JUDY WOODRUFF: Good evening.

I'm Judy Woodruff.

On the "NewsHour" tonight use of force.

Mayors nationwide respond to the president's intensifying threats to send federal agents to American cities in response to peaceful protests.

Then, the ongoing outrage.

Four months after Breonna Taylor was killed by police in Louisville, demonstrators continue to call for charges to be filed.

And the challenge of child care -- how the coronavirus forces working parents to balance their jobs with caring for their children at home.

NINA PEREZ: We're really seeing the impact of decades of underinvestment in child care, and now we're seeing this fragile system really break down because of it.

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

(BREAK) JUDY WOODRUFF: The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed a big new casualty, this time a political one.

President Trump announced late today that he is giving up on his hopes for a full-scale Republican National Convention next month in Jacksonville, Florida.

DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States: The timing for this event is not right.

It's just not right, with what's happened recently, the flare-up in Florida, to have a big convention.

It's not the right time.

It's really something that, for me, I have to protect the America people.

That's what I have always done.

That's what I always will do.

That's what I'm about.

JUDY WOODRUFF: The president said the GOP will still hold some convention-related events in North Carolina.

His announcement comes one month before the convention is due to begin, and on a day when the pandemic's human toll showed in big new numbers.

The nation has now exceeded four million infections, as the resurgence builds.

And another 1.4 million Americans have filed for jobless benefits, as layoffs increase again.

Meanwhile, Senate Republicans say the White House has tentatively agreed to a framework pandemic aid package worth $1 trillion.

They have not made it public, and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says that it continues extra jobless benefits, but at a reduced level.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): We also intend to continue some temporary federal supplement to unemployment insurance, while fixing the obvious craziness of paying people more to remain out of the work force.

Small business owners across the country have explained how this dynamic is slowing rehiring and recovery.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Republicans also want a legal liability shield for businesses and schools and money to help schools to reopen.

But the White House dropped a demand for a payroll tax cut.

Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer criticized the proposals and the delays.

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): Even after all this time, it appears the Republican legislative response to COVID is un-unified, un-serious, unsatisfactory.

The Republican disarray and dithering has serious, potentially deadly consequences.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Democrats want $3.5 trillion in relief, including big new sums for state and local aid.

A federal judge in New York today ordered that Michael Cohen, who is President Trump's former personal attorney, be released from prison again.

He had been furloughed in May, then jailed again this month.

The judge ruled that it was retaliation for his plans to publish a tell-all book.

Cohen was convicted of campaign finance violations and lying to Congress.

The inspector general for the U.S. Justice Department will review the actions of federal agents against protesters in Portland, Oregon, and in Washington, D.C. That announcement follows President Trump's vow to send agents into more cities to deal with violent crime.

We will take a closer look at this after the news summary.

The U.S. House of Representatives witnessed a dramatic denunciation of sexism today.

Progressive Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York had accused conservative Republican Ted Yoho of Florida of berating her with a slur on Monday.

She charged that it is part of a deep, longstanding disrespect for women.

REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): This issue is not about one incident.

It is cultural.

It is a culture of lack of impunity, of accepting of violence and violent language against women, an entire structure of power that supports that.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Yoho is retiring in January.

He had addressed the issue yesterday, and voiced regret.

REP. TED YOHO (R-FL): I rise to apologize for the abrupt manner of the conversation I had with my colleague from New York.

It is true that we disagree on policies and visions for America, but that does not mean we should be disrespectful.

I cannot apologize for my passion or for loving my God, my family, and my country.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Today, Yoho accused Ocasio-Cortez of inflating the incident, and said -- quote - - "I'm not going to apologize for something I didn't say."

President Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin spoke on the phone today.

It was their sixth call since March.

The White House said they talked COVID-19 and arms control, among other things.

There was no mention of allegations that Russia offered bounties for killing U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

The U.S. is now accusing Chinese scientists with secret military ties of stealing research.

The Justice Department charged four Chinese today with visa fraud, including one holed up at the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco.

Yesterday, the U.S. ordered Beijing's consulate in Houston to close over alleged data theft.

The Chinese also launched an ambitious new mission to Mars today.

A Long March 5 rocket soared skyward from Hainan Island.

It carried a Mars orbiter and a rover that's meant to land on the planet.

A new U.S. rover is set to launch for Mars next week.

On Wall Street, stocks slumped on news of rising layoffs and unemployment claims.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 353 points to close at 26652.

The Nasdaq fell 244 points, more than 2 percent, and the S&P 500 slipped 40 points.

And Major League Baseball returns tonight, after the pandemic delayed the season's start.

There will be just 60 games in ballparks, without fans.

First up tonight, the world champion Washington Nationals host the New York Yankees.

Infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci will throw out the first pitch.

Still to come on the "NewsHour": the president intensifies threats to send federal agents to American cities in response to peaceful protests; four months after Breonna Taylor was killed by police, demonstrators continue to call for charges to be filed; former President Obama enters the campaign season with a new ad targeting President Trump; and much more.

The investigation announced today over the use of federal force in Portland and elsewhere came as many cities pushed back on the president's actions and plans.

A number of mayors said the administration is crossing a line and abusing its role and power.

Yamiche Alcindor has the latest.

DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States: We want to make law enforcement stronger, not weaker.

What cities are doing is absolute insanity.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: President Trump is surging federal law enforcement into cities he claims are being overrun by violence.

The push includes officials from a number of agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, and the Justice Department.

It comes as the president is ramping up his law and order rhetoric, in the lead-up to the November election.

Here he is at the White House yesterday.

DONALD TRUMP: We will work every single day to restore public safety, protect our nation's children, and bring violent perpetrators to justice.

We have been doing it, and you have been seeing what's happening all around the country.

We have just started this process, and, frankly, we have no choice but to get involved.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: He said he plans to send federal agents into cities like Albuquerque and Chicago.

Local officials, though, say they are not necessary and not welcome.

For several weeks, DHS agents have already been out in force in Portland, Oregon.

They have faced fierce backlash as they clashed with Black Lives Matter protesters.

The officers are dressed in camouflage, and are heavily armed with equipment, like shields, rifles and batons.

They wear custom identification numbers, but not their names.

Protesters and local officials, including the mayor, have criticized the federal use of force.

Video shows agents pulling protesters into unmarked vehicles.

Last night, federal law enforcement tear-gassed the crowd, including Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler.

It was the 56th consecutive night of protests in Portland, most of them peaceful.

But near the federal courthouse, tensions have been high.

WOLFGANG TAYLOR: One person throws a water bottle, and they start throwing tear gas at us and shooting us with rubber bullets and pepper bombs.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf says the agents are protecting federal property, specifically the Mark O. Hatfield Courthouse.

Some protesters have covered it in graffiti, and have attempted to set it on fire.

Today, on CBS, Wolf defended the law enforcement's presence and response.

CHAD WOLF, Acting U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security: When we are there to protect the federal courthouse, we have that responsibility, given to us by the United States Congress.

We are on that federal property and we are protecting that federal property.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: But while the Trump administration says deploying federal agents and officers will curb unrest, federal statistics about the most violent cities do not necessarily match the president's focus.

According to analysis by 24/7 Wall Street, using 2018 FBI data, Alaska had the most violent crimes per 100,000 residents.

That state was followed by New Mexico and Tennessee.

And 38 percent of violent crime occurred in the South.

Still, the president has focused much of his attention on sending federal agents to Chicago.

But Chicago activist Jahmal Cole says the move won't be unhelpful.

JAHMAL COLE, Chicago Activist: Adding more cops is not the solution.

The solution is supporting people that are on the ground, helping them expand what they're doing into broader strategies, right?

That's what we need in Chicago.

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

JUDY WOODRUFF: The divide between local leaders and the president has only grown by the day.

This week, mayors of 15 major cities asked the president to withdraw federal forces from cities and to not deploy similar federal agents without a request.

They called the federal action in Portland and threats elsewhere a violation of fundamental constitutional protections.

Tom Ridge was the first secretary of homeland security during the George W. Bush administration.

He is also the former governor of Pennsylvania.

And he joins me now.

Governor Ridge, thank you so much for being here.

So, the Trump administration is saying these cities can't control the violence on their streets, and, therefore, the federal government has to get involved.

What do you say to that?

TOM RIDGE, FORMER U.S.

HOMELAND SECURITY CHIEF: Well, I would say to the president, you might want to ask your vice president, who has been a very loyal supporter, whether or not he thinks that an uninvited, unsolicited intervention by the federal government, as well-intentioned as it might have been, would have been welcomed in Indiana, without much closer collaboration, setting priorities, and working together in partnership to address the issues that not only the president's concerned about, the citizens and the communities are concerned about.

But this intervention, this spontaneous and probably very temporary intervention, isn't really going to solve the problems that the mayors and the governors and the local community want resolved.

JUDY WOODRUFF: You called it, at one point, a reality TV approach.

What did you mean by that?

TOM RIDGE: I meant that it just seems that there's going to be some reporting on it.

There will be some video cameras there.

It will make the nightly news.

And then it will kind of drift away, and there will be another presidential priority.

And what has happened is, you have held the spotlight on for an hour.

It's like being on "Apprentice."

You have got an hour, and then there would be another story later down the road.

It's a reality TV approach to a very serious, serious problem.

You need sustained commitment.

There are economic and social issues involved.

And you cannot address them, let alone resolve them, unless you have the kind of partnership and the collegial and the cooperation that is so critical.

And that's why the federal government exists.

And, by the way, I must say, when we were leading DHS, it was my great pleasure to connect with governors and with mayors and to have different law enforcement agencies work together to combat certain threats in their communities.

And, by the way, the last time I checked, that worked out pretty well.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Is there ever a time when federal agents -- when it would be appropriate for federal agents to go into a city?

TOM RIDGE: Well, I think I personally believe there are probably multiple occasions.

They certainly ought to go in to protect federal buildings.

There are certainly legitimate reasons to go in to execute laws.

But there's no conceivable scenario that I think that this massive invasion, basically, should be done or can be done effectively without local support.

And that means you have got to pick up the phone and rally and pull people together.

And the other thing that is really disturbing to me is, I don't care whether you're Republican or Democrat.

There's a lot of men and women and families of both political persuasions in these communities.

And the purposeful denigration and the dismissive nature, oh, they're Democrat governors to me, it's very unappealing to me.

My two biggest cities in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia were run by Democrat governors.

You know what?

We got a lot done together.

That's the point.

I think he ought to look to his own vice president, a loyal man, and very loyal to the president, and say, how would you handle this?

And I would dare say -- I'm not going to speak for him -- he might suggest more cooperation, rather than this unilateral effort on the part of the federal government.

I may be wrong, but I... (CROSSTALK) JUDY WOODRUFF: Governor Ridge, what's the larger risk here?

I mean, what is the concern, that if the federal agents are used to go in a situation like this, what is the concern, that this could lead to a greater violation of citizens' rights?

TOM RIDGE: I think it is -- it corrodes the federal system of government we have, the republic.

Remember, it's a republic, if you can keep it.

And it is 50 states.

We have to be mindful of that.

We have to be mindful that I think you're bumping up against the Constitution.

And the other fact is that I know some people say, well, they have the authority to do it.

Well, you may have the authority.

I had the authority to go 70 miles an hour across the Pennsylvania Turnpike, and I could do it in a blizzard if I want.

But I'm not sure I want to do it.

Police have the authority to chase convicted felons and murder suspects and draw their firearms to defend themselves, but they're probably not going to do it, even though they have the authority, if that suspects blends into a civilian population.

So, saying, well, I have technically -- technically the authority to do it doesn't mean that you're seriously addressing the problem and doesn't even come close to guaranteeing you're going to achieve the outcome.

These are serious problems.

They're economic.

They're social.

And it's only a sustained effort -- I was looking at Chicago, 13,000 police.

They will send in 200 agents.

How long are they going to be there?

It's a reality TV show.

I do a couple press conference, send in troops.

By the way, the good men and women from these departments will do all they can to help, but they're not going to be there permanently.

They may make a few arrests.

Be good for TV.

Move out.

And the mayors and the governors and the attorneys and law enforcement officials are going to have to deal with it all over again.

It's not a serious effort, long-term effort to deal with the problem of lawlessness.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Governor, I know you're aware President Trump responded on Twitter to what you had said and called you a never-Trumper, said you're a failed Republican in name only.

The argument that they fall back on is that this is about law and order.

So, when they say that, what is the comeback to that?

TOM RIDGE: Well, Mr. President, I had a pretty good record as governor.

I was a pretty good prosecutor.

But you know what I really fall back on, Mr. President?

My dad told me a long time ago, before you get excited about a critic, take that measure of that person.

And I took the measure of this man, my president - - he is my president -- in 2015.

And my opinion hasn't changed.

He's got me right.

And, by the way, Mr. President, I would say, you may call me a RINO.

I'm a lifelong Republican.

You were a lifelong Democrat.

So I'm not sure you questioning -- if you're questioning pedigree, you ought to look inward, rather than outward.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Former Governor Tom Ridge of Pennsylvania, the first secretary of homeland security, thank you very much for talking with us.

TOM RIDGE: Very nice to be with you.

Thank you, Judy.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Weeks before George Floyd's death fueled national protests around Black Lives Matter, the death of Breonna Taylor at the hands of police led to anger and grief in Louisville, Kentucky.

Her case has now become a national touch point for protesters who often chant, "Say her name."

As John Yang reports, the city of Louisville's response to the case is now a flash point all its own.

PROTESTER: Say her name!

PROTESTERS: Breonna Taylor!

JOHN YANG: Anger and frustration are still fresh more than four months after 26-year-old Breonna Taylor died at the hands of Louisville police, no apparent progress in the investigation and no charges in the case.

PROTESTER: Can you say her name?

PROTESTERS: Breonna Taylor.

PROTESTER: Do you remember her name?

PROTESTERS: Breonna Taylor.

JOHN YANG: For weeks, daily demonstrations have demanded justice for the emergency room technician who was shot in her apartment as police tried to serve a no-knock drug search warrant after midnight.

Hannah Drake is a Louisville activist.

HANNAH DRAKE, Activist: We continue to fight.

We continue to speak.

We continue to shout.

So, this is not an incident that will be buried underneath bourbon and bluegrass in Kentucky.

JOHN YANG: On Monday, several Louisville residents began a hunger strike, live-streamed on Facebook, and backed by medical professionals to ensure their well-being.

Protests have spread across the country, including the NBA.

Philadelphia 76er forward Tobias Harris used his time with reporters on Monday to send a message to Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, who is investigating Taylor's death.

TOBIAS HARRIS, PHILADELPHIA 76ERS: We want to make sure that Daniel Cameron will arrest the cops and officers involved with Breonna Taylor's death.

And, yes, that's all I got to say.

(CROSSTALK) TOBIAS HARRIS: That's going to be my answer - - that's going to be my answer for every question.

QUESTION: Fair enough.

JOHN YANG: Amid all this, new details are emerging.

Last week, The Louisville Courier-Journal used police dispatch tapes to determine that, for more than 25 minutes, Taylor lay where she fell in her apartment hallway, receiving no medical attention.

The coroner said she had been shot five times and could not have been saved.

HANNAH DRAKE: It seems as if this city continues to murder Breonna Taylor every single day.

So, there was a moment where the mayor called on us to have a day of healing and reflection.

And there can be no healing and reflection when, every day, something new is coming out about the case.

JOHN YANG: Records show three plainclothes officers used a battering ram to break down Taylor's door at 12:40 a.m. None wore a body camera.

Kenneth Walker, Taylor's boyfriend, has said he heard pounding on the door, but no one saying they were police.

He said he thought someone was breaking in.

Investigators recorded his statement.

KENNETH WALKER, Boyfriend of Breonna Taylor: So, now the door is, like, flying open.

I let off one shot, and then all of a sudden there is a whole lot of shots.

So, there's just shooting.

And, like, we're both on the ground.

And when all the shots stop, I'm, like, panicking.

She's right there on the ground, like, bleeding.

JOHN YANG: Walker shot once, hitting an officer in the leg, though charges against him were later dropped.

The police fired 20 rounds.

Detective Brett Hankison was dismissed last month for violating the department's deadly force policy by wantonly and blindly shooting into the apartment.

Sergeant Jonathan Mattingly and Detective Myles Cosgrove are on administrative leave.

In May, city officials turned the case over to Attorney General Cameron, a Republican.

He is the first Black person to hold that office, and is a protege of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

PROTESTER: Your new neighbor has the power to arrest and charge cops that murdered Breonna Taylor.

JOHN YANG: Last week, nearly 90 protesters were arrested after peacefully gathering at his home.

Cameron declined to comment for this story, citing the ongoing investigation.

MAN: Why have laws not been enforced?

JOHN YANG: Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, a Democrat, faces calls for a city council investigation into his handling of Taylor's death, and the ensuing protests, when a popular restaurant owner was shot and killed by authorities.

On MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell reports last week, he deflected questions about the criminal probe.

GREG FISCHER, MAYOR OF LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY: This is in Daniel Cameron's hands.

We have communicated to him, please move this forward quickly as you possibly can.

Our city is suffering.

The country is suffering.

Certainly, Breonna's family is suffering as well.

And so I pray that we will have a quick resolution to this.

We have done everything that we can here.

JOHN YANG: The FBI is conducting a separate investigation.

PROTESTER: It is time for Daniel Cameron to get information.

JOHN YANG: And as weeks have turned into months since Breonna Taylor's killing, demonstrators in Louisville and elsewhere have made sure she is not forgotten.

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

JUDY WOODRUFF: The November election is just about 100 days away, and both presidential candidates have been raising record-setting amounts of money.

The pandemic has drastically changed how campaigns are spending that money, with the race moving online and relying less on in-person rallies.

Today, the Biden campaign released a digital video featuring the presumptive Democratic nominee in a 17-minute conversation with his former boss, Barack Obama.

JOSEPH BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have to change the way in which we deal with allowing people an opportunity to make a living.

BARACK OBAMA, Former President of the United States: Right.

JOSEPH BIDEN: That includes child care.

That includes turning -- making significant investments in infrastructure, so people can make, not just a living wage, but a union wage, making sure we have -- build up an entire new public health system, and making sure everybody has health care.

And, well, now we have a chance.

We can add a public option now.

BARACK OBAMA: Right.

JOSEPH BIDEN: But this guy is in court, in the middle of a pandemic, trying to take away the protection for 100 million people who have preexisting conditions.

I don't think he has any sense of empathy or any -- I don't think he can associate at all.

JUDY WOODRUFF: While President Trump has not held a rally in person in over a month, his campaign has turned to live online conversations featuring many of the president's closest advisers.

TIM MURTAUGH, Trump 2020 Campaign Communications Director: Look, this is Joe Biden.

This is a man who wants to be president.

And he can't find the time in his little video to say he's proud of this country.

We have never lived up to it, he says.

PAM TUCKER, Vice Chair, New Hampshire Republican Committee: But I don't think that, if Joe Biden was president, we would see these types of gains.

It is because of Donald Trump's policies and what he's done to help our country grow again.

JUDY WOODRUFF: To look at how the pandemic has changed the way campaigns reach voters now, we turn to Guy Cecil.

He was the political director for Hillary Clinton's 2008 campaign for president.

He's now the chairman of Priorities USA, a Democratic political action committee.

And John Brabender, he was a senior adviser for Rick Santorum's 2016 presidential campaign.

He is the chief strategist at BrabenderCox, a political marketing firm.

It's good to see you both.

Thank you so much for joining us.

John Brabender, I'm going to start with you because of the news breaking tonight, President Trump announcing that the Jacksonville convention is completely going away as a result of the pandemic.

You're a Republican.

What does this say about how Republicans are going to nominate their president for reelection?

JOHN BRABENDER, Republican Strategist: Well, I think, thinking of it as a strategist, I see this as a bit of a disappointment and disadvantage for President Trump.

I mean, this is not a fireside chat president.

This is not a press conference president.

This is a large rally, live events.

We know he feeds off that, unscripted.

And now he's forced to turn to a more mundane way of just a small screen, talking to people, and that's not who this president is.

So I'm sure that it's frustrating for the Trump campaign at this point, but it's the new new.

It's the reality.

Campaigns are going to have to adjust, and they're going to have to find some way to make it interesting, not just something that looks too typical these days.

JUDY WOODRUFF: And, Guy Cecil, the Democrats have pretty much said all along that they knew there was going to be a smaller convention event.

Does this give one side or another an advantage, you think, at the conventions?

GUY CECIL, Chairman, Priorities USA: Well, I think the advantage that Democrats have is that the Democratic National Committee and the Biden campaign have now had weeks to prepare for a different kind of convention.

And I think that preparation is going to bear itself out, whereas, with the Republicans, I mean, Donald Trump has been delaying and waiting and hoping, with a lot of bluster, saying he was going to bring people together regardless.

And I think what he recognizes now is that, with his numbers plummeting in Florida, he needed to make a U-turn and move in a different direction.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, let's talk, both of you, about how the campaign is different because of the pandemic.

John Brabender, you can't -- the candidates can't go to people in person.

They have got to communicate online.

What does that mean?

What is lost by that?

JOHN BRABENDER: Well, we don't really get to kick the tires.

Too much of the campaign now is going to be edited versions of what we see with the candidate.

And, again, I think this is a frustration for the Trump campaign.

I think they believe that, if Joe Biden is forced to not talk with the teleprompter, is not forced to have edited content, where they can take mistakes out, that people would see really some of the problems of why he shouldn't be president.

I think the opposite is true with President Trump.

He's a live candidate.

He can be entertaining.

He can be interesting.

And he knows how to steal the news cycle, which is much easier to do with a big rally than it is online.

So, the real problem they're going to have is, how do they make effective content that competes with HBO and Netflix and public broadcasting?

(LAUGHTER) JUDY WOODRUFF: And, Guy Cecil, I mean, what are the challenges of trying to make a campaign compelling online?

We saw that, I think some people are saying, relatively clever twosome between President Obama and Vice President Biden.

What kinds of pressure does this put on the campaigns to make it interesting?

GUY CECIL: Well, I think the first big pressure is the fact there is lot of in-person organizing that can't happen.

And campaigns now have to move to a more of a digital organizing philosophy, where they're using platforms to reach out to friends and neighbors.

And I think the most interesting way that we can talk to people is by talking to them about the issues they care about and letting them hear from people they care about.

And that's why I think the role that a lot of independent groups and outside organizations have played to organize their membership, to get those that are interested in their particular issues, is really critical to the vice president's success.

And, really, it's what 2017, 2018, and 2019 have been about, as Democrats prepare for this election.

JUDY WOODRUFF: And maybe picking up on that, but, John Brabender, you were telling us earlier that you don't think the campaigns have done a great job so far figuring out how digitally to be persuasive, to personalize their appeal to voters.

What did you mean by that?

JOHN BRABENDER: Yes.

Look, they're excellent at raising money online.

They're excellent at talking to supporters and getting them to want to be active in campaigns and so forth.

What they haven't become are great content producers.

And I particularly think of the 18-to-30-year-old voters, which is actually going to be a bigger part of the electorate this time than they were four years ago.

They grew up digital.

They're not watching cable news.

They're more likely to determine their political ideology watching "The Daily Show" than they are CNN or FOX News.

And they expect content to fit something that is shareable within their communities.

I'm not seeing that happening particularly well with either campaign.

And I think there's an opening for whatever campaign effectively starts doing that.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Guy Cecil how do you see the campaigns doing on that front in terms of tailoring the message, whether it's the younger generation or the older folks, tailoring it in a way that's going to be capture people's imagination?

GUY CECIL: Well, I think there's two important parts here.

Number one, we know that voters under 35 are strongly supporting Joe Biden.

And so we have a real opportunity here to reach out to those voters.

But I also think it's where you see a strategic difference between the Trump campaign and the Biden campaign.

For the last three years, the Trump campaign has used online to raise money, sell MAGA hats, and really to just talk to their base, whereas groups like Priorities, the group that I lead, have actually been advertising in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, talking to persuadable voters, and talking to those voters that sat out in 2016.

And so I think this is not only a tactical difference in terms of how we're talking about using online.

It's a strategic difference between solely trying to get out your base vs. trying to build the biggest broadest coalition of fair-minded voters possible.

And I think we will see that reflected in the type of content that gets run over the next three months.

JUDY WOODRUFF: And, very quickly, in just a few seconds, to each one of you, the fact that there's -- that early voting is going to be such a big factor this time -- a lot of people don't want to show up at the polls in person, John Brabender -- how much more pressure does that put on the campaigns to do something different?

JOHN BRABENDER: A great deal, because they're going to do a lot of modeling to figure out who's likely to vote early, and make sure they're reaching them right when those ballots do come.

And then, second of all, they're going to monitor who already turned in a ballot and understand that any dollars advertised to them is pretty much wasted dollars.

So, I think it'll be -- from a targeting standpoint, it'll be huge.

JUDY WOODRUFF: And Guy Cecil.

GUY CECIL: Yes, well, there's two things.

One is the misinformation that's being spread by the president himself about vote by mail, which I think ultimately will be counterproductive for his own supporters.

And the thing that we're going to focus the most on, besides moving people to apply for their mail-in ballot, is making sure they have accurate information about how, where and when they can vote, whether it's by mail, or early voting, or in person on Election Day.

JUDY WOODRUFF: So much to follow.

We're so delighted to have both of you join us today.

Guy Cecil, John Brabender, thank you very much.

JOHN BRABENDER: Thank you.

GUY CECIL: Great to be here.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Today marked the 18th straight week of more than one million people filing for unemployment.

That is a record level of claims.

Even as Congress and the White House debate what should be done next, one challenge remains a constant for parents, and that is child care.

It was difficult for many long before all of this, but the pandemic has magnified the problem, and it may prevent some parents from being able to return to the work force fully.

Paul Solman has the story.

It's part of his regular reporting series, Making Sense.

NINA PEREZ, MomsRising: My husband and I have not had child care since the pandemic started.

JASPREET CHOWDHARY, Policy Analyst: We're now, I think, in day 110, but who's counting?

PAUL SOLMAN: All across America, working parents on the brink.

SARAH CIESLIK, Home Care Worker: It's causing me a lot of anxiety trying to figure out how I'm going to sustain it.

LEIGHA THOMASON, Certified Medical Assistant: Should I keep working, or should I stop and be with my children?

Because I just can't give them my full undivided attention that they deserve.

PAUL SOLMAN: The pandemic has shuttered schools, summer camps, sidelined virus-vulnerable grandparents.

The result?

Some 18 million Americans have no one to care for their young kids.

How tired are you?

JASPREET CHOWDHARY: Pretty tired.

(LAUGHTER) PAUL SOLMAN: Policy analyst Jaspreet Chowdhary and her husband are juggling working at home and parenting their two kids, which means late-night shifts after the kids hit the hay.

JASPREET CHOWDHARY: I have heard a lot of parents and people just saying that they're drinking more wine.

I would say I'm drinking more coffee.

PAUL SOLMAN: You don't look tired.

JASPREET CHOWDHARY: I have gotten so much better at putting on makeup.

I feel like RuPaul would be proud.

SARAH CIESLIK: Can you say hello?

CHILD: Hi.

PAUL SOLMAN: Hey.

How you doing?

Single mom Sarah Cieslik, a home care aide, can't work from home.

While her kids sleep in her parents' basement, she works nights so she can watch them during the day.

SARAH CIESLIK: I'm always tired.

Sometimes my kids will say to me, "Mom, why don't you just go lay down and we will play on our tablet for a little while?"

PAUL SOLMAN: Child care advocate Nina Perez can work from home.

But how do you focus on the job while caring for a toddler?

NINA PEREZ: Every person I have worked with for the last couple of months has met my daughter on video.

We had a very loud toy go off in the background, and we just couldn't even hear anything.

We had to stop the meeting.

We had to go back.

And we have flexible jobs.

We have incredible.... PAUL SOLMAN: Suddenly, I couldn't hear Perez.

Why?

NINA PEREZ: She muted me.

(LAUGHTER) PAUL SOLMAN: But mental health care worker Leigha Thomason says, the more focus on the job, the less on the kids.

During her work call?

LEIGHA THOMASON: I'm trying to push my hand out, to say, give me just a minute, and they can't wait that long, you know?

So, by the time I get off the phone, I'm screaming at them, like, why couldn't you just give me that time?

But then I have -- I have even cried.

I have even cried at night, because I felt so guilty about getting upset with them, when they really weren't doing anything wrong.

They were just being children.

PAUL SOLMAN: Children as rattled by the pandemic as their parents.

Check out this viral video moment.

CHILD: Everything has to be shut down for everybody to be safe.

And it's just not fair, because everything that is fun also has to be shut down.

And the only thing that is open is nothing.

PAUL SOLMAN: Thomason's kids are older, calmer, but relegated to their rooms when she confers with patients.

As a result, she says.

LEIGHA THOMASON: I feel like that their brains are not forming the way that they should, being stuck with no communication to an adult or other children.

PAUL SOLMAN: And remote grade school learning?

LEIGHA THOMASON: I don't feel like they retain the information.

I don't feel like they're as attentive as they normally would be.

PAUL SOLMAN: What percentage of the value of school are they getting when they are learning remotely, do you think?

LEIGHA THOMASON: I'm going to go with about 20 percent.

PAUL SOLMAN: Assisted living coordinator Kenya Jones has an 8-year-old.

KENYA JONES, Assisted Living Coordinator: She doesn't feel ready to go on to the third grade, based on how her second year ended.

It was difficult learning Spanish and English virtually, because she goes to a dual-language school, so -- and I don't know Spanish.

PAUL SOLMAN: OK.

But, for younger kids, what about day care?

Well, it's unaffordable for most.

What's more, about 20 percent of centers remain closed.

And 86 percent of those that are open have fewer kids and are on the edge.

DANA MILLER, Operates Day Care Center: We're operating at 12 percent, and we need to be at like 75 percent capacity in order to kind of break even.

PAUL SOLMAN: Dana Miller reopened a day care center, with plenty of protection.

But it cost money.

What's your guess as to how long you can keep going before it's all just too much economically?

DANA MILLER: I want to say maybe another month?

PAUL SOLMAN: Three-point-five billion dollars in CARES Act funds went to day cares, but Miller says it isn't enough.

She made a YouTube video to publicize her fight to survive.

DANA MILLER: I will survive.

What's going to happen if day care centers close their doors and employees can't go to work?

PAUL SOLMAN: We're already seeing what happens.

ALICIA SASSER MODESTINO, Northeastern University: Thirteen percent of working parents right now are saying that they have either lost a job or reduced their hours directly because of the lack of child care.

PAUL SOLMAN: Under new federal rules, some parents not working due to lack of child care can apply for unemployment benefits, some for limited family and medical leave.

But economist Alicia Modestino says there are actually few good options.

ALICIA SASSER MODESTINO: Six-and-a-half percent of working parents have lost a job directly because of child care.

And of those who have lost a job, most of it is falling on women.

PAUL SOLMAN: Tara Riley was given a leave from her cancer research job to watch her kids.

She was called back this month, told she had to return to the office from 8:00 to 5:00.

Her response?

TARA RILEY, Clinical Researcher: I will work 40 hours a week or more, but I can't be committed to being in front of a computer from 8:00 to 5:00.

And they said, we will accept this e-mail as your voluntary resignation.

And that was that.

And I wasn't asking for a lot of flexibility.

But what I really think it is, is more that they were looking to shed a whole bunch of people.

And here's a whole category of people that we can just be rid of.

PAUL SOLMAN: Jaspreet Chowdhary thinks she may have to quit her job to care for the kids, but, she says: JASPREET CHOWDHARY: I have stepped out of the work force twice, once after my each of my kids were born, and it was much harder than I expected it to be -- to reenter.

And there is still, like, a parenting penalty, in terms of, like, promotion and career advancement.

And I feel like, if I did it again, it would just be devastating.

PAUL SOLMAN: At least she has a husband with a good job.

But poorer families, many of them Black and Latinx, have even fewer child care options, especially single moms, says economist Michelle Holder watching her daughter while working from home.

MICHELLE HOLDER, John Jay College of Criminal Justice: Women, in situations where they can't afford child care and they can't rely on extended family or their community, they have to look to scaling back hours.

PAUL SOLMAN: As single mom Kenya Jones has had to do, without full-time care for her son.

KENYA JONES: Fridays with no child care, I either miss work or I find someone to watch him.

PAUL SOLMAN: Home care worker Sarah Cieslik, also single, reduced her weekly night shift hours from 40 to 24 to care for her sons, which obviously reduced her pay.

SARAH CIESLIK: Almost by half.

I'm very fortunate to have food stamps.

PAUL SOLMAN: And so, as the economy, however haltingly, reopens, we're left with questions, like Michelle's Holder's.

MICHELLE HOLDER: What do we do with our kids?

How do we make sure they're safe and well-cared-for?

Because one-third of women who work in this country are mothers.

PAUL SOLMAN: And if those with young kids can't work, says Nina Perez, how does the economy revive?

NINA PEREZ: I think we're really seeing the impact of decades of underinvestment in child care.

It's really been on the backs of the providers and parents for so long, and something that's so critical to our economy, to the ability for people to work.

And now we're seeing this fragile system really break down because of it.

PAUL SOLMAN: For the "PBS NewsHour," this is Paul Solman.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Months after the start of baseball's spring training, the first pitch is thrown tonight.

As Amna Nawaz tells us, it will be a very different season, with many outstanding questions.

AMNA NAWAZ: Judy, the changes aren't surprising in a pandemic, but they are significant in many ways.

Each team will play just 60 regular season games.

There are no fans in the stadiums, and masks are required for many in the dugouts.

Jeff Passan covers Major League Baseball for ESPN, and he joins me now.

Jeff, welcome back to the "NewsHour."

You wrote, calling this the weirdest Major League Baseball season that's about to begin.

The players aren't in a bubble, like in the NBA, right?

They're not limited to locations, like in the NHL.

They are traveling.

How is the league handling safety?

JEFF PASSAN, ESPN: The league is trying to handle safety as best as it can.

But when you're traveling, when you're exposing yourself to different environments, when you're staying in hotels, when you're going on planes, when you're doing all of the things that NBA players and NHL players are not, you are exposing yourself inherently that you're going to come up positive for COVID-19.

And, look, even before, Amna, the Washington Nationals, the defending World Series champions, traveled, and Juan Soto, their star outfielder there tested, positive for COVID-19.

So, this is just the reality that baseball is having to deal with right now.

It's understanding that, no matter what you do, no matter how often you test, no matter how many safety protocols you have in place, there are still going to be positive tests that come back.

And baseball needs to make the decision, are we going to continue playing through this?

And the answer, at least so far, has been yes.

AMNA NAWAZ: Well, there is this very weird issue, to use your word here, about the Blue Jays as well, right?

They were supposed to be playing in Toronto, they thought they would be.

The government said no.

So, what now?

JEFF PASSAN: Well, they got rejected by their own federal government.

Then they went to Pittsburgh.

And they thought they had a home at PNC Park.

And the Pennsylvania Department of Health yesterday came back and said, no, no, no, not so fast.

We're not going to have you here, because there are teams that are down in Florida, the Tampa Bay Rays, as well as the Miami Marlins, who are scheduled to face the Toronto Blue Jays this year.

And Pennsylvania doesn't want more people coming from hot spots into the state.

Now they're looking at the Baltimore Orioles.

The Orioles are looking at hosting them, but it's in the hands of Governor Larry Hogan at this point.

So it's the intersection, Amna, of sports and politics.

And when we try to say that these two things are separate, they aren't separate.

They're not separate in social justice issues, and they are certainly not separate when it comes to the coronavirus.

AMNA NAWAZ: Jeff, we all remember what baseball looks like under normal circumstances.

There's now a shorter, condensed season.

There's been some rule changes too.

We mentioned some of the physical changes people are going to be seeing.

How different will the game be, both for players and for the fans watching at home?

JEFF PASSAN: Amna, I was at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City this week, and they were playing an exhibition game against the Houston Astros.

And the only word that could come to mind was eerie.

It was eerie because you're used to sights and sounds and smells at a baseball stadium, and none of those were there.

And it's almost like you're in this movie, and everything seems fake, because it is so different, because it's so antiseptic, because it's to antithetical to what you're used to in baseball, which is loud, which is joyous, which is rapturous, which you smell hot dogs, you're drinking beer.

You have all of these things that you associate with it.

And, instead, you have piped-in crowd noise because it sounds good for the television audience.

AMNA NAWAZ: Jeff, the fact that Dr. Anthony Fauci is throwing out the first pitch says a lot about this looming cloud hanging over the season.

Is there a chance the whole thing comes to a grinding halt because of safety concerns?

JEFF PASSAN: Yes.

And that's the fear of Major League Baseball.

That's the fear of the players, that they're operating in a house of cards right now.

And it's a house of cards in plenty of ways.

It can be an outbreak in the clubhouse.

It can be governmental officials coming in and saying, no, no, we're going to shut this thing down.

In order for a season, a full season, a complete season all the way through the World Series to happen, Major League Baseball recognizes that it needs a few things.

It needs players and staff members abiding by these protocols and recognizing that, you wear your masks, you keep your distance, you don't go out and have points of contact that are unnecessary.

But even if you do all of that, you still need luck, and you need a lot of luck to make this happen.

And the fact that we're at opening day right now, and they're actually playing, Amna, is a step in the right direction.

They made it this far.

Now comes the hard part.

AMNA NAWAZ: And we wish all of them good luck and hopefully good health for everyone involved.

JEFF PASSAN: Yes.

AMNA NAWAZ: That is Jeff Passan, who covers Major League Baseball for ESPN.

Thank you so much, Jeff.

Always good to see you.

JEFF PASSAN: Always a pleasure, Amna.

Thanks.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Writer and performer Aasif Mandvi has moved his way through the entertainment industry, with memorable stops at "The Daily Show" and on Broadway.

In tonight's Brief But Spectacular, he talks about navigating his career, while staying true to himself.

Mandvi is currently starring in the CBS series "Evil," which will begin its second season later this year.

AASIF MANDVI, Actor: When a casting director or a director or somebody in a movie or television show asks you, as a South Asian actor, to talk like this, so, like, me and my friend Sakina Jaffrey would make fun of that and we'd call it patanking, which is like -- because, to the white ear, it sounds like, patank, patank, patank, patank, right?

And that's insulting, and I'm going to stop doing it.

But the point is that we would get asked to do that a lot.

You try to find a reason not to patank.

Like, you would try to be like, well, it says the character grew up in Milwaukee, so I don't know why.

And they'd be like, yes, but it's funnier that way.

So, when I got called to audition for "The Daily Show," it was one of those weird days.

I started the day off writing a letter to my ex-girlfriend, because I found out that she'd gotten engaged, and I was really depressed about it.

I got a phone call, and it was my manager saying, "The Daily Show" wants you to audition.

First of all, I was having a miserable day.

Second of all, I thought "The Daily Show" was so far beneath me, because I was like a trained actor.

I'd studied Chekhov, and Ibsen, and Shakespeare.

And so I walk in, and there's Jon Stewart.

And he's really nice.

And he says to me, "Have you ever performed in front of a live audience before?"

And I just looked at him with this contempt.

And I said, "Dude, I have been on Broadway."

And he was like, "Oh, OK, Mr. Broadway.

All right, here we go."

So I basically just did an impression of Stephen Colbert.

Jon hired me right there in that moment.

And then I was on that night, on the show.

Mostly, I played a lot of the Middle East correspondent, Muslim correspondent, brown correspondent, Indian correspondent.

Before 9/11, I was Muslim, in the sense that my family was Muslim and I came from that background, but it was just my religious identity, and most Americans couldn't tell the difference between Muslim and muslin.

After 9/11, then Americans started learning, oh, there are these Muslims out there, and they're terrifying people, and they're out to get us.

And so then I really realized, like, oh, my God, suddenly, now I'm associated with this religion that people have no knowledge of or very little knowledge of, and are demonizing.

And so I pretended to be Jewish.

Having that platform, and being sort of able to talk about America from the perspective of a Muslim American was kind of new, because there was so much fear-mongering, as there is today.

I'm acting like this is something in the past, when it's actually even more today than it was after 9/11.

For me, ultimately, I see myself as a storyteller.

And there are still stories that I want to tell that I feel like are not being told in the mainstream culture, and about people who we don't see represented in the mainstream culture as much.

So, as an actor and as a writer of color, as somebody who's an immigrant, there are stories that I still want to tell, and that's really what excites me about the future.

My name is Aasif Mandvi, and this is my Brief But Spectacular take on my story so far.

JUDY WOODRUFF: And you can find all of our Brief But Spectacular segments online at PBS.org/NewsHour/Brief.

And now we return to the president's announcement that the Republican National Convention will no longer be in Florida.

Our Yamiche Alcindor is here with the latest.

So, Yamiche, tell us about the news the president made this evening.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: That's right, Judy.

The president began the White House briefing today with big news, that he was canceling the Florida event attached to the Republican National Convention.

He's doing this after having moved those events and his speech from North Carolina after the Democratic governor there said that it was simply not possible to have thousands of people gather in that state safely.

I want to read to you some of the reactions that are coming in.

Here's the Republican mayor of Jacksonville, as well as the sheriff.

They said both, "We appreciate President Trump considering our public health and safety concerns in making this incredibly difficult decision."

The White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, also said that this was an incredibly difficult decision.

But Republicans -- but, Democrats, rather are saying really this is coming way too late.

The Florida Democratic chair says that this is really President Trump taking his head out of the sand.

She says that this was a political stunt that was -- that really wasted time and this is all ego-driven.

So, the president, though, is saying that he's taking this step to keep people safe.

I should note, Judy, that the president is continuing to press for children to return to school.

So, even though he's saying that there are thousands of people who should not gather for a political convention, he is saying that children should be returning to school.

And that was also a headline coming out of this White House briefing.

JUDY WOODRUFF: It's interesting, Yamiche, because there had been advice.

People, medical experts were saying it was not safe to hold a large event in Jacksonville.

And yet the president and the people around him continued to say they were going to hold that convention in Jacksonville for many weeks.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: That's right.

Democrats made the decision weeks ago that most of their convention was going to be happening online and virtually.

But the president had continued to push forward with this idea that he wanted thousands of people to be there.

The president now is saying that he's going to give some sort of speech.

He's not sure where from.

It's probably going to be from Washington, D.C.

It's probably going to be streamed online.

But it's just up in the air as of now.

But it is clear that the president does not want thousands of people to be gathering in Florida.

JUDY WOODRUFF: And it's all due to begin, just over a month away.

Yamiche Alcindor at the White House, thank you very much.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Thanks.

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.