JUDY WOODRUFF: Good evening. I’m Judy Woodruff. On the “NewsHour” tonight: escalation. Russia claims Ukrainian air forces struck a fuel depot inside Russia, as peace talks make little progress, and desperate humanitarian evacuations continue by fits and starts. Then: lockdown. China orders the 26 million residents of Shanghai to shelter in place, testing the country’s zero COVID policy. MAREK NAROZNIAK, Shanghai Resident: I just woke up and my compound was surrounded with the fence, and that’s it. There was no announcement. There was no warning, no information, nothing. JUDY WOODRUFF: And it’s Friday. David Brooks and Jonathan Capehart weigh in on the Biden administration’s changing immigration policy and the ongoing investigation into the Capitol insurrection. All that and more on tonight’s “PBS NewsHour.” (BREAK) JUDY WOODRUFF: For the first time, Russia today has reported a Ukrainian incursion on to its territory.Moscow says the target was a fuel facility in Belgorod 16 miles beyond the border. Ukrainian officials have not confirmed the attack. Meanwhile, fierce battles continue in major population centers. And, in Mariupol, now a symbol of Ukraine’s suffering, new attempts at mass evacuations of civilians failed again. Ukraine said that 3,000 residents were able to escape today, but a Red Cross team planning to deliver aid and evacuate residents was blocked from reaching the city. Special correspondent Jack Hewson begins our coverage. JACK HEWSON: A massive early morning explosion, but this time inside Russia. An oil depot in the city of Belgorod went up in a fireball near the Ukrainian border. Video emerged on social media of Ukrainian helicopter gunships allegedly used in the attack. Ukraine’s foreign minister wouldn’t comment. DMYTRO KULEBA, Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs (through translator): I can neither confirm nor reject the claim that Ukraine was involved in this.JACK HEWSON: The Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said it could still progress for a tentative peace plan. DMITRY PESKOV, Spokesman for Vladimir Putin (through translator): Of course, this is not something that can be perceived as creating comfortable conditions to continue peace talks. JACK HEWSON: Regardless, both sides resumed talks by phone today, following up on in person negotiations in Turkey earlier in the week, but, so far, no signs of a breakthrough. Meanwhile, the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is now under Ukrainian control, after the last remaining Russian occupiers left the facility early this morning. Yesterday, Ukraine’s nuclear regulator said that Russian troops were exposed to significant levels of radiation from digging trenches around the site of the 1986 nuclear disaster. But today, in Vienna, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, said he had no confirmation of that and that radiation levels were under control. RAFAEL GROSSI, Director General, IAEA: The general radiation situation around the plant is quite normal. There was a relatively higher level of localized radiation because of the movement of heavy vehicles at the time of the occupation of the plant. And, apparently, this might have been the case again in the way out.JACK HEWSON: On the battlefield, Ukrainians continue to put up strong resistance. ROMAN, Ukrainian Soldier (through translator): How to explain what war is. This is not normal. But we did not go to another’s territory. I am obliged to protect my children, my land, my home. JACK HEWSON: Today, Ukraine retook two villages in the north near Chernihiv along main supply routes to Kyiv. U.S. defense officials tell “PBS NewsHour” 20 to 25 percent of Russian forces outside Kyiv have repositioned away from the capital, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that was always part of Moscow’s plan.VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, Ukrainian President (through translator): We know that they are pulling away from directions where we hit them to concentrate on other very important directions where it will be very difficult for us. JACK HEWSON: President Zelenskyy said the Russians are preparing to carry out more strikes in the southeast Donbass region and in the northeast in the direction of Kharkiv. The once bustling metropolis known for its landmark Soviet architecture is now unrecognizable, largely deserted. The general sense of people in Kharkiv is one of defiance, one of pride at the territorial gains that have been made, a general stoicism. But there’s also anxiety about how long this was going to last for, whether the Russians are going to dig in and what’s going to happen next.Further south, in Mariupol, residents waited for relief. Today, a perilous operation got under way to rush desperately needed humanitarian aid into the besieged city and evacuate residents trapped for weeks by the bombardment. Some residents managed to get out, but a large-scale Red Cross evacuation failed. Their effort has been made even more difficult by the relentless urban warfare, as Russian soldiers keep fighting for control of the city. Earlier this week, local residents filmed the chaos following yet another brutal strike, as the desperation mounts, so too the casualties of this 37-day-long war. In the northwestern city of Lutsk, mourners grieved for a Ukrainian serviceman killed by shelling in Mykolaiv. MYKOLA PLISAK, Son of Killed Ukrainian Soldier (through translator): There cannot be any peace with Russians. I will never forgive them for the death of my father. JACK HEWSON: His dad one of many who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in his battle to preserve Ukraine’s democracy. For the “PBS NewsHour,” I’m Jack Hewson in Kharkiv, Ukraine.JUDY WOODRUFF: In the day’s other news: The U.S. unemployment rate is now at its lowest level since the pandemic began. The Labor Department today reported that employers added a net 431,000 jobs in March. That pushed the unemployment rate to 3.6 percent, down from 3.8 percent in February. Wages rose 5.6 percent from a year earlier, but that wasn’t enough to keep up with inflation. We will take a closer look after the news summary. The CDC confirms that it will end a pandemic policy that turned away most asylum-seeking migrants at the U.S. southern border. The rule took effect two years ago under President Trump. Today’s announcement said that it will end on May 23. The Biden administration is making plans to try to accommodate an expected influx of migrants. Pope Francis apologized today to indigenous peoples in Canada for abuses in Catholic-run residential schools. More than 150,000 Native children attended from the 1800s to the 1970s in a campaign of forced assimilation. Members of indigenous communities attended today’s Vatican audience. The pope called the church’s behavior deplorable and begged forgiveness.POPE FRANCIS, Leader of Catholic Church (through translator): I feel shame, sorrow and shame for the role of a different Catholics, in particularly those with educational responsibilities had and all that hurt you with abuses and lack of respect towards your identity, your culture and even your spiritual values. JUDY WOODRUFF: Canadian officials have admitted rampant physical and sexual abuse at the schools. And, last year, hundreds of unmarked graves were discovered. The pope said today he hopes to visit Canada in July to apologize in person to survivors. In Yemen, a Saudi Arabian coalition and Houthi rebels backed by Iran have agreed to a two-month truce. A United Nations envoy says that it will begin tomorrow and allow for shipments of fuel and some flights into Yemen. The war began in 2014, but past attempts at cease-fires have failed to hold.Sri Lanka was rocked overnight by mass protests amid its worst economic crisis in memory. Hundreds stormed pass barricades near the president’s home and set fire to a bus. Police fired tear gas and a water cannon. Dozens of people were hurt and dozens more arrested. The Indian Ocean nation has staggered under huge debt and fuel shortages. The Taliban have released two detainees, an American and a U.S. green card holder, in Afghanistan. The U.S. State Department said today that they are in Qatar awaiting travel home. The release came as the Taliban have been pressing for outside humanitarian aid and economic assistance. Back in this country, there’s word that White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki will leave this spring to work for MSNBC cable news. Psaki declined to confirm reports of her plans today. But she faced questions about representing the White House while negotiating a job in journalism. JEN PSAKI, White House Press Secretary: There are a range of stringent ethical and legal requirements that are imposed on everybody in this administration and many administrations past about any conversations you’re having with future employers. That is true of any industry you’re working in.And I have abided by those and tried to take steps to go beyond that as well. JUDY WOODRUFF: Psaki took the press secretary job in January of 2021 and said then that she wanted to stay just a year. The U.S. Transportation Department is reimposing tougher fuel economy standards for new vehicles. They will have to average at least 40 miles per gallon by 2026. That’s up from 24 miles a gallon now. The change reverses President Trump’s rollback of higher standards. Meanwhile, Ford and General Motors say that they will recall some 1.4 million vehicles. GM says the 2014 and 2015 Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrains may have faulty windshield wipers. Ford’s recall covers possible oil leaks in the 2020 to 2022 Escape and Bronco Sport.It also includes pickup and SUV models with trailer brakes that may fail. For the first time, workers at an Amazon site have voted to unionize. Pro-union forces at an Amazon warehouse in Staten Island New York won 55 percent of the vote. At the same time, Amazon workers in Bessemer, Alabama, appeared to reject a union, but that outcome is subject to a review of more than 400 disputed ballots. And on Wall Street, stocks finished the week with modest gains. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 140 points to close at 34818. The Nasdaq rose 41 points. The S&P 500 added 15. Still to come on the “NewsHour”: another strong jobs report shows the American economy gaining steam; the Biden administration decides to end a controversial Trump era immigration rule; a British singer-songwriter’s blend of many genres turns heads in Nashville; plus much more. As we reported, unemployment numbers are now back to pre-pandemic levels. But the economic recovery is not being felt by all. With me here is Geoff Bennett. GEOFF BENNETT: Thanks, Judy. The jobs numbers today were a bit of good news for a White House that is simultaneously trying to manage rising inflation.The country’s labor market is bouncing back, adding another 431,000 jobs in March, and bringing the unemployment rate to a new pandemic era low of 3.6 percent. That’s according to the latest jobs report from the Labor Department. Now, even though the job gains were lower than what many economists had expected, they still made for a strong first quarter for the U.S. labor market, with an average monthly gain of more than half-a-million jobs. Joining us now is deputy director of the White House National Economic Council, Bharat Ramamurti. Welcome to the “NewsHour.” And we should say, this jobs report is one that any White House would welcome. March was the 15th straight month of major job gains. The economy is now just 1.6 million jobs short of where it was in February 2020, before the pandemic hit.When this — when you look at this report, what do you see as the bright spots and where do you see areas of improvement? BHARAT RAMAMURTI, Deputy Director, White House National Economic Council: Well, there’s a lot of news, good news coming out of the jobs report today, as you said, another very strong month for job gains overall, over 400,000 new jobs, the unemployment rate dropping to 3.6 percent, which, by historical standards, is one of the lowest on record. Other good news under the hood, though. For example, labor force participation, which is the percentage of workers who are looking for work, or who have a job, has gone up significantly among prime age folks. That’s folks between the ages of 25 and 54, which means people are being attracted back into the labor market. Labor force participation for women went up significantly as well. The Black and Hispanic unemployment rates continue to fall.So, a lot of good news in today’s report, both at the headline level and under the hood. GEOFF BENNETT: That said, though, the White House is grappling with this disconnect. You have this undoubtedly positive jobs report, and — but there is this perception about the way many Americans really experience the strength of the economy, given everyday concerns about the cost of gas, the cost of groceries. How is the White House trying to close that gap between the jobs report on paper and the way that it’s being felt across the country? BHARAT RAMAMURTI: Well, look, the president has been clear that he grew up in a family where, when the cost of gas went up, when the cost of the grocery bill went up, he felt it.So he understands that families are feeling that pinch. And, for months now, he has been laser-focused on doing what he can to bring those down. Now, look, at a starting level, we should note that inflation is a global phenomenon. Countries across the world are dealing with record high levels of inflation. And on top of that, now we have the inflationary impact of Putin’s war in Ukraine. But just this week, we have seen a lot of progress. The Senate, for example, passed a bill just this week that would reduce the costs of ocean shipping. So, all those goods that come from abroad to the United States, the costs of those will go down as shipping costs go down. We saw the Senate pass a bill that would manufacture more semiconductors, more chips here in the United States, which should help reduce the cost of cars and other electronic items.And we have seen progress on agriculture to bring more competition to those industries, to help bring down the cost of meat and other products at the grocery store. So, we’re chipping away at this problem surely and steadily. And it’s the president’s number one focus. GEOFF BENNETT: Want to ask you about wage growth, because, looking at this latest jobs report, it looks like the wage growth has been experienced, for the most part, among white-collar workers, people who have office jobs, people who, for the most part, were able to save some money during the pandemic because they didn’t have to commute as far or as much. But it’s people at the lower end of the economic spectrum who are still struggling. President Biden, as you well know, he laid out a host, a whole domestic agenda aimed at helping, he says, working-class Americans, but that agenda has stalled on Capitol Hill. So what’s the backup plan? What’s the plan B that the Biden administration is going to pursue to help working-class Americans? BHARAT RAMAMURTI: Well, first, the data suggests that folks at the lower end of the income spectrum have actually seen by far the largest wage gains so far.Folks who work in leisure and hospitality, manufacturing, working in warehouses and so on, they have seen the largest wage gains since the pandemic began and since this president took office. And we’re glad to see that. Those are folks who have — are long overdue for a raise. Second of all, the president’s economic plan has focused on delivering relief to those at the middle of the income spectrum and the lower end of the income spectrum. The checks that he provided, the tax cuts he provided for families with young children, all of that was targeted at folks with middle income and low income. So, if you look at the net effect of all of that, folks in the middle, middle-class families in the United States have more income than they did going into the pandemic. And we’re glad to see that. That said, the president’s push is for Congress to act on a number of areas where costs are squeezing families, prescription drugs. The United States is one of the few countries where we don’t negotiate the cost of prescription drugs.And that’s raising costs for families across the income spectrum. Child care is a huge cost for many families. The cost of college, the cost of housing, those are all issues that the president is trying to tackle, and he’s urging Congress to act. GEOFF BENNETT: In the minute we have left, I want to ask you about what has many folks on Wall Street concerned. Some analysts say that there are flashing signs of a recession. They’re pointing to the yield curve inversions. We don’t have to go into that. But, from where you sit, do you share those concerns of a potential recession the horizon? BHARAT RAMAMURTI: Well, look, the data shows that the economy right now is extraordinarily strong, 3.6 percent unemployment.We’re coming off the year with the highest economic growth that we have had in 40 years. And the signs for the first quarter of this year are also very, very strong. Of course, we are looking at every data point very, very carefully, and making sure that there are no warning signs, that we’re getting out ahead of any problems. And, of course, the issues — the war in Ukraine is creating additional headwinds for the economy across the globe. And we’re carefully monitoring that.But the bottom line is that the economy’s in a very, very strong position. And it’s a credit to the president’s bottom-up, middle-out economic recovery plan. GEOFF BENNETT: Bharat Ramamurti is deputy director of the White House National Economic Council. We appreciate your time this evening. BHARAT RAMAMURTI: Thank you. JUDY WOODRUFF: So, thank you for that report, Geoff. And you are about to launch “PBS News Weekend” from here in Washington. It’s this weekend. GEOFF BENNETT: That’s right. JUDY WOODRUFF: The whole team hard at work. Tell us a little bit about it.GEOFF BENNETT: Yes, we have been hard at work for weeks. It feels like longer than that. But it’s a great team. I’m excited to be part of this team that’s picking up the baton and sort of retooling and relaunching this weekend broadcast. It’ll be a mix of hard news coverage, of feature interviews. In fact, we’re going to hear from Sheryl Lee Ralph, the star of “Abbott Elementary,” on Saturday. And then, on Sunday, we will hear from Daryl Hall about his new solo album. JUDY WOODRUFF: Very cool. We are so excited. The news continues on the weekends. (LAUGHTER) GEOFF BENNETT: That’s true. JUDY WOODRUFF: Geoff Bennett, we look forward to it. GEOFF BENNETT: Thank you. I appreciate that. JUDY WOODRUFF: As we have reported, the city of Shanghai is under lockdown today, as COVID cases continue to surge in China’s financial capital. As William Brangham reports, it is the most severe measure by the Chinese government to isolate and track infections since it shut down the city of Wuhan after the virus broke out in 2021.WILLIAM BRANGHAM: One of the busiest cities in the world has gone quiet. Today begins the second phase in a two-part lockdown across Shanghai, after a wave of new infections erupted likely driven by the highly contagious subvariant of Omicron, known as BA.2. Summer Wen is an interpreter who lives in West Shanghai. SUMMER WEN, Shanghai Resident: We are not allowed to get out, and I have just to get my test today, this afternoon. And so far, for me, of course, it is inconvenient, but, still, I fell it is dealable. WILLIAM BRANGHAM: The first phase of the shutdown began Sunday, centering on the financial district and surrounding areas.In the past week, many communities have seen these yellow and blue plastic barriers go up around housing complexes. Residents are required to submit to multiple COVID tests, and workers in hazmat suits man various checkpoints. Almost no one is allowed to leave their designated zone, not for work, not for medical care, nothing. Police in Shanghai flew drones outfitted with speakers, delivering airborne warnings to those below to wear masks and maintain social distancing. In anticipation of the lockdown, last weekend, there was panic buying at grocery stores. But some residents said they were hopeful the lockdowns wouldn’t go on too long. JO HE, Shanghai Resident (through translator): With one adjective, I think we should be calm and face this with a positive attitude, and then allow this epidemic to pass over as soon as possible.MAREK NAROZNIAK, Shanghai Resident: I still have some cereals left. WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Others, like Ph.D. student Marek Narozniak, who’s from Poland, said the measures were chaotic and were launched with little notice. MAREK NAROZNIAK: I just woke up and my compound was surrounded with the fence, and that’s it. There was no announcement. There was no warning, no information, nothing. I think this whole operation is causing a lot of harm to many people and a lot of suffering. And I don’t really believe that it is necessary or appropriate. WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Shanghai reported 4,500 new infections today, which is still relatively low compared to the surges in other countries. These tight restrictions stem from President Xi Jinping’s and the Chinese Communist Party’s zero COVID strategy, which aims not to just manage the virus, but to eliminate it with lockdowns, massive testing, and forced quarantines.Across China, these official shutdowns have been picking up in recent months, especially in factory cities like Shenzhen. But the clampdown in Shanghai is by far the biggest since the pandemic first began, when government locked down the city of Wuhan, home to 11 million people for 76 days. With 26 million residents, Shanghai is China’s largest city, and analysts worry these closures will deliver an economic blow to China’s and the world’s financial engine.Yanzhong Huang is a senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations. YANZHONG HUANG, Council on Foreign Relations: China was very successful by using the zero COVID strategy in containing the spread of the virus, shielding the Chinese population from the virus. But it was precisely the success of that strategy, only a very small percentage of the population actually are exposed to the virus. But now, when you have a variant that is so highly transmissible, so — pretty much, that makes it almost impossible, right, to not just detect all the cases, but also to track and trace those contacts. WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Starting today in phase two, residents west of the Huangpu River will not be able to leave home for five days, and deliveries will be left at checkpoints.Nonessential business and public transportation will also be shut down. Earlier in the week, the government converted Shanghai’s convention center into a makeshift hospital to house patients, with 6,000 available beds. Nationwide, China’s uptick in cases had been driven by an outbreak in Jilin Province. Local officials there have also instituted travel bans and partial lockdowns in several cities. Back in Shanghai, empty streets, people locked away in their homes, as China’s war against the coronavirus continues. For the “PBS NewsHour,” I’m William Brangham. JUDY WOODRUFF: The Biden administration has decided to end a controversial immigration policy implemented by the Trump administration. Amna Nawaz has the details. AMNA NAWAZ: The Biden administration announced today it will be phasing out what’s known as Title 42. That’s a policy that prevented migrants from seeking asylum in the U.S. due to public health concerns amid the COVID-19 pandemic.Now, the administration has been under mounting pressure from Democrats and immigrant advocates to end Title 42. The policy will officially come to an end on May 23. But there are concerns this could overwhelm a Southern border system already seeing record high crossings. I’m joined by Washington post’s immigration reporter Nick Miroff to discuss this more. Nick, welcome back to the “NewsHour.” You have been following this story. The president’s been under a lot of pressure to end that program that began under the Trump administration. What do we know about why they decided on May 23? NICK MIROFF, The Washington Post: Well, it’s the convergence of a couple of factors.I mean, as you point out, the White House has been under a lot of pressure. On top of that, they have been paring back other pandemic-related restrictions, so, therefore, making it increasingly difficult to justify these types of restrictions on asylum at the southern border. And by setting a May 23 date, which is almost two months from now, it’s nearly the same as another 60-day extension. It gives them time to get extra capacity in place, if those border numbers go much higher, to get extra personnel to the border, in anticipation of more pressures down there. And then it also buys them, I think, time to see what happens with the BA.2 variant. A lot can happen in the next seven weeks. And I would add one more factor, which is that I think we’re likely to see this in federal court, as states perhaps like Texas try to try to block this and force the government to change that calendar. AMNA NAWAZ: So, Nick, we should remind people this is a CDC decision to end Title 42. The administration stresses that over and over. And as it remains in place, there have been exceptions.Under the Biden administration,we know all unaccompanied children have been allowed in, many families, adults with young children. So it’s really single adults they have been immediately expelling at the border under Title 42. So when it’s lifted, what changes? What are authorities preparing for? NICK MIROFF: They’re preparing for numbers to go significantly higher and place additional strains on what is already a very overtaxed border enforcement infrastructure. They have seen record numbers of people being taken into custody last year and again this year. We’re on pace to exceed last year’s totals. So, you asked about single adults. You’re right. The Title 42 expulsion policy has only been applied in recent months to about a quarter of the family groups that are crossing, but it still has been applied to the majority of the single adults that CBP takes into custody.I think we can expect they will begin to phase out the Title 42 policy as their ability to process people under normal immigration proceedings ramps up by adding more agents, by adding more infrastructure and by adding more immigration judges to hear asylum claims. AMNA NAWAZ: So, Nick, you mentioned they’re expecting significantly higher numbers. What are they expecting? And can the system handle it? NICK MIROFF: DHS officials held a briefing for reporters this week and told us that they’re anticipating as many as 18,000 people crossing per day. That is their worst-case scenario. But that would be more than double than the roughly 7,000 that they are taking into custody now. At that levels, at the current existing levels, they’re already overwhelmed in several Border Patrol sectors. So, if they were to go to some of those — to some of those projections, they would once more be in a situation where they would be forced to quickly release many of the people that are coming across the border, simply because they don’t have anywhere to hold them.They can’t process them fast enough. And they certainly can’t return them to their home countries quickly enough. AMNA NAWAZ: Nick, in the minute or so we have left, what about the politics of all this? We know immigration is a hot-button political issue. We have already seen Republicans come out and speak about this. Do we expect to hear more about this, especially leading up to the midterms? NICK MIROFF: You can definitely expect we will hear a lot about this. This is going to become the subject probably of very many campaign ads heading into the midterms. And there’s a great deal of potential peril and liability for the Democratic Party, as well as the president. That’s one of the reasons we saw some of the border state Democrats, some centrist Democrats come out fairly strongly warning the White House not to do this, asking to keep the Title 42 restrictions in place.And keep an eye on Arizona in particular, where Senator Mark Kelly is likely to face a tough race. And he’s been one of the voices out there telling Biden not to make this move. AMNA NAWAZ: That is Nick Miroff of The Washington Post joining us tonight. Nick, thanks so much. NICK MIROFF: My pleasure. JUDY WOODRUFF: What you were just hearing about, that return to pre-pandemic border policies, President Biden’s attempt to reduce pain at the pump, and the January 6 investigation all heating up.To discuss another busy week, we turn to the analysis of Brooks and Capehart. That is New York Times columnist David Brooks and Jonathan Capehart, associate editor for The Washington Post, new position. Congratulations. JONATHAN CAPEHART: Thank you, Judy. Thank you. JUDY WOODRUFF: So good to see both of you. And there is a lot to talk about. Let’s start, David, with the report that we just heard Amna talking to a reporter about. And that is the Biden administration rescinding this rule that was handed down under President Trump, the argument being that COVID — we’re in a different place with COVID, this is the humane thing to do. Is it the right thing to do? DAVID BROOKS: Intellectually, yes. I mean, it was — there seems to be a bipartisan agreement, Republicans and Democrats, saying the reason it was put in place for COVID reasons doesn’t pertain anymore.It’s just not — it’s not a health matter. It’s become an art of convenience to simplify what goes on at the border. The question is what plan they have in place. And we’re at a rate now where there are two million encounters at the borders a year. Like, two million times, U.S. officials are encountering immigrants or people are trying to get in. And it’s just flooding the system. And there’s a lot of skepticism that there’s a system in place, if we not get rid of 42, that they will be able to have the hearings, do all the stuff we normally do with asylum seekers.And so, as we just heard, it’s just a gigantic political issue. And in the bumper, that little quote there, that 21 percent of Americans say immigration is the highest, if you think about the dominant issues right now, inflation is number one, immigration is probably number two. Probably education and crime are three or four. These are all nightmare issues for Democrats right now. And so Republicans put up this long fact sheet. And I don’t want to vouch for its veracity. It’s a partisan fact sheet. But you see the ads writing themselves, chaos at the border, drugs coming in, record opioid deaths. Republicans are going to go to town on this one. JUDY WOODRUFF: So, Republicans against it, Jonathan. Even some Democrats are saying they think it’s the wrong thing. JONATHAN CAPEHART: Right. And I think the — what it points to is the lack of a comprehensive immigration overhaul.And this is something that’s vexed Republican presidents. I remember when President George W. Bush wanted to do something. It’s vexed Democratic presidents. President Obama wanted to work with Congress. And Congress gave him the stiff-arm. And that’s what pushed him to do DACA, after saying over and over again that he had no power to do anything about immigration. This is a political problem for the president, for the White House, for Democrats. In a normal, functioning Congress, the White House and the House and the Senate would be able to get in the room, get together, and come up with a solution. But there’s no political will on the part of Republicans. And it’s great that they put out what — you called it a fact sheet, but a fact sheet with no policy prescriptions. A functioning party would say, Mr. President, you’re in trouble, the country’s in danger. Here’s what — here’s our proposal.I have yet to hear what the Republican proposal is, other than fearmongering. DAVID BROOKS: Build a wall. (LAUGHTER) JONATHAN CAPEHART: Oh, yes, there’s that. (LAUGHTER) (CROSSTALK) DAVID BROOKS: Yes. (CROSSTALK) JUDY WOODRUFF: But we just — yes, we just seem stuck on this issue. DAVID BROOKS: Yes. Well, it’s a complicated moral problem. People are coming here not because their lives are great back home. They’re coming here because situations in a lot of Latin American countries are deteriorating. And some of them are genuinely in horrific circumstances. And one’s heart leaps out to them. And yet they’re coming in such large numbers, it’s probably beyond our capacity to absorb all the people who want to come. And a lot of people are coming for economic opportunity. I don’t blame them. My ancestors came for economic opportunity. And they — I wish they would go through the regular means.But it takes a morally complicated government or a policy or a collective mind to say, we’re going to help the people we are capable of helping. How many people are we capable of helping? And how do we help them humanely? And how — for those who can’t, how do we say sorry, but how do we do it humanely? And that kind of moral nuance is not something we have seen a lot of in American policymaking for a while. JUDY WOODRUFF: We’re not seeing that. JONATHAN CAPEHART: No. And it’s made more complicated because the party opposite the president, instead of lending a hand, is hurling brickbats and not being part of the solution. The only way we get to this nirvana you’re talking about, David… (LAUGHTER) JONATHAN CAPEHART: … is if the Republican Party wanted to be a true negotiating partner wanting to get something done. JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, another hot issue, I think it’s fair to say, that surface this week, and it’s something the president announced yesterday, David, and that’s that he said, yes, the jobs numbers are looking good.And we had more proof of that today. But the administration is still very worried about inflation, very worried about the price of gas. The president announced he’s going to release 180 million barrels from what’s called the Strategic Petroleum Reserve just to try to get gas prices down a little bit. Is this — is this a good move at this moment? DAVID BROOKS: It’s hard to know. Presidents always do this. They always release from the reserve, and it never works. Now, in Biden’s — to his credit, this release is way bigger than any other president has done. And so they’re trying to dump stuff on the market. And they’re saying that it may produce a 10, 15, 20 percent gain per gallon at the pump. And so that would have some effects.That is far from certain, because when we release from the reserve, the markets think, well, they’re releasing now, but they’re going to have to put back in the reserve. And so the markets can think long term and think, well, that’s not going to really reduce demand. Second, we’re not the only people producing oil, in this country. OPEC could say, we want to keep prices up. If they’re releasing, we will just limit our supply for a little while. And so there are plenty of other actors who have the chance to mess with our plans. And so I remain, I guess I would say, guardedly skeptical… (LAUGHTER) DAVID BROOKS: … that this is going to do — that this is going to do much for the people who are paying 60, 70 bucks to fill up their tank. JUDY WOODRUFF: How do you size this up? JONATHAN CAPEHART: Well, the key thing you said, David, is that markets think long term, but presidents think in short — well, they try to think long term, but when presidents go to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, this is short-term thinking.There is short-term pain that the president has to deal with. And the reports I saw showed that this release would could lead to 10 cents per gallon, up to 35 cents per gallon for consumers. When you — when you are a consumer, and you’re saving 10 cents, that adds up; 35 cents, that’s huge. And gas prices is — they are the one thing that consumers feel immediately. And so, if you’re a White House looking at tough economic news, and the American people are angry about inflation and everything, if you can give them something where they’re saving in the short term, you will go with it. But David is right. The market does think long term and think, yes, they’re releasing it, but they’re going to have to buy it back. So — but I think administrations always do this, but I think it’s the right thing to do for their political calculus right now. JUDY WOODRUFF: They’re saying it’s — excuse me.They’re saying it’s for six months. I looked at the calendar. That’s right about November, David. DAVID BROOKS: Yes. (LAUGHTER) JUDY WOODRUFF: Do you think — do you think this is going to matter in the elections this year? DAVID BROOKS: Oh, yes. Oh, absolutely. JUDY WOODRUFF: Hello. DAVID BROOKS: As Jonathan said, you look at the — you drive down the street, you see the gas prices. And I was out in California, and it’s like, whoa. JONATHAN CAPEHART: Oh. DAVID BROOKS: And so it’s definitely going to matter. The — substantively, the better policy, in 2015, Barack Obama and Paul Ryan, the Republican House speaker, did a deal where they increased production, which the Republicans wanted, lightening regulations on producers, but then, in exchange, increased money for green energy, which the Democrats wanted. And Joe Manchin saying, let’s do that all over again. And that sounds like a good idea.But it probably won’t help Joe Biden between now and November. JUDY WOODRUFF: Yes. That’s the question. Do you think it helps Democrats at all between… JONATHAN CAPEHART: Which… JUDY WOODRUFF: Between now and the midterms. JONATHAN CAPEHART: David — what David was just talking about, it’s long term. JUDY WOODRUFF: Yes. JONATHAN CAPEHART: So, in the short term, no, it’s not going to help them. But I do think the SPR, that will help. JUDY WOODRUFF: The January 6 Committee, two developments this week, David. One of them, there’s this seven-and-a-half-hour gap in the phone records from the White House on January the 6th. There appears to be a gap. The committee’s still figuring out what that’s all about, whether that was deliberate where it was an accident. We will see. The other is that the members of the committee — I ended up talking to two of them this week, Adam Schiff and Zoe Lofgren, who are just more openly critical of the Justice Department for not picking this up and running with it and moving towards some kind of prosecution of people like Mark Meadows, the former White House chief of staff.Zoe Lofgren said to me yesterday — what did she say? What he did was completely lawless, she said. DAVID BROOKS: Yes. Well, first, on the gap, it sparked a bunch of conspiracies, reminded us all the Watergate, so we could all plug and play on that one. JUDY WOODRUFF: Yes. DAVID BROOKS: But is he using a burner phone secretly? And I think CNN seems to have the most plausible explanation, which is, when — the record-keeping in the Trump administration is not always meticulous, was not always meticulous, which I know was a shocker for everybody. And — but, apparently, when he went into the Oval Office, he didn’t use the White House phone system, and then it wasn’t recorded.That could be it. They were just bad record-keepers. It is weird that it happened to be at the crucial moment on January 6. So I assume we will find out here. To be honest, I trust Merrick Garland. The political players on Capitol Hill are political players. And they’re going to go maximalist. They have no incentive to be balanced. Merrick Garland and the Justice Department have an incentive to be like prosecutors.And my overall approach to this whole deal, there have been a lot of extremely questionable things that have been done. But the Trump administration does us a favor by doing most of their questionable things out in the open. (LAUGHTER) DAVID BROOKS: And I haven’t seen much that would make me think that there’s some hidden, gigantic scandal, like, there’s some phone call somewhere where Donald Trump was saying, storm the Capitol. If that call exists or that e-mail exists or that tweet exists, then we’re in a whole new ball game. But it’s easy for people who want to delegitimize Donald Trump to get excited that they have got something and get a little overpoliticized about it. So, right now, my trust would be of the Justice Department. JUDY WOODRUFF: How do you read all this? JONATHAN CAPEHART: Well, when it comes to the attorney general, I think what Chairman Schiff and Congresswoman Lofgren, their upset with him over the contempt charges, I think, are — they’re valid.They have passed out of the House. They’re sitting at DOJ. And no one knows what’s happening with them in terms of prosecution. Where I agree with David in terms of trust Merrick Garland is on the call from the — from Democrats and folks on the left for the DOJ to investigate Donald Trump. And I think these are two separate things. And when it comes to investigating the former president, I — it would be, I was about to say, insane if Merrick Garland telegraphed that this was happening before he had all the I’s dotted and the T’s crossed. This has been — there are lots of former prosecutors out on television who keep saying the same thing you’re saying. Trust — they trust — they trust Merrick Garland.But, at some point, that trust is going to erode. But, right now, when it comes to the contempt charges, I say, Mr. Attorney General, what are you doing? But when it comes to the overall issue of, should Donald Trump be investigated, I’m willing — I’m willing to wait, because I want DOJ, I want the attorney general to be as careful as possible, to make his case as bulletproof as possible, if there is one, so that it doesn’t make things worse by falling apart. JUDY WOODRUFF: Their focus right now seems to be Mark Meadows, but we will see. JONATHAN CAPEHART: Yes. JUDY WOODRUFF: We will see. Jonathan Capehart, David Brooks, thank you both. JONATHAN CAPEHART: Thanks, Judy. JUDY WOODRUFF: The Grammys will be handed out Sunday night. And one artist, Yola, who has been nominated six times overall, is vying this year in two categories, best American roots song and best Americana album.Jeffrey Brown went to see why the musician has chosen Nashville as her home base to shake things up with her fusion of many genres. It’s part of our arts and culture series, Canvas. JEFFREY BROWN: There she was headlining Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium, singing the title song from her new album, “Stand for Myself,” a kind of musical autobiography that looks back to an earlier, less confident version of Yola. YOLA, Musician: I sing a coward in the shadows, no view from above, in my song “Stand For Myself,” which sounds kind of hardcore on myself. But I was kind of chicken. JEFFREY BROWN: It’s hard to imagine, actually, sitting here with you, because… YOLA: I know. I was a very different person.JEFFREY BROWN: Yes. YOLA: I have done a lot of work, like, a lot of work. (LAUGHTER) YOLA: I have come a very, very long way. JEFFREY BROWN: All the way from Bristol, England, all the way from fronting other bands and doing the bidding of others. Now Yola Quartey, who goes by first name only, is making a big name for herself on her own terms with a powerful voice, a sense of personal mission, and a mix of musical sounds, including R&B, country, soul, and rock, that she calls genre-fluid. YOLA: It sounds like where I grew up, absorbing things from Caribbean people based in the U.K., African people based in U.K., the stuff we import from America, the stuff we import from everywhere else, all smooshed, to see where the connective tissue of humanity is. JEFFREY BROWN: Yes. Most important, she’s the one doing the smooshing. YOLA: It’s why I speak the way I speak and as plainly as I do, because people need to see a person of my hue, of my brand of chocolate with agency and with a sense of joy and creating things.JEFFREY BROWN: She traces the start of her rise to a 2016 attention-getting appearance at The Basement. This is a tiny place, right? YOLA: It’s not massive. (LAUGHTER) YOLA: It’s, what, 100 cap, right? Oh, look at her. JEFFREY BROWN: A famed Nashville club where musicians come to perform and be seen, in her case, seen as Yola, showcasing for the first time.YOLA: This is the real “I’m here” moment, you know? And when you make a transition from being in service to someone else’s dream to daring to ask people to come and support your own dream, that’s a very big psychological transition. JEFFREY BROWN: Soon after, she was working with Dan Auerbach, guitarist for the rock band The Black Keys and a Nashville-based producer. Together, they recorded the 2019 album “Walk Through Fire,” which got Yola four Grammy nominations, including best new artist.”Stand For Myself,” their latest collaboration, received two more nominations, finally, she says, overcoming in-your-face biases along the way serious business, which she, characteristically, describes with humor. YOLA: Sometimes, people would speak of some imaginary producer that they had in their mind. And I go, I’m sorry, that’s me. And they’d be like, Oh. Oh, no. Oh, why? But you’re a woman and you’re Black. Why? You know. JEFFREY BROWN: But big names in a wide range of music started noticing her and including her with them on stage, Dolly Parton, Gary Clark Jr., Brandi Carlile, Willie Nelson, and Chris Stapleton. Nashville is now Yola’s adopted home, and she began her recent tour on its most historic stage, the 130-year-old Ryman Auditorium, the original home of the Grand Ole Opry.And for Yola to headline here, from sound check to preparing to go on, to belting out her songs, was a statement in itself. Nashville’s music scene has received plenty of criticism for its lack of embrace of women and artists of color. Yola is just one sign of change, both in the diversity of musicians and sounds. YOLA: It becomes a really important thing for me to feel as though I’m surrounded by people who understand, who’ve spent maybe a moment in their life being other, having an understanding of what that might feel like. JEFFREY BROWN: And she’s also soon to reach wider audiences through her acting debut, playing the rock ‘n’ roll progenitor Sister Rosetta Tharpe, popular in the ’30s and ’40s, in director Baz Luhrmann’s upcoming film on Elvis Presley. She’s eager, she says, to help change music’s story of the past and present.And that includes the audience. You’re talking about changing who’s on stage, right? But do you have to change the audience? YOLA: You inevitably start doing so, but you only start doing so when you’re able to make the change up here. Black people don’t just magically appear. This only works by us telling them that this is happening right now. JEFFREY BROWN: Yola is touring across the U.S. into the fall. For the “PBS NewsHour,” I’m Jeffrey Brown the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. JUDY WOODRUFF: Some great music. And on the “NewsHour” online now, you can see recent profiles of two other artists vying for Grammys on Sunday. They are Brandi Carlile and Arooj Aftab. That’s on our Web site, PBS.org/NewsHour. JUDY WOODRUFF: And before we go, we’d like to say farewell to one of the “NewsHour”‘s great producers who is retiring after a long career at the program.You haven’t seen Lee Koromvokis on the air, but she has worked on hundreds of our stories over the years and produced many of the best pieces. And the correspondent she has worked with the most is Paul Solman. He pays tribute tonight to a friend and colleague. PAUL SOLMAN: TV correspondents are often almost wholly reliant on a person you never see, the producer, who assembles cool footage, rounds up the unusual suspects, most recently lumberyard owner Larry Beckerle. What’s your best lumber joke? LARRY BECKERLE, Co-Owner, Beckerle Lumber: If I told you, you would get board.(LAUGHTER) PAUL SOLMAN: New York-based Lee Koromvokis joined the “NewsHour” in the 1980s. Her very first feature… ADM. ELMO ZUMWALT (RET.), U.S. NAVY: I have become an instrument of my son’s own tragedy. PAUL SOLMAN: … on Admiral Elmo Zumwalt and his son’s Agent Orange-related cancer won an Emmy. She’s added five more, two Peabody Awards. LEE KOROMVOKIS, “PBS NewsHour” Producer: Thank you to the University of Georgia and the Peabody Awards. It’s a very great honor. PAUL SOLMAN: The only time you could have seen Lee on the “NewsHour” was back in 1994, when she was indignant trying to buy a Power Ranger for her son.LEE KOROMVOKIS: Look around. There are none of the cool toys here. PAUL SOLMAN: You have seen plenty of her quirky visuals, though, and she can do it all. I fronted for her poignant report on Utica, self-dubbed refugee city, though Lee was there herself. WOMAN: Congratulations, you and your flag. PAUL SOLMAN: She also produced her correspondent-free day amidst the foreclosures in Fort Myers, Florida. MAN: If you come back to this property, it’s considered trespassing. PAUL SOLMAN: Her family from Sparta, she led us through Greece during its 2010 financial collapse. A would-be doctor, she engineered stories on the dangers of antibiotics resistance and the joys of kidney transplants. A woman of culture, she orchestrated a story on Emily Dickinson’s garden. An erstwhile musician, she produced our stories on Franz Schubert and Bach’s St. John’s Passion. Throughout the years, Lee has been our Bach, or, maybe more aptly, our Emily Dickinson, brilliant, eagle-eye observant, always original, and always word-perfect.Will she be missed after 38 years of hyperexcellence? It’s banality even to ask. For the “PBS NewsHour,” and mainly for Lee, Paul Solman. JUDY WOODRUFF: Thank you, Paul. Lee Koromvokis is a treasure. We cannot believe she is leaving us. Lee, we will miss you so much. And we want all of you to tune into “Washington Week” tonight, as Yamiche Alcindor and her panel discuss this busy week in news. That’s tonight on PBS and streaming. And, as you heard earlier, tomorrow’s edition of “PBS News Weekend” looks at one of the stars of ABC’s “Abbott Elementary,” who reflects on the challenges facing public schools. That is Saturday on “PBS News Weekend” with Geoff Bennett. And that’s the “NewsHour” for tonight. I’m Judy Woodruff. For all of us at the “PBS NewsHour,” thank you, please stay safe, and we will see you soon. .
