PBS News Hour - Politics

Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks join Judy Woodruff to discuss the latest news, including the impact of widespread protests on American society and politics, what makes members of Generation-Z different from their predecessors and how the movement for racial equity is affecting President Trump's reelection campaign strategy.

The killing of George Floyd has led to racial reckonings far beyond the U.S. In France, protesters point to incidents of police violence against black people and complain the government hasn't done enough to address systemic racism. Activists in the United Kingdom say their national history is "whitewashed." And in Berlin, Black Lives Matter is calling for reparations. Nick Schifrin reports.

Two years ago, the 240-year-old American Academy of Arts and Sciences created a bipartisan commission to analyze the state of American democracy. The group is now issuing a report detailing 31 recommendations for how to strengthen it. Two of the three commission chairs, Harvard University's Danielle Allen and Stephen Heintz of the Philanthropic Foundation, join Judy Woodruff to discuss.

The national outcry to end racial injustice in the U.S. has expanded from protests in the streets to appeals on Capitol Hill. Philonise Floyd, George Floyd's younger brother, headlined a Wednesday hearing before the House Judiciary Committee, which is working on a bill to address police violence and racism. Lisa Desjardins reports and joins Judy Woodruff to discuss the latest from Congress.

New voting machines, trouble with absentee ballots and a pandemic combined to create chaos in Georgia's Tuesday primary. After some voters waited in line more than five hours to cast their ballots, Georgia's secretary of state called the problems "unacceptable" -- but blamed local election officials. Yamiche Alcindor reports and talks to Emory University's Andra Gillespie about what went wrong.

The question of how to conduct elections safely during a pandemic remains timely as voters go to the polls in five states on Tuesday. With COVID-19 still present across the country, officials are trying to prepare for this fall's election, such as by expanding the use of mail-in ballots. But as William Brangham reports, Republicans are making unproven allegations about voting by mail.

While "defund the police" has become a rallying cry for Black Lives Matter activists and some of the thousands of protesters across the country, Democrats on Capitol Hill are considering a different set of reforms. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., is one of the sponsors of a new bill, and he joins Amna Nawaz to discuss the "common sense" police reforms he advocates and how to heal American society.

NPR's Tamara Keith and Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report join Judy Woodruff to discuss the latest political news, including the pressure that mass public protests are putting on lawmakers to enact police reform, President Trump's "law and order" strategy and whether it will energize his base and where former Vice President Joe Biden stands on changes to American law enforcement.

Amid the largest pandemic in a century, we're also experiencing the biggest protest movement in a generation. In this episode, protesters in Minneapolis and Washington, D.C., tell White House correspondent Yamiche Alcindor and Political Reporter Daniel Bush about why they've taken to the streets after the death of George Floyd -- and why this moment feels different.

Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks join Judy Woodruff to discuss the latest news, including public opinion of the nationwide protests over police treatment of black Americans, President Trump's response and use of force to dispel protesters and the reaction of prominent military leaders to his handling of the situation.