JUDY WOODRUFF: Good evening.

I'm Judy Woodruff.

On the "NewsHour" tonight: at capacity.

Some hospital intensive care units in hot spots like Florida and Texas are nearly full, as COVID-19 cases continue a summer surge.

Then: after a weekend of gun violence in cities across America, how police and other officials are responding to the spate of shootings.

Plus: more and more evictions.

A growing number of Americans who lost their jobs during the pandemic are now being forced out of their homes.

NICOLE PALUZZI, Attorney: What we're seeing now is a significant bump in the nonpayment of rent cases.

And a lot of that is related to people being unemployed during COVID-19 during the shutdowns.

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

(BREAK) JUDY WOODRUFF: New COVID-19 infections are on the rise in 42 states, as the total number of U.S. cases nears the three million mark.

In the hardest-hit areas, hospital intensive care units are filled to the brim with patients, and communities are grappling with testing shortages and delays.

John Yang begins our coverage.

JOHN YANG: The burden of new COVID-19 cases is still growing, with 28 states today reporting spikes in hospitalizations.

In Florida, more than four dozen hospitals say their intensive care units are completely full.

Governor Ron DeSantis dug deep into those numbers for a silver lining.

GOV.

RON DESANTIS (R-FL): As we have seen more traffic into hospitals in the past few weeks, we're seeing a smaller number of residents of longer-term care facilities admitted.

And so, look, we obviously would like to not be here, not to have anyone admitted, but those residents of the long-term care facilities, and when they are admitted, they have a much, much higher rate of mortality.

And so to see that decline is something that's very, very positive.

JOHN YANG: Cases in Florida have now topped 300,000, but that hasn't stopped officials from pushing to reopen the state.

On Monday, the state's education commissioner ordered schools to reopen in the fall, a move President Trump said today he hoped will be mirrored across the country.

DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States: What we want to do is, we want to get our schools open.

We want to get them to open quickly, beautifully, in the fall.

JOHN YANG: Harvard is among many colleges and universities saying that, beginning this fall, all instruction will be online.

That's a problem for international students.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says students at schools that are fully online won't be allowed to enter the country, and if they're already here, they will have transfer to an institution with at least some in-person instruction or leave the country.

It threatens the visas of more than a million students, many from China.

Today, China's Foreign Ministry tried to offer some assurance: ZHAO LIJIAN, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman (through translator): China is now closely following the U.S. moves on relevant policies and will make utmost efforts to protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese students in the U.S. JOHN YANG: In Brazil, President Jair Bolsonaro, who from the outset dismissed the threat of the coronavirus, said he has tested positive for COVID-19 and is taking hydroxychloroquine, a malaria drug President Trump has touted, but has not been proven against coronavirus.

JAIR BOLSONARO, Brazilian President (through translator): It started on Sunday, July 5, with a certain feeling of unwell that worsened during the day on Monday, July 6, with malaise, tiredness, a bit of muscle pain and a fever.

JOHN YANG: Over the weekend, he attended a Fourth of July celebration at the U.S. Embassy hosted by Ambassador Todd Chapman.

Photos of the two showed no evidence of precautions like distancing or masks.

Today, the embassy said Chapman, a career diplomat, had tested negative.

Even though Brazil has the world's second highest number of cases behind the United States, it does not have a coordinated national policy to contain the virus.

European countries that imposed tough restrictions early on are already eying a return to more normal life, from pubs in Britain to the newly reopened Louvre museum in Paris.

Australia, once considered a success story, is again cracking down.

Its second largest city, Melbourne, reimposed a six-week lockdown in an effort to beat back a new surge of infections.

DANIEL ANDREWS, Premier of Victoria: I think a sense of I think that each of us know we have got no choice but to take these very, very difficult steps.

JOHN YANG: A recognition that the virus is far from being fully contained.

For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm John Yang.

JUDY WOODRUFF: This afternoon, President Trump said it was ridiculous that Harvard will do its instructions online, and he accused the school of taking the -- quote -- "easy way out."

We will take a closer look at the reopening of the nation's K-12 schools later in the program.

In the day's other news: The Trump administration has officially notified Congress and the United Nations that the U.S. is withdrawing from the World Health Organization, despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

But the withdrawal cannot legally go into effect for at least another year.

The U.S. has previously contributed over $400 million a year to the WHO, more than any other country.

Later, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Joe Biden, tweeted that he will rejoin the WHO on his first day as president.

The Democratic mayor of Atlanta said that the city doesn't need National Guard troops to protect it, after a weekend of gun violence.

Last night, Republican Governor Brian Kemp sent the troops to patrol the streets, after he declared a state of emergency.

We will examine the recent spike in gun violence across the country later in the program.

One person is hospitalized after a driver sped through a protest in Bloomington, Indiana, late Monday.

The driver struck two people, as demonstrators protested an assault on a black man at a lake over the weekend.

Vauhxx Booker said that a group of white men attacked him July 4 and threatened to -- quote - - "get a noose."

His attorney spoke to reporters this afternoon.

KATHARINE LIELL, Attorney For Vauhxx Booker: I can confirm that an official investigation has been opened up by the FBI.

I believe it has been approved by the United States attorney's office, and they are investigating this as a hate crime.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Authorities are still searching for the driver of the car that struck the two people at yesterday's protest.

The FBI sounded the alarm today about the growing number of threats emerging from China.

Its director, Christopher Wray, highlighted several areas of increased Beijing aggression, including targeting U.S. military technology and economic coercion.

He told a Washington think tank, the increase in Chinese cases at the bureau is concerning.

CHRISTOPHER WRAY, FBI Director: We have now reached a point where the FBI is opening a new China-related counterintelligence case about every 10 hours.

Of the nearly 5,000 active FBI counterintelligence cases currently under way across the country, almost half are all related to China.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Wray also urged Chinese-born people living in the U.S. to contact the FBI if Chinese officials try to force them into returning home to China.

He said it is part of a Chinese coercion program designed to silence criticism of Beijing's policies.

New York regulators fined Deutsche Bank $150 million for its dealings with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

It is the first disciplinary action against a financial institution over business with the financier.

Epstein killed himself in a Manhattan jail last August while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

At least 55 people have died in Southern Japan after torrential rains and floods swept across the region.

A dozen others are still missing.

In some towns, floodwaters submerged cars, and the record-breaking rain triggered landslides.

Meanwhile, rescue crews rushed to evacuate residents.

YOSHIHIDE SUGA, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary (through translator): About 80,000 members from the police, fire department, and Japan Coast Guard are on a search-and-rescue mission.

Our policy is saving people's lives first, and we will make our very best effort in our mission.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Some three million residents have been urged to evacuate Kyushu, which is Japan's third largest island.

A bus crash in China today killed at least 21 people.

The bus lost control and plunged into a reservoir in southern city.

It was carrying students who had just completed their college entrance exams.

Fifteen people were injured.

Back in this country, it was primary day in New Jersey and Delaware.

Many voted by mail on account of the pandemic.

Official results won't likely be announced until next week.

Meanwhile, in Utah, the results are in from last week's Republican gubernatorial primary.

Lieutenant Governor Spencer Cox narrowly defeated former U.S.

Ambassador and former Governor Jon Huntsman.

Details emerged today about a new tell-all book written by President Trump's niece.

Mary Trump, a psychologist, alleged that her uncle is a narcissist, and that he paid someone to take his college SAT test for him.

She wrote -- quote -- "No one is less equipped than my uncle to manage the current crises facing the nation."

The White House called the memoir a book of falsehood.

It is set to be released next week.

The European Union has projected a deeper-than-expected recession from the pandemic.

It now forecasts that the bloc's economy will shrink 8.3 percent this year.

Meanwhile, in the U.S., stocks took a dive on Wall Street today.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 397 points to close at 25890.

The Nasdaq fell nearly 90 points, and the S&P 500 shed 34.

Still to come on the "NewsHour": the debate over when to reopen schools in the fall; more people are facing eviction from their homes in the midst of the pandemic; what is driving the recent spate of gun violence across the country; and much more.

Across the country, parents are wondering what the next school year will look like for their children.

The decision of how to reopen, and when, will ultimately be up to state and local officials.

But that is despite President Trump saying at a White House event today that he would pressure governors to reopen schools this fall.

DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States: We hope that most schools are going to be open.

We don't want people to make political statements or do it for political reasons.

They think it's going to be good for them politically, so they keep the schools closed.

No way.

So we're very much going to put pressure on governors and everybody else to open the schools, to get them open.

And it's very important.

It's very important for our country.

It's very important for the well-being of the student and the parents.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Meanwhile, in a virtual hearing on Capitol Hill, the president of the National Education Association offered a different view.

She said that America's educators are alarmed by what they are seeing from politicians.

LILY ESKELSEN GARCIA, President, National Education Association: They see people who are making decisions to race back into that school without the proper plan to distance, to disinfect, to have the PPE, to have the health checks and the COVID testing.

They will be at risk or put their own families at risk, put their teachers and the lunch lady and the janitor at risk.

And so we are scared.

JUDY WOODRUFF: It is a balance that policy-makers and educators across the country are weighing.

To discuss the push to reopen schools, I'm joined by Noel Candeleria.

He is the president of the Texas State Teachers Association, which represents about 60,000 educators in Texas.

And Elliot Haspel, he's a former elementary school teacher and education policy expert from Richmond, Virginia.

We welcome both of you to the "NewsHour."

Mr. Candeleria, let me start with you.

At this point, what are Texas -- what, five million public school students facing?

Is it known yet what the plan is yet with regard to opening schools?

NOEL CANDELERIA, President, Texas State Teachers Association: No.

The commissioner wants the schools to be reopened and educators want to start the school year up here in August.

What we don't have yet clearly is a plan, a clearly outlined plan of not just from the state, but from school districts across the state, as to standards that we can all expect to go back into when it comes to our schools.

And we have districts who are right now looking at doing only remote learning.

Some districts are planning face-to-face.

Some districts are planning some type of hybrid models, but there has been no consistency or clarity across the state.

JUDY WOODRUFF: So, Elliot Haspel, President Trump, as we know, is urging, urging school systems, educators to open up.

He says, it's good for the students, it's good for the schools.

What is known at this point about the argument for opening the schools in September?

ELLIOT HASPEL, Author, "Crawling Behind": So, I think it's important to start by realizing the argument is nuanced, right?

Opening schools in a place where there are spiking transmission levels, like Texas, like Florida, it should be a different conversation than opening schools in a place like Michigan, which yesterday recorded zero deaths from COVID and only 300 new cases.

So, sometimes, the U.S. is one country.

Sometimes, we're a lot of different states and localities.

This is one of the latter.

But the argument basically boils down to, we know that, for elementary school students in particular, the children themselves seem to be at pretty low risk for catching COVID.

There's some evidence that hints to the fact that young children don't transmit to other kids or to adults at a particularly higher rate.

And so where there isn't very high levels of community transmission, it may be relatively safe, if you have all the precautions in place, and if you are fully funded to be able to make sure you have the sanitation, the PPE, all those things, to send particularly the younger students back, and that the tradeoff of not sending them back is a tremendous amount of harm to their mental, socioemotional well-being, certainly, as well as their educational well-being.

But, in some ways, that is secondary to the cost to their holistic well-being.

JUDY WOODRUFF: And, Noel Candeleria, I mean, from the perspective of educators in Texas, do you see a difference between what it's going to be -- take to be safe for the younger children in the elementary grades, for example, vs. children in high school or middle school?

NOEL CANDELERIA: Right.

I mean, as part of the challenges that we have had is that not enough educators have been part of this conversation when it comes to putting plans together in place at the local level.

Educators are the experts in knowing and understanding student movement across the campus, how students move from campus to the restroom, from the school bus to home.

And with all of these that are that are critical pieces, I mean, putting a well-thought-out plan together, both at the elementary level, at the middle school level, and at the high school level -- I mean, in Texas, we have schools with as few as 50 students, and we have schools with as many as 6,000 students in them.

And so, obviously, those plans are going to differ from community to community, based on the school's needs.

But what we are not seeing right now is clearly outlined plans to ensure all of the safety for the students, for the educators, and really the community as a whole, in how the community is going to engage and interact with their public -- with the neighborhood public school.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, let's talk about the things, Elliot Haspel, that schools are going to have to have in place in order for schools - - for the parents to feel safe, for the faculty, for teachers to feel safe.

What are the essentials that schools are going to have to have?

ELLIOT HASPEL: Well, there are a few things.

First, we know that masks and PPE are going to be critically important.

That is just -- that is essential.

The -- with the new recommendations the American Academy of Pediatrics, the World Health Organization have put out, saying it's basically just about as good to have three feet of distance between students, between the CDC saying six feet of distance.

And if you're doing six feet, it's almost impossible to get a full classroom.

So, the three feet is sort of the way into having full classrooms.

But, importantly, that is three feet with a mask.

So, particularly for middle elementary students up, being able to have that enough masks -- masks, that's really important.

We do need to make sure that we have a robust staffing plan.

We want it to be so, if any teacher feels at all sick, they're able to stay home and know that their class will be taken care of.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, as you listen to this, Noel Candeleria, is this the kind of thing that's going to make teachers in the state of Texas feel safe going back, this debate about three feet vs. six feet, the question about whether masks are required?

What's going to make teachers feel safe about going back into the classroom?

NOEL CANDELERIA: Right.

I mean, it's not just talking about the mask.

It's talking about social distancing.

How do we ensure proper social distancing within the day-to-day movement of the classroom?

But we also need to be talking about ventilation.

A lot of teachers here in Texas are fearful because of -- over the majority of our schools have 30 to 40 -- are 30 to 40 years old.

So, proper ventilation within our schools has always been an issue even prior to the pandemic.

There's always a shortage of cleaning supplies.

And we don't have enough staff.

I mean, a lot of our schools are without a school nurse right now.

A lot of our districts haven't been fully funded to be able to provide a school nurse on every campus, to provide for paper towels to dry your hands, handwashing stations.

Even prior to the pandemic, most of our campuses had transitioned from paper towel to air dryers, which are advised to not be used during this pandemic, because it'll spray all over the campus.

So, there are so many things that, right now, our campuses are struggling with when they're trying to plan out opening the school, not having the supplies and equipment that they need or the staffing that is going to be needed to properly clean and disinfect the school.

I mean, our custodians right now are following a model that has been laid out, with one custodian for about 500, 700 square feet, which is not going to be manageable right now, when you have to do some thorough cleaning on surfaces that are going to be touched by various adults.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Elliot Haspel, I think everybody agrees, ideally, the good thing would be to get children back in the classroom.

That would be the ideal for everyone.

But the reality is, there are these concerns.

When you have the White House saying, we really want this to happen, we know we can't require schools to open, how much -- how much pressure do you think school systems will be under?

ELLIOT HASPEL: I think they're going to be under an immense amount of pressure.

And it's really unfortunate.

This is not one of those issues that should become political and partisan, but it already has.

We saw this with the Florida Department of Education commissioner of education basically requiring all of the schools in that state, as it is experiencing an enormous outbreak right now of community transition -- transmission, to at least have a plan to open.

There was -- the conservative author Jonathan Last wrote in a piece recently that anyone who says that all schools should open or no schools should open is either foolish, hysterical are pushing an agenda.

And I think that's fairly accurate.

I think we have to take this community by community and by -- really lean into the local context.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, we are certainly going to be keeping an eye on this and many decisions yet to be made.

But we want to thank both of you for talking with us about it today.

Elliot Haspel, Noel Candeleria, thank you very much.

It is one of the federal government's signature efforts to help small businesses weather the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now there is new data from the Trump administration about the Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP, the most detailed information yet about some of the forgivable loans issued over the last 3.5 months.

Initially, there were questions over whether the program had enough funds to aid all of the small businesses that requested it.

Later, there were questions about which businesses were getting the loans.

Lisa Desjardins has been digging into this new data, and she joins me now.

So, Lisa, you have been through all this material.

There's a lot of it.

What did you learn about who got money and how much they got?

LISA DESJARDINS: Judy, this was an incredible trove of data.

For someone, like for us and for a person like me, it was incredibly informative.

Let's just take a look at the big numbers involved here.

First of all, we learned from these numbers that 4.9 million loans were given out in this program since April.

That, of course, is historic and unprecedented.

Those loans were connected to 51 million jobs at businesses across this country.

Now, Judy, some of those companies said that they didn't save any jobs necessarily.

Those could have been sole proprietors or just could have been companies that actually didn't use the money for payroll.

Now, 3,000 -- more than 3,000 of those loans were large, over $1 million.

As I said, Judy, this is extraordinary data.

And we were particularly able to get very detailed information about the largest groups of loans, loans over $150,000.

Now, that's not most of the loans.

Most of the loans were smaller than that.

But there were still 600,000 loans that were of that size.

So, the government released the names of every business that received a loan over $150,000 and where those businesses are.

Judy, I ran through the spreadsheet and here is a map of where those businesses were.

You see in this map, Judy, where the greatest need was for small business help.

And then lining up with that, you see, of course, in New England, where the largest number of cases were early on in this virus.

But it's not just about the help here.

You also see some states, Wyoming, North Dakota, that were experiencing a major economic crisis, even if they didn't have the virus.

Those are two states where the energy sector was hit hard by international factors during this virus.

Those light yellow states are the ones that received the fewest number of loans.

And, Judy, in bright red, Washington, D.C., that is the place where we saw the greatest number of small business loans this program, per capita.

So, it tells us a lot about where the need was.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Fascinating.

And, Lisa, a lot of raised eyebrows about the big, big companies that got some of this money.

What did you learn about that?

LISA DESJARDINS: That's right.

As I mentioned, some of these loans were in the millions of dollars.

And there were questions still about where that money went.

Again, this was supposed to be for small businesses, businesses with 500 or fewer employees.

So, let's look at where some of this money went.

It could go to nonprofits.

Some churches were able to get these loans, some schools, including for-profit schools, as well as nonprofit organizations.

On the other end of the spectrum, some natural chain restaurants, like P.F.

Chang's and Five Guys, that have hundreds of stores across the country were able to get this money, as well as some big-name celebrity brands, like Yeezy, the fashion label by Kanye West.

How did these folks get that money, especially the larger companies?

Well, Judy, Congress made an exception in this law, so that any company that had franchises, separate businesses in separate locations, could file each location as a small business.

And you see some of those large restaurant chains did that.

Other restaurant chains returned this money.

And we will have to see if these restaurant chains keep it or not.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Lisa, another question is, what did you see in terms of who received money who had political connections out there?

LISA DESJARDINS: Right.

It was important to look.

And right at the top of the list, of course, is the president himself.

He is known as a businessman.

And, indeed, we saw some Trump partner organizations, like the organization running the Trump Hotel in Waikiki, for example, received at least $2 million.

Same thing.

There was a New York law firm that's headed by a Trump attorney, Mike (sic) Kasowitz, got at least $5 million.

Now, Judy, Trump properties and family members were prohibited from getting other relief money in the CARES Act.

But there was an exception made for this money, for the PPP money.

We also know that at least seven members of Congress received money through their businesses.

Of course, these are all businesspeople.

And all of them say this money went to help those businesses and their employees keep the payroll going.

JUDY WOODRUFF: And just very quickly, Lisa, do we know if there's money left in this program to be disbursed?

And is Congress likely to renew this?

LISA DESJARDINS: There is money left.

There's about $130 billion left.

And a reminder that this money was intended, it's limited right now to only 2.5 months of payroll.

Judy, we have been in the pandemic for three months.

So, it looks like the businesses that needed the money got it, but they have used it.

So, Judy, the issue is if another round of this virus and another round of shutdowns come, more money, maybe a lot of money, will be needed.

We do expect Congress to talk about that when they return next week.

JUDY WOODRUFF: So much material to pore through.

LISA DESJARDINS: That's right.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Lisa Desjardins, thank you so much for giving this -- giving us this look at this really important program.

LISA DESJARDINS: You're welcome.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Thanks.

LISA DESJARDINS: You're welcome.

JUDY WOODRUFF: During this pandemic, we hear it repeatedly from public health officials: Stay at home.

But many Americans don't have stable housing.

And, as William Brangham reports, a growing number of people are being forced out of their homes because they cannot make rent payments.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Like tens of thousands of Americans right now, Rhonda Anderson and her family are being evicted.

RHONDA ANDERSON, South Carolina: It's stressful and it's hard.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Let's back up.

Last December, Anderson's family was excited when they moved to North Charleston, South Carolina.

She and her husband had both found good jobs, and this nice rental home close to work.

But then, three months after they moved, the pandemic hit.

Anderson's husband lost his home restoration job when the virus and the shutdown dried up all his company's projects.

RHONDA ANDERSON: My husband filed for unemployment.

Didn't get no unemployment.

So, basically, it left me in a situation to do stuff by myself, try to keep food in the house and try to pay the rent.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Rhonda took on extra hours at her job.

She's the head cook at a local nursing home.

These days, she's working up to 75 hours a week, but it still hasn't been enough to make rent on time.

RHONDA ANDERSON: I have never been in this situation before in any way, never.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: After paying the rent late in April and in May, her landlord told her she was being evicted.

RHONDA ANDERSON: I'm asking, like, how are you going to evict us and we're still paying our payment?

He said: "I just -- I just want you all out of there."

And we didn't know why.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: The landlord said Anderson paid her rent late several times, and she was violating her lease because her 20-year-old son wasn't on the initial paperwork.

He had come to live with her when his college closed because of the pandemic.

The CARES Act the coronavirus relief package Congress passed earlier this year, halted evictions for anyone living in properties with federally backed mortgages.

but that only applies to about a third of renters nationwide, and it's set to expire July 25.

In addition to the federal protections, most states put a pause on all evictions when the pandemic first hit.

But those rules only postpone evictions.

If tenants violate their rental agreements, landlords can still evict them once the moratoriums expire.

And that's exactly what's happening now to people like Rhonda Anderson.

When South Carolina let its moratorium expire in May, it saw a spike in eviction filings, says Charleston attorney Nicole Paluzzi.

NICOLE PALUZZI, Attorney: What we're seeing now is a significant bump in the nonpayment of rent cases.

And a lot of that is related to people being unemployed during COVID-19 during the shutdowns.

LAVAR EDMONDS, Princeton University: It's really kind of a perfect storm.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Princeton University's Lavar Edmonds studies evictions.

He says they were already a major problem before the pandemic.

LAVAR EDMONDS: The last 15, 20 years, you can see rents have been increasing considerably, whereas incomes have remained relatively stagnant.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: In 2018, one in four renters in the U.S. put more than half of their income towards rent, and about half of renters have less than $1,000 in savings.

LAVAR EDMONDS: They're paying rent, but they're sort of on the edge of something goes wrong, and now we have got a problem.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: What's pushing many renters over that edge is the economic fallout from the pandemic.

One recent survey found up to a third of all renters weren't able to pay rent in April.

That's causing housing advocates to warn of what they see as a worst-case scenario, a spike in homelessness right in the middle of the pandemic.

That could expose more people to the virus, if they end up in shelters, where it's very hard to socially distance.

But Boston Medical Center's Dr. Megan Sandel says, not having quality, stable housing is also tied to other problems, like food insecurity and increased stress.

And that can, in turn, trigger long-term physical and mental health issues.

DR. MEGAN SANDEL, Boston Medical Center: An affordable home is like a prescription for health.

And nothing showed that more than during the epidemic.

And so now is the time to double down on stocking that housing prescription.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Like many aspects of this pandemic, people of color are also most vulnerable when it comes to housing.

Blacks and Hispanics in the U.S. are twice as likely to be renters as whites.

And during the pandemic, black and Hispanic workers are more likely to have lost their jobs as well.

DIANE YENTEL, President, National Low-Income Housing Coalition: Black and brown renters are disproportionately likely to be extremely low-income.

They're much more likely to be severely cost-burdened.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Diane Yentel is president of the National Low-Income Housing Coalition.

DIANE YENTEL: As we look towards this potential wave of evictions that's coming, that, too, will disproportionately harm black and brown renters.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: States and cities are already using federal emergency money for rental assistance.

But housing advocates say much more is needed.

Earlier this year, Houston's $15 million fund was tapped out just 90 minutes after it opened up to applicants.

Landlords are pushing for more rental assistance, too.

Doug Quattrochi is the executive director of MassLandlords, a trade association in Massachusetts.

DOUG QUATTROCHI, Executive Director, MassLandlords: Landlords don't like to evict their paying customers or their nonpaying customers.

We want to have customers, and we want to have people occupy our housing.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Quattrochi says, when rent isn't paid, small mom-and-pop landlords like him struggle to pay their own bills.

DOUG QUATTROCHI: Even though there's a pandemic, we still have to pay for repairs, we have to pay for insurance, real estate taxes.

Five percent of our members are insolvent, and they're selling their buildings to get out of the business.

Another 20 percent... WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Because of this pandemic?

DOUG QUATTROCHI: Because of the pandemic, plus the resulting shutdowns and the eviction moratorium.

They can't operate anymore, and they're done.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: After going to court, Rhonda Anderson agreed to a deal with her landlord.

The landlord would apply for CARES Act rental assistance to cover the missed June rent, and Anderson would vacate the house at the end of the month.

But the eviction wouldn't go on her record, something that could have made it harder to rent in the future.

But the quick move meant her family had to go to a hotel.

Fortunately, it's only temporary.

RHONDA ANDERSON: We found a place, but it's not open up until after the holidays.

So, we have to stay in a hotel for, like, eight days.

So that's how life is at now.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: And as evictions pick up across the country, that's how life could soon be for thousands more Americans.

For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm William Brangham.

JUDY WOODRUFF: In addition to all the upheavals caused by the pandemic, social unrest, and heightened political turbulence, Amna Nawaz reports, this summer is also shaping up to be a bloody one in our cities' streets and neighborhoods.

AMNA NAWAZ: From New York to California, Atlanta to Chicago, a July 4 weekend interrupted by gun violence, leaving dozens, including children, dead.

KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS (D), Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia: Enough is enough.

AMNA NAWAZ: In Atlanta, 31 people shot and five killed, including 8-year-old Secoriea Turner.

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Bottoms: KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS: We are shooting each other up on our streets in this city, and you shot and killed a baby.

And it wasn't one shooter.

There were at least two shooters.

An 8-year-old baby.

AMNA NAWAZ: Georgia Governor Brian Kemp moved in the National Guard in response.

Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., 11-year-old Davon McNeal was killed at a cookout aimed at preventing violence.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser: MURIEL BOWSER (D), Mayor of Washington, D.C.: This should not have happened, and it cannot keep happening.

We can't losing our children to senseless gun violence.

AMNA NAWAZ: And, in Chicago, 87 people shot over the weekend and 17 killed, among them, 7-year-old Natalia Wallace, struck by a stray bullet while playing outside.

FRED WALLER, Chief of Operations, Chicago Police Department: There were kids riding by on bicycles, as we said, enjoying the Fourth of July, as they should have been, and now this child is gone.

AMNA NAWAZ: As some cities see a spike in gun violence this summer, the reasons why are now the subject of debate.

In New York City, where 64 people were shot over the weekend, and June homicides hit their highest since 1996, Mayor Bill de Blasio blamed the pandemic.

BILL DE BLASIO (D), Mayor of New York: It is directly related to all the dislocation that's happened over these last four months with the coronavirus.

AMNA NAWAZ: Others point to a strained police force as a factor, after demonstrations against police brutality, and recent reforms banning some use of force.

New York Police Commissioner Dermot Shea: DERMOT SHEA, New York City Police Commissioner: We need three things.

I'm going to keep repeating it for people.

We need support, we need laws that help the police, instead of handcuff them, and then we need resources.

AMNA NAWAZ: Even President Trump, in his July 3 Mount Rushmore speech, linked the rise in protests to the rise in violence.

DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States: Angry mobs are trying to tear down statues of our founders, deface our most sacred memorials, and unleash a wave of violent crime in our cities.

AMNA NAWAZ: Violent crime, however, has not risen uniformly across the country or among cities, and many types of crime are down.

We take a closer look now at this recent surge in gun violence with Pastor Michael McBride, director for the Live Free Campaign.

That's a faith-based movement committed to reducing gun violence and to ending mass incarceration of people of color.

And with Thomas Abt.

He's senior fellow at the Council on Criminal Justice and a co-author of the nationwide homicide study by Arnold Ventures, a philanthropy focused on criminal justice.

Welcome to you both, and thank you both for being here.

Thomas Abt, let's start with you, because these headlines get a lot of attention, especially when you're talking about the number of children that have been killed.

But when you look at the data, is it different from years past?

Help us with some context around what we have been seeing so far this year.

THOMAS ABT, Senior Fellow, Council on Criminal Justice: Sure.

The study my colleague Richard Rosenfeld and I performed looked at the impact of homicide over the first five months of this year, compared to the three-year average in previous years.

And what we saw was, while there was a significant decline in homicides in April and in May as a result of the social distancing measures put in place due to the pandemic, unfortunately, the first three months of the year were quite violent.

And, in fact, at the end of that five-month period, we were up in terms of homicides compared to that three-year average 6 percent.

And, unfortunately, we don't have the data yet, but it look like June was even worse.

AMNA NAWAZ: Pastor McBride, let's put some context on from your end.

Now, what were you seeing earlier in the year on the ground in the communities you have been working in for years to address gun violence?

And how does the pandemic affect what you were seeing?

PASTOR MICHAEL MCBRIDE, National Director, Live Free Campaign: Well, I think it's very important for us to continue to remind ourselves that gun violence in urban communities across the country is largely focused with a small number of individuals who are driving disproportionate amounts of violence.

And even during the pandemic, many of our outreach workers were deemed necessary, essential workers to help address the conflicts that continue to persist.

And so, as we talk about gun violence, and with the right kind of resources and targeted interventions, even during a pandemic, we know those who are driving violence, who are caught in the cycle of violence, and we have the solutions to ensure that that violence does not spiral out of control.

AMNA NAWAZ: So, Thomas Abt, as people are trying to understand what was driving that earlier surge that you mentioned, some are pointing to this idea that the demonstrations against police brutality, calling for an end to systemic racism, that they have somehow fueled the violence in these cities.

Is there any truth to that?

Does the data back that up?

THOMAS ABT: Well, at the outset, I couldn't agree with Pastor McBride more.

There are evidence-informed, community-informed approaches to addressing urban violence.

And we need to step up our support for those approaches.

But turning to your question, I think that's an unfair critique.

And, in fact, I think that the protests are a natural reaction to a highly publicized and terrible, tragic incident of excessive deadly force, on top of years of a persistent, ongoing problem that communities of color have been trying to call attention to literally for decades.

I think that the -- it's not the protests that are the problem.

It is the underlying police violence.

And I think we have to acknowledge that there is actually a connection between police violence and community violence.

AMNA NAWAZ: Pastor McBride, when you look at that connection, that has fueled what we know has long been a cycle of mistrust between police departments and black and brown communities in America.

In this moment, when there's even more attention, calls for broader reform, are you worried that mistrust is even deeper, and then that that will actually fuel more violence in some communities?

PASTOR MICHAEL MCBRIDE: No, I believe that we should pivot this conversation very forcefully to go beyond the conversation of mistrust, and really have a conversation about values.

Who do we value?

How do we ensure that our budgets demonstrate the value that we have?

And how then do we leverage our tax base, our tax dollars to invest in those kinds of populations who we value?

The bigger issue around defunding the police and these other magnificent ideas that are being debated, it is a question of investment.

It is a question of, can we indeed believe that black and brown communities that are fully invested in, so there is food programs, there are housing programs, there are job programs, there are healing programs, vs. us putting 30, 40, 50 percent of our budgets into police departments?

It is a question about, how do we invest in people and public safety that keeps people at the center?

And so I just want us to continue to push our imagination beyond policing as it relates to a public safety conversation.

We can reduce gun violence in many communities, because we have done it before.

But we should scale those strategies up and use this moment as a way to unleash tax dollars to get that job done.

AMNA NAWAZ: So, Pastor McBride, let me ask you, then.

As Thomas Abt was talking about some of the higher numbers he was seeing earlier in 2020, what do you want to say to people about what they should understand about why that was happening, and now what should be done to address it?

PASTOR MICHAEL MCBRIDE: We know that much of the violence that is driven by the small number of individuals in our community, they have intersecting social issues and realities that are crimes of poverty.

They are, at their very base, exposing the kind of vulnerability of black, brown and poor communities across this country.

The proliferation of guns, of course, makes this kind of violence more lethal.

But it is, at the end of the day, about, how do we ensure that we are investing in the root causes of poverty that drive crime?

And so our vision should be not to criminalize, but to literally invest.

And because the early pandemic has exposed the lack of social stability of black and brown communities, we should use this as another case study of saying, what if we invested in health care, in public health approaches that are mental health, that are violence interrupters, that are strategies that actually put at the center our most hurting and harmed communities?

That is a strategy every community, I believe, in this country impacted would embrace, if we really scaled it up.

That's how we should be looking at the rise and, prayerfully, as we do it, the drop in gun-related shootings and homicides, AMNA NAWAZ: Thomas Abt, in less than a minute left, I have to ask you.

Based on what you have seen so far, based on where we are right now, what do you see in the weeks and the months ahead?

THOMAS ABT: Well, I'm worried that we're in for a difficult summer and rest of the year, unless we take dramatic action, as Pastor McBride said, not to scale down police solutions - - police are part of the solution -- but to scale up community-based solutions.

These very small number of people at the highest risk for gun violence, either as perpetrators or as victims, need something to say yes to, as well as something to say no to.

There have to be carrots and there have to be sticks.

And unless we take dramatic action right now, I worry that we're in for a difficult year.

AMNA NAWAZ: That is Thomas Abt, senior fellow at the Council on Criminal Justice, and Pastor Mike McBride of the Live Free Campaign.

Thank you to you both.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Tomorrow, President Trump will welcome the president of Mexico to the White House.

There are more than 215,000 official cases of coronavirus in Mexico, the second highest total in Latin America.

More than 20,000 have died.

But Mexico's government acknowledges, that is a severe undercount.

We sent camera crews across the country.

And Nick Schifrin reports on the failures of the Mexican government to contain COVID.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Outside the northern city of Juarez, children who have nothing get their food from the man in the mask.

He is not from the government.

His mask is not only for COVID.

He is a member of La Nueva Empresa drug cartel.

MAN (through translator): The coronavirus is killing people like crazy, and we want to do something.

People are a little desperate, having a hard time.

There are no jobs.

There is no money.

People are worn out.

NICK SCHIFRIN: This so-called narco-philanthropy is designed to spread goodwill to protect smuggling routes.

The cartels are the only source of help because the government is largely absent.

ROSA MARIA HERNANDEZ, Juarez Resident (through translator): For us, it is very good, because we need it right now.

There is not much work.

With all that's happening, it's a blessing.

MAN (through translator): The shops are far away.

And if you take a look, there is no police.

So, this is a good place to work.

NICK SCHIFRIN: But Mexico has become a bad place to die; 1,000 miles south, in Mexico City, smoke rises from a crematorium that COVID's made all too busy.

Judith hasn't grieved.

She's too angry.

JUDITH, Mexico City Resident (through translator): They gave me a paper that says she had lung problems, and, after two days, she died from COVID problems.

But they never proved anything to me, nothing.

NICK SCHIFRIN: In Judith's hands, she holds her mother's remains.

She blames the government for failing to protect people.

JUDITH (through translator): The government says that all you need is the picture of a saint, and, with that, you are going to be fine.

But what's the picture of a saint going to do for me?

NICK SCHIFRIN: It actually wasn't a saint.

It was a religious amulet.

ANDRES MANUEL LOPEZ OBRADOR, Mexican President (through translator): Stop, enemy, for the heart of Jesus is with me.

NICK SCHIFRIN: That's Mexico's president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, in mid-March, suggesting his good luck charms and advice could protect Mexico from COVID.

ANDRES MANUEL LOPEZ OBRADOR (through translator): The protective shield is honesty, not to allow corruption.

NICK SCHIFRIN: At first, AMLO, as he is widely known, flouted his own government's social distancing recommendations.

He's declined to be tested until this trip to the U.S. because he's had no symptoms, and he refused to wear a mask.

ANDRES MANUEL LOPEZ OBRADOR (through translator): If I come here wearing a mask, how are the people going to feel?

I have to keep the people's spirits up.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Since then, Mexico has taken the threat more seriously.

The government closed the country's borders and ordered schools and all nonessential businesses shut.

But as soon as he could, AMLO restarted his own travel.

On June the 1st, he reopened the country by launching a government-funded train that takes tourists to indigenous ruins.

ANDRES MANUEL LOPEZ OBRADOR (through translator): This comes at a good time.

In these times, due to the coronavirus pandemic, we need to reactivate the economy.

NICK SCHIFRIN: AMLO focused on his signature infrastructure projects, but refused to increase direct government spending on Mexicans or their businesses.

That's forced more than half the work force in the informal economy to ignore stay-at-home orders.

Lorena Torres is an entrepreneur.

Right now, she sells masks out of the back of a car.

LORENA TORRES, Entrepreneur (through translator): There are countries where the government has an infrastructure to support the citizens through something like this, right, to send them home, and only worry about taking care of their family and their health.

Many of us don't have that support.

NICK SCHIFRIN: And the government wasn't strong enough to resist American pressure in an entire industry near the U.S. border, the factories where Mexican workers make parts for American companies.

After the government tried to close them, hundreds of American business leaders wrote, they produced essential products and should stay open with social distancing and should stay open with social distancing and personal protective equipment.

And U.S.

Ambassador to Mexico Christopher Landau tweeted in Spanish, "You don't have workers if you close all the companies and they go elsewhere."

Some factories never closed at all.

And this man's mother caught COVID and died.

MAN (through translator): The company never sent her home.

The company never, ever cared about her health.

My mother and the other workers should have gone home as soon as they issued the federal decree.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Outside a factory complex, an activist filmed workers so desperate to earn money, they said they were too scared to reveal dangerous conditions.

WOMAN (through translator): There have been cases in this plant already.

And nobody says anything, out of fear.

Seat belts for a golf cart.

They are claiming that they make seat belts for ambulances and for medical use.

That is a big lie.

NICK SCHIFRIN: These videos were filmed by labor lawyer Susana Prieto Terrazas, who urged workers to walk out of factories not taking COVID-19 seriously.

SUSANA PRIETO TERRAZAS, Labor Lawyer and Activist (through translator): They are pretending they are complying with sanitary regulations when there are inspections.

And when the inspector leaves, they make all the workers work shoulder to shoulder, side by side, with a massive risk of contagion.

NICK SCHIFRIN: A few days later, Terrazas posted this video, as she was arrested.

She was charged with inciting riots.

She sat for this interview before being arrested.

SUSANA PRIETO TERRAZAS (through translator): I think U.S. companies behaved as unscrupulous as they have always have.

It demonstrated the lack of authority of the president and his Cabinet and the indifference of American businessmen and politicians who have influence in this country.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard insisted, the government ignored American pressure and stuck to its own reopening schedule.

MARCELO EBRARD, Mexican Foreign Minister (through translator): We're in a global value chain, but Mexico's priority is the health and protection of the sick people.

Mexico will follow its calendar.

NICK SCHIFRIN: But the Mexican government has also failed to resist U.S. pressure here in camps near the U.S. border.

Central American migrants live in flimsy tents cramped close together because of the Trump administration's remain-in-Mexico statute.

They apply for asylum in the U.S., but have to wait here, the policy accepted by the Mexican government.

And just last week, an asylum seeker in this camp caught COVID.

Twenty-three-year-old Yolanda fled from gang violence in Guatemala.

She now fears disease.

YOLANDA, Asylum Seeker From Guatemala (through translator): I am afraid, especially when they distribute the food.

The people from outside who come in never wear face masks.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Elcias Joel is also from Guatemala.

ELCIAS JOEL, Asylum Seeker From Guatemala (through translator): We are exposed not only to coronavirus, but to many diseases.

We are not living in ideal hygienic conditions.

We live in fear because we are here, and we don't know when this nightmare will end.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Mexico's coronavirus nightmare has been scary and deadly.

Mexicans have lost their faith in the government's ability to contain COVID.

And as high as the fatality numbers are officially, the actual number might be double.

For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Nick Schifrin.

JUDY WOODRUFF: And Nick will be back tomorrow night in prime time at 10:00 p.m. on PBS with a "PBS NewsHour Presents" documentary, "China: Power and Prosperity," built from more than a year-and-a-half of reporting both inside China and from five continents.

Nick and his team examine the rise of China and the new global confrontation with the U.S.

Here's a quick preview.

QUESTION: Why do you keep calling this the Chinese virus?

DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States: It comes from China.

MAN: Cooperation is the only correct choice for the United States.

MAN: We believe in democracy, but they believe in suppression.

NICK SCHIFRIN: If the government asked for the data, would you have to turn it over?

WOMAN: No.

WOMAN: In no other country have you had such a great amount of change in such a short amount of time.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Welcome to China.

JUDY WOODRUFF: That is tomorrow night to watch on PBS at 10:00.

And that is the "NewsHour" for tonight.

I'm Judy Woodruff.

Join us online and again here tomorrow evening.

For all of us at the "PBS NewsHour," thank you, please stay safe, and we'll see you soon.