PBS NewsHour

Throughout the pandemic, Americans in elder care facilities have been at a high risk of contracting COVID-19. But there are also those residents of nursing homes who have survived the disease in spite of their age. Centenarian Grace Weissman-Spiegel-Davis is one of those. She shares her Brief But Spectacular take on her spectacular, but not brief, life.

Racism, both past and present, remains at the forefront of the American national conversation. Now, a new book by a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist examines how hierarchy and class are substantially intertwined with race in America. Jeffrey Brown talks to Isabel Wilkerson, author of “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent,” as part of our ongoing coverage of arts and culture, Canvas.

The killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May prompted calls to change the policing structure there. On Wednesday night, the city’s charter commission will decide whether to ask voters to begin the process of abolishing the police force -- and to clarify what would replace it. Special correspondent Fred de Sam Lazaro reports.

On August 6, 1945, the United States dropped the first atomic weapon on Hiroshima, Japan. Seventy-five years later, the NewsHour revisits how the president became the sole authority on when nuclear weapons are used. Nick Schifrin reports and talks to former Secretary of Defense William Perry, co-author of "The Button: The New Nuclear Arms Race and Presidential Power from Truman to Trump."

Stuart Stevens is one of the Republican Party’s most successful campaign strategists, with a career spanning decades. In his revealing new book, “It Was All a Lie: How the Republican Party Became Donald Trump,” Stevens admits the GOP uses race as an issue to divide Americans and win elections -- and says the party has abandoned its principles in the Trump era. He joins Judy Woodruff to discuss.

The planned summer conventions of both parties have been reduced and reimagined due to the coronavirus pandemic, rendering this election year different from any other. And of course millions of American lives have been upended due to COVID-19 and the recession. The Washington Post’s Gary Abernathy and freelance journalist Sarah Smarsh join Judy Woodruff to discuss what U.S. voters are thinking.

In our news wrap Wednesday, a former U.S. deputy attorney general denied that former President Obama and Vice President Biden tried to influence a probe of the 2016 Trump campaign. At a Senate hearing, Sally Yates said former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn aimed to neutralize sanctions against Russia. Also, reports from South Korea say deadly explosions occurred in North Korea on Monday.

Lebanon’s capital city is suffering the aftermath of a cataclysmic explosion that killed at least 135 people and injured 5,000. On Tuesday, a fire started at Beirut’s port -- followed by a detonation so powerful it sent a shockwave through the entire city. Hospitals already overwhelmed with coronavirus patients were flooded with bloodied bodies. Special correspondent Jane Ferguson reports.

President Trump held a press briefing at the White House on Tuesday evening, at which he discussed the massive explosions in Beirut and his objections to mail-in voting. Yamiche Alcindor was there, and she joins Judy Woodruff to discuss Trump’s unsubstantiated claims about voter fraud related to mail-in ballots.

U.S. colleges have struggled with how to conduct the upcoming academic year amid the coronavirus pandemic. With many schools deciding to offer only remote classes but still charging full tuition, the pandemic has added a new urgency to questions about the cost and value of higher education. Hari Sreenivasan reports on one school that is cutting tuition -- and planning to maintain the reduction.

According to pro-democracy institutions, authoritarianism was on the rise globally even before the coronavirus pandemic hit. But experts say the distraction of the crisis has allowed some leaders to indulge their dictatorial impulses without attracting much attention from the people they govern. Nick Schifrin reports and talks to The Atlantic’s Anne Applebaum about this dangerous global dynamic.

Former Vice President Joe Biden’s wife, Jill Biden, is among his closest advisors and an integral voice in his process of choosing a running mate. Her book “Where the Light Enters: Building a Family, Discovering Myself,” first published in 2019, was issued in paperback Tuesday. Dr. Biden joins Judy Woodruff to discuss healing from heartbreak and why her husband would make a good president.

In Lebanon, a monstrous explosion shook Beirut, shattering much of the city’s port area. Video showed an enormous blast and shockwave that damaged buildings miles away. The health minister reported at least 70 people dead and more than 3,000 injured, while other officials said that 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate had detonated. Special correspondent Rebecca Collard joins Judy Woodruff from Beirut.

In our news wrap Tuesday, Tropical Storm Isaias sped up the East Coast of the U.S., leaving a trail of damage. The storm was downgraded after coming ashore as a hurricane in North Carolina but spun off a deadly tornado and caused flash flooding. Also, firefighters in Southern California spent another day battling a wildfire east of Los Angeles. Authorities said it was originally sparked by a car.

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to rage across the U.S., the Trump administration and Congress are still discussing another economic aid package. But on Tuesday, the White House and leading Democratic lawmakers gave different accounts of how much progress is being made. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a central figure in those negotiations, joins Judy Woodruff to discuss where talks stand.

Summer means swimming, crafts and camaraderie for the roughly 26 million children who attend camp in the U.S. But the pandemic has closed an estimated 82 percent of the country's overnight camps and many more daytime programs, causing layoffs and lost revenue. And for parents and children, the absence of community and activity is yielding a summer they don’t want to repeat. John Yang reports.

In our news wrap Monday, coastal North and South Carolina braced for Hurricane Isaias. The storm is a minimal hurricane but will still challenge residents with another disruption during the coronavirus pandemic. Also, thousands of people in Southern California spent another day under evacuation orders as a wildfire burned east of Los Angeles. It began Friday and exploded in size over the weekend.

TikTok is under intense political scrutiny. The U.S. Department of Justice has expressed concerns that the video-streaming app's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, may be sharing user data with the Chinese government. Now tech giant Microsoft says it’s interested in purchasing TikTok -- an idea President Trump says he supports. Nick Schifrin talks to cybersecurity expert Samm Sacks of New America.

Sunday marked what would have been literary icon James Baldwin’s 96th birthday, in a year when the resurgence of Black Lives Matter protests across the world has renewed interest in his work. A new book, “Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own,” explores Baldwin’s ideas in current context. Amna Nawaz talks to its author, Eddie Glaude Jr. of Princeton University.

NPR’s Tamara Keith and Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report join Judy Woodruff to discuss the latest political news, including what to look for in upcoming state primaries, President Trump’s campaign messaging about former Vice President Joe Biden and Biden’s deliberations about choosing a running mate.