geoff: good evening. i'm geoff bennett. amna: and i'm amna nawaz on the newshour tonight. as the world enters thfourth year of living with covid, we speak to the director of the centers for disease control about what we've learned and where we go from here. geoff: how the shifting nature of work during the pandemic led to an unexpected rise in bir rates with far-reaching implications for the u.s. economy. >> a lot of people were working from home, especially the more educated women. and we thought that this workplace flexibility may have played a role in their ability to both have children and maintain their busy work lives. amna: and. iran's future on the world stage becomes increasingly uncertain amid continuing protests, suspected poisoning of school-age girls, and advancements in nuclear enrichment.

♪ >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- ♪ and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. and friends of the newshour. the william and flora hewlett foundation. for more than 50 years advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world. cap hewlett.org. ♪

♪ >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs ation from viewers like you. thank you. vanessa: i'm vanessa ruiz in for stephanie sy with newshour west. here are the latest headlines. for thousands of people in california, the punishing clean-up from back-to-back blizzards goes on tonight. winter in the california mountains has turned out to be more like a natural disaster, especially east of los angeles. william brangham has our report. william: as snow continues to blanket various parts of california, residents are still trying to find ways to get out from under it. patricia derleth lives in a mobile home complex in the san bernardino mountains, where at least 10 feet of snow has

fallen. >> this place is a disaster zone. william: many people are just emerging for the first time in days, inching their way throug dug-out paths. some have to trek long distances just to get necessities like food and medicine. >> just hiking back now with the food. i'm actually trying to get to hilltop, that's the only place we can get phone service to make a phone call. william: crews are working around the clock to rescue those who are still trapped. they are using special equipment to dig routes to safety and deploying as much help as they can. >> and that preparedness part of it is key for us. it also deals with a lot of specialized equipment and resources based on what we think we're gonna see on the forecast. william: officials reopened interstate 80 th morning after shutting it down in several mountain towns over the weekend. but california isn't done with this extreme weather yet. more snow -- and later rain -- is predicted for this week.

the heavy combination could collapse more roofs and cause other structural damag meanwhile, winter weather is again hitting the midwest. minnesota woke up today to snow covered roads and high winds, as did much of the great lakes region. the rtheast is girding for its arrival next. for the pbs newshour, i'm william brangham. vanessa: all told, 13 counties in california are under states of emergency because of the massive snowfall. one month after a deadly earthquake rocked the turkey-syria border region, the un is warning it doesn't have the funds to help. the world body says an appeal for $1 billion to help survivors is only 10% funded. silence has fallen over destroyed cities like hatay in southern turkey. the un says hundreds of thousands of people still need humanitarian aid. in eastern ukraine, commanders are vowing again to hold the blasted city of bakhmut.

a non-stop russian assault continued today. one ukrainian officer described the situation as utter hell. drone footage from inside bakhmut showed miles of scarred ruins. a military spokesman told ukrainian tv that defenders are undeconstant pressure. >> it's tough. the enemy's assaults happen all the time. they try to capture out sitions, small groups attempt to carry out assaults. in the past couple of days, the number of people in those groups have increased. but so far, they've failed. vanessa: u.s. defense secretary lloyd austin said today that even if the russians finally capture bakhmut, it would be a symbolic victory only. in atlanta, more than 20 people face domestic terrorism charges in atlanta after a violent protest on sunday. it happened at a construction site for a new police training center. surveillance video showed demonstrators throwing flaming bottles, fireworks and rocks.

construction equipment was also set on fire. the project has been a flashpoint for months. police shot and killed one protester in january. democratic california governor gavin newsom send the state will stop doing business with walgreens after the pharmacy chain stopped selling the abortion pill in 20 republican led states. he tweeted he is done with any company that cowers to the extremists and puts women's lives at risk. he ordered state-funded insurance plans to review all dealings with walgreens. walgreens later clarified that it plans to dispense the pills in any state where they remain legal. two people have died from injuries following a stampede at a rap concert sunday in upstate new york. concertgoers believed they heard gunfire. authorities believe there is no evidence shots were fired. half a dozen people were injured.

still to come on the newshour. iran vows to punish anyone found responsible for the poisoning of school-age girls. also speeches by leading , republicans highlight the choice voters face on the direction of their party. and remembering an activist's lasting contributions to disability rights. ♪ >> this is the pbs newshour from weta studios in washington and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. geoff: it was three years ago this month when the country began shutting down due to the explosive spread of covid-19. the country is now into its fourth year with the virusnd it is fair to say that to many people, the pandemic is over. but covid isn't done with us. the cdc reports there were nearly 2300 deaths tied to covid over the last week and more than 3000 people hospitalized each day with it on average. roughout the pandemic, the centers for disease control and prevention has been criticized

for its response, and the agency is now undergoing a major reorganization after an internal review identified shortcomings. we are joined now by cdc director dr. rochelle walensky. welcome back. >> thanks much for having me. geoff: you've said the cdc failed to respond quickly enough to the pandemic and that the agent the was responsible for some pretty dramatic public mistakes, from testing to data sharing to communications. >> i feel like our responsibility is to be the public health agency of the future and to be prepared for every health emergency that we. we've done a huge amount of work within the agency -- you mentioned reorganization, but much more work than that, including increasing the rapidity at which we get science out. how the science gets out, how we communicate it and how quickly we are able to communicate it and then really being a response

based agency where we've always been known as an academic science based agency, but we also need to be a response based agency where we're ready to respond. so much of the work that we're doing within the agency is critically important. but we also really need help from congress to be all that we can be in public health. geoff: a question about the cdc being a response based agency. we talked with a number of experts in advance of speaking with you in nearly all of them pointed to what they saw as the biggest challenge, the toughest challenge, which is changing the culture at the cdc. that it is an academic institution, but that it has to be a nimble, action focused public health agency. how are you going to accomplish that? the reorganization itself may not be enough. >> said exactly that to the agency. the reorganization was necessary but not sufficient for the work that we need to do. we have been known as an exceptional science based agency and we need to be a response

-based agency. we have a responsibility such that when there is a public health urgency and emergency that we have a public health workforce within cdc and truly around the country that has -- is driven and respond are based. we're doing a lot of training within the agency. we have escalated the readiness and response based office directly into the immediate office is the director. and there's a real motivation within the agency toward that change. that said, we're doing all of these efforts within the agency. but this is again another one of those areas where it would be super helpful to have congressional support. we don't have been joined many of the authorities that response stage based agencies like fema do enjoy. for example, overtime pay or dang pay or direct hiring authorities. those are some of the authorities from human resource perspective that would be incredibly helpful for us to be the full response based agency that we need to be.

geoff: what about data sharing? does cdc have authority to compel states to share data ? ask the question because the u.s. was relying on data from israel to make recommendations for booster shots for americans and that raised questions and concerns and there has been this criticism that the cdc has not shared information as quickly as it needs to. >> yeah, i'm really glad you asked that question. so so we do need to share our data faster when we get it and we have been actively doing that. and i think you can see some of the respoes about how we are getting our data out faster. we've decreased our scientific clearance time by 50%. and more work happening there. but you raise a really critical point and that is when when people ask cdc for data, the most important question is does cdc have the data that is being asked of us? as you note we rely on data , coming in from 3000 counties

and jurisdictions, 64 states and territories, and 574 tribes. and they all report the those data voluntarily often those data are not standardized. and in fact, with the end of the public health emergency for covid, we will lose the receipt as much of the data that we people are traditionally used to seeing from the cdc. and that's another place where we are asking for congressional support to help with those data authority. so we can standardize the data, receive the data and then importantly, feed it back to the american people and feed it back to those jurisdictions so they know what's happening around them. geoff: is there a way to insulate the cdc from partisan influence of the political whims of the day? >> you know, so much of what we need to do is foundational in the science that we deliver, and yet we need to understand the dialogue of the policies around us. and recognize that health is not in a vacuum. as we are delivering in our

school-based guidance we really , do need to understand the intersection of the department of education. as we are looking at our health care guidance, we really need to understand how we intersect at our depament of labor. so much of what we need to do is foundational in the science that we deliver, and then it is critically important that we intersect with some of these other places across the government, so that those policies that are scientifically based can actually be implemented on the ground. geoff: covid has been a part of our lives for nearly four years now. is the u.s. better positioned to respond to the next pandemic? >> we are doing that work right now. bolstering our public health workforce in the cdc and across the country. bolstering our laboratory and data systems, bolstering our data systems across the country. what i will say is we started on

a very under invested public health infrastructure and i know people are tired of talking about the pandemic, but we started with a frail public health infrastructure. we've made great strides, but we are not where we need to be to be fully prepared for the next pandemic and that is theork that we have ahead and the real reason that we need ongoing investments in public health. geoff: lastly, the biden administration plans to end national emergency and the public health emergency declarations tied to covid-19 in may. there are more than 3000 people hospitalized each day with the virus. there are vulnerable communities who feel as if they are now left to fend for themselves and that everybody else has moved on. what would you say in your capacity as director of the cdc to those folks? >> i would say that whether or not there's a declared public health emergency our mission is unchanged with regard to covid-19 and to protecting the

health, safety and security of all americans. we will continue to work on covid-19 and all other health public health threats with the ongoing investment and vigor as we've had during the public health emergency. geoff: dr. rochelle walensky. director of the cdc. thanks for your time. >> thanks much for having me. amna: while the covid pandemic had impacts big and small, one unexpected effect, a mini baby boom. our special correspondent and washington post columnist reports on the surprise pandemic baby bump. ♪ >> if she sounds unusually professional when singing to her 18-month-old daughter -- ♪ that's because she is. just a few short years ago --

♪ she was performing in front of a bigger audience with broadway aspirations. >> i was like, this is my year, i got new head shots, i had a great meeting with my agent, i'm going to go for it, i'm going to get this dream job in the pandemic hit. >> in her career was put on pause. >> my agent said, i'm going to be real, theater is probably closed for at least a year. if i were you, i would think about what else you want to be doing during this time. we looked at each other and i said, well, we have another nine months, so should we have a baby right now? is this the ti? it's never been right because i didn't want to have to stop auditioning. i love you. >> wput her at centerstage, but this trend extends well off broadway too. she is part of the pandemic baby boom.

>> even in my own social circle, seemingly everyone had a baby these past two years. >> this was unexpected, for many years birthrates have been trending downward, but especially when the economy was weak. >> and all recessions in recent history, birthrates have gone down pretty dramatically. people delay the children until times are better. >> what is so interesting about the pandemic recession is that instead of birthrates falling, they actually went on to rise. it is not a big increase. people say it is a blip, which is true, but it is surising that instead of seeing a massive decline, we have seen a slight increase, which surprised all of us. >> possible reasons, stimulus checks and other government supports made the recession less financially painful and people's priorities changed. >> i got pregnant when i was on the iud, but i think under normal circumstances we would

have taken it a little bit differently. >> amy and sheldon were using birth control. they had not been dating long, but it was an intense period since they were stuck at home. >> are values started to change. before, if we were going to got to the bar and drink, now we were spending nights at home cooking. >> tout covid, we probably would have done a lot more -- >> taken the long route. >> yes. >> suddenly, they were on the fast track. >> i asked, what if i'm pregnant, do you want to keep the baby? he says, i don't know, maybe not. woke up, it was a friday. tested. and it was positive. i was like uh oh. >> you also had to immediately go to your doctor. >> because i had an iud and i knew that was going to be a little tricky. i was just exhausted from the day.

i took a nap on the couch and i woke up to him quietly crying on the couch with a smile on his face and he says, i'm going to be a dad. [laughter] so that was sweet. >> and along came the baby. one factor that made the idea of having a kid less daunting -- their work lives had changed. >> core -- before covid, i was traveling a lot. >> i was teaching. you were getting up before the kids, staying there after the kids. >> you would just come home and go to sleep. when you were teaching in the classroom. then all of a sudden the next day you couldn't -- could get up and wear sweatpants. >> schools returned to in person instruction, amy decided to become a consultant so she could continue work remotely. >> to still have that aspect of me that likes to work and wants

to have a career, but also be able to balance my family. >> the broader shift explains the national baby bump. >> a lot of people were working from home. >> women with colle degrees are more likely to be in white collar careers that can go remote. >> there is a big educational divideo women with more education were the ones having a lot more children, exceeding trends and increasing birthrates. they have barely recovered to trend by the end of 2021. >> the uptick was more pronounced for first-time parents too. those who already had kids had a lot to deal with. >> closure of childcare, remote schooling, it was not the right time to expand your family.

a lot of people without children did not have the same constraints. >> it doesn't look like they said, let's have another. >> we had been before the pandemic long distance and trying to figure out how to get into the same city she had been living in new york and then moved back east. they got married, bought a house, and started their family. >> i think the pandemic accelerated everything by five years for us probably. >> we were both in our careers. we were in a different life stage before.

they are requiring us to return four days a week, so i will be going back in. >> the university of maryland says birthrates are key to understanding what happens to the labor market and the broader economy. >> if every woman is having a little bit more than two kids on average, our native population stays constant. we are down to a total fertility rate is closer to 1.6, so that is substantially below replacement level fertility. >> why does that matter? > it matters because absent a large increase in immigration, this means that in the not-too-distant future, our working age population is going to shrink. >> among other things, fewer people working means fewer people paying taxes to support retirement. >> if our fertility remains at a

level of 1.6 as oppos to 2.1, then that means that social security benefits are going to have to be cut by more or payroll taxes are going to increase by more than current projections would say. ♪ >> to us, these may look like cute toddlers. ♪ but to economists, they are critical future workers. ♪ andhat is a reason to celebrate. for the pbs newshour. ♪ geoff: today, iran's supreme leader called still-unexplained cases of sickness among iranian schoolgirls an unforgivable crime. iranian authorities say in the last three months, more than

1000 girls have fallen ill in more than 100 schools. the incidents occurred as the regime cracked down on national protests and as iran further accelerated its nuclear program. nick schifrin begins with the cases of mysterious illness across that country. nick: they go to study and end up sick. iranian schoolgirls, gasping for air. some, their symptoms so serious, taken away by ambulance. we don't want to die, they shout. in dozens of schools across the country, there has been chaos and fear. and hospitals near the schools are packed with young girls struggling with breathlessness and nausea. in most cases, students complained of a foul smell, then fell ill. >> it was p.e. class. when we went to the hall, we smelt something like perfume. >> i have severe numbness. i can't walk at all. >> the students all felt the same symptoms as me. ey had coughs.

some of them said their eyes burned. nick: the first suspected incident was reported in november in the holy city of qom, south of tehran. now, iranian officials admit suspected cases have spread to more than 20 of iran's 31 provinces. angry parents are taking to the streets, in videos blurred to protect them from government retribution. this protest, outside the department of education in tehran. the next to be poisoned will be yours, they chant. it is still unknown who, or what is responsible. the iranian regime launched an investigation, but has made no arrests, or conclusions. today, iranian supreme leader ali khamenei broke his silence, saying those responsible would receive the death penalty. >> if there truly is vandalism and there are individuals or groups behind this matter, this is a great and unforgivable crime. the culprits must face the toughest of punishments. because this is not a small crime. this is a crime against the most innocent part of society meaning children.

nick: but the regime has targeted innocent children and thousands of demonstrators. last year, iranians launched their most widespread protests in more than a decade. they were led by women, many of them, teenagers. the regime responded with force. human rights organizations accuse authorities of using excessive force and killing hundre of largely peaceful protestors, including dozens of children. authorities have also imprisoned hundreds more on dubious charges and issued dozens of death sentences. that has largely ended these demonstrations, but activists are calling for more protests, tomorrow. for more on human rights in iran and recent steps iran has taken to advance its nuclear program, we turn to a senior fellow at the foundation for defense of democracies, a think tank in washington. looking to the newshour. today in national security council spokesperson told me the u.s. is calling for a credible

independent outside investigation into the schoolgirl incidents. is that the correct approach? >> it is indeed the correct approach. there has been about 1000 of these reported cases across iran . after protests led by women and young girls began and are bravely continuing. the regime has been forced into by parent pressure and social pressure into conducting an investigation. country's supreme leader talked about the poisonings, but it is highly likely that if there is any investigation by the government, it made him to avoid blame or point the finger elsewhere. >> we will continue to focus on that story, but i want to switch to iran's advancing nuclear program. the iaea found on an unannounced visit enriched particles up to

84%. why is that significant? >> it is just a hop, skip, and a jump away from 90%, which is what you need for weapons grade uranium. people were trying to stop iran enriching to any level on their own territory. the 2015 nuclear deal tried to cap just under the 5%. in the past two years, the regime has resumed enrichment to 20% you're ready, -- purity, which is considered highly enriched. the month talks restarted with the biden administration, they went to 60% purity, something it threatened a decade ago but never felt comfortable doing until now. 84% is the regime testing the redline of the west and perhaps practicing for a potential future breakout scenario. nick: the iaea had visited

tehran and he said that around would allow the restoration of cameras that iran had removed and work with them on previous cases, but tay back in vienna he said that cooperation will depend on future discussions. how do you think the international community can hold iran to its promises? >> the problem is as the regime is increasing its nuclear output, it is actually diminishing much of the monitoring. he talked about that they still don't know where iran is making centrifuge rotors and bellows, as well as exact heavy water output and several other technical components that go into the nuclear program that were supposed to be monitored and governed by safeguards. the moment after he departs, you have a host of hardline media outlet in iran and people

affiliated with the hardline establishment talking about how the things he said were agreed-upon were not true and walking it back. make sense he said much of these hinged on iranian lyrical promises. that has always been the challenge with the islamic republic. it is always voluntary and political, which means the regime remains in the nuclear driver seat. nick: the u.s. has argued it has taken steps to deter iran and prevent further iranian attacks, including one on saudi arabia. let's take a listen to the national security staff's top official. >> the united states has acted militarily against threats from iran and its proxies. we have enhanced and established maritime defense networks and at times through gross -- close

cooperation deterred imminent threats to the region. just last month in the eastern mediterranean, we held the largest joint military exercise ever in that part of the world, something our adversaries certainly noticed. nick: do you think iran has gotten the message? >> all of those things are necessary, but not sufficient in terms of changing the calculus of the regime. the things they remember are the u.s. withdrawal from iraq, the u.s. withdrawal from afghanistan, besting america in syria in recent years, showing the regime has greater staying power than the u.s. in the heartland of the middle east, continuing to find new and innovative ways to proliferate weapons, drone proliferation to the heart of europe even. all of those things are necessary, but not sufficient. a resolution of censure is the price for a security council

referral and a snapping back or restoration of tougher multilateral sanctions that used to exist prior to the 2015 nuclear deal. that option is only legally and politically available until 2025 and then it dissipates and goes away. if increasing military threats by the regime, increasing domestic suppression, and increasing nuclear aggression are not enough to trigger that, my question is what is? nick: thank you. >> thank you amna: which person and what message would offer the republican party the bes chance to win back the white house next year? those are two questions generating a lot of discussion among potential candidates and grassroots activists. lisa desjardins has this roundup. nick: the republican field is

taking shape. >> it was a tough decision, but i have decided that i will not be a candidate for the republican nomination for president. lisa: as former maryland governor larry hogan -- a moderate -- says he will situt the 2024 race for the white house. his concern -- splitting the opposition to former president donald trump. >> i didn't want to have a pileup of people fighting. lisa: one potential candidate still deciding -- new hampshire governor chris sununu -- also wants to move past trump, but will back him if he wins the nomination. >> yeah, look, i'm a lifelong republican. i'm going to support the republican nominee. lisa: this, as trump heard cheers saturday on political home turf. his speech at cpac, the conservative political action conference, was a mix of philosophy and fabrication. but something new -- the former president who once railed against mail-in and some early voting is changing strategy. >> republicans must compete using every lawful means to win.

that means swamping the left with mail-in votes, early vote and election day votes. lisa: trump, in the midst of multiple investigations, told reporters he will stay in the race even if indicted. on stage, he seemed to lash out at key rival ron desantis who once wanted to privatize social security. >> we are not going back to people who want to destroy our great social security system, even some in our own party. i wonder who that might be. lisa: the florida governor who now says he won't disrupt social security wasn't at cpac. he told others last week that republicans have sat back like potted plants and need to push on cultural issues. that is the theme for other republicans too -- including at cpac, where some remarks about anti-lgbtq and anti-transgender legislation ignited immediate concern. >> the political stakes for our country are so high. lisa: conservative author and commentator michael knowles drew

criticism for these words. >> transgenderism must be eradicated from public life entirely. lisa: which some said amounted to a call for genocide. knowles, who has made similar remarks before, both doubled down and pushed back on his online show. >> nobody's calling to exterminate anybody because the other problem with that statement is that transgender people is not a real ontological category. it's not a legitimate category of being. lisa: transgender is a recognized category in science, medicine and, per one recent study, the identity of some 1.6 million americans. as republicans pushed further right, a democrat from the left jumped in. >> i'm a candidate for the office of president of the united states. lisa: author marianne willmson, whose 2020 attempt failed, announced her long-shot campaign, making her the first democrat to challenge president

biden. for the pbs newshour, i'm lisa desjardins. amna: presidential primary vote will cast their first ballots in less than a year. as the field begins to take shape and pressure mounts, divisions within the gop are becoming clearer. for an insider's view on what is happening, we have the former communications director to house majority leader eric cantor and to the republican national committee, and the chairman of a republican super pac which trains and assists candidates up and down the ballot. welcome to you both. david, governor hogan's not to run -- decision not to run, specifically to discourage a crowded field that could benefit former president donald trump. if you are another potential candidate pulling in single digits, do you have to weigh the same concerns? >> absolutely. ron desants sits there with well over $90 million, clearly

right now a contender to be the nominee, and you are looking that and saying, where do i get the oxygen? governor hogan said so much of the oxygen is being taken up by former president trump and governor desantis that there isn't a lane for me. that is why he passed. >> do you see it the same way? >> i do and thats part of how the rnc has structured in 2015 and 2016 these primaries. if you start with a winner take all, if david gets one more vote, he gets all the delegates. if you are running and you are a 2% or 4% and it is winner take all, if your concern is donald trump, you are 2%, 6%, you may be helping donald trump to get all those delegates. amna: when you look at the field of potentials, the popularity of republican governors in blue states or purple states does not seem to be translating nationally right now.

charlie baker left massachusetts, governor hogan saying he is not running. >> governors are known in their states. unless they are in large dates or are catching fire for some other reason aren't really known that well outside of their states. they have to really work hard. a good xample is a guy named bill clinton. nobody knew nationally who he was and the criticism was he was a failed governor, republican said, of a small state. it was true then and it was hard for him to get known. it worked for him, but that is what these governors have to overcome in the early parts of the primary process. >> we are also seeing that not only are republican governors popular in democrat led states, they are popular in republican led states, and that is why you see migrations from democratic traditional states, the migration has been to southern states.

whether that be florida, tennessee, north carolina, leading into where americans are moving to. it is republican governors in democratic and republican states that are getting high approval marks. amna: when you look at the folks that we just heard from, you see where they go to address potential voters. it seems like you either go to cpac to address the populist crowd or you go to club for growth and talk to establishment voters. is this where the rift is right now? >> if you want to get to republican voters, you go to social media. nick: but candidates made a choice to go to cpac or club for growth. >> governor desantis went to california and the reagan ranch or the reagan library. there are many places. we have a long time to go. the last few winners of the cpac straw poll were ted cruz, ron paul, ron paul, and ron paul.

it's not been a particularly good indicator of who the nominee is going to be. maybe president trump will be the nominee, but we have a long way to go. >> i was wearing my 2012 iowa straw poll t-shirt. it was michelle bachmann. her campaign did not do well. we should disregard straw polls. they are fun to talk about it, but they're not even cotton candy level nutritional value for politics. amna: you mentioned governors having trouble going outside their states. is ron desantis going to have that problem? >> it doesn't look like it. he clearly is getting lift. his donor base isn't just from florida. he's raising money across the country. he has gotten the ability to get some oxygen and attention. that is what you see him where he is in the polls. amna: we have seen that he is running on this anti-woke agenda. when you look at governor hogan,

who said i'm not going to run, he was firmly a reagan republican, he even wrote in ronald reagan instead of voting for then candidate donald trump. is that school of thought unelectable in the republican party right now, that reagan republican? >> i don't think we know yet. we are coming up on the 40th anniversary of ronald reagan's evil empire speech. and we will be talking about what that means with regard to russia and ukraine. the audience at cpac not very firmly behind ukraine as they were a year ago. where republicans will be is whether voters are going to be and will they be able to lead in those areas and what is their traction going to be? it still remains to be seen. i'm nervous about it on the ukraine issue. amna: it strikes me that the two candidates leading the polls by a mile aren't really talking about the economy or taxes or

foreign policy even. they are talking about the social and cultural divisive issues. is that what we will continue to see? >> i push back their little bit. governor desantis does talk about the economic success they are having in florida. he does talk about the tax cuts they have pushed through the legislature. ultimately, he is talking to social and economic conservatives, which if you are going to put a winning coalition together, you have to be able to talk to republicans concerned about the economy and their security. amna: doug? >> what is interesting about ron desantis's he hasn't taken any of the bait from donald trump. that means he is denying donald trump some of the oxygen donald trump needs. he is spoiling for a fight, he clearly wants to get into a fight with desantis. ron desantis doesn't do things accidentally. he's choosing not to respond. that mayot be sustainable for a year, but right now it is the

smart and strategic thing to do. >> it's the playbook governor brian kemp used in georgia as former president trump came after him in the primary. he didn't engage and he went on to win not only the primary, but also a huge win against stacey abrams, who was the democratic star. amna: a huge caveat, it is march of 2023. [laughter] thanks for the conversation, a lot more over the months ahead. tomorrow, we will continue our conversation about the future of the republican party when we sit down with former maryland governor larry hogan and new hampshire governor chris sununu. ♪ geoff: we will be back shortly, but first take a moment to hear from your local pbs station. amna: it's a chance to offer your support, which helps keep gs

been called the mother of the disability rights movement --

has died at the age of 75. president biden in a statement noting her passing, called her a trail blazer, a rolling warrior for disability rights in america. heumann -- who lost her ability to walk at age 2 after contracting polio -- lobbied for legislation that led to the passage of the landmark americans with disabilities act. tonight, we hear her in own her own words as we revisit her brief but spectacular take on the disability rights movement. >> when i was five years old in brooklyn, new york on east 38th street, my mother did what every other parent did when their kid was she took me to school to five. register me. and, uh, this was in the early 1950's. there were no motorized wheelchairs. so she pushed me to school and it wasn't accessible. she pulled me up the steps and the principal said i couldn't go to school because i was a fire hazard. i don't really know that there was an explanation. it just was.

♪ i think the average person, they see disability as a threat to not being able to do things as people have typically done them. and i think there's truth in that, but the question is, is it because one has a disability or because society itself has constructed itself in such a way because they haven't seen us. discrimination against disabled people has existed from the beginning of time. and we are in a place right now where because of other , movements, the civil rights movement, the women's movement, black lives matter movement, etc., people are speaking up and out. one of the first pieces of legislation that the disability community really engaged in was getting regulations developed for a provision of law section

504. section 504 says you can't discriminate against someone who has a disability if the entity is receiving money from the federal government. it was the first time that many of these young disabled people felt a part of something and really felt that they were making a difference, not only for their lives but for the , lives of many others. there is a shift, i believe, going on in our society where we're looking at race and gender, equality, and disability as issues that we need to address. that diversity is something that makes our companies stronger. that diverse businesses provide better services for customers. i also am a very big believer that the disability rights community cannot stand on its own. we need to be working with all other movements, and we want all other movements to be inclusive of disabled people. if we are actively learning and

working together, we can do things like make sure when housing is being built in our communities, that it's accessible, not just for people that have physical disabilities today, but if you're going to have a physical disability tomorrow. i think having a disability really has allowed me to do and get in touch with so many things and opportunities that otherwise would not have happened. people look at us as a label of our disability. and it is a part of who we are, but it is not who we are. my name is judy heumann and this is my brief but spectacular take on the disability rights movement. geoff: purse was a life that made a difference. amna: absolutely. she will be missed. geoff: that's the newshour for tonight. join us again here tomorrow, when we'll speak with this year's winner of architecture's most distinguished award -- the pritzker prize. i'm geoff bennett amna: and i'm amna nawaz. on behalf of the entire newshour team, thank you for joining us.

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supported by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. pitting -- committed to building a more just, peaceful, and verdant world. and with the ongoing support of these individuals -- institutions. this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ♪ >> this is pbs newshour west from weta studios in washington and from our bureau at the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. ♪ ♪ >>

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -today on "america's test kitchen," dan kes julia porchetta-style turkey breast, adam reviews smart ovens, and keith makes bridget roasted fennel. it's all coming up right here on "america's test kitchen." -"america's test kitchen" is brought to you by the following.