August 17, 2020 - PBS NewsHour full episode

The Democratic National Convention is kicking off Monday night in an unprecedented virtual format. Events will be anchored from Milwaukee, the convention’s original host city, but occur at various locations across the country. Meanwhile, President Trump spent the day holding a series of campaign-style events of his own. Lisa Desjardins and Yamiche Alcindor join Judy Woodruff to discuss.

The Democratic Party is making history Monday night by holding its first national convention to nominate a president remotely, in scores of different locations around the country. The shift to a virtual event was, of course, made necessary by the pandemic that has turned American life upside down over the past six months. Amna Nawaz reports on how we arrived at this unprecedented moment.

In Belarus, pressure is mounting for President Alexander Lukashenko to step down after 26 years in power. Hundreds of thousands have taken to the streets to protest last week’s election, which was widely denounced as fraudulent. And the ensuing brutal crackdown seems to have galvanized opposition to Lukashenko, even among his former supporters. Special correspondent Simon Ostrovsky reports.

In our news wrap Monday, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has returned to all-remote learning after an outbreak of the novel coronavirus. It was one of the largest schools in the country to bring students back to campus. Also, Afghanistan's government paused its freeing of the last batch of 320 Taliban prisoners, wanting the militant group to release more government soldiers first.

A full week after hurricane-force winds barreled through the Midwest, Iowa is just beginning to recover. More attention and assistance are starting to flow into the Hawkeye State, but homeowners, farmers and businesses have suffered a devastating hit. John Yang reports and talks to Beth Malicki, an anchor at KCRG-TV9 in Cedar Rapids, about the situation on the ground and the government response.

The battle surrounding the U.S. Postal Service is intensifying. After the postmaster general made policy changes affecting mail delivery that could potentially jeopardize mail-in voting in November, House Democrats said they'll draft legislation in response -- even changing their summer recess to do so. William Brangham reports and talks to S. David Fineman, former chairman of the U.S.P.S. board.

NPR’s Tamara Keith and Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report join Judy Woodruff to discuss the latest political news, including the opening night of the Democratic National Convention, President Trump’s counter-programming during a big week for former Vice President Joe Biden, Trump’s efforts to undermine the U.S. Postal Service and how Congress might intervene in response.

As the Democratic National Convention proceeds, the NewsHour will be talking to some prominent members of the party. We start with Pete Buttigieg, former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who was competing against former Vice President Joe Biden for the Democratic presidential nomination only a few months ago. Buttigieg joins Judy Woodruff to discuss Biden’s “instinct to heal, rather than to divide.”