JUDY WOODRUFF: Good evening.

I'm Judy Woodruff.

On the "NewsHour" tonight: the coronavirus conundrum.

The widespread relaxing of restrictions continues, as new hot spots emerge and the death toll in the United States tops 90,000.

Then: the diplomatic angle.

China flexes its muscles on the world stage, pushing to aid the global coronavirus response, while derailing investigations into the early stages of the pandemic.

And COVID and college.

The pandemic highlights inequities in aptitude testing for college admissions and hastens a nationwide move away from them.

DAVID COLEMAN, CEO, The College Board: Students today take the SAT during the spring during the school day.

That's about 700,000 students who missed that chance.

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

(BREAK) JUDY WOODRUFF: Major new developments in the COVID-19 pandemic.

The United States reaches 90,000 deaths out of 1.5 million cases, as more of the country loosens restrictions.

There is potentially promising news about a possible vaccine.

And President Trump drops his own medical bombshell.

John Yang begins our coverage.

JOHN YANG: While meeting with food industry executives at the White House today, President Trump made a startling disclosure.

He's been taking the controversial drug hydroxychloroquine as a preventive against COVID-19.

DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States: So I'm taking it too, the zinc and the hydroxy.

And all can I tell you is, so far, I seem to be OK. JOHN YANG: The president's use of the drug outside a hospital setting goes against the Food and Drug Administration's warning about the risk of heart problems.

Mr. Trump has long touted the anti-malaria medication's potential, even though its effectiveness is unproven.

He made the disclosure amid possible signs of progress on a vaccine.

Drugmaker Moderna reported that limited data from early human testing suggests its experimental product is safe and triggers an immune response.

This all comes as the nation takes tentative steps toward reopening.

Before dawn in Michigan today, Fiat Chrysler autoworkers returned to work for the first time since this plant closed in mid-March due to COVID-19.

JODI TINSON, Spokeswoman, Fiat Chrysler: Everybody is going to have to take their temperature daily and fill out that screening.

And they will have to go through the same screening process every morning when they come to work.

JOHN YANG: Michigan recorded 11 new deaths Sunday, the lowest since March 24.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer said that, in coming days, some counties could lift restrictions.

GOV.

GRETCHEN WHITMER (D-MI): So, I want to encourage everyone I want to encourage everyone to stay smart and to stay safe.

JOHN YANG: States like Florida and Massachusetts are issuing their own guidance on a gradual reopening.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced gyms and fitness centers can resume operations and restaurants can open at 50 percent capacity.

San Francisco took a small step today, allowing retailers to reopen with curbside pickup.

But in the epicenter of the country's outbreak, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio warned that lifting safety measures too quickly will lead to more infections.

BILL DE BLASIO (D), Mayor of New York: We cannot have a boomerang.

We cannot have something where we have to shut down again.

JOHN YANG: But, across the country, some are defying measures meant to stop the spread of coronavirus.

Several protesters stood outside a New Jersey strip mall this morning in support of a gym that opened in defiance of state guidance.

Gym co-owner Ian Smith insisted it's safe and that proper safety precautions were in place: IAN SMITH, Co-Owner, Atilis Gym: The gym has been sanitized top to bottom by a professional cleaning crew.

Everything in the gym is six feet apart.

Everything is clearly marked.

There will be masks.

JOHN YANG: COVID-19 is taking center stage at the annual assembly, held by videoconference this year, of the 194-member World Health Organization.

China's President Xi Jinping today pledged $2 billion over two years to support recovery worldwide efforts.

In Washington, the White House dismissed that as a token to distract from China's failure to warn the world of what was coming.

And the WHO is facing questions about how it handled the pandemic.

The European Union, along with countries like the United Kingdom and New Zealand, are pushing for a probe into the response.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern: JACINDA ARDERN, Prime Minister of New Zealand: Because this is one that does not seek to lay blame.

It seeks to learn from an experience that I think every citizen around the world would know we would need to learn from.

JOHN YANG: Across hard-hit Italy, signs of new normalcy, as churches, shops and even Venice's gondolas reopened today.

A nun and a priest, both wearing masks, entered St. Peter's Basilica today, open to the public for the first time in nearly three months.

And in Denmark, for this first time in months, some enjoyed a cup of coffee brewed outside their kitchens, as cafes and restaurants resumed service.

The country was the first in Europe to enter a lockdown in March, and was the first to being easing those rules last month.

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

JUDY WOODRUFF: Reports of positive results from an experimental vaccine boosted Wall Street today.

So did oil prices, closing above $30 a barrel for the first time in two months.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained more than 900 points, nearly 4 percent, to close near 24600.

The Nasdaq rose 220 points, and the S&P 500 added 90.

Today, the World Health Organization hosted an annual summit designed for world leaders to coordinate in their fight against COVID-19.

But the World Health Assembly was dominated by tensions between the U.S. and China, and criticisms by the rest of the world of a vacuum of global leadership.

Nick Schifrin joins me now.

So, Nick, what is this is main central tension between the U.S. and China?

NICK SCHIFRIN: Judy, the World Health Assembly basically became a proxy battle for the political tensions between the United States and China.

So, what we heard today was much of what we heard over the last few months, tensions between these two countries over the origins of the virus, over the worldwide leadership of this crisis and, of course, whether the WHO itself did a good job.

Now, Xi Jinping was the first world leader to speak.

He promised to share any Chinese vaccine with the world.

He pledged $2 billion for the entire world for COVID-19.

And he defend the WHO and China's efforts.

XI JINPING, Chinese President (through translator): We have acted with openness, transparency and responsibility.

We have provided information to WHO and relevant countries in a most timely fashion.

We have released the genome sequence at the earliest possible time.

NICK SCHIFRIN: And Xi is really responding, of course, to U.S. criticisms that, in the early days of this outbreak, local authorities silenced doctors and Beijing authorities centralized or even destroyed some of the virus samples.

So, what did we hear from the U.S.?

That was lead by Alex Azar, secretary of health and human services.

He gave a short speech, but right out of the bat, blamed the WHO and China.

ALEX AZAR, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary: In an apparent attempt to conceal this outbreak, at least one member state made a mockery of their transparency obligations, with tremendous costs for the entire world.

We saw that WHO failed at its core mission of information-sharing and transparency when member states do not act if good faith.

This can not ever happen again.

JUDY WOODRUFF: So, Nick, we know, based -- listening to Secretary Azar just now, the U.S. has been talking about reforms, so that this doesn't happen again.

Have any of those reforms been adopted?

NICK SCHIFRIN: In a word, no, Judy, at least not yet.

So, the U.S. has wanted Taiwan to become the own observer at the WHO.

And the U.S. has want fundamental reforms to the WHO, allowing it to enforce countries reporting their outbreaks early on that the U.S. says China did not do.

Both of those efforts were shelved even before this assembly began.

U.S. officials telling me that they are going to try again later this year, and this wasn't really the ideal venue in order to do that.

Where the U.S. believed it succeeded was to get China to agree to an investigation into COVID-19.

But, Judy, this is important.

In order to get that resolution passed, it was watered down.

It does not mention the word China.

It does not mention the word Wuhan, nor does it call for an investigation into the origin of the disease.

Instead, all it calls for is the international community to identify the animal source of the virus, determine how it entered humans, and to create a kind of lessons learned project, but only after the pandemic ends.

JUDY WOODRUFF: And, Nick, outside the U.S. and China, what do other countries say?

NICK SCHIFRIN: Many other countries, Judy, defended the WHO and called for global solidarity, including U.S. allies, countries that the U.S. will need to pressure China, namely France and Germany.

Now, there was a real battle over global leadership.

Xi Jinping emphasized the money he was giving, emphasized solidarity.

Secretary Azar emphasized neither point.

And what the U.S. officials I talk to say is, look, we have already pledged $2 billion to the world, on top of $10 billion that the U.S. pledges every year, and $100 billion that the U.S. has been given to Africa, but none of that was highlighted today.

And so China might not give more money, Judy, but even the U.S. officials I'm talking to admit that it advertises better and it prioritizes events like today much more than the U.S. ever has.

JUDY WOODRUFF: And, Nick, a different subject, but also the U.S. and China, and that is tensions between the two country -- two countries over the tech giant Huawei.

How has the U.S. in the last few days been increasing pressure over this?

NICK SCHIFRIN: Yes, Huawei has really had this technological.

Huawei is a $100 billion phone and technology juggernaut.

And the U.S. took the most aggressive steps that it has against Huawei, as much of a mortal blow to the company as the U.S. is capable of delivering.

Basically, any supplier, whether foreign or the U.S., that makes chips for Huawei, measures chips for Huawei, sells any technology at all to Huawei, if that supplier has any U.S. intellectual property, even like the software that runs the machine that prints the chips, that company will now not be able to sell the Huawei, unless it gets a U.S. exemption.

The experts I talk to say this will set Huawei back about 18 months and cost them a considerable amount of money.

Huawei admitted today that it would set them back, but also said that Beijing wouldn't sit back and let the U.S. destroy the company, Judy.

So, expect some kind of retaliation from China, perhaps against U.S. companies that still rely on Chinese supply chains in what really has become a technological cold war.

JUDY WOODRUFF: A lot going on between the U.S. and China right now.

Nick Schifrin, thank you very much.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Thank you.

JUDY WOODRUFF: In the day's other news: Federal officials say a Saudi gunman who opened fire at a U.S.

Naval base in Pensacola, Florida, last December had ties to al-Qaida.

The Saudi officer killed three sailors last December, before being killed himself.

FBI Director Christopher Wray says the data recovered from his cell phone shows links to al-Qaida's branch in Yemen, known as AQAP.

CHRISTOPHER WRAY, FBI Director: He wasn't just coordinating with them about planning and tactics.

He was helping the organization make the most it could out of his murders.

And he continued to confer with his AQAP associates right up until the end, the very night before he started shooting.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Director Wray and Attorney General William Barr sharply criticized Apple for not helping to unlock the gunman's smartphone.

It took FBI agents four months to break the encryption.

Attorney General Barr also says that he does not expect criminal probes of former President Obama or former Vice President Biden.

President Trump has claimed that they may have committed crimes related to launching the Russia investigation.

Barr dismissed that claim today, as he discussed U.S. attorney John Durham's review of the investigation.

WILLIAM BARR, U.S. Attorney General: As to President Obama and Vice President Biden, whatever their level of involvement, based on the information I have today, I don't expect Mr. Durham's work will lead to a criminal investigation of either man.

Our concern over potential criminality is focused on others.

JUDY WOODRUFF: President Trump said later that he's surprised that Barr is not planning criminal probes of Obama and Biden.

Democrats say that the Friday night firing of State Department's inspector general may be linked to a Saudi arms deal.

Representative Eliot Engel, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said today that inspector general Steve Linick was investigating the $7 billion deal.

President Trump said that he does not know Linick, but Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wanted him fired.

We will explore this further later in the program.

A federal prosecutor who oversaw cases against two Trump allies could be getting a big promotion.

It's widely reported that U.S. attorney Tim Shea will take over the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Shea helped push a lighter sentence for Roger Stone, a Trump friend and adviser, and for dismissing criminal charges against Michael Flynn, the former national security adviser.

In Israel, a Jewish extremist was convicted today of murdering an 18-month-old Palestinian boy and his parents.

The court found the defendant threw firebombs into the family's West Bank home as they slept in 2015.

The boy's grandfather welcomed the conviction.

HUSSEIN DAWABSHE, Grandfather of Victim (through translator): The trial will not bring my family back.

but I don't want there to be more children to go through the trauma that we went through.

We went through this trauma for five years, a whole year at the hospital, and I don't want another family to go through this.

Enough already.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Defense lawyers claimed that police used torture to force a confession, but they offered no evidence.

Back in this country, voters in Wisconsin have disabilities or belong to a minority filed a federal lawsuit over the upcoming August primary and November general election.

They want more poll workers, as well as absentee ballots for all voters, among other things.

Wisconsin held its presidential primary last month, despite fears of the coronavirus.

And the year's first named storm in the Atlantic swirled off the coast of North Carolina.

Today, the tropical storm named Arthur brought heavy rain and rough surf to the Outer Banks, before turning out to sea.

Hurricane season doesn't officially begin until June 1.

Still to come on the "NewsHour": public health concerns remain, as most states relax restrictions on public gatherings; the Trump administration fires a State Department watchdog -- the latest in its dismantling of oversight; how the pandemic hastens a nationwide move away from aptitude testing for college admissions; and much more.

In all but two states, stay-at-home orders are being lifted.

Many states are still restricting how widely they will reopen, and only will do so gradually.

But there's no doubt questions are increasingly focused on how that can be done, while minimizing risk to the public health.

Dr. Atul Gawande is focused on that.

And it's the subject of a piece he wrote for the "New Yorker" Web site.

He's a surgeon at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and the chairman of Haven.

It's a joint health care venture created by Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and J.P. Morgan.

And he joins us from Boston.

Dr. Gawande, it is so good too have you with us again.

You are reminding people that, even as we move ahead, it is important to keep the basics in mind.

So, tell us again, what are the basics?

DR. ATUL GAWANDE, Brigham and Women's Hospital: Well, I think the basics come from the fact that there have been a group of workers who have been going to work right through this epidemic.

And those are health care workers.

And we have managed in the United States to manage so we can go to work and not spread the virus.

And there are four components to what I have called a combination therapy.

The components are ones you all know.

But each of them are flawed.

But when you put them together, it stops the virus.

And we are demonstrating that in health care.

So, what are they?

Number one is hygiene.

Number two is distancing.

Number three is screening, screening people for even very mild symptoms, so they stay home, rather than go into work.

And fourth are masks.

And the main value of the masks is that we can spread the disease, we now know, before we have developed symptoms.

And the best way to keep from infecting other people is a mask, because it is our respiratory droplets, when we talk, when we breathe, when we cough, that we have the ability to spread the virus.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Assuming they can get the test and have access to the test.

But as you look around the country, Dr. Gawande, and you see how these states are opening up - - and, as we said, most of them are now trying to open up to one degree or another -- what do you see that gives you hope, that makes you feel reassured, and what do you see that is worrying you?

DR. ATUL GAWANDE: So, the things that give me hope, number one, we are finding that we have managed to lock down successfully enough that we did not exceed the hospital capacity.

And in most parts of the country, there is enough hospital capacity for the capability to open up.

Number two is that we have -- testing capacity actually has increased significantly.

In a lot of parts of the country, reports are now coming out in many states that we're - - we haven't used up the capacity enough.

People aren't coming in for the tests.

And we need to call up your doctor or go to your - - one of these drive-through spots.

CVS has them, Rite Aid, Walgreens, and get tested, if you have even the slightest symptoms.

Those are what gives me news, is we are climbing that, and that it is getting better.

Now, what am I worried about?

What I am worried about is that we're having this debate about our culture of what we're going to do to secure safety for one another.

It's a debate that's about safety and freedom, right?

Keep me safe, leave me alone.

And we're putting too much emphasis on the minority who are refusing to participate.

The reality is, if the vast majority of us, we -- if we get even just 60 percent wearing masks that are 60 percent effective -- that is to say, there is double-layer cotton, at least, and fit well -- then we can avoid spreading infection to other people.

The value is, I protect you, you protect me.

And we don't have to all be perfect.

We don't have to be vigilantes about it, but we do have to build a culture where we feel my job is that I never want to be the one to put you in the hospital.

I never want to be that person.

That is the culture of health care that we have built that keeps us safe, when we go into work at a place that has risk, and we have managed to avoid turning hospital into places of spread.

JUDY WOODRUFF: And even as we are keeping ourselves safe, we need to constantly remember how important it is to keep others safe as well.

Dr. Gawande, I also want to ask you about the news today that has given investors hope.

We see the markets going up today because there are reports that progress seems to be made in the very early stages of a vaccine.

Put that in context for us.

What are you seeing?

How much hope should we have at this point about a vaccine and when?

DR. ATUL GAWANDE: Well, first, I have got to say it is extraordinary to see the progress that has happened to this point.

You are absolutely right.

This is just the first step on a multistage journey.

But the fact that you have three companies now -- you have Chinese -- a Chinese vaccine, an Oxford vaccine, and this one from Moderna here in Boston.

And all three have not only been produced.

They have gone into trial and already have some early results in the first few weeks that -- that is an indication not that they work yet.

But that would have taken, in previous times, three to five years.

This happened in weeks.

I mean, that's stunning.

Now, the entire vaccine process from concept to finish, my vaccine colleagues tell me, it's never been done in less than 20 years before.

So the fact that we have got this front end already at this stage, and that we will have others coming out into the summer, 100 vaccines that are coming out into tests, it does give a lot of hope that, within a couple years, we could be into production.

Is this a matter of just months away?

No.

I think we have to be ready for that.

And being ready for it means being ready to understand, we all have to take seriously really learning how to take what works.

And if we are going to come out and work together and be with one another, we have got to be able to do those basic steps and work together on that.

JUDY WOODRUFF: One other thing I want to ask you.

And that is, we have just learned today, President Trump says that, for the last week-and-a-half to two weeks, he has been taking the drug hydroxychloroquine, I guess typically prescribed for malaria, but he's taking it prophylactically.

What do you make of that?

DR. ATUL GAWANDE: Well, there are have been multiple trials, studies now.

They have so far shown no benefit from hydroxychloroquine.

And one has shown that there is serious heart risks from the drug.

So, as a physician, I am not advising to patients that this is a good idea.

There will be better trials to come.

And -- but right now, there is no evidence it works, and, in fact, it could be harmful.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Dr. Atul Gawande, thank you very much.

It is always goods to have you with us.

Thank you.

DR. ATUL GAWANDE: Glad to be here.

Thank you.

JUDY WOODRUFF: President Trump has fired three federal government official watchdogs in the past six weeks.

These are inspector general - - inspectors general And the most recent is the inspector general of the State Department, Steve Linick, just last Friday.

Today, the chair of the House Foreign Relations Committee, Representative Eliot Engel, said that Linick was investigating the Trump administration fast-tracking weapons sales to Saudi Arabia last year.

Engel and Democratic Senator Bob Menendez are reviewing Linick's firing.

Yamiche Alcindor takes a closer look.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Some see the firings as a threat to the independent government watchdogs.

President Trump says many of the people he removed were too partisan.

The most recent firing comes after President Trump removed or replaced inspectors general for the intelligence community, Defense Department, and the Department of Health and Human Services.

Joining me to talk about the role of inspectors general is Joel Brenner.

He is -- he was an I.G.

for the National Security Agency under president George W. Bush.

And, from 2006 to 2009, he was the head of U.S. counterintelligence under the director of national intelligence.

He also served under President Obama.

Thanks so much, Joel, for being here.

I want to first play what President Trump had to say at the White House when he was talking about the State Department I.G.

and talking about the fact that, of course, he was fired after there were reports that surfaced that he was looking into an arms trading deal with Saudi Arabia, as well as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's personal conduct.

Here is what he said.

DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States: I don't know him at all.

I never even heard of him.

But I was asked to by the State Department, by Mike.

I offered most of my people, almost all of them.

I said, these are Obama appointees.

And if you would like to let them go, I think you should let them go.

But that is up to you.

Because it is my right to do it, I said, sure, I'll do it.

I -- we have gotten rid of a lot of inspector generals.

Every president has.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: How concerned with you, Joel, about the president firing these I.G.s?

And how unusual is it for him to remove these inspectors general?

JOEL BRENNER, Former National Security Agency Inspector General: I'm very concerned.

And it's highly unusual, Yamiche.

These are people who were meant -- who appointed under statute without regard to their political affiliation, solely on the basis of demonstrated ability in law or auditing or similar areas.

And the idea that it is typical to turn -- that these jobs would turn over when a new administration comes in all wrong.

What we are seeing is not only an attack on particular I.G.s who are uncovering exactly what they were meant to uncover.

We are seeing an attack on the institution of I.G.s itself.

And that is -- we have never seen before.

The institution of I.G.s in the civilian government is 42 years old.

It was a post-Watergate reform designed to uncover malfeasance in the executive branch of the government.

The president appears to believe that the Congress has no authority to inquire or interfere with how he does business in the executive branch.

His -- I think this is the closest we have come to a Louis XIV theory of American government, which is: I am the state.

No Supreme Court has ever agreed with that.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Well, you are talking about the fact that these removals are unusual.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also said that he has no idea what the inspector general at the State Department was looking into.

How credible is it that a target, a potential target of an investigation, wouldn't know about that investigation?

JOEL BRENNER: Well, an investigation that is being -- it is possible.

But I think it's fundamentally incredible that the secretary wouldn't know this.

The investigation, according to accounts in the media, have been going on for some time.

When you do an investigation, you interview people.

You find out things.

You ask for documents.

It is inconceivable to me that those stories would not have percolated up to the secretary's office on the top floor of the State Department, absolutely incredible.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Some lawmakers are already looking at this latest removal.

What role, if at all, should Congress play when it comes to these dismissals?

And should Congress change the law, so that inspectors general are maybe more insulated from political appointees and more insulated from fired -- from getting fired by presidents?

JOEL BRENNER: Well, they are political appointees.

And they have to be.

This is an executive branch official.

The Congress has created a position, but it's a position in the executive branch.

And Congress can't direct how that person is going to carry out his or her functions.

That is something for the head of the agency to do.

But what we have had is, again, an attack on a common understanding, a norm, if you will, about how the government should be conducted.

That is what the president is breaking and attacking, that, if we have a president who is determined to undermine the law, and if we have a Congress that will not stand up for its own institutional prerogatives, then our republic is in trouble.

And, right now, we have a majority in the Senate that is firmly on the rug under President Trump's couch.

And unless they get out from under that couch, we have got a problem.

Nothing is going to happen, in my view, until we have a change in the government.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: And we only have about 30 seconds left here, but I want to ask you.

The president says that he is defending himself, because these were Obama holdovers.

What do you make of President Trump's defense?

JOEL BRENNER: Well, as I have suggested, that isn't a defense.

The idea was that you would put in persons who were noted for their nonpartisan expertise.

There has been a tradition that these jobs do not turn over every time there's a new administration.

But the idea that the president is simply - - ought to be changing I.G.s because he has the right to do it is exactly the opposite of what the statute intended.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Well, thank you so much for joining us, Joel Brenner, a former I.G.

himself.

JOEL BRENNER: You're welcome.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Springtime for juniors in high school usually marks the beginning of the college admissions process, with SAT and ACT tests and advanced placement exams.

More than two million students took A.P.

exams last week.

But a glitch prevented thousands from submitting their exams, which were administered online for the first time this year.

All this is raising questions about what to do with testing for the class of 2021 and beyond.

Stephanie Sy looks at how the coronavirus is changing the calculus for college hopefuls.

STEPHANIE SY: Schools are closed.

Classes are online.

Students around the country have been forced to make adjustments.

One unanticipated change during this pandemic?

Canceled college admissions tests.

BRIDGETTE ADU-WADIER, Virginia: It's given me a lot of anxiety, not knowing that I can take this test or when I will be able to take it.

STEPHANIE SY: In Alexandria, Virginia, Bridgette Adu-Wadier had planned to take the SAT for the first time this spring at her high school.

Now she worries rescheduling the test won't be easy.

BRIDGETTE ADU-WADIER: My family doesn't have a car, so figuring out public transportation and bus routes and train routes, especially when the testing location is in a different city several miles away, it's really complicated, and the costs do add up.

STEPHANIE SY: Annette Rooney, from Salt Lake City, was hoping to take the ACT a second time to improve on her score and have a better shot at top-tier schools.

ANNETTE ROONEY, Utah: I am a person that likes to get things done ahead of time.

And so I wanted to get my college applications done by the end of summer.

And now that I don't have scores that I feel good about, it's like, when am I going to be able to send in my applications?

STEPHANIE SY: New SAT testing dates and sites have been added in the fall, according to David Coleman, CEO of The College Board, which administers the test.

DAVID COLEMAN, CEO, The College Board: Many students today take the SAT during the spring during the school day.

That's about 700,000 students who missed that chance.

We have also said, if school doesn't reopen, that we will provide an SAT at home, just as we're providing the A.P.

exams at home.

STEPHANIE SY: The College Board redesigned its advanced placements tests so students could take them online this month, but critics argue that an online format for the A.P.s and SATs will only exacerbate inequalities.

David Coleman acknowledges the challenges.

DAVID COLEMAN: Some students have lost family members.

Some students are in crowded homes.

This is not a time to simply look at a measure and judge someone.

It's only part of the puzzle.

STEPHANIE SY: Tamir Harper founded the nonprofit UrbEd in Philadelphia, and says schools should stop relying on the SAT altogether.

TAMIR HARPER, Executive Director, UrbEd: The test was not made for black and brown students and students of local -- lower economic status.

It is 100 percent unfair.

STEPHANIE SY: Do you view this pandemic, in a way, as a wakeup call to these institutions of higher learning to see the inequities that have been laid bare?

TAMIR HARPER: I think it's highlighting inequities across the board, from health care, to work, even to education.

While it's very tragic, it's doing something that will hopefully change the way we look at education.

STEPHANIE SY: Now dozens of colleges and universities, like Cornell, Williams, and the entire University of California system, are going test-optional for the first time.

Michelle McAnaney is a college admissions specialist and founder of The College Spy.

MICHELLE MCANANEY, The College Spy: A test-optional admissions policy allows a student to apply to a college without submitting their ACT or SAT scores.

And the way that works is, the college looks at the other parts of their application to evaluate whether they'd be a good fit for campus.

STEPHANIE SY: She says going test-optional can also be beneficial for the schools.

MICHELLE MCANANEY: They get a lot more applications.

So then they reject more students, because they have a certain number of places in the freshman class.

And then they also appear more selective because they have a high rate of rejection.

STEPHANIE SY: Seattle University provost Shane Martin says the school was already considering going test-optional, but the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated their decision.

What reasons drove your college's decision to go test optional in these times?

SHANE MARTIN, Provost, Seattle University: There's evidence that suggests that these tests are biased towards certain groups and that they're not entirely predictive of success in college for high school students.

STEPHANIE SY: Martin believes test-optional schools will eventually be in the majority.

SHANE MARTIN: When you see institutions with strong reputations, like the University of Chicago, moved to test-optional, that's a game-changer for higher education.

And we're going to see more institutions following suit.

STEPHANIE SY: For now, McAnaney says the tests are still critical for many students, including those that are hoping for scholarships.

MICHELLE MCANANEY: Students really shouldn't be saying, I don't have to worry about this because the schools I'm interested in are test-optional.

If your schools are test-optional, and your scores are great for that college, you should be submitting your scores.

It could help you get in.

And it could help you get merit aid.

JOHN BARNES, Virginia: So many people are smart or they have the grades that they are comfortable with because they work hard.

And just one test that you take on a Saturday doesn't really measure that.

STEPHANIE SY: John Barnes of Arlington, Virginia, says the tests are an unreliable indicator of student achievement and create too much pressure on students.

JOHN BARNES: I got my score back and it, like, went down 20 points.

So I just started freaking out.

And then this security guard comes out.

This test has driven me to go this insane that a library security guard could come out of the library while I'm having a nervous breakdown.

STEPHANIE SY: David Kang, a junior in Austin, Texas, feels the opposite.

DAVID KANG, Texas: I moved here from Korea like right before high school started.

So I just jumped right in here.

And I really had a rocky start.

So my GPA isn't all that great compared to my SAT scores.

STEPHANIE SY: Coleman says the evidence in favor of the SAT is overwhelming.

DAVID COLEMAN: If you put a strong score together with strong grades, admissions officers have more confidence about your background.

So it is a good thing to have a measure that allows you to better compare people, if used humanely in the context in which people live and learn.

STEPHANIE SY: And while some students disagree with the emphasis on testing, they recognize the importance of a good score in the current system, whether to get into their dream school.

ANNETTE ROONEY: A number does not determine your future, which is something that I have tried to accept.

But it's hard, because it still determines your future, kind of.

STEPHANIE SY: Or to earn financial aid.

BRIDGETTE ADU-WADIER: My parents are not at the highest income.

And I'm really worried about them taking on debt.

I want to make sure that it's not as big of a burden for me.

And the SAT was really something that I was counting on to help me.

STEPHANIE SY: The class of 2021 looking for clarity for their future in the chaos of a pandemic.

For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Stephanie Sy.

JUDY WOODRUFF: And a postscript to Stephanie's report.

There is more criticism of how The College Board has handled the A.P.

exams taken at home.

The Board says less than 1 percent students were not able to submit their exams.

Students can take a makeup next month.

The Board also says that it tried to lay out specific guidance before the exams began.

But some parents and critics have said the Board has not been transparent enough about just how many students were affected.

Some are angry about students having to take a makeup exam.

We are posting a fuller response from The College Board on our Web site.

President Trump has intensified his attacks on former President Obama in recent weeks on issues ranging from pandemic preparedness to the FBI's investigation of Michael Flynn.

On Saturday, President Obama appeared to respond during his online address to this year's high school graduates.

BARACK OBAMA, Former President of the United States: Doing what feels good, what's convenient, what's easy, that's how little kids think.

Unfortunately, a lot of so-called grownups, including some with fancy titles and important jobs, still think that way, which is why things are so screwed up.

All those adults that you used to think were in charge and knew what they were doing, turns out they don't have all the answers.

A lot of them aren't even asking the right questions.

So, if the world's going to get better, it's going to be up to you.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Here to look at what is going on between the two presidents and more are Amy Walter of The Cook Political Report and the host of public radio's "Politics With Amy Walter," and Tamara Keith of NPR.

She also co-hosts the "NPR Politics Podcast."

Hello to both of you.

So, here we have the two presidents.

But I want to preface this, Amy, by saying, today, Attorney General William Barr stated - - and we aired this earlier in the program - - that he does not expect there to be criminal prosecution of either former President Obama or former Vice President Joe Biden, presumably over the Russia investigation.

And yet that is what -- one of the main things President Trump has been going after President Obama, Vice President Biden over.

Any idea why right now President Obama appeared to pick this moment to respond?

AMY WALTER, The Cook Political Report: Well, it is interesting, Judy, you're right, that President Obama using the one time we have seen him on this platform, as you said, for graduates, to make a not-so-veiled swipe at President Trump.

But it was also, I thought, interesting this weekend we saw a story in The Washington Post that said the Biden campaign is working very hard to basically turn the other cheek.

They don't want to fall into the trap that so many other politicians since the rise of Donald Trump's candidacy in 2015 have fallen into, which is, they try to engage him in these Twitter battles, and they almost always lose.

And at the same time, you have a lot of Democrats.

We saw this in the primary, Judy, so many Democratic voters who are desperate to see their candidates go after Donald Trump in the way that Donald Trump goes after their candidates, goes after President Obama, goes after Joe Biden.

Joe Biden doesn't want to do this.

He knows that his brand essentially is empathy, compassion, sort of turning the other cheek, doing the right thing.

That doesn't mean that other candidates -- I mean, other politicians can't do it for him.

And so, in this case, President Obama can be that person, can play that bad cop.

I think you are going to see that a lot from whoever the vice presidential candidate of Joe Biden will be, the person who can take the attack directly to the president.

But it's not coming from Joe Biden, the person who says he wants to restore decency to the White House.

JUDY WOODRUFF: So, pick up on that, Tam.

How smart is it for Joe Biden to be staying away from a fight, if you will?

TAMARA KEITH, National Public Radio: Well, it is the path that they are taking now.

Certainly, covering Hillary Clinton's campaign, they fell into the trap a lot of fighting that fight with Donald Trump.

And it didn't work.

The people didn't know what she stood for, because there were so many, you know, snarky tweets back at the Trump campaign, or thinking that Donald Trump doing the Trump thing, you know, being brash and upsetting people, that that was hurting him.

And they wanted to focus attention on it.

And it didn't actually help her.

So, the Biden campaign is trying to avoid some of those traps.

You know, President Trump is, in some ways - - I mean, he has never stopped going after Barack Obama.

His political career really got going with birtherism.

And now you have - - from birtherism to Obamagate, it is just continuing.

It's of a piece.

And so you have the president of the United States attacking the former president.

You have the former president sort of in a thinly veiled way -- I mean, in some ways, President Obama, former President Obama, could have said a lot of things that, no matter what he said, would have been taken as a swipe against President Trump.

JUDY WOODRUFF: For sure.

And it is, I mean, just as we said a minute ago, interesting that the attorney general himself is now saying he doesn't expect there to be criminal prosecution of President Obama, former Vice President Biden.

But we will see whether that slows down the President Trump's use of the term Obamagate.

In addition to all of this, we saw the president - - I'm sorry -- President Trump's sons ramping up their criticism this weekend.

Eric Trump, the president's son, essentially saying that he thinks Democrats are behind the move to prevent opening up the country, that they are all behind the efforts to keep people to stay at home because they want to prevent President Trump from campaigning.

He said he thinks, the day after the election, Democrats are going to admit that this whole stay-at-home business and the coronavirus was just really about nothing and everything is fine.

AMY WALTER: So, what is that saying, Judy?

When you're a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

That has been the Trump campaign and the Trump presidency, everyone in Trump orbit's way of thinking constantly.

It is a campaign of constant grievance.

There is always somebody or something that is out to take out the president, undermine him, undermine people who support him or wear his gear.

And so this is sort of what they know.

and it's what they will continue to do.

But I think it also speaks to what we have been seeing in polling now for the last couple of months is the real divide that is opening up between Democrats and Republicans on how serious they think the coronavirus is.

And Pew has been tracking since March.

Back in March, there was a 26-point gap between Democrats and Republicans on, how serious do you think this is as a health crisis?

It's now up to almost 40 points, that gap.

When they ask people how well they think certain groups are doing tackling coronavirus, Republicans put the news media at 25 percent.

They put Donald Trump at 77 percent.

So, again, it fits right into that mind-set of many Republicans.

But, for the president, as we have seen from the very beginning, his ability to generate enthusiasm from his base, that is not a problem.

To get more voters, including those who are ambivalent about him, to vote for him in 2020, that's a bigger problem.

JUDY WOODRUFF: And this device, Tam, of saying, the -- this is all part of the Democrats' plan, conspiracy, to keep the president from getting out and campaigning, that they are cynically using this coronavirus as an excuse?

TAMARA KEITH: It is a wild claim.

But, hey, guess what?

There have been a lot of wild claims that have come from the president's sons on social media and in, you know, broadcast media as well.

The president's sons are often willing to say things that the president doesn't say quite as overtly.

He will tiptoe up to it.

And, you know, for the Trump campaign sort of having conspiracies swirl out there works for them.

They are creating an ecosystem for the president's supporters, through an app, through social media channels.

They're creating an ecosystem of information.

There are no alternatives to the information that is coming from Trump and his surrogates.

And, you know, Amy says that it doesn't expand the base.

Clearly, the Trump campaign's theory of the case here is, they aren't really trying to expand the base.

They are trying to just find people who were already part of the base that didn't vote last time.

AMY WALTER: That's right.

JUDY WOODRUFF: And all in the middle of a pandemic that is a deadly pandemic that has now killed, as we said, more than 90,000 Americans.

Tamara Keith, Amy Walter, we thank you both.

TAMARA KEITH: You're welcome.

AMY WALTER: You're welcome JUDY WOODRUFF: Finally tonight: singing the coronavirus blues.

Jeffrey Brown revisits a musician who has met many challenges with song in the past, and now confronts one that is quite personal.

The story is part of our ongoing American Creators series on rural arts and Canvas.

JEFFREY BROWN: Outside the Citadel nursing home in Salisbury, North Carolina, an uplifting one-woman performance.

The singer, 63-year-old blues musician Pat "Mother Blues" Cohen.

PAT "MOTHER BLUES" COHEN, Musician: There's been like a huge outbreak of the coronavirus.

And everybody's in their rooms.

And everybody is afraid.

And I want to do something that's going to brighten up somebody's day.

And in brightening somebody else's day, it brightens my day also.

WOMAN: The citadel in Salisbury now considered the site of an outbreak.

JEFFREY BROWN: The nursing home is the scene of one of North Carolina's worst outbreaks of COVID-19.

Health officials say the 160-bed facility has had more than 150 confirmed cases among residents and staff, one of the residents, Pat Cohen's 59-year-old brother, George.

He first went into the home two years ago after suffering a stroke.

He's not been diagnosed with COVID, but is mostly confined to his bed, and watches his sister perform through the window.

PAT "MOTHER BLUES" COHEN: My brother used to help me with my equipment that he would carry it to my car for me.

And he was -- I could always depend on him.

So I'm doing the same thing for him.

JEFFREY BROWN: We first met Pat Cohen in 2014 at a gathering in Durham of the Music Maker Relief Foundation, an organization that's supported more than 400 blues musicians around the South, mostly African-American, often rural, people like Ironing Board Sam, who briefly reached the spotlight, but never made it big, and eked out a living playing small clubs and busking on the streets.

Music Maker helps these musicians meet basic needs and, for some, has gotten them back to performing paying gigs.

Now, founder Tim Duffy says, the shows have stopped.

The fear is real.

TIM DUFFY, Founder, Music Maker Relief Foundation: They're scared.

When you live -- like, an average check is like $600 to $800 a month, sometimes as low as $400 a month.

All the artists that we are working with, a lot of them are between 75 and 85 and have diabetes.

They're highly intelligent.

And so, like, they will tell me, if I make a mistake, I might die, if I touch the wrong thing.

So, they're being very, very careful.

But that's a lot of pressure to live under.

JEFFREY BROWN: A lot of artists and arts organizations are now looking to new models, like streaming... TIM DUFFY: Yes.

JEFFREY BROWN: ... as a way to stay connected, also to possibly raise funds.

Is that sort of thing possible for you and these artists?

TIM DUFFY: It's possible, but there's a great digital divide.

They're elderly.

They don't know how to use the devices.

A lot of places are in rural communities that don't have the best Internet, so we can't do that.

JEFFREY BROWN: Pat Cohen was once a regular on the New Orleans scene.

She lost her home during Hurricane Katrina, along with her professional connections.

Music Maker helped her relocate to North Carolina and pick up her career.

She was scheduled to perform at Jazz Fest earlier this month, in fact, and in Portugal later on.

But now all the gigs are gone, the money not coming in.

PAT "MOTHER BLUES" COHEN: If all you do is sing or play an instrument, or whatever it is, you don't know what you're going to do, because, after this is over, if it's ever over -- you wonder if it's ever going to be over.

You don't know how things are going to change.

And you know it's going to change.

Will there ever be live concerts again?

JEFFREY BROWN: She used to be paid to perform inside the nursing home.

Now there's just singing outside to lift up her brother and others.

Music Maker's Tim Duffy says it's another example of why the musicians he's worked with for 25 years deserve our respect and help.

TIM DUFFY: She just keeps on going.

And now she literally has very little money.

And she gets up the gumption to go out and sing for them and do something to help others with what she has.

She has joy in her heart.

She has music.

And I think, in times of crisis, we look for our folk musicians to guide us.

That's their role.

They're bards.

JEFFREY BROWN: Pat "Mother Blues" Cohen puts it this way: PAT "MOTHER BLUES" COHEN: Everybody has a currency, and everybody's currency is different.

My currency is my voice.

You don't have to do what I do, but do something nice for somebody else.

And that makes you feel good.

And that's contagious by itself.

JEFFREY BROWN: Blues, both sad and joyful, now comforting others in a time of pandemic.

For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Jeffrey Brown.

JUDY WOODRUFF: And singing to her brother, that is special.

On the "NewsHour" online right now: When an Alaska park department had to shut down local hiking, they didn't want to give their information hot line the boot.

Instead, it's now a joke hot line, and a source of smiles around the country.

You can read more on our Web site, PBS.org/NewsHour.

And that's 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.