JUDY WOODRUFF: Good evening. I'm Judy Woodruff.
On the "NewsHour" tonight: The federal government grapples with the fallout from COVID-19. New
York state sets up a containment zone. And more schools across the country send students
home.
Then: Voters in six states head to the polls, as Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders battle it
out for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Plus: coronavirus and the crown -- to a United Kingdom preparing for the outbreak, where
reactions range from the scrupulous to the skeptical.
GORDON ROBINSON, Mental Health Worker: Football's got to continue. You can't stop things. You
cannot stop your way of living because of a virus that's only killed a few people at
this moment in time.
JUDY WOODRUFF: All that and more on tonight's "PBS NewsHour."
(BREAK)
JUDY WOODRUFF: We have two big stories tonight.
We will get to the latest on the coronavirus and the government's response to the spread
across the U.S.
But, first, voters in six states went to the polls, as the race for the Democratic nomination
narrows between Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders.
Here are the results that we are able to share at this hour.
In Michigan, the most contested state in this election tonight, Joe Biden now the projected
winner. Polls have just closed in the state of Michigan.
In Mississippi, Joe Biden also the projected winner.
And in North Dakota, the caucus there closed an hour ago, the results still coming in.
And voting continues for two more hours in Idaho and in Washington state.
There is no question, though, that the state of Michigan is the crown Jewel of this election
night. Both Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders have put considerable time and resources toward
the Great Lakes State.
So that is where we will begin tonight.
Christy McDonald has been following the Michigan primary. She's a reporter and anchor for our
partners at Detroit Public TV.
So, Christy, the -- we are able to project that Joe Biden is the winner. What do you
attribute it to? You have been following. You have been talking to voters throughout.
CHRISTY MCDONALD, Detroit Public Television: Yes, this is really a blow for Bernie Sanders.
He was trying to build on what he was able to do here in Michigan four years ago, Judy.
But from the voters that we have been talking to in the last several weeks, and especially
since we saw, Super Tuesday, a lot of the candidates get out of the race and coalesce
around Joe Biden, was, who was going to be able to beat Donald Trump in November?
They share a lot of the same feelings, the voters do, about health care, importance there,
the economy, wage stagnation. But, again, everyone is really rallying around the thought
of, we have had three-and-a-half years of a President Trump administration. Who can
beat him in November?
JUDY WOODRUFF: Do you have an understanding, Christy, from talking to voters who supported
Bernie Sanders four years ago, when he did pull out a win over Hillary Clinton? It was
narrow, but he won.
What's happened to that support for him?
CHRISTY MCDONALD: Well, what happened in 2016 in Michigan, it's a very different Michigan
now in 2020.
You have seen a flip in 2018. We took back two congressional seats -- the Democrats did.
And then you saw a Democratic governor come in, as well as a Democratic secretary of state
and attorney general.
And so there has been a real shift in the mind-set here. And it's really looking more
towards electability. So, when they say, Joe Biden, he has been there through the test
of time, he's been here a long time in the Democratic Party, is he going to be the one
who's going to be able to take on Donald Trump and win and end a Trump presidency after four
years?
Bernie Sanders, while he -- again, we talk about how many of the young demographic, the
18 to 35, are big supporters of Bernie Sanders, but he wasn't able to build upon that. He
also has a lot of outreach for Hispanic voters and also for Muslim Americans, who live here
in the state of Michigan, but he wasn't able to expand upon that base.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Christy McDonald, reporting for us from Detroit.
Christy, thank you so much.
CHRISTY MCDONALD: Mm-hmm.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And now on to Mississippi.
It's the only Southern state holding a contest today. Southern states that voted on Super
Tuesday broke for Joe Biden over Bernie Sanders.
And the Associated Press, as we said, is projecting tonight that Mississippi is following suit.
Adam Ganucheau is following the primary there. He is a political reporter for the nonprofit
newsroom at Mississippi Today.
Adam, based on what you see, how do you explain the big win of -- evidently, the big win for
Joe Biden?
ADAM GANUCHEAU, Mississippi Today: Sure.
Like I said earlier in the evening, Mississippi's Democratic primary electorate is close to
75 percent African-American. African-Americans in this state, because, I think, of their
trust in former President Barack Obama and, because of that trust, their trust in former
Vice President Joe Biden, I think that went a long way in this race.
Looking at some exit polls that were conducted, it looks like Joe Biden got roughly 84 percent
of the African-American vote in Mississippi. So, again, knowing that the African-American
electorate makes up three-fourths or close to three-fourths of that Democratic primary
electorate, I think that kind of explains it all here.
JUDY WOODRUFF: It was interesting that Bernie Sanders had a campaign event scheduled in
Mississippi, and he canceled it in order to head to Michigan.
ADAM GANUCHEAU: That's right, yes.
I think a lot of people in the state, when Senator Sanders decided to cancel that visit,
and instead go to Michigan to try to pick up some of the heavy primary voters there,
a lot of people in Mississippi resented that. They thought -- they thought of that as sort
of disrespect in a lot of ways. And that certainly didn't help, I don't think, any rise in Sanders'
candidacy, specifically within that African-American community in Mississippi.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And we should say, Adam, that as much as Joe Biden may be celebrating about
Mississippi tonight, it's a tough hill for him to climb in November, when he's -- if
he's the nominee, up against President Trump.
ADAM GANUCHEAU: That's right.
Here in Mississippi, this is a ruby-red state. It's one of President Trump's strongholds
of any state in the country. This is, like I said, a conservative state. We will definitely
on -- in November, early November, we will be having a conversation about just how well
President Trump did here, undoubtedly.
But, look, I think there are still -- in Mississippi, even, there are moderate voters who may have
not necessarily appreciated some of what President Trump has done in his first three-and-a-half
years in office.
And, certainly, as this year progresses, we will see what happens. But sure, this is certainly
a stronghold for President Trump. And that will play out in November.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Adam Ganucheau with Mississippi Today, thank you, Adam.
And now to Missouri, one of the closest primary contests of the 2016 election cycle. Bernie
Sanders lost the Democratic primary there to eventual nominee Hillary Clinton by less
than half of a percentage point.
Tonight, the Associated Press is projecting that Joe Biden will prevail over Sanders in
Missouri this year.
So, Jason Rosenbaum has been following the contest, a political correspondent for St.
Louis Public Radio.
Jason, it's the Show Me State. What is it that Joe Biden showed to the voters?
JASON ROSENBAUM, St. Louis Public Radio: He showed that Bernie Sanders' campaign for president
may have ended tonight.
And that may seem like hyperbole, but the fact that the Associated Press called Missouri
within two or three minutes, when it was only, as you mentioned, less than a half-a-percentage
point in 2016, showcases that Sanders could not build on the coalition he had in 2016,
and that voters in Missouri and other places that are considered either Midwestern or Southern
states are going toward the former vice president's column.
This is a huge triumph for Biden, and a big psychological defeat for Bernie Sanders.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And we should say that this call was made with just -- it looks like,
from what we were just showing there on the map, just 4 percent of the precincts reporting.
But that means the interviews with voters today and the days leading up to today's vote
strongly suggest that Joe Biden is way out front.
What were voters telling you in the -- Jason, in the days leading up to the primary about
what mattered to them the most as they cast their ballots?
JASON ROSENBAUM: It all came down to which candidate will stack up best against President
Donald Trump.
Missouri is probably not going to be the battleground state it was in 2000, 2004, 2008. But Missouri
Democrats here need a better top-of-the-ticket person than Hillary Clinton. When Hillary
Clinton was at the top of the ticket in 2016, she lost the state by nearly 20 percentage
points.
And that doomed down-ballot candidates like Chris Koster for governor and Jason Kander
for Senate. People like state Auditor Nicole Galloway, who's going to be running in a competitive
race for governor against incumbent Governor Mike Parson,s need someone like Joe Biden
to close that gap in order to win.
So, even though Missouri is not the battleground it used to be, the result tonight, I think,
is heartening for a lot of Missouri Democrats.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Jason Rosenbaum, St. Louis Public Radio, we thank you.
JASON ROSENBAUM: Thank you.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And all the way out West to Washington state, where voters are still able
to submit their ballots for a little more than an hour-and-a-half. It has the second
biggest pot of delegates up for grabs on this election night.
And Donna Blankinship is keeping track of the primary there. She is the political editor
at KCTS-9 Crosscut. That is the PBS member station based in Seattle.
Donna, when you and I spoke earlier this evening, you were telling me about what voters were
confronted with -- it's a state with mail-in ballots. Earlier in this contest, you had
a number of candidates running, most of whom have dropped out, presenting a dilemma for
a lot of voters.
DONNA BLANKINSHIP, KCTS-9 Crosscut: Right.
I just talked to a bunch of voters yesterday. And they said that they had to make their
second or third choice when they ended up voting. Some of them voted before the candidates
dropped out. So, that's why our pollster thinks -- one of the reasons our pollster thinks
that Joe Biden is probably going to win this election in Washington.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And we also have spoken, Donna, about the fact that Washington state had caucuses,
as well as a primary beauty contest four years ago. This year is just the primary.
DONNA BLANKINSHIP: Right.
JUDY WOODRUFF: How does that affect, do you think, Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders in this
contest?
DONNA BLANKINSHIP: Well, it gives us a wider view of what the voters in Washington are
thinking.
The caucuses attracted a small, select group of voters. And a primary has always been more
people showing up. That means that Washington, which has a variety of Democrats in our state,
will -- all their voices will be heard this time.
So it's more likely -- I would just be speculating, I guess that the tendency is to go toward
more a moderate choice. That's probably why Hillary Clinton won the primary last time
around, four years ago, and Bernie Sanders won the caucuses.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Donna Blankinship with KCTS, thank you. We know you are, you and all your
colleagues, dealing so much these days with the coronavirus outbreak which has hit Washington
state so hard.
Donna, thank you very much.
DONNA BLANKINSHIP: Thank you. Thanks for your time.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And now to look at what it all means for the big 2020 picture, I'm here
with Amy Walter of The Cook Political Report, and host of public radio's "Politics With
Amy Walter," and our own Lisa Desjardins.
So, hello to both of you.
You have had all of, what, 10 minutes to digest all of this.
(LAUGHTER)
JUDY WOODRUFF: Amy, what does it all up to, three big calls already for Joe Biden?
AMY WALTER, The Cook Political Report: Three big wins, right.
There was a tidal wave that started on Super Tuesday for Joe Biden. The question was, could
that wave keep coming in for him? And the answer, obviously, is yes.
And it is propelled by his big wins in almost every single demographic category.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And what does that mean, Lisa?
LISA DESJARDINS: Well, I mean, I think we're seeing him win urban, suburban, rural, men,
women, black, white, so far tonight.
I also want to give us an update on the delegate count, where we are right now, with these
races called. Right now, Joe Biden, the former vice president, has, according to our count,
715 delegates, Bernie Sanders 584, of course, both a long way off from the 1,991.
But it is that trajectory, the margins that Biden is stacking up that make it harder for
Bernie Sanders.
AMY WALTER: That's right. That's right.
JUDY WOODRUFF: So, those are the numbers of delegates you expect Biden to have at the
end of this evening. Is that right? Or as of...
LISA DESJARDINS: I believe including the calls that we have made right now, as of right now.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Including the calls right now.
AMY WALTER: The statewide...
JUDY WOODRUFF: But, Amy, when you say winning every voter group, including young people,
which has been Bernie Sanders' strong...
(CROSSTALK)
AMY WALTER: He hasn't won young people.
Here's a statistic I think is really important. Looking at Missouri, a state that, as you
pointed out, was very, very close last time, Hillary Clinton narrowly winning it, in 2016,
young voters made 45 percent of the electorate, according to the exit polls.
This year, the Associated Press voter survey, young voters are only 37 percent, Bernie Sanders
winning them by 24 percent. That's a big -- that's a big number. But he won them by 33 percent
in 2016.
Older voters -- I hate that they call everybody over 45 older, by the way -- but, anyway,
voters over the age of 45 make up almost two-thirds of the electorate.
LISA DESJARDINS: Look at that.
AMY WALTER: And look at how big of a win Joe Biden there -- more than 50 points.
So, losing younger voters, but not by as big of a margin as he's winning older voters.
JUDY WOODRUFF: A lot of ways to slice and dice this electorate.
Lisa, what else are you looking at here.
LISA DESJARDINS: Oh, I think watching Michigan is going to be fascinating, not just for the
-- for this primary race. but, of course, for November. What does the Democratic coalition
look like? Can they beat Trump in that state?
JUDY WOODRUFF: For sure. For sure.
I'm looking at graphics in front of you that are all about urban and rural. And there's
so much to look at.
(LAUGHTER)
LISA DESJARDINS: Yes.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Lisa Desjardins, Amy Walter, thank you both.
AMY WALTER: You're welcome.
LISA DESJARDINS: You're welcome.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And we would ask you to please join us at 11:00 p.m. Eastern for our special
live coverage of these election results as they continue to come in.
On the COVID-19 front tonight, the U.S. death toll rises to 30, with more than 800 confirmed
cases. That is up from than one-third from yesterday.
Officials order new cancellations, closures and quarantines. Congress and the president
huddle on softening the economic blow. The Biden and Sanders campaigns cancel rallies
tonight in Ohio. And the stock market recovers half of its losses from a day earlier.
Amna Nawaz begins our coverage.
AMNA NAWAZ: After Monday's steep sell-off, signs of recovery on Wall Street, as investors
reacted to new efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19, in New York, some of the strongest
measures yet.
GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): It is a dramatic action, but it is the largest cluster in the
country.
AMNA NAWAZ: Governor Andrew Cuomo sent the National Guard into New Rochelle, outside
New York City, and closed schools and businesses in a one-mile radius for two weeks.
GOV. ANDREW CUOMO: New Rochelle has more than double the cases of New York City. I mean,
it's true. It's a phenomenon.
AMNA NAWAZ: Also today, North Carolina joined Colorado in imposing a statewide emergency.
In all, more than two-thirds of states in the U.S. now have confirmed cases of the novel
coronavirus, with the majority in Washington state.
In Olympia, Governor Jay Inslee warned that more cases are coming, raising the risk for
seniors.
GOV. JAY INSLEE (D-WA): Remind them that this is not a time to exposing themselves to large
groups of people in confined spaces.
AMNA NAWAZ: And in Oakland, California, some 2,000 passengers waited in turn to leave the
docked grand Princess Cruise ship and enter quarantine.
Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., President Trump met with insurance executives and pledged
to help the struggling airline and cruise industries.
Later, he met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill, as they weigh any legislative next steps,
still days from coming together.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): Well, there are going to be a number of different things considered
in putting together this package, which, as I said before, I hope ends up being a bipartisan,
bicameral-negotiated way forward that will reassure others.
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): This shouldn't be a partisan issue. We want to solve the
problem. We're ready to work with the administration on a coordinated, government-wide, focused
plan to respond to the coronavirus.
AMNA NAWAZ: Among the options under consideration, payroll tax relief, help for hourly wage workers,
and making testing and treatment more affordable.
The president also addressed questions about his own health, after contact with lawmakers
now under self-quarantine.
DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States: I feel extremely good. I feel very good, but
I guess it's not a big deal to get tested. And it's something I would do.
But, again, spoke to the White House doctor, terrific guy, talented guy. He said he sees
no reason to do it. There's no symptoms, no anything.
AMNA NAWAZ: One of those lawmakers? Republican Representative Mark Meadows of North Carolina,
tapped to be White House chief of staff. He was exposed to the virus at a Washington area
conference last week, and announced he would self-isolate as a precaution, even though
he tested negative.
The availability of testing kits led to questions today in a hearing with the director of the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
DR. ROBERT REDFIELD, Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Any physician
that feels there's a need, or public health person, can order that test. But it was a
series of going through that regulatory process to get that test available.
REP. ROSA DELAURO (D-CT): But I think the conclusion is that we are behind the curve
in testing, when South Korea can test 10,000 people in a day.
AMNA NAWAZ: Overseas, the streets of Rome lay quiet, as a nationwide travel ban took
effect in Italy, hard-hit by the virus.
SILVANA, Rome Resident (through translator): This is the best thing the government could
do, because people were not respecting the rules. A stronger decision was needed to counter
the situation.
AMNA NAWAZ: At train stations, masked police officers checked documents for all passengers,
who had to justify their travel. Poland announced health checks for travelers crossing its border
from Germany. And Austria conducted similar checks along its border with Italy.
In China, President Xi Jinping toured Wuhan, the epicenter of the original outbreak, and
said the worst there was over.
XI JINPING, Chinese President (through translator): I extend greetings and thanks to you and to
all the community workers nationwide, including those fighting on the front line.
AMNA NAWAZ: And, in South Korea, the number of new cases fell to its lowest level in almost
two weeks.
Back in the U.S., the markets endured ups and downs, but finished the day finished higher,
despite the uncertainty of where the virus will move next.
For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Amna Nawaz.
JUDY WOODRUFF: In the end, Wall Street recovered about half of its record losses from Monday.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 1,167 points to close back above 25000. The Nasdaq
rose nearly 400 points, and the S&P 500 added 135.
All of this as hopes build for a major economic stimulus package from Washington.
We get more now on the federal government's response now with our Lisa Desjardins and
Yamiche Alcindor.
So, Yamiche, to you first.
What are the options that the president is looking at? What are you hearing at the White
House?
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Well, the president is looking for the fastest possible economic response
to the coronavirus.
And he's looking at two tracks, first, what he can do individually through some sort of
national emergency declaration in the next week or so, and he's also looking at working
with Congress and negotiating some sort of larger legislative bill.
On what he can do himself, he's looking at some sort of executive action where he would
be able to do a couple things, including giving small businesses loans. He also wants to try
to give some sort of financial relief to hourly workers that have already lost paychecks because
they had to be -- they had to self-quarantine or because they had the coronavirus.
The other thing he's looking at is trying to defer tax payments, so that, if you owe
the government money, you might have between 90 to 180 days to pay the government, which
would put a little bit more money in your pocket short-term.
Then he's looking at Congress for a payroll tax cut. That would be some -- some are saying
between 2 percent. That would be what President Obama did in 2010. Larry Kudlow is in the
White House right now briefing as I speak. He's saying that this would be something that
would last through the end of the year.
But the president is gearing up for a fight with Democrats on the Hill, because some Democrats
are already saying that this is a tax cut that looks something like possibly the 2017
tax cut that they say benefited the wealthy people and not working-class individuals.
So the president is looking at two things to try to figure out how to stem the economic
issues that are coming with this virus.
JUDY WOODRUFF: So, Lisa, it's true that there are some different ideas in the Congress.
LISA DESJARDINS: Right.
Yamiche and I were a team reporting on the Hill today. And I think we can safely say
that there are a lot of ideas, but not yet a clear focus. Democrats and some Republicans
are skeptical of this pay tax -- payroll tax cut, because that payroll tax comes and helps
Social Security and Medicare.
Seems to be warming up today. But that kind of 2 percent cut would be over $100 billion
in spending. Marco Rubio told me he thinks this whole package could be $300 billion,
if it's a larger payroll tax cut. We're talking about very big dollars here, Judy.
Other ideas floating today Republicans, three of them, senators, raised the idea of including
a highway infrastructure bill as part of this. That's something others think is not related
at all.
But if you're talking about economic stimulus, it enters the picture. The point here is that
there are a lot of ideas. They don't yet have a real handle on what exactly will help the
workers who probably will need it the most.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, no doubt, Yamiche, the White House trying to deal with concerns,
rising concerns, on the part of the American people and fears.
I mean, the death toll is going up. The number of cases is going up exponentially.
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: That's right.
And White House officials just now said that it's guaranteed that the numbers of deaths
and the number of cases in coronavirus will be going up.
Now, today, President Trump, when he was visiting the Hill, was playing sort of calmer in chief.
Here's what he had to say:
DONALD TRUMP: We're prepared. And we're doing a great job with it. And it will go away.
Just stay calm. It will go away. We want to protect our shipping industry, our cruise
industry, cruise ships.
We want to protect our airline industry, very important. But everybody has to be vigilant
and has to be careful, but be calm. It's really working out.
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: So, there again is the president trying to be calmer in chief. He's trying
to tell people, calm down, take a deep breath, things are going to get better.
But, of course, the issue is, of course, that the president has contradicted some of the
health officials working for his own administration. He said at one point that there was going
to be a miracle, that the cases were going to go down. He was on Capitol Hill today shaking
hands, which is what health officials have said Americans should try not to do.
They should be washing their hands very vehemently and very frequently. But the president has
been saying other things. But, today, he did acknowledge that the cases will go up. But
when he was asked about the cases possibly reaching to 100 million Americans infected,
he didn't tamper that down.
Instead, he said: I have seen a lot of different numbers, and I'm just telling people the risks
continue to be low.
JUDY WOODRUFF: So, Lisa, right now, what is it, seven members of Congress have been under
quarantine?
How is the Capitol doing in terms of dealing with all this?
LISA DESJARDINS: That, again, is a very mixed picture.
When you talk to senators, some of them are even joking about this. I spoke to Senator
Pat Roberts and his aide. He said, I'd like to self quarantine at Mar-a-Lago.
So he's trying in some sense to walk this line of not increasing panic. But, also, many
staffers, Judy, say they're not taking this seriously enough at the Capitol.
While I saw some senators using their elbow to hit an elevator button, the truth is, they're
not really changing their patterns very much. There are a few, fewer handshakes, some travel,
like going to NATO next week. Some senators are not going there.
But there are more serious considerations going on as well, Judy. I can report from
multiple sources that the sergeant at arms at the Senate is looking at trying to find
an alternate location, should the Capitol itself be seen as not a healthy place for
senators to meet.
That is normal in this kind of situation. But that tells you how high the issue has
risen at this point.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Interesting, in the wake of Speaker Pelosi saying, we're going to keep
going, no matter what.
LISA DESJARDINS: That's right. That's right. They just want a backup plan.
And also want to note, quickly, on the Biden and Sanders campaign canceling their events
in Ohio, that is because Ohio announced their first cases of coronavirus today. Joe Biden,
we expect to speak in Philadelphia instead tonight. So this is having that political
effect that we expected.
JUDY WOODRUFF: For sure.
Lisa Desjardins, Yamiche Alcindor, thank you.
A small, but growing number of schools around the country are shutting their doors to try
to stem the spread of the coronavirus. That includes a number of colleges and universities.
It's just a fraction of public elementary and high schools. But, so far, more than 620
schools have closed or are scheduled to close, affecting more than 430,000 students.
Washington state was the early epicenter in the U.S.
And John Yang has a look at one of the school districts there that decided to take this
step.
JOHN YANG: The Northshore School District, north of Seattle in Washington state, has
shifted all its classes for its more than 23,500 students from brick-and-mortar classrooms
to the Internet for at least two weeks.
Michelle Reid is the superintendent of the Northshore School District. She joins us from
Seattle.
Superintendent Reid, thanks so much for being with us.
In your letter to parents explaining this decision, you said that: "We are no longer
able to provide quality instruction and maintain an environment that is safe for our staff
and students to learn."
What led you to that conclusion? ®MD+IT¯®MD-IT¯
MICHELLE REID, Superintendent, Northshore School District: Well, there are several issues.
Northshore is uniquely situated, with two counties and three cities, and within our
two counties, we have the highest number of coronavirus-identified cases and deaths in
the United States.
We also had a significant number of staff that met the four criteria for at risk. So
I really could no longer safely open and operate school without quality staff supporting the
educational process in a brick-and-mortar campus.
We also had escalating absentee rates, up to 20 percent just prior to us making the
decision to transition school from the classroom to the cloud.
And it's our first day. We were only at 500 students not able to log again. Therefore,
we actually are at a 2 percent absence rate.
JOHN YANG: How does this actually work? Students log in on their computers at home, and what
happens?
MICHELLE REID: So, we're -- it's an online platform we're utilizing.
So we actually a daily schedule for students. And there are times that they log in for classes
and their discussion boards. And the teachers have been working really hard and our support
professionals to provide lessons and content that is sent in some cases by video and others
by attached documents and discussion boards, so that we're able to maintain our Northshore
quality of education during this health crisis.
JOHN YANG: Was there an issue with students who didn't have a computer or didn't have
Internet service at home?
MICHELLE REID: Absolutely.
We are a district that has a lot of resources that not all communities and districts have.
We have received approximately 4,000 requests for computer devices and about 300 requests
for mobile hot spots, which we have been able to meet.
And I also think it underscores a broader national conversation about equity and access
to technology and the Internet and students' access dependent still on their zip code in
this country.
So, hopefully, when this health crisis passes, it's a conversation we can take up in earnest.
JOHN YANG: In your letter to the parents, you also said that education is a service,
it is not a place.
But there are certain things that are provided at that place that the service is usually
provided. For instance, I know that 15 percent of your students qualify for free or reduced
lunches.
You obviously have students who require -- have special needs, and there are certain families
that have child care issues during the day for younger students in particular. What happens
or what are you doing about those students?
MICHELLE REID: Well, so, let me be clear that overriding all of those concerns are the health
and safety of our students and staff and our ability to slow the spread of this coronavirus,
whereas social distancing has been the recommendation number one for us.
Having said that, we have gotten a team together. And we are providing food today to those students
who have asked for food. We're doing at four brick-and-mortar sites and also delivering
to 16 remote school sites.
So, all students and families who want or need food as -- or rely on the schools for
food are able to procure food. The same with child care. We're going to be supporting community
sites for child care for those families who require it, as long as we can maintain that
in a health -- healthy and safe way.
So we're trying to continue to provide those services, while we take care of our professional
educators and support staff and students by keeping them safe with a social distancing
plan.
JOHN YANG: You said that this is initially going to be for two weeks.
At the end of the two weeks, how do you decide whether to go back to the brick-and-mortar
classroom?
MICHELLE REID: We're going to be evaluating that on a day-to-day basis. We will continue
to look at our data and the fact pattern locally and nationally, and we will make those decisions
as they come.
Our ability to move from classroom to cloud and back is going to enable us to continue
to be nimble in our decision-making. And we're providing parents daily communication, as
well as students.
JOHN YANG: Michelle Reid, superintendent of the Northshore School District in Washington
state, thank you very much.
MICHELLE REID: Thank you.
JUDY WOODRUFF: A federal appeals court has ordered the U.S. Justice Department to hand
over grand jury testimony from the special counsel's Russia investigation. A three-judge
panel ruled 2-1 today that House Democrats are entitled to the material as part of continuing
investigations of President Trump.
The case could end up before the U.S. Supreme Court.
In Moscow, Russia's Parliament laid out a path today for President Vladimir Putin to
stay in power. Existing law requires him to step down when his latest six-year term ends
in 2024. But lawmakers approved a constitutional amendment to change that. Putin welcomed the
move.
VLADIMIR PUTIN, Russian President (through translator): Technically, today, we could
lift the presidential term limits. Such precedents exist in other countries, including our neighbors.
In principle, this option would be possible, if the Constitutional Court gives an official
ruling that such an amendment wouldn't contradict the principles and main provisions of the
constitution.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Putin is 67 years old. He has been Russia's leader for more than 20 years.
If voters approve the proposed constitutional amendment next month, he could stay in power
until 2036.
The U.S. general who is overseeing the Middle East warned today that Taliban attacks on
Afghan forces have to let up, or U.S. forces may not withdraw as agreed. Marine General
Frank McKenzie said that the militants must keep their part of a bargain that calls for
cutting U.S. troop levels from 13,000 to about 8,600 by summer.
He spoke at a U.S. House hearing that was livestreamed.
GEN. FRANK MCKENZIE, Commander, U.S. Central Command: They are continuing attacks. Those
attacks are relatively low in scale. They are not directed against coalition forces.
They are not occurring in city centers. They are occurring at isolated checkpoints, but
those attacks are occurring. And they are not consistent with a movement toward a negotiated
settlement.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Meanwhile, Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani, signed a decree for the release
of 1,500 Taliban prisoners. It is to begin within four days.
And retired Army General Jack Keane received the Presidential Medal of Freedom today. It's
the nation's highest civilian honor. President Trump presented the medal in a White House
ceremony. Keane had once served as the army's vice chief of staff.
Still to come on the "NewsHour": after Brexit, the United Kingdom prepares for its next crisis:
the coronavirus; and much more.
We return now to COVID-19, and to Britain, where, so far, the virus has killed six people
there; 370 people are infected and quarantined.
The British government is watching developments in Italy, amid fears that levels of infection
could rise dramatically, and soon.
But as special correspondent Malcolm Brabant reports, for the time being, the attitude
in Britain is very much, keep calm and carry on.
MALCOLM BRABANT (singing): God save our gracious queen. Long live our noble queen.
I haven't suddenly become super patriotic because of Brexit, but I'm following, to the
letter, the instructions from Britain's prime minister.
BORIS JOHNSON, British Prime Minister: The best single thing we can do is wash our hands,
two verses of the national anthem or happy birthday, hot water, bar of soap.
Two verses.
MALCOLM BRABANT: After winning the general election three months ago, Boris Johnson's
main leadership challenge was to negotiate post-Brexit trade deals.
But now his premiership is being tested by war with an invisible enemy that threatens
both the health and wealth of the nation.
BORIS JOHNSON: If we continue to look out for one another, to pull together in a united
and national effort, I have no doubt that we can and will rise to that challenge.
MALCOLM BRABANT: Currently, the government is trying to contain the virus, and has postponed
measures such as establishing exclusion zones to delay its spread.
But more stringent controls are coming, says Chris Whitty, the government's chief medical
adviser.
CHRIS WHITTY, Chief British Medical Officer: So, we are now very close to the time, probably
within the next 10 to 14 days, when the modeling would imply we should move to a situation
where we say, everybody who has even minor respiratory tract infections or a fever should
be self-isolating for seven days afterwards.
MALCOLM BRABANT: That means anyone with a cough or cold will be obliged to stay home.
The government has guaranteed that sick pay will kick in from day one, instead of the
usual day four.
But what about financially vulnerable groups?
ROBERT DINGWALL, Sociologist: How do you self-isolate if you're in precarious employment? How do
you self-isolate if you're too poor to have sufficient stocks of food in the House?
MALCOLM BRABANT: Sociologist Robert Dingwall advises the government on morality and the
ethics of its emergency planning.
ROBERT DINGWALL: Essentially, if the government is going to ask people to self-isolate, the
government has to take responsibility for the consequences of that.
And that's in terms of ensuring those people have an income, that they have access to food,
they have access to other services that they might need during that period of self-isolation.
You can't just ask for the self-isolation on its own.
MALCOLM BRABANT: For now, Britain has decided not to follow Italy, where soccer matches
have taken place in empty stadiums.
At Derby County, attendance at the latest game was above average. The club's mascot
was tactile, despite advice to reduce human contact. Here, 130 miles north of London,
characteristic British stoicism was on prominent display.
GORDON ROBINSON, Mental Health Worker: Football's got to continue. You can't stop things. You
cannot stop your way of living because of a virus that's only killed a few people at
this moment in time.
STACEY GOODWIN, Warehouse Worker: For me, the media is blowing it all out of proportion.
They're making a mountain out of a molehill. They're causing people to panic-buy. And,
yes, me, I'm not worried.
MARGARET EDWARDS, Soccer Fan: I know, with me being older, you see, they're talking about
stopping older people from coming because they're more vulnerable to it. But I have
had all sorts over my life. If I have got to go, I have got to go.
SHIRLEY COX, Postal Worker: People are starting to panic. When we went to Sainsbury's yesterday,
you couldn't get a toilet roll. People are stockpiling already. What does it say about
Britain? Well, we go into panic mode too easily, I think.
MALCOLM BRABANT: The latest British obsession with hoarding toilet paper puzzles some, because
the virus impacts the respiratory, and not other systems.
The disappearance of hand sanitizers from shelves is more understandable. Retailers
have insisted that they have enough supplies and will restock. But shoppers don't appear
reassured.
SIR SIMON WESSELY, Behavioral Scientist: I hate that phrase panic buying.
MALCOLM BRABANT: Sir Simon Wessely is a leading psychiatrist and expert in mass hysteria.
He's one of the behavioral scientists advising the government how to best handle the crisis.
SIR SIMON WESSELY: You would have to be an idiot not to go and get essential supplies,
toilet paper, dog food, et cetera. I have done both of those myself.
So this isn't panic buying. This is a rational decision by people thinking, I might be stuck
in my house for 14 days.
MALCOLM BRABANT: But in an age of individualism, of diminishing community spirit, coupled with
skepticism of authority figures, could the public revolt against future tougher measures?
SIR SIMON WESSELY: In general, I think the public have already shown that they will follow
instructions, so long as they understand them, so long as they are given clearly, and so
long as the purpose is there, particularly if, instead of frightening people that if
you don't we will send you to prison or fine you, but, actually, if you do this, you are
helping the common good, you are protecting your relatives, you're protecting the sick
and the vulnerable.
MALCOLM BRABANT: Britain's royal family is playing its part. There was no handshaking
at Westminster Abbey for a service notable as the last official engagement of Prince
Harry and his American wife, Meghan Markle, who are withdrawing from royal duties.
The queen's heir, Prince Charles, proffered an Eastern greeting. But for such gatherings
to continue, Britain needs to amend the lyrics of its national anthem to still send her victorious,
but over a new foe.
For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Malcolm Brabant in London.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Students of today's politics are often looking for echoes in history that
inform our present.
A new book explores a chapter in American history with relevance to today that you may
not know very much about. It is a story of how the illegitimate son of an immigrant rose
to become the Republican Party's first presidential nominee in 1856, with a lot of help from his
wife.
Lisa Desjardins has the latest edition of "NewsHour" Bookshelf.
LISA DESJARDINS: In the mid-1840s, the United States was undergoing immense expansion, expanding
its borders into the uncharted West in what was characterized as America's Manifest Destiny.
A new book explores that era through the story of John C. Fremont, a wilderness explorer
turned politician, and his wife, Jessie. Together, they became the country's first celebrity
power couple.
The book is "Imperfect Union: How Jessie and John Fremont Mapped the West, Invented Celebrity,
and Helped Cause the Civil War."
And it's by NPR's Steve Inskeep.
That's quite a lot in a subtitle.
(LAUGHTER)
STEVE INSKEEP, Author, "Imperfect Union: How Jessie and John Fremont Mapped the West, Invented
Celebrity, and Helped Cause the Civil War": It's a long title, but they had long lives
and fascinating lives, and were at the center of American history for a couple of decades
that I focus on in the 1840s and '50s, this period leading up to the Civil War.
LISA DESJARDINS: But I'm curious, why do a book about both of them?
STEVE INSKEEP: Because they were a team.
John C. Fremont was a Western explorer. He didn't actually discover that much that was
new. His accomplishment was making the West more famous and making it seem more alluring.
And so he would go back and write these bestselling accounts of his adventures, but he would write
them in collaboration with his wife, Jessie Benton Fremont.
She was the daughter of a senator who wanted to be involved in politics in a way that women
weren't supposed to be involved in politics. And she operated through her husband and became
a major political player. She is in some ways almost more interesting than he is.
LISA DESJARDINS: I want to talk about the decisions that John was making on the trail.
He made several voyages out into the West, as you say. Not all of this was undiscovered
territory, but harrowing journeys nonetheless. He risked many lives. Sometimes, he expended
lives on his journey.
And I'd be interested if you could read one of the excerpts.
STEVE INSKEEP: Yes.
This is after one of his nearly catastrophic decisions. John C. Fremont was in what was
called the Oregon Country. He decided the middle of winter would be a perfect time to
find a new trail across the American west.
LISA DESJARDINS: Of course.
STEVE INSKEEP: And his men got lost. They got stuck.
Fremont had risked his men's lives with little need, much as when he climbed the highest
point in the Rocky Mountains, which is another thing that he had done that was a needless
exploit for fame, really.
He'd done the same thing, except on a grander scale. Again, he got away with it, as persistence
and endurance overcame his erratic decisions. The experience shifted the orientation of
his life, because fate had momentarily brought him to California, a great stage, where he
sensed there would be more acts for him to play.
He accidentally discovered California. And I don't mean discovered it like the first
person to go there. I mean, he himself realized what it was, realized its potential, and resolved
to return, and ended up being seen as the conqueror, the American conqueror, of Mexican
California a couple of years later.
LISA DESJARDINS: There's so much in this book, but I do want to come back to the center of
Jessie...
STEVE INSKEEP: Yes.
LISA DESJARDINS: ... his wife, Jessie Fremont.
Can you tell me a little bit more about how she managed to make him a national hero, and
then catapult herself into a limelight like women had never been in before?
STEVE INSKEEP: Yes, it's an amazing story.
She was ambitious from a very young age. And she said: My father early gave me a place
a boy would have had.
And she would follow him hunting and follow him to the Senate. There was a point when
she grew up where this was no longer seen as appropriate. She eloped with this young
penniless Army lieutenant, this adventurous lieutenant.
And she would receive his letters from the West, and she would put it in the newspaper
and publicize what he was doing. After a while, she was writing letters herself that would
get published in the newspaper.
And this immediately began to publicize her. People would notice and comment that a woman
was commenting on politics.
LISA DESJARDINS: You also wrote an op-ed in The New York Times.
STEVE INSKEEP: Yes.
LISA DESJARDINS: And you're entitled it: "It's 1856 All Over Again."
I am intrigued. How? And what can we learn?
STEVE INSKEEP: One thing that is similar now and then is that the nation in the 1850s was
undergoing a great demographic change.
The country was divided in a way that can feel familiar to us. The division then was
between Northern states and Southern states, Northern states that had gradually abolished
slavery and Southern states that had ever more fervently embraced slavery. That was
the big divide.
And the demographic change was that the North was becoming much, much more populous, which,
in a democratic country, means the North was becoming more and more powerful. The reason
that should feel familiar today is, we are again going through a great demographic change
that is seen as benefiting one party, the Democrats, a little bit more than the other
party, the Republicans, and that can be destabilizing.
It creates fears on one side that they will be overwhelmed and not just lose an election,
but lose forever. And this is something that President Trump told his supporters when running
for office in 2016. He would tell them, this is your last chance, your last chance to save
the country before we're overwhelmed by immigrants.
Now we have Democrats who fear being shut out of power forever because of the way the
president governs the country in what they see as an authoritarian manner.
And that is something that leads to extreme politics, when people feel the stakes are
so very, very high. They are high now, just as people felt they were very, very high back
then.
LISA DESJARDINS: A time of high stakes, a very interesting look at the past and, as
you say, a little bit of present as well.
Steve Inskeep, thank you so much. Your book, "Imperfect Union."
We appreciate you talking with us.
STEVE INSKEEP: Thanks for reading.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Now 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.
Rural America has experienced a rebound of sorts in recent years. And many point to an
unexpected reason: the arts.
Jeffrey Brown has this encore report for our ongoing arts and culture series, Canvas.
JEFFREY BROWN: Friday night, hot jazz, but we're not in a flashy club in New York. This
is the VFW in the town of Grand Rapids in Northern Minnesota.
On the guitar, Sam Miltich, who grew up here and has performed in hundreds of venues around
the world, but this small stage is home.
SAM MILTICH, Jazz Guitarist: People thought I was kind of crazy to try and make a life
as a jazz musician in Northern Minnesota.
JEFFREY BROWN: Yes, it does sound a little crazy.
SAM MILTICH: It does sound a little crazy. And, actually, maybe it is a little bit crazy.
But the quality of life where I grew up was just so high. And I was, like, acutely aware
of how good that life was. And I wanted that life.
JEFFREY BROWN: And he's not alone, as we saw in the nearby performing arts center that
played host to a recent rural arts and culture summit and.
The summit is a biennial event held in different towns. This one brought together some 350
artists and community leaders from 25 states to exchange ideas, celebrate the role of creativity
in small towns, and fight a national narrative about rural America in decline.
LAURA ZABEL, Executive Director, Springboard for the Arts: That's a pretty simple way to
tell that story. And I think underlying that story is often this attitude of sort of, well,
why don't you just get over it or why don't you just move?
I think that kind of ignores the history and the complexity, and it often ignores all of
the people who are working really hard to make what's next for that community.
JEFFREY BROWN: Laura Zabel heads Springboard for the Arts, a Minnesota organization that
helps artists and organizations in both urban and rural areas and puts on the summit.
Where do you see the arts fitting in? What's the role of arts and artists?
LAURA ZABEL: They sort of have this ability to make meaning from -- sometimes from the
really hard parts of what it means to live in a rural community right now.
And I think that's necessary for a community to move forward, that, rather than just telling
people, get over it, people need outlets for their pain and their shame and their joy.
JEFFREY BROWN: The summit focuses on the practical side of succeeding in rural areas: There are
consultations for legal aid, economic planning and career advice.
With a dream of being a professional dancer, Molly Johnston left her hometown of Battle
Lake, Minnesota, with a population of less than 1,000, for college in Philadelphia.
She remembers thinking she wouldn't return until retirement.
MOLLY JOHNSTON, Co-Director, DanceBARN Collective: I was the first one out of town after graduation
ready to explore the world.
JEFFREY BROWN: But family and lifestyle pulled her back to Battle Lake. The problem? How
to make it work as a dancer.
MOLLY JOHNSTON: I'm creating opportunities that didn't exist in the first place. So it's
not like I...
JEFFREY BROWN: In what sense? I mean, explain that to me.
MOLLY JOHNSTON: Well I mean, there's no dance studio in Battle Lake, for instance, so I
can't just like walk in and be like, hey, I have my master's in dance. Can you give
me a job and a weekly paycheck?
JEFFREY BROWN: So she and a colleague created their own organization, DanceBARN Collective,
to put on a festival and give opportunities to those living in rural communities.
She also teaches dance classes to make ends meet.
MOLLY JOHNSTON: We're becoming part of our town's makeup, that when they see that DanceBARN
is doing a pop-up show at the bar on Thursday night, people show up. I think that's something
really beautiful and surprising about living in a rural town.
JEFFREY BROWN: Jay Arrowsmith DeCoux came to the summit with a different perspective,
as mayor of Grand Marais, Minnesota, a small town of about 1,300 people that sits on Lake
Superior near the Canadian border.
It's a town that's long valued the arts, he says, but is now making them part of its planning
and policies, like incorporating artists and creative design into the reconstruction of
a local highway.
JAY ARROWSMITH DECOUX, Mayor of Grand Marais, Minnesota: The idea is that if you can at
least consider art when you're working on any policy then you won't create barriers
to the development of art in your community.
JEFFREY BROWN: Everyone here acknowledges the challenges of making a life in art in
a small town: earning enough income, housing, finding an audience.
AMBER BUCKANAGA, Fashion Designer: There's a lot of this that is really -- that's uncomfortable
for us.
JEFFREY BROWN: Amber Buckanaga has faced those and other challenges firsthand. A member of
the Leech Lake Band of Chippewa, she lives in East Lake, on the reservation, and works
as a fashion designer, incorporating traditional patterns into contemporary clothing.
But lack of access to proper equipment and technology are a constraint. The Wi-Fi in
her area, she says, isn't even worth paying for.
AMBER BUCKANAGA: We do have those challenges. And then on top of us being indigenous people,
it becomes more challenging.
The access that these that the non-indigenous population has to, like, arts spaces and resources,
it just -- it's there right in front of them, and it comes to them, and people feel more
comfortable inviting them to those things. So...
JEFFREY BROWN: You don't have that network.
AMBER BUCKANAGA: No. No, we just don't have that.
JEFFREY BROWN: Here in Grand Rapids, where the massive paper mill and the crucial timber
industry have struggled, an arts community has blossomed.
There's a gallery and small shops, pop-ups in the beautifully-restored old school house,
an art walk on the first Friday of each month. And jazz guitarist Sam Miltich, a full-time
musician, is a regular at the VFW. With grants from a state sales tax fund for arts and culture,
he's able to bring musicians from urban areas to play with him in Grand Rapids.
Miltich says he feels a sense of mission.
SAM MILTICH: I think someone dubbed the term jazz ambassador of the north or some such
thing. You know, and I have always...
JEFFREY BROWN: Which you embrace?
SAM MILTICH: Which I embrace.
JEFFREY BROWN: Yes.
SAM MILTICH: And I have always felt, I think it's a little bit of an equity thing, where
I always have felt that rural people are every bit as deserving of art as any other group,
and maybe more so, because they don't have as much access to it. So it's about providing
access.
JEFFREY BROWN: For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Jeffrey Brown in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And now for an update on the results of the six-state primary election
night, which is shaping up to give another big boost to Joe Biden.
In Michigan, the most contested state of the night, with 125 delegates at stake, Biden
is the projected winner.
In Missouri, a key state in the general election, Biden also the projected winner.
In Mississippi, the only state in the South voting today, Biden again is projected to
win.
In North Dakota, the results are still coming in. And voting continues for another hour
in Idaho and in Washington state.
At this hour, Joe Biden has 774 delegates to 620 for Bernie Sanders. Biden now has more
than a third of the delegates needed to capture the nomination.
Please stay with us for the latest results.
And tune in at 11:00 p.m. Eastern for our "NewsHour" live election special.
Before then, on the "NewsHour" online, we will have livestream coverage and analysis
featuring Lisa Desjardins, other "NewsHour" reporters, plus insights from local public
media around the country. That is live right now on our Web site, PBS.org/NewsHour.
I'm Judy Woodruff.
For all of us at the "PBS NewsHour," thank you, and we will see you soon.