that
they didn't save any jobs necessarily. Those
could have been sole proprietors or just could
have been companies that actually didn't use
the money for payroll.
Now, 3,000 -- more than 3,000 of those loans
were large, over $1 million. As I said, Judy,
this is extraordinary data. And we were particularly
able to get very detailed information about
the largest groups of loans, loans over $150,000.
Now, that's not most of the loans. Most of
the loans were smaller than that. But there
were still 600,000 loans that were of that
size. So, the government released the names
of every business that received a loan over
$150,000 and where those businesses are.
Judy, I ran through the spreadsheet and here
is a map of where those businesses were. You
see in this map, Judy, where the greatest
need was for small business help. And then
lining up with that, you see, of course, in
New England, where the largest number of cases
were early on in this virus.
But it's not just about the help here. You
also see some states, Wyoming, North Dakota,
that were experiencing a major economic crisis,
even if they didn't have the virus. Those
are two states where the energy sector was
hit hard by international factors during this
virus.
Those light yellow states are the ones that
received the fewest number of loans. And,
Judy, in bright red, Washington, D.C., that
is the place where we saw the greatest number
of small business loans this program, per
capita.
So, it tells us a lot about where the need
was.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Fascinating.
And, Lisa, a lot of raised eyebrows about
the big, big companies that got some of this
money. What did you learn about that?
LISA DESJARDINS: That's right.
As I mentioned, some of these loans were in
the millions of dollars. And there were questions
still about where that money went. Again,
this was supposed to be for small businesses,
businesses with 500 or fewer employees.
So, let's look at where some of this money
went. It could go to nonprofits. Some churches
were able to get these loans, some schools,
including for-profit schools, as well as nonprofit
organizations.
On the other end of the spectrum, some natural
chain restaurants, like P.F. Chang's and Five
Guys, that have hundreds of stores across
the country were able to get this money, as
well as some big-name celebrity brands, like
Yeezy, the fashion label by Kanye West.
How did these folks get that money, especially
the larger companies? Well, Judy, Congress
made an exception in this law, so that any
company that had franchises, separate businesses
in separate locations, could file each location
as a small business.
And you see some of those large restaurant
chains did that. Other restaurant chains returned
this money. And we will have to see if these
restaurant chains keep it or not.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Lisa, another question is,
what did you see in terms of who received
money who had political connections out there?
LISA DESJARDINS: Right.
It was important to look. And right at the
top of the list, of course, is the president
himself. He is known as a businessman. And,
indeed, we saw some Trump partner organizations,
like the organization running the Trump Hotel
in Waikiki, for example, received at least
$2 million.
Same thing. There was a New York law firm
that's headed by a Trump attorney, Mike (sic)
Kasowitz, got at least $5 million.
Now, Judy, Trump properties and family members
were prohibited from getting other relief
money in the CARES Act. But there was an exception
made for this money, for the PPP money.
We also know that at least seven members of
Congress received money through their businesses.
Of course, these are all businesspeople. And
all of them say this money went to help those
businesses and their employees keep the payroll
going.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And just very quickly, Lisa,
do we know if there's money left in this program
to be disbursed?
And is Congress likely to renew this?
LISA DESJARDINS: There is money left. There's
about $130 billion left.
And a reminder that this money was intended,
it's limited right now to only 2.5 months
of payroll. Judy, we have been in the pandemic
for three months. So, it looks like the businesses
that needed the money got it, but they have
used it.
So, Judy, the issue is if another round of
this virus and another round of shutdowns
come, more money, maybe a lot of money, will
be needed. We do expect Congress to talk about
that when they return next week.
JUDY WOODRUFF: So much material to pore through.
LISA DESJARDINS: That's right.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Lisa Desjardins, thank you
so much for giving this -- giving us this
look at this really important program.
LISA DESJARDINS: You're welcome.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Thanks.
LISA DESJARDINS: You're welcome.
JUDY WOODRUFF: During this pandemic, we hear
it repeatedly from public health officials:
Stay at home.
But many Americans don't have stable housing.
And, as William Brangham reports, a growing
number of people are being forced out of their
homes because they cannot make rent payments.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Like tens of thousands of
Americans right now, Rhonda Anderson and her
family are being evicted.
RHONDA ANDERSON, South Carolina: It's stressful
and it's hard.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Let's back up.
Last December, Anderson's family was excited
when they moved to North Charleston, South
Carolina. She and her husband had both found
good jobs, and this nice rental home close
to work.
But then, three months after they moved, the
pandemic hit. Anderson's husband lost his
home restoration job when the virus and the
shutdown dried up all his company's projects.
RHONDA ANDERSON: My husband filed for unemployment.
Didn't get no unemployment. So, basically,
it left me in a situation to do stuff by myself,
try to keep food in the house and try to pay
the rent.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Rhonda took on extra hours
at her job. She's the head cook at a local
nursing home.
These days, she's working up to 75 hours a
week, but it still hasn't been enough to make
rent on time.
RHONDA ANDERSON: I have never been in this
situation before in any way, never.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: After paying the rent late
in April and in May, her landlord told her
she was being evicted.
RHONDA ANDERSON: I'm asking, like, how are
you going to evict us and we're still paying
our payment? He said: "I just -- I just want
you all out of there."
And we didn't know why.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: The landlord said Anderson
paid her rent late several times, and she
was violating her lease because her 20-year-old
son wasn't on the initial paperwork. He had
come to live with her when his college closed
because of the pandemic.
The CARES Act the coronavirus relief package
Congress passed earlier this year, halted
evictions for anyone living in properties
with federally backed mortgages. but that
only applies to about a third of renters nationwide,
and it's set to expire July 25.
In addition to the federal protections, most
states put a pause on all evictions when the
pandemic first hit. But those rules only postpone
evictions. If tenants violate their rental
agreements, landlords can still evict them
once the moratoriums expire.
And that's exactly what's happening now to
people like Rhonda Anderson. When South Carolina
let its moratorium expire in May, it saw a
spike in eviction filings, says Charleston
attorney Nicole Paluzzi.
NICOLE PALUZZI, Attorney: What we're seeing
now is a significant bump in the nonpayment
of rent cases. And a lot of that is related
to people being unemployed during COVID-19
during the shutdowns.
LAVAR EDMONDS, Princeton University: It's
really kind of a perfect storm.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Princeton University's Lavar
Edmonds studies evictions. He says they were
already a major problem before the pandemic.
LAVAR EDMONDS: The last 15, 20 years, you
can see rents have been increasing considerably,
whereas incomes have remained relatively stagnant.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: In 2018, one in four renters
in the U.S. put more than half of their income
towards rent, and about half of renters have
less than $1,000 in savings.
LAVAR EDMONDS: They're paying rent, but they're
sort of on the edge of something goes wrong,
and now we have got a problem.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: What's pushing many renters
over that edge is the economic fallout from
the pandemic.
One recent survey found up to a third of all
renters weren't able to pay rent in April.
That's causing housing advocates to warn of
what they see as a worst-case scenario, a
spike in homelessness right in the middle
of the pandemic.
That could expose more people to the virus,
if they end up in shelters, where it's very
hard to socially distance.
But Boston Medical Center's Dr. Megan Sandel
says, not having quality, stable housing is
also tied to other problems, like food insecurity
and increased stress. And that can, in turn,
trigger long-term physical and mental health
issues.
DR. MEGAN SANDEL, Boston Medical Center: An
affordable home is like a prescription for
health. And nothing showed that more than
during the epidemic. And so now is the time
to double down on stocking that housing prescription.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Like many aspects of this
pandemic, people of color are also most vulnerable
when it comes to housing. Blacks and Hispanics
in the U.S. are twice as likely to be renters
as whites.
And during the pandemic, black and Hispanic
workers are more likely to have lost their
jobs as well.
DIANE YENTEL, President, National Low-Income
Housing Coalition: Black and brown renters
are disproportionately likely to be extremely
low-income. They're much more likely to be
severely cost-burdened.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Diane Yentel is president
of the National Low-Income Housing Coalition.
DIANE YENTEL: As we look towards this potential
wave of evictions that's coming, that, too,
will disproportionately harm black and brown
renters.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: States and cities are already
using federal emergency money for rental assistance.
But housing advocates say much more is needed.
Earlier this year, Houston's $15 million fund
was tapped out just 90 minutes after it opened
up to applicants. Landlords are pushing for
more rental assistance, too.
Doug Quattrochi is the executive director
of MassLandlords, a trade association in Massachusetts.
DOUG QUATTROCHI, Executive Director, MassLandlords:
Landlords don't like to evict their paying
customers or their nonpaying customers. We
want to have customers, and we want to have
people occupy our housing.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Quattrochi says, when rent
isn't paid, small mom-and-pop landlords like
him struggle to pay their own bills.
DOUG QUATTROCHI: Even though there's a pandemic,
we still have to pay for repairs, we have
to pay for insurance, real estate taxes. Five
percent of our members are insolvent, and
they're selling their buildings to get out
of the business. Another 20 percent...
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Because of this pandemic?
DOUG QUATTROCHI: Because of the pandemic,
plus the resulting shutdowns and the eviction
moratorium. They can't operate anymore, and
they're done.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: After going to court, Rhonda
Anderson agreed to a deal with her landlord.
The landlord would apply for CARES Act rental
assistance to cover the missed June rent,
and Anderson would vacate the house at the
end of the month.
But the eviction wouldn't go on her record,
something that could have made it harder to
rent in the future. But the quick move meant
her family had to go to a hotel. Fortunately,
it's only temporary.
RHONDA ANDERSON: We found a place, but it's
not open up until after the holidays. So,
we have to stay in a hotel for, like, eight
days. So that's how life is at now.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: And as evictions pick up
across the country, that's how life could
soon be for thousands more Americans.
For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm William Brangham.
JUDY WOODRUFF: In addition to all the upheavals
caused by the pandemic, social unrest, and
heightened political turbulence, Amna Nawaz
reports, this summer is also shaping up to
be a bloody one in our cities' streets and
neighborhoods.
AMNA NAWAZ: From New York to California, Atlanta
to Chicago, a July 4 weekend interrupted by
gun violence, leaving dozens, including children,
dead.
KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS (D), Mayor of Atlanta,
Georgia: Enough is enough.
AMNA NAWAZ: In Atlanta, 31 people shot and
five killed, including 8-year-old Secoriea
Turner.
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Bottoms:
KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS: We are shooting each
other up on our streets in this city, and
you shot and killed a baby. And it wasn't
one shooter. There were at least two shooters.
An 8-year-old baby.
AMNA NAWAZ: Georgia Governor Brian Kemp moved
in the National Guard in response.
Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., 11-year-old
Davon McNeal was killed at a cookout aimed
at preventing violence.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser:
MURIEL BOWSER (D), Mayor of Washington, D.C.:
This should not have happened, and it cannot
keep happening. We can't losing our children
to senseless gun violence.
AMNA NAWAZ: And, in Chicago, 87 people shot
over the weekend and 17 killed, among them,
7-year-old Natalia Wallace, struck by a stray
bullet while playing outside.
FRED WALLER, Chief of Operations, Chicago
Police Department: There were kids riding
by on bicycles, as we said, enjoying the Fourth
of July, as they should have been, and now
this child is gone.
AMNA NAWAZ: As some cities see a spike in
gun violence this summer, the reasons why
are now the subject of debate.
In New York City, where 64 people were shot
over the weekend, and June homicides hit their
highest since 1996, Mayor Bill de Blasio blamed
the pandemic.
BILL DE BLASIO (D), Mayor of New York: It
is directly related to all the dislocation
that's happened over these last four months
with the coronavirus.
AMNA NAWAZ: Others point to a strained police
force as a factor, after demonstrations against
police brutality, and recent reforms banning
some use of force.
New York Police Commissioner Dermot Shea:
DERMOT SHEA, New York City Police Commissioner:
We need three things. I'm going to keep repeating
it for people. We need support, we need laws
that help the police, instead of handcuff
them, and then we need resources.
AMNA NAWAZ: Even President Trump, in his July
3 Mount Rushmore speech, linked the rise in
protests to the rise in violence.
DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States:
Angry mobs are trying to tear down statues
of our founders, deface our most sacred memorials,
and unleash a wave of violent crime in our
cities.
AMNA NAWAZ: Violent crime, however, has not
risen uniformly across the country or among
cities, and many types of crime are down.
We take a closer look now at this recent surge
in gun violence with Pastor Michael McBride,
director for the Live Free Campaign. That's
a faith-based movement committed to reducing
gun violence and to ending mass incarceration
of people of color. And with Thomas Abt. He's
senior fellow at the Council on Criminal Justice
and a co-author of the nationwide homicide
study by Arnold Ventures, a philanthropy focused
on criminal justice.
Welcome to you both, and thank you both for
being here.
Thomas Abt, let's start with you, because
these headlines get a lot of attention, especially
when you're talking about the number of children
that have been killed. But when you look at
the data, is it different from years past?
Help us with some context around what we have
been seeing so far this year.
THOMAS ABT, Senior Fellow, Council on Criminal
Justice: Sure.
The study my colleague Richard Rosenfeld and
I performed looked at the impact of homicide
over the first five months of this year, compared
to the three-year average in previous years.
And what we saw was, while there was a significant
decline in homicides in April and in May as
a result of the social distancing measures
put in place due to the pandemic, unfortunately,
the first three months of the year were quite
violent.
And, in fact, at the end of that five-month
period, we were up in terms of homicides compared
to that three-year average 6 percent. And,
unfortunately, we don't have the data yet,
but it look like June was even worse.
AMNA NAWAZ: Pastor McBride, let's put some
context on from your end.
Now, what were you seeing earlier in the year
on the ground in the communities you have
been working in for years to address gun violence?
And how does the pandemic affect what you
were seeing?
PASTOR MICHAEL MCBRIDE, National Director,
Live Free Campaign: Well, I think it's very
important for us to continue to remind ourselves
that gun violence in urban communities across
the country is largely focused with a small
number of individuals who are driving disproportionate
amounts of violence.
And even during the pandemic, many of our
outreach workers were deemed necessary, essential
workers to help address the conflicts that
continue to persist.
And so, as we talk about gun violence, and
with the right kind of resources and targeted
interventions, even during a pandemic, we
know those who are driving violence, who are
caught in the cycle of violence, and we have
the solutions to ensure that that violence
does not spiral out of control.
AMNA NAWAZ: So, Thomas Abt, as people are
trying to understand what was driving that
earlier surge that you mentioned, some are
pointing to this idea that the demonstrations
against police brutality, calling for an end
to systemic racism, that they have somehow
fueled the violence in these cities.
Is there any truth to that? Does the data
back that up?
THOMAS ABT: Well, at the outset, I couldn't
agree with Pastor McBride more. There are
evidence-informed, community-informed approaches
to addressing urban violence. And we need
to step up our support for those approaches.
But turning to your question, I think that's
an unfair critique. And, in fact, I think
that the protests are a natural reaction to
a highly publicized and terrible, tragic incident
of excessive deadly force, on top of years
of a persistent, ongoing problem that communities
of color have been trying to call attention
to literally for decades.
I think that the -- it's not the protests
that are the problem. It is the underlying
police violence. And I think we have to acknowledge
that there is actually a connection between
police violence and community violence.
AMNA NAWAZ: Pastor McBride, when you look
at that connection, that has fueled what we
know has long been a cycle of mistrust between
police departments and black and brown communities
in America.
In this moment, when there's even more attention,
calls for broader reform, are you worried
that mistrust is even deeper, and then that
that will actually fuel more violence in some
communities?
PASTOR MICHAEL MCBRIDE: No, I believe that
we should pivot this conversation very forcefully
to go beyond the conversation of mistrust,
and really have a conversation about values.
Who do we value? How do we ensure that our
budgets demonstrate the value that we have?
And how then do we leverage our tax base,
our tax dollars to invest in those kinds of
populations who we value?
The bigger issue around defunding the police
and these other magnificent ideas that are
being debated, it is a question of investment.
It is a question of, can we indeed believe
that black and brown communities that are
fully invested in, so there is food programs,
there are housing programs, there are job
programs, there are healing programs, vs.
us putting 30, 40, 50 percent of our budgets
into police departments?
It is a question about, how do we invest in
people and public safety that keeps people
at the center?
And so I just want us to continue to push
our imagination beyond policing as it relates
to a public safety conversation. We can reduce
gun violence in many communities, because
we have done it before. But we should scale
those strategies up and use this moment as
a way to unleash tax dollars to get that job
done.
AMNA NAWAZ: So, Pastor McBride, let me ask
you, then.
As Thomas Abt was talking about some of the
higher numbers he was seeing earlier in 2020,
what do you want to say to people about what
they should understand about why that was
happening, and now what should be done to
address it?
PASTOR MICHAEL MCBRIDE: We know that much
of the violence that is driven by the small
number of individuals in our community, they
have intersecting social issues and realities
that are crimes of poverty.
They are, at their very base, exposing the
kind of vulnerability of black, brown and
poor communities across this country. The
proliferation of guns, of course, makes this
kind of violence more lethal. But it is, at
the end of the day, about, how do we ensure
that we are investing in the root causes of
poverty that drive crime?
And so our vision should be not to criminalize,
but to literally invest. And because the early
pandemic has exposed the lack of social stability
of black and brown communities, we should
use this as another case study of saying,
what if we invested in health care, in public
health approaches that are mental health,
that are violence interrupters, that are strategies
that actually put at the center our most hurting
and harmed communities?
That is a strategy every community, I believe,
in this country impacted would embrace, if
we really scaled it up. That's how we should
be looking at the rise and, prayerfully, as
we do it, the drop in gun-related shootings
and homicides,
AMNA NAWAZ: Thomas Abt, in less than a minute
left, I have to ask you.
Based on what you have seen so far, based
on where we are right now, what do you see
in the weeks and the months ahead?
THOMAS ABT: Well, I'm worried that we're in
for a difficult summer and rest of the year,
unless we take dramatic action, as Pastor
McBride said, not to scale down police solutions
-- police are part of the solution -- but
to scale up community-based solutions.
These very small number of people at the highest
risk for gun violence, either as perpetrators
or as victims, need something to say yes to,
as well as something to say no to. There have
to be carrots and there have to be sticks.
And unless we take dramatic action right now,
I worry that we're in for a difficult year.
AMNA NAWAZ: That is Thomas Abt, senior fellow
at the Council on Criminal Justice, and Pastor
Mike McBride of the Live Free Campaign.
Thank you to you both.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Tomorrow, President Trump will
welcome the president of Mexico to the White
House.
There are more than 215,000 official cases
of coronavirus in Mexico, the second highest
total in Latin America. More than 20,000 have
died.
But Mexico's government acknowledges, that
is a severe undercount.
We sent camera crews across the country. And
Nick Schifrin reports on the failures of the
Mexican government to contain COVID.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Outside the northern city of
Juarez, children who have nothing get their
food from the man in the mask.
He is not from the government. His mask is
not only for COVID. He is a member of La Nueva
Empresa drug cartel.
MAN (through translator): The coronavirus
is killing people like crazy, and we want
to do something. People are a little desperate,
having a hard time. There are no jobs. There
is no money. People are worn out.
NICK SCHIFRIN: This so-called narco-philanthropy
is designed to spread goodwill to protect
smuggling routes. The cartels are the only
source of help because the government is largely
absent.
ROSA MARIA HERNANDEZ, Juarez Resident (through
translator): For us, it is very good, because
we need it right now. There is not much work.
With all that's happening, it's a blessing.
MAN (through translator): The shops are far
away. And if you take a look, there is no
police. So, this is a good place to work.
NICK SCHIFRIN: But Mexico has become a bad
place to die; 1,000 miles south, in Mexico
City, smoke rises from a crematorium that
COVID's made all too busy.
Judith hasn't grieved. She's too angry.
JUDITH, Mexico City Resident (through translator):
They gave me a paper that says she had lung
problems, and, after two days, she died from
COVID problems. But they never proved anything
to me, nothing.
NICK SCHIFRIN: In Judith's hands, she holds
her mother's remains. She blames the government
for failing to protect people.
JUDITH (through translator): The government
says that all you need is the picture of a
saint, and, with that, you are going to be
fine. But what's the picture of a saint going
to do for me?
NICK SCHIFRIN: It actually wasn't a saint.
It was a religious amulet.
ANDRES MANUEL LOPEZ OBRADOR, Mexican President
(through translator): Stop, enemy, for the
heart of Jesus is with me.
NICK SCHIFRIN: That's Mexico's president,
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, in mid-March,
suggesting his good luck charms and advice
could protect Mexico from COVID.
ANDRES MANUEL LOPEZ OBRADOR (through translator):
The protective shield is honesty, not to allow
corruption.
NICK SCHIFRIN: At first, AMLO, as he is widely
known, flouted his own government's social
distancing recommendations. He's declined
to be tested until this trip to the U.S. because
he's had no symptoms, and he refused to wear
a mask.
ANDRES MANUEL LOPEZ OBRADOR (through translator):
If I come here wearing a mask, how are the
people going to feel? I have to keep the people's
spirits up.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Since then, Mexico has taken
the threat more seriously. The government
closed the country's borders and ordered schools
and all nonessential businesses shut.
But as soon as he could, AMLO restarted his
own travel. On June the 1st, he reopened the
country by launching a government-funded train
that takes tourists to indigenous ruins.
ANDRES MANUEL LOPEZ OBRADOR (through translator):
This comes at a good time. In these times,
due to the coronavirus pandemic, we need to
reactivate the economy.
NICK SCHIFRIN: AMLO focused on his signature
infrastructure projects, but refused to increase
direct government spending on Mexicans or
their businesses.
That's forced more than half the work force
in the informal economy to ignore stay-at-home
orders.
Lorena Torres is an entrepreneur. Right now,
she sells masks out of the back of a car.
LORENA TORRES, Entrepreneur (through translator):
There are countries where the government has
an infrastructure to support the citizens
through something like this, right, to send
them home, and only worry about taking care
of their family and their health. Many of
us don't have that support.
NICK SCHIFRIN: And the government wasn't strong
enough to resist American pressure in an entire
industry near the U.S. border, the factories
where Mexican workers make parts for American
companies.
After the government tried to close them,
hundreds of American business leaders wrote,
they produced essential products and should
stay open with social distancing and should
stay open with social distancing and personal
protective equipment.
And U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Christopher
Landau tweeted in Spanish, "You don't have
workers if you close all the companies and
they go elsewhere."
Some factories never closed at all. And this
man's mother caught COVID and died.
MAN (through translator): The company never
sent her home. The company never, ever cared
about her health. My mother and the other
workers should have gone home as soon as they
issued the federal decree.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Outside a factory complex,
an activist filmed workers so desperate to
earn money, they said they were too scared
to reveal dangerous conditions.
WOMAN (through translator): There have been
cases in this plant already. And nobody says
anything, out of fear.
Seat belts for a golf cart. They are claiming
that they make seat belts for ambulances and
for medical use. That is a big lie.
NICK SCHIFRIN: These videos were filmed by
labor lawyer Susana Prieto Terrazas, who urged
workers to walk out of factories not taking
COVID-19 seriously.
SUSANA PRIETO TERRAZAS, Labor Lawyer and Activist
(through translator): They are pretending
they are complying with sanitary regulations
when there are inspections.
And when the inspector leaves, they make all
the workers work shoulder to shoulder, side
by side, with a massive risk of contagion.
NICK SCHIFRIN: A few days later, Terrazas
posted this video, as she was arrested. She
was charged with inciting riots. She sat for
this interview before being arrested.
SUSANA PRIETO TERRAZAS (through translator):
I think U.S. companies behaved as unscrupulous
as they have always have. It demonstrated
the lack of authority of the president and
his Cabinet and the indifference of American
businessmen and politicians who have influence
in this country.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard
insisted, the government ignored American
pressure and stuck to its own reopening schedule.
MARCELO EBRARD, Mexican Foreign Minister (through
translator): We're in a global value chain,
but Mexico's priority is the health and protection
of the sick people. Mexico will follow its
calendar.
NICK SCHIFRIN: But the Mexican government
has also failed to resist U.S. pressure here
in camps near the U.S. border.
Central American migrants live in flimsy tents
cramped close together because of the Trump
administration's remain-in-Mexico statute.
They apply for asylum in the U.S., but have
to wait here, the policy accepted by the Mexican
government.
And just last week, an asylum seeker in this
camp caught COVID.
Twenty-three-year-old Yolanda fled from gang
violence in Guatemala. She now fears disease.
YOLANDA, Asylum Seeker From Guatemala (through
translator): I am afraid, especially when
they distribute the food. The people from
outside who come in never wear face masks.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Elcias Joel is also from Guatemala.
ELCIAS JOEL, Asylum Seeker From Guatemala
(through translator): We are exposed not only
to coronavirus, but to many diseases. We are
not living in ideal hygienic conditions. We
live in fear because we are here, and we don't
know when this nightmare will end.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Mexico's coronavirus nightmare
has been scary and deadly.
Mexicans have lost their faith in the government's
ability to contain COVID. And as high as the
fatality numbers are officially, the actual
number might be double.
For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Nick Schifrin.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And Nick will be back tomorrow
night in prime time at 10:00 p.m. on PBS with
a "PBS NewsHour Presents" documentary, "China:
Power and Prosperity," built from more than
a year-and-a-half of reporting both inside
China and from five continents.
Nick and his team examine the rise of China
and the new global confrontation with the
U.S.
Here's a quick preview.
QUESTION: Why do you keep calling this the
Chinese virus?
DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States:
It comes from China.
MAN: Cooperation is the only correct choice
for the United States.
MAN: We believe in democracy, but they believe
in suppression.
NICK SCHIFRIN: If the government asked for
the data, would you have to turn it over?
WOMAN: No.
WOMAN: In no other country have you had such
a great amount of change in such a short amount
of time.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Welcome to China.
JUDY WOODRUFF: That is tomorrow night to watch
on PBS at 10:00.
And that is the "NewsHour" for tonight. I'm
Judy Woodruff.
Join us online and again here tomorrow evening.
For all of us at the "PBS NewsHour," thank
you, please stay safe, and we'll see you soon.
