JUDY WOODRUFF: Good evening.

I'm Judy Woodruff.

On the "NewsHour" tonight: the Biden agenda.

The new administration lays out its plan to tackle the global climate crisis.

We speak to White House climate adviser Gina McCarthy about this ever-present emergency.

Then: Making Sense of the stock market frenzy.

We break down what is driving the volatility.

And searching for justice.

Mothers leaving prison face an uphill battle reentering society and reconnecting with their families.

BRITTANY BARNETT, Girls Embracing Mothers: I can attest from my personal experience, when one person goes to prison, the entire family goes to prison.

But it's something different when it's your momma.

It's a primal wound.

JUDY WOODRUFF: All that and more on tonight's "PBS NewsHour."

(BREAK) JUDY WOODRUFF: A sea change on climate change.

As one of his first actions, President Biden is doing a 180-degree turn from his predecessors policy and vowing to confront the issue head on.

White House correspondent Yamiche Alcindor begins our coverage.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: A climate crisis and a call for dramatic action.

Today, President Biden underscored his sweeping break from former President Trump, signing a new batch of executive orders.

JOE BIDEN, President of the United States: Our plans are ambitious, but we are America.

We're bold.

We're unwavering in the pursuit of jobs and innovation, science and discovery.

We can do this.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: President Biden had already moved to rejoin the Paris climate agreement, the same accord that President Trump withdrew from.

The new executive actions include pausing and reviewing new oil and gas leases on federal public lands and water, addressing environmental injustices faced by disadvantaged communities, and building jobs focused on clean energy.

During the presidential campaign, candidate Biden advocated a $2 trillion effort to reduce global warming.

Today, his presidential envoy for climate, former Secretary of State John Kerry, doubled down on that goal.

JOHN KERRY, U.S. Special Envoy For Climate Change: It's a lot of money, but you know what?

It costs a lot more if you don't do the things we need to do.

Workers are going to see that, with the efforts of the Biden administration, they're going to have a much better set of choices and, frankly, it will create more jobs.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Most Republicans have pushed back on climate change efforts, saying they cost too much.

They argue that clean energy means slashing jobs.

The Biden administration, though, insists that these new policies will create new well-paid employment opportunities, jobs designed to focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and developing new technology.

Today, as part of that push, the president's nominee for energy secretary, former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, advocated his energy plans at her Senate confirmation hearing.

JENNIFER GRANHOLM, U.S. Energy Secretary Nominee: We don't want to see any jobs sacrificed.

The president's plan of building back better, which would create more jobs in energy, clean energy.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Meanwhile, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee heard from Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the nominee for ambassador to the United Nations.

She warned that the U.S. must reengage with the world to challenge China's growing power.

LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD, U.S.

Ambassador to the United Nations Nominee: We know China is working across the U.N. system to drive an authoritarian agenda that stands in opposition to the founding values of the institution, American values.

Their success depends on our continued withdrawal.

That will not happen on my watch.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: The Veterans Affairs Committee heard from Denis McDonough, nominee for Veterans Affairs secretary.

DENIS MCDONOUGH, U.S. Veterans Affairs Secretary Nominee: If confirmed, I will work tirelessly to build and restore VA's trust as a premiere agency for ensuring the well-being of American veterans.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: And the Senate Commerce Committee advanced former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg's nomination for transportation secretary.

And on the pandemic, today, the president's COVID response team held its first public briefing.

WOMAN: Thank you all for joining us today.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: It came amid growing calls to distribute vaccines faster.

Andy Slavitt is the White House senior adviser for COVID response.

ANDY SLAVITT, Senior White House Adviser For COVID Response: We are taking action to increase supply and increase capacity.

But, even so, it will be months before everyone who wants a vaccine will be able to get one.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Yesterday, the president announced that the U.S. will order an additional 200 million vaccine doses.

He said that will mean there will be enough doses for 300 million Americans by summer.

Today, Slavitt said that, ultimately, the nation will need 500 million shots to vaccinate everyone 16 and older.

For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Yamiche Alcindor.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Let's take a closer look now at what President Biden wants to accomplish with Gina McCarthy.

She's the White House national climate adviser.

Gina McCarthy, welcome back to the "NewsHour."

The president has so many urgent, massive issues facing him, the pandemic, the economy, a politically deeply divided country.

How does climate change fit into all of that?

GINA MCCARTHY, White House National Climate Adviser: Well, Judy, thanks for having me.

And I want you to know that climate change is interrelated with all of the issues that you just identified.

If we expect to regrow the economy after we tackle COVID-19, we need to grow jobs.

We need people to have food on their table, food that's healthy.

We need our country to be more secure and grow.

The path forward to get that done is clean energy.

In fact, clean energy jobs were the fastest growing sector before the pandemic hit.

And we saw a prior administration that did everything it could to dismantle the clean energy infrastructure, and it failed.

You know why?

Because clean energy jobs actually are good for us.

We can grow thousands of good-paying union jobs.

This is our opportunity to invest in environmental justice communities that have been left behind.

So, this president is not looking at one thing at a time.

It's looking at addressing all of those together, so that we do build back in a way that's building a better future.

And we can do this if we work together.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, it's interesting, because you are getting praise from a number of sectors, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which says it endorses the overall goal.

But then it points to the pausing of oil and gas -- excuse me -- oil and gas leasing, and it says that this is something that is going to hurt the economy.

It points to -- they said the world is going to need oil and gas for decades, that this is going to starve local communities of revenue.

And they're arguing it's going to cost jobs.

We're hearing this argument from a number of Republicans.

How do you respond?

GINA MCCARTHY: Well, the whole goal of this is not to leave any community behind in moving forward on clean energy.

But it's also to recognize that we're not going to leave any workers behind.

And so, if you look at this closely, Judy, this -- all this is about is whether or not we should pause and look at new leasing, when we know there are acres and acres of leases that are not being used now, and we have to take a balance.

This is public lands only.

It's our lands that need to be protected for their full value, including the natural resources that we need and the biodiversity that keeps our global world moving forward.

So, this is not stopping permitting.

It's not stopping fracking.

This is a very select challenge for us to step back and just say, how are we going to grow?

And in the meantime, there's plenty of oil, and there's plenty of natural gas, so that we're assuring the governors and the senators and the representatives from these areas that we're not going to run out of anything.

This is about just taking a pause to review the whole thing and make sure it makes sense from everybody's perspective.

And, if you look at this, Judy, this executive order actually looks at creating a task force to revitalize those energy communities that are worried about being left behind and those that are dependent on fossil fuel utilities for their jobs.

We have to take care of them.

It's not about making the choices they're suggesting.

We can have thousands of new good-paying union jobs.

And we can find opportunities, like in capping those old abandoned oil and gas wells or those coal mines that are spewing methane that is creating climate changes, and instead put those workers in those areas that may otherwise not have a job and give them a good-paying job.

This is not a zero sum game.

JUDY WOODRUFF: They are making arguments from different parts of the country.

For example, Senator Dan Sullivan, Republican of Alaska, is saying, curtailing these jobs, he says, disproportionately harms Alaska Natives, who he says have relied on energy development to lift them out of poverty, also pointing out it contrasts with the racial equity goal that the White House rolled out yesterday.

Lynne Cheney of Wyoming is speaking about a major lifeline that Americans who -- again, Americans being lifted out of a hurting economy by that these oil and gas jobs that are going away for the time being.

GINA MCCARTHY: Well, this is a transition where we need to build up the infrastructure to make clean energy on a broad scale available to everyone.

This is not over the next two weeks or two months.

Everybody knows that this job shift has already been happening, and we need to make sure that we're focused in the areas where job shifts are happening for sure.

But that doesn't mean we can change the future, Judy.

We have to protect the future for our kids, and we have to recognize that it is heading to a clean energy for jobs that we can manufacture, products that we should be developing and innovating and selling to the rest of the world.

This is about getting us into this time in this moment and not being shy about reemerging this country into a position of leadership domestically and internationally.

And that's what this effort is all about.

It's about a whole-of-government approach to start looking with different eyes at the jobs that we're doing.

Look at our programs, our policies.

Look at our procurement strategy.

Let's invest and send signals to the private sector that we all know where the future is heading, and the United States wants to lead it, and we want the jobs and the profits here.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Sharing, again, arguments we're hearing from the other side, if you will, Republican Steve Scalise, Louisiana... GINA MCCARTHY: Yes.

JUDY WOODRUFF: ... saying this is a death knell for Louisiana coastal communities.

What do you say to critics or criticisms like these about when these new jobs would come along, because they're saying, in the short run, it's going to hurt them?

GINA MCCARTHY: Well, Judy, we're going to have to take actions on all of the executive order to take a look at how we can move all these issues forward.

We're going to have the kind of engagement that we need to have in a democracy and listen to everyone.

But, right now, the point is that we have a COVID-19 pandemic that's hit us that we need to straighten out and take care of.

That's already been jump-started.

Now's the time to see how we build back.

Are we really going to be that shy and look at what used to be, instead of looking at the opportunities today?

Nobody in this country wants to be told to sacrifice, and nobody in this administration is going to ask them to, whether it's leaving them without a job or leaving them without opportunity.

It's just the opposite.

We're bringing these issues together at a time of hope and opportunity, because we either grab this as a country or we continue to cede our leadership to others and our profits and our job growth.

And this administration has no intention to cede that success to anybody.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Gina McCarthy, the new White House climate adviser, formerly headed the Environmental Protection Agency under President Obama, thank you very much.

GINA MCCARTHY: Thanks, Judy.

JUDY WOODRUFF: In many cases, the task of combating the global climate crisis starts at home, with local leaders taking charge.

I'm joined now by two mayors to discuss President Biden's changes to climate and energy policies.

They are Patrick Payton.

He is the mayor of Midland, Texas.

And William Peduto, he is the mayor of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

It's very good to have both of you joining us.

Thank you so much.

Mayor Payton, I'm going to start with you, but I will ask you both the same question.

Overall, what is your reaction to what the Biden administration is rolling out on climate change?

PATRICK PAYTON, Mayor of Midland, Texas: Well, thank you very much.

It's good to be here with you.

And hello to the mayor from Pittsburgh.

And sorry about your Steelers.

(LAUGHTER) PATRICK PAYTON: But, really, we're kind of used to this.

Over the last 12 to 16 years, we have watched executive orders be traded back and forth.

And -- but here in the Permian Basin, well over 200,000 people are going to get up tomorrow and they're going to work in the oil and gas industry, as well as the wind and solar industry, because, out here, we realize that it's really going to be all of the above as we move forward into the 21st century.

So, while China will burn more coal today than the rest of the civilized world, we out here know what it takes to build a robust energy economy, what it's going to take to create those jobs.

We're already doing that in the wind and solar environment.

We also know that, for us to have the power grid we're going to have for you to plug in your electric vehicle and get it charged, it's going to take the oil and gas industry.

So, in listening to Ms. McCarthy, I'm hoping that they really do mean we are going to have a long, inclusive conversation in this and stop demonizing the oil and gas industry, who is going to have to be the backbone of building towards an energy future.

So, we will see.

I'm skeptical on all sides, just because we have seen this executive order thing happen through the Obama administration, through the Trump administration, and now through the Biden administration, but we still see no legislative work forward.

And I think part of that is because legislators know it's going to require an all-in effort, and not a demonization effort of either side.

So, we will see if we can move forward with a wholehearted discussion covering all the issues, and no longer demonizing the industry that makes it possible for you to carry your Nalgene bottle and wear your Patagonia clothes while, at the same time, you can drive your electric vehicle.

JUDY WOODRUFF: And, Mayor Peduto, Pittsburgh - - and, as I pose this question to you, I'm thinking of what President Trump and Senator Ted Cruz said at times, you know, it should be all about not Paris, but Pittsburgh, and a reference to the Paris climate accord, which, of course, this administration has rejoined.

But what is your overall take on what the administration is saying it will do?

BILL PEDUTO, Mayor of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: We have been working together in the Northern Appalachia region and within the Ohio Valley, mayors from eight cities who have joined together from West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky, to present an American Marshall Plan, a plan that would invest in the areas that will be the hardest-hit from the inevitable transformation into renewable energy and green technology.

The world is going in one direction.

And I think the Biden administration today recognizes that.

And the question is, do we want to be in a position in the future, when we electrify our public transit fleets around the country, that the only option available to us is to buy buses from China, when we could be building them in Lordstown and helping the people of Youngstown?

Should we be being our wind turbines from Germany, when they could be manufactured with United States steel right here in Pennsylvania and assembled in West Virginia?

Or should we be... (CROSSTALK) JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, let me interrupt you and say, are you saying you fear that the Biden administration is not paying sufficient attention to buying American, building American?

BILL PEDUTO: No, quite the opposite.

I think that, in the initiatives that they announced yesterday on buy American initiatives and that they're presenting 40 percent of this plan into areas that have been left behind in the changing economy, that they're cognizant that we can't just change by throwing a light switch, which would leave areas behind, but we have to invest in those areas, so that they have an opportunity to catch up with the rest of the United States.

I think the Biden plan is a pragmatic and progressive approach to be able to address the inevitable change in economics and in the delivery of energy, and allowing the United States to compete in the 21st century, and not follow.

JUDY WOODRUFF: And back to you, Mayor Payton, in Midland, Texas.

I heard you saying you hope the Biden administration means what it says.

How will you judge that?

And how will you reach out to them?

Do you feel they will listen to you as you make the case for your community, for your economy, for the livelihood of your people?

PATRICK PAYTON: Well, as you have noticed throughout this country over the last several years, we talk in extremes, and we don't moderate the middle path, where we can have a discussion of all of the above.

The fact of the matter is, we're being left behind by China, because, as I said a minute ago, China will burn more coal today than the rest of the civilized world.

And so, until we get to a place where we are going to recognize that the oil and gas industry is the backbone of powering this country, that we can also together move forward with the oil and gas industry that provides the byproducts that provide for the electric vehicles, that provide for the buses that were just mentioned, that drive the factories that are going to produce the steel, when we're ready to just sit down and have that conversation and the political environment doesn't demonize the oil and gas industry or demonize an entire region made up of over 200,000 people who will wake up tomorrow morning.

And they will go to their jobs in the oil and gas sector and in the wind and solar sector, producing the cheap, reliable and abundant energy, then we will see if they're going to have that conversation, because, as Mr. McCarthy said, it's not going to happen in two years or two weeks.

It's not going to happen in four years.

It's going to be a 20-to-30-year transition, but it will not happen without the oil and gas industry.

JUDY WOODRUFF: I hear you, but just quickly, are you saying you think the Biden administration is demonizing the oil and gas industry?

Or do you believe they're open to hearing your arguments and the arguments of your people?

PATRICK PAYTON: I think the Democrat left has demonized the oil and gas industry from the far extreme left side.

So, we will see if Mr. Biden in his conversation of unity and having conversations also that Ms. McCarthy mentioned just a minute ago really that mean that.

And that's going to take both sides to get their radical sides out of the debate and get into the middle and have this discussion, because, for the longest time, the oil and gas industry has been demonized.

And so we will see if they mean to bring everybody into the fold and have that conversation.

JUDY WOODRUFF: And, Mayor Peduto, in just a few seconds, what do you say in response to that?

Where do you think the administration will come down on that?

BILL PEDUTO: I do believe that they will be pragmatic.

They have an understanding of the workers and a compassion to making sure that there's a just transition.

Look, Pittsburgh is where oil was discovered at the Drake Well just north of our city.

Coal was discovered along the shores of our Monongahela River.

We sit at one of the largest reserves of natural gas in the world.

And yet there's more jobs in green and renewable energy than oil, gas, and coal combined, combined.

PATRICK PAYTON: That's not true... (CROSSTALK) BILL PEDUTO: The future is here.

No, I'm talking about Pittsburgh and Allegheny County.

Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, our numbers are now even higher than Philadelphia.

PATRICK PAYTON: And that's why the Permian Basin... (CROSSTALK) JUDY WOODRUFF: Mayor Peduto, Mayor Payton, we thank you both so much.

BILL PEDUTO: Thank you.

PATRICK PAYTON: Thank you.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Sorry to leave it there.

We appreciate you both.

Thank you.

In the day's other news: President Biden's COVID-19 team warned that another 90,000 Americans could die from the virus over the next four weeks.

The national death toll is already near 430,000 out of 25.5 million confirmed cases.

We will turn to the struggle over vaccinations later in the program.

The U.S.

Homeland Security Department is warning of potential new violence over President Biden's election.

The department issued a terrorism advisory today focusing on domestic threats, a rarity.

It suggested the storming of the U.S. Capitol could embolden extremists.

The advisory did not cite any specific threat.

A leading Democrat in the U.S. Senate floated an alternative today to putting former President Trump on trial for allegedly inciting the Capitol assault, the charge made in the impeachment article.

Virginia Senator Tim Kaine suggested censuring Mr. Trump instead.

Kaine cited Tuesday's test vote, when only five Republicans supported a trial.

He said it's clear there are not 67 votes for a conviction.

SEN. TIM KAINE (D-VA): To do a trial knowing you will get 55 votes at the max seems to me to be not the right prioritization of our time right now.

Obviously, if we do a trial, maybe we could do it fast, but my top priority is COVID relief and getting -- I'm going in for this U.N. hearing -- getting the Biden Cabinet approved.

JUDY WOODRUFF: It's unclear how much support the Kaine proposal has.

But Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer insisted today there will be a trial, starting the week of February the 8th.

A second police officer who responded to the assault on the Capitol has committed suicide.

The head of the Washington, D.C., police has reportedly told Congress that one of his officers took his own life.

A U.S. Capitol Police officer also took his life days after the attack.

One of six men accused of plotting to kidnap Michigan's Governor Gretchen Whitmer pleaded guilty today.

Ty Garbin admitted his role during a federal court hearing in Grand Rapids.

The FBI says that the conspirators talked of targeting Whitmer over coronavirus regulations.

In Russia, lawmakers approved extending the last remaining nuclear treaty with the U.S. just days before a deadline.

New START limits both sides' nuclear arsenals.

The Trump administration had argued that the treaty disadvantaged the U.S. President Biden reversed that stance, and Moscow welcomed the shift.

SERGEI RYABKOV, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister (through translator): We had to act under heavy time pressure.

The previous administration connected the extension to the conditions which were unacceptable for us.

With Biden, the situation was adjusted.

And we need to give proper respect to the new White House team and its pragmatic approach.

JUDY WOODRUFF: The extension runs five years.

The Biden administration has halted a major arms sale to the United Arab Emirates, for now, pending a review.

The deal was announced by the Trump administration in November.

It let the UAE buy 50 F-35 stealth fighter jets worth $23 billion.

Until now, only Israel was allowed to buy the high-tech planes.

The U.S. Federal Reserve confirms that the latest COVID surge has done more economic damage.

As a result, the Central Bank pledged again today to keep interest rates near zero.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said how long the pandemic's effects will linger is unknown, partly because of vaccination problems.

JEROME POWELL, Federal Reserve Chairman: One of the reasons why is the slowness of the rollout.

The other -- another reason why is just the arrival of these new virus strains.

We don't know how to model that.

We can have a base case, but we realize no one knows how this new vaccine will roll out, how successful it will be.

JUDY WOODRUFF: The U.S. labor market is still some 10 million jobs below where it was before the virus hit.

On Wall Street, new worries about the economy pushed major indexes down 2 percent or more, their worst day since October.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 633 points to close at 30303.

The Nasdaq fell 355 points, and the S&P 500 slid 98 points.

We will take a closer look, after the news summary.

And award-winning actress Cloris Leachman died today at her home in Southern California.

She won eight Emmys on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and other TV programs and received an Academy Award for her role in "The Last Picture Show."

Cloris Leachman was 94 years old.

Still to come on the "NewsHour": Making Sense of what is driving the stock market frenzy; vaccinations continue at a glacial pace, as COVID-19 deaths and infections continue to rise; Antony Blinken faces challenges on multiple fronts, as he takes over at the State Department; and much more.

Part of this today's market frenzy was not just a plunge due to concerns over the pandemic and the economy.

There's been major tumult today and in recent days as individual investors and young day traders are upending the market and sending prices of a few companies soaring, companies that were struggling just days or weeks ago.

William Brangham has more.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: That's right, Judy.

The traders who are driving this frenzy and egging each other on social media have been driving up the price of several stocks long after other investors had looked at those companies and said, we're done.

For example, they have sent the price of video game retailer GameStop to stratospheric levels.

And the frenzy continued today with a surge in the stock price of the movie chain AMC, as well as the ones popular phone maker BlackBerry.

To help us understand what's going on.

I'm joined now by Andrew Ross Sorkin.

He is the co-anchor of CNBC's "Squawk Box," a columnist for The New York Times, as well as an editor of its Day Book newsletter.

Andrew Ross Sorkin, great to have you back on the "NewsHour."

Such wild developments in the market today.

Can you just help us understand, what on earth is going on?

ANDREW ROSS SORKIN, Financial Columnist and Reporter, The New York Times: It's hard to understand.

And it is a wild, wild story.

I don't think I have ever seen anything like this in my career, frankly.

There is a small group, almost a small army, if you will, of mostly younger folks who are assembling online in chat groups and are bidding up the shares of companies like GameStop.

GameStop was a company that was worth $20 a share at the beginning of this year.

Today, it's worth almost $350 a share.

The company is now worth the same as Delta.

This company makes no money.

There's an almost Ponzi scheme-like element to this.

It was originally driven by a nostalgia for GameStop by some of the investors and a stick-it-to-the-man kind of view that the system was rigged against companies like GameStop, and that the system was rigged against retail investors.

A number of the big Wall Street hedge funds had actually bet against GameStop shares.

So, they were betting the shares would go down.

And these other investors were trying to effectively win the game and make them lose.

And, at the moment, they are winning.

But I would just caution those who are out there today, the greatest likelihood is that these protesters will be the ones who will ultimately lose, because there's no fundamentals behind the kinds of trades that are going on at this point.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: So, just so I understand this, these smaller traders seem to know that the bigger hedge funds had these basically short-selling options on these companies.

ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: Yes.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: And they -- the bigger investors were hoping the stock prices would go down.

They're reversing that trend and driving the stock up.

How does that reversal of fortune hurt the bigger investors?

ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: Well, in truth, it hurts the bigger investors, insomuch as the hedge funds lose money.

In one case, a In one case, a big hedge fund has now lost several billion dollars and needed to be rescued as a result of this.

But what I'm not sure the -- quote, unquote - - "protesters" that are that are doing this fully appreciate is, the hedge funds are managing the money of pensioners.

So, when you really think about who's lost, at least thus far in this -- and it shouldn't be considered a game in this winning and losing way -- but, so far, the hedge funds have lost, the Wall Street hedge funds have lost, but they have effectively lost pensioners' money.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: There has been this talk, as you well know, for years about whether or not day traders are actually consequential in the market.

And it's hard not to look at what's been going on over these last days and weeks and think, they are consequential.

They are able to move the market in a substantial way.

Do you think that this does change something fundamentally?

ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: Well, I think there's two things going on.

I think they were substantial in moving the market to a degree.

But like any great protest, they often get co-opted by others.

And there is -- or there are professional investors now today that are also bidding up the shares of GameStop as part of almost a pop psychology play.

And so it's exacerbating what's happening.

So, yes, a small group of investor has clearly moved market to some degree, but coming on top of that are professional investors who effectively are trying to take advantage of those folks.

And so it's going to be very interesting to see how this all unravels itself.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Elizabeth Warren and others have said, look, a lot of these big-time investors have treated the stock market like a casino for years, she argues, and now they're complaining, and, basically, she's saying boo-hoo for them.

Her other point for her is now is the time for financial regulators to step up and address this.

It's not clear to me, though, what is the role for a financial regulator in this circumstance?

What would a financial regulator do?

ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: It's complicated.

First of all, Elizabeth Warren is 100 percent correct.

And so many of the people with her - - so many of the people buying up shares of GameStop agree with her.

They're saying the system is rigged, and they are saying, we are manipulating it, but we have been manipulated for so very many years.

The question you asked, how do you regulate this, what are the regulators supposed to do, is a real question without a great answer, because it's not clear what's being done here is illegal.

It's all actually being done, for the most part, out in the open.

You can go online and see these people talking to each other.

You can argue maybe it's a pump-and-dump scheme, but it's being done quite publicly.

And so I think the regulators are going to have to grapple with this.

Gary Gensler, who has been nominated to run the SEC, is going to have a pretty hard job on his hands to figure out how to -- what to do.

I will make one mention.

Some of the big brokerage firms are starting to limit the amount of leverage, the amount of loaned money that they're providing to some of these investors for specific stocks like GameStop.

So, that could reduce some of the interest in pursuing these type of events.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: All right, Andrew Ross Sorkin, thanks for helping us get through this very, very strange case.

ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: It's a complicated one.

Thanks.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Even as President Biden's team is ramping up plans for production of COVID vaccines, there were also sober warnings that it will take well through the summer to vaccinate enough Americans.

Here's CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky.

DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, CDC Director: Now is the time to remain vigilant.

If we continue on the current trajectory, the CDC's most recent national ensemble forecasts predicts that 479,000 to 514,000 COVID-19 deaths will be recorded by February 20, 2021.

But if we are united in action, we can turn things around.

Continuing to expand safe, effective vaccination is key to ending the COVID-19 pandemic and bringing our country back to health.

JUDY WOODRUFF: The U.S. is by no means the only country struggling with vaccine supply and demand.

Today, a battle escalated between the E.U.

and vaccine maker AstraZeneca.

Back here, there are major concerns over vaccine supply and equity.

Stephanie Sy looks at -- has our report.

STEPHANIE SY: Judy, a recent analysis by Kaiser Health News finds Black and Latino citizens are getting vaccines at significantly lower rates in a number of states, especially worrying, given the major disparities in death rates, which public health officials reminded us of today.

As you can see on this chart, Black, indigenous and Latino people are dying a much higher rate than white people.

Here to talk about these equity concerns, I'm joined by Dr. Mysheika Roberts, the public health commissioner of Columbus, Ohio.

Dr. Roberts, thank you so much for joining us.

I know you have been focused on these issues.

And, in fact, I have heard you say in the past that, there in Columbus, public health officials have an equity agenda.

What does that mean in practical terms?

DR. MYSHEIKA ROBERTS, Health Commissioner, Columbus, Ohio, Public Health: Yes.

Well, thanks for having me.

And, yes, here in Columbus, Ohio, our mayor, Mayor Andy Ginther, has an equity agenda for our city.

And it does involve health.

And he has declared racism as a public health issue, which has really caused my department, as well as many health agencies in town, to focus their work on looking at the health inequities that exist and how we can work to overcome them.

STEPHANIE SY: What does that mean in terms of the current vaccination program?

For example, are you going directly to those neighborhoods, those Black and brown communities where the vaccine is needed the most?

Are you deploying mobile clinics at this point to bring the vaccine to those that might not be able to access it?

DR. MYSHEIKA ROBERTS: Well, really, we're doing all of the above that you mentioned.

So, here in our community is no different than across the nation.

Black and brown individuals have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, whether that's in cases, hospitalizations, or even deaths.

So, it's more important than ever that we also get that same population vaccinated with the new COVID-19 vaccine.

So, we are really putting boots on the ground.

We're working with grassroots organizations trying to get the message out that these vaccines are safe and effective, who should get the vaccine, and when the vaccine is available for those groups.

We're also doing some mobile clinics, where we're going to those neighborhoods, we're going to those organizations where we know have a large population of Black and brown individuals, and we're providing those vaccines for them at a location that's convenient for them.

STEPHANIE SY: You know, you talk about misinformation, and I saw a video of you, Dr. Roberts, in which you felt the need to say that the vaccine does not include a tracking device, which I think really speaks to the misinformation and conspiracy theories that are plaguing the vaccination efforts.

How big of a challenge is that there?

DR. MYSHEIKA ROBERTS: Well, I think the misinformation is a huge challenge across the nation.

But, yes, there are some people who think when we say the vaccine includes nanoparts, nanoproteins, which, in the health care field, just means very small, some people have interpreted that as nanotechnology, and that the vaccine actually has the ability to track people.

So, they don't want to get vaccinated because they think, by getting vaccinated, the government can now track them.

And I remind people all the time that the smartphones that we use every day can track you much more effectively than any vaccine that we could provide.

STEPHANIE SY: And, of course, Dr. Roberts, when it comes to the mistrust in the Black community, there is a history of mistreatment, whether it came to the Tuskegee experiment or Henrietta Lacks.

How do you counter that history and rebuild that trust?

DR. MYSHEIKA ROBERTS: Well, first, I think we have to acknowledge the history and acknowledge that Black and brown individuals have a reason to distrust or mistrust our health care community.

And then we have to let them know that, because of those incidents, because of Tuskegee, because of Henrietta Lacks, so much has changed in our health care arena to protect individuals that look like me and to protect everyone.

And so that's why we have informed consent now.

That's some of the reason why we have HIPAA, is to protect our health information and to make people -- make sure people understand, if they're taking a risk, what that risk might be.

And so, one, we have to acknowledge it.

Then we have to let them know that this vaccine has gone through all the safety measures.

The vaccines we have on the market now are available for anyone over the age of 16 or 18, depending on the product you're looking at.

And these vaccines are being given to everyone, whether you're white, Black, brown, or purple, and so first just identifying why they have that mistrust and acknowledging that, and then telling them how our community has changed as a result of those incidents that plagued our communities.

STEPHANIE SY: I just want to ask one quick question broadly of how the vaccination efforts are going there.

I understand that you're now in the phase where you're offering the vaccine to those 75 and older, as well as some people with disabilities, congenital and medical disorders.

How is it all going?

What can be improved?

DR. MYSHEIKA ROBERTS: Well, I think, from my perspective, what we're doing at Columbus Public Health, it's going well.

We would all love to have more vaccines.

And, obviously, we'd love to be able to vaccinate everyone.

We do have this phased-in approach that our state put in place.

And we're following that.

Next week, we will start vaccinating staff that work in K-12 schools.

So, we're getting a lot more doses of the vaccine next week to accommodate that population.

But like everyone is saying across the country, if we had more vaccines, we could vaccinate more people.

STEPHANIE SY: So many priorities you're juggling.

Dr. Mysheika Roberts, thank you so much for joining us with the perspective from Columbus, Ohio.

DR. MYSHEIKA ROBERTS: Thanks for having me.

Take care.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Today, the nation's top diplomat spent his first full day on the job.

And Secretary of State Tony Blinken also spoke to the press.

And our Nick Schifrin was watching.

So, hello, Nick.

There was a lot of conversation today about the Middle East.

Tell us how this administration is changing its approach from the Trump administration.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Yes, earlier today, the State Department announced a pause on arms sales.

That includes the F-35s that the Trump administration negotiated to the United Arab Emirates to facilitate normalization with Israel and American weapons Saudi Arabia used in Yemen to fight the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.

Now, Blinken said that that pause was routine.

But he also said, of all of the late moves by former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, he was most concerned about the designation of the Houthis as an international terrorist organization, over the objections of humanitarians.

TONY BLINKEN, U.S. Secretary of State: We have seen a campaign led by Saudi Arabia that has also contributed to what is, by many estimates, the worst humanitarian crisis in the world today, and that's saying something.

And so it's vitally important, even in the midst of this crisis, that we do everything we can to get humanitarian assistance to the people of Yemen, who are in desperate need.

And what we want to make sure is that any steps we are taking do not get in the way of providing that assistance.

NICK SCHIFRIN: That criticism of Saudi Arabia is a break from the Trump administration, especially as the Biden team wants to negotiate with Iran, over the objections of Saudi Arabia, Israel and congressional Republicans.

But the Biden team argues the priority must be to extend the time that Iran would need to build a nuclear weapon, if it made that decision.

That time dropped since the Trump administration left the Iran nuclear deal.

And the bible team argues that, after that nuclear deal is reestablished, then the U.S. and Iran can discuss other issues.

But, Judy, domestic opposition in both countries is going to make that extremely difficult, as Blinken admitted today.

TONY BLINKEN: Iran is out of compliance on a number of fronts.

And it would take some time, should it make the decision to do so, for it to come back into compliance, and time for us then to assess whether it was meeting its obligations.

So, we're not there yet.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Another reason, Judy, why this may take a long time, the Biden administration plans on negotiating with Congress, European allies, and partners in the Middle East before negotiating with Iran.

JUDY WOODRUFF: And then on Afghanistan, Nick, Secretary Blinken announced that the Biden team will keep the Trump administration's envoy on Afghanistan.

Tell us the significance of that.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Yes, that is Zalmay Khalilzad, who has been leading the U.S. negotiations with the Taliban.

He, of course, made the deal with the Taliban last year that, if the Taliban negotiated seriously with the Afghan government and did not attack U.S. troops, then the U.S. would withdraw from Afghanistan completely by March.

But the Biden White House has said it is reviewing that agreement.

The Pentagon says it is reviewing recent drawdowns from Afghanistan, Judy, both hints that the Biden administration may not follow through with that promised withdrawal.

JUDY WOODRUFF: And, Nick, when it comes to China, we know confronting China was one of the most prominent policies to come out of the Trump administration.

Tell us what Secretary Blinken had to say about that.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Yes, today, Secretary Blinken said the U.S.-China relationship had -- quote - - "adversarial and competitive aspects."

But he also said that the U.S. wanted to work with China, especially on climate change.

And that opening for cooperation, that's a little different than what Mike Pompeo used to say.

Reporters also asked about another late Trump administration decision, and that is to name the Uyghurs -- that is a Muslim minority in Western China who has been systematically and brutally persecuted by the Chinese communist government -- as victims of genocide.

Today, during questioning by Republican Senator Marco Rubio, the U.N. nominee, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said that that declaration was under review.

LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD, U.S.

Ambassador to the United Nations Nominee: What they are doing horrific.

And I look forward to seeing the results of the review that is being done, but, certainly, it... SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL): Well, the State Department issued a designation, I believe, on the president's last day.

So, is it your understanding that it's now being reviewed by the State Department to see if that's appropriate?

LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD: I think the State Department is reviewing that now, because all of the procedures were not followed.

And I think that they're looking to make sure that they are followed to ensure that that designation is held.

NICK SCHIFRIN: But, today, Blinken said he did support the genocide declaration, that he hadn't seen what Thomas-Greenfield said, and so he couldn't comment on it.

JUDY WOODRUFF: And, Nick, finally, overall, how would you say the message from the Trump - - from the Biden administration is different from that of the Trump administration?

NICK SCHIFRIN: Yes, for Blinken, it was tone and relationship with the press, America first replaced with a conversation about how important allies are, and enemies of the people replaced with, well, praise for the media, a promise for Blinken to speak to us often and return to daily briefings.

That, Judy, perhaps more than any one policy, is the reason that Blinken appeared at the podium at the State Department on his first full day.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Already a significant change.

Nick Schifrin reporting on it all.

Thank you, Nick.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Thank you.

JUDY WOODRUFF: It's a given that strong family ties are critical, especially for mothers serving time in prison.

Amna Nawaz has this story, part of our Searching For Justice series.

MELISSA TRINIDAD, Mother: "I know you want a second chance, but I have given you 1,000."

AMNA NAWAZ: This is a letter from Melissa Trinidad's 17-year-old daughter.

MELISSA TRINIDAD: "I will always love you.

But I just can't, not now.

You can't waltz back into my life and expect me -- and expect to be my mom again."

AMNA NAWAZ: She received it soon after she was released from jail in September.

Trinidad, a mother of three, is in recovery from heroin addiction.

She says her problems began with prescription pain pills back in 2012.

MELISSA TRINIDAD: Since then, I have been in recovery and then relapse, and in recovery and relapse.

So, it's kind of been an up-and-downhill battle.

AMNA NAWAZ: Over those eight years, Trinidad has also been in and out jail, most recently serving 17 months for prescription fraud in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Her three children, including her now estranged daughter, were placed with three separate relatives.

MELISSA TRINIDAD: Me going to jail the very first time changed obviously my entire little family.

I mean, it was broken up.

Everybody was somewhere different.

And it was traumatizing, especially for them.

AMNA NAWAZ: That trauma is becoming more common across America.

Women make up the fastest growing segment of the U.S. prison population.

An estimated 80 percent are mothers.

BRITTANY BARNETT, Girls Embracing Mothers: On any given day in this country, over two million children have an incarcerated parent.

AMNA NAWAZ: Brittany Barnett is a Dallas lawyer whose own mother spent two-and-a-half years in prison.

BRITTANY BARNETT: I remember visiting my mom the first time and talking to her through the glass.

And you're holding the phone to your ear.

And I just remember pressing that phone so hard against my face, because I didn't want to miss the sound of my momma's voice.

AMNA NAWAZ: Barnett founded a nonprofit called Girls Embracing Mothers to keep kids connected with incarcerated parents.

BRITTANY BARNETT: I can attest from my personal experience, when one person goes to prison, the entire family goes to prison.

But it's something different when it's your momma.

It's a primal wound.

AMNA NAWAZ: For 52-year-old Chalana McFarland, the wounds from missing her daughter Nia Cosby, are still fresh.

CHALANA MCFARLAND, Mother: It hurts even to this day that I wasn't able to be with her.

AMNA NAWAZ: In 2005, McFarland, then an attorney, was convicted of mortgage fraud and sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Cosby went to live with her grandparents.

She was 4 years old.

CHALANA MCFARLAND: When she'd cry on the phone and say, "Mommy, I want to see you," I mean, my heart would just break.

And there are a lot of ladies that decide that they would just rather not have the visit because it's just too hard.

AMNA NAWAZ: What did you decide?

CHALANA MCFARLAND: I wanted every visit that I could have, because I have a 30-year sentence.

And I can recall my daughter, when she got a little bit older -- she may have been about 6.

And she went up to the officer and she says: "Can we take my mommy to McDonald's for just a little while?

I promise we will bring her right back."

And the officer just told her: "No, sweetheart we can't let her go right now."

AMNA NAWAZ: Cosby, too, has vivid memories of those visits.

NIA COSBY, Daughter: Whenever you go to visit, you're not allowed to, like, lay on them, snuggle them, cuddle them.

You're allowed to, like, hug and, like, hold hands across the table.

That's about it.

AMNA NAWAZ: She's now 20 years old, a college sophomore, studying finance, and still struggles with the moments her mother missed.

NIA COSBY: I did dance.

I played basketball.

I did choir for many, many years.

And I always wanted my mom to be able to see me do those things.

I did want her to be a part of those things.

AMNA NAWAZ: But last summer, an unexpected turn.

As COVID-19 spread across the country, McFarland got word she was getting out.

CHALANA MCFARLAND: I have a number of respiratory issues that all make me extremely vulnerable to the virus.

AMNA NAWAZ: In June of 2020, 15 years into her sentence, she was released to home confinement, and walked out of prison.

Her daughter was outside waiting.

NIA COSBY: I saw the door open.

And she walked out, and I just walked up to her and I just gave her the biggest hug.

CHALANA MCFARLAND: It just was probably the happiest moment of my life.

I was just amazed.

Just to see her and hug her and be able to touch her, it was wonderful.

AMNA NAWAZ: Cosby studies and works in Tallahassee, Florida.

McFarland was under home confinement outside Atlanta, monitored with an ankle bracelet.

CHALANA MCFARLAND: So, what else do you have to do today?

NIA COSBY: Oh, I feel like I have way more work.

AMNA NAWAZ: So, calls like this were often their only connection.

CHALANA MCFARLAND: We FaceTime nearly every day.

And I'm always sending her pictures.

Like, how does this makeup look, or do you like this outfit, or look at these shoes I bought.

So, she's like my stylist now.

(LAUGHTER) AMNA NAWAZ: And on President Trump's final day in office, McFarland was among those granted clemency, so more in-person visits are now in the works.

All these years later, the two have a lot to talk about.

CHALANA MCFARLAND: I feel the guilt and the pain and the shame of not having been there to raise my own daughter.

AMNA NAWAZ: You feel guilty about that?

CHALANA MCFARLAND: Absolutely.

She didn't deserve to have to serve the sentence with me.

NIA COSBY: We're not going to be able to go back in time and make up for those lost memories, but what we can do is build for the future.

AMNA NAWAZ: Keeping that future stable, experts say, depends on rebuilding their bond.

Research shows staying close with children helps reduce recidivism among incarcerated mothers.

BRITTANY BARNETT: Many times women, mothers are the primary caregivers of children prior to their incarceration.

And when that force is gone, it leaves a huge void.

AMNA NAWAZ: Barnett says, especially for newly released mothers, the stakes are high.

BRITTANY BARNETT: There are a lot of reentry hurdles that need to be overcome to ensure that mothers don't go back to prison and ensure that children are in stable environments, so that we can empower them and prevent a future generation of girls from entering the criminal legal system.

AMNA NAWAZ: Melissa Trinidad is now living in a halfway house in Richmond, Virginia.

She has a full-time job, and says she's been drug-free for more than a year-and-a-half.

MELISSA TRINIDAD: Maybe we will get you a different alternative class next semester.

AMNA NAWAZ: She regularly visits with her 19-year-old son and Lexi (ph), her 12-year-old daughter.

The rift with her older daughter remains.

Five, 10 years from now, what do you think your family looks like?

MELISSA TRINIDAD: I would like to have a relationship with all of my kids.

I want them to be able to call me and tell me things and have a place for my kids to come, even if they're not living with me, just a place for them to come, and they know they're safe, because they haven't had that in a while with me, so... AMNA NAWAZ: Which is why she says she will keep working towards the life she couldn't give them before.

For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Amna Nawaz.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Heartbreaking.

And that's the "NewsHour" for tonight.

I'm Judy Woodruff.

Thank you, please stay safe, and we'll see you soon.