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  • 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.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Good evening. I'm Judy Woodruff.

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