July 24, 2020 - PBS NewsHour full episode

With President Trump trailing former Vice President Joe Biden in nearly every major national poll, Democrats see November’s election as a major opportunity. But the contentious political contests extend beyond the White House to the Senate. Jessica Taylor, senior editor at the Cook Political Report, joins Lisa Desjardins to discuss the current political trends and which key Senate races to watch.

As protests and rallies against racism continue throughout the country, one Boston artist says he’ll paint the backdrop to the momentous national conversation. Robert “ProBlak” Gibbs has been creating street art for years, teaming with Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts to breathe fresh air into urban Boston neighborhoods like Roxbury and Dorchester. Special correspondent Jared Bowen of WGBH reports.

The NewsHour has long been committed to reporting on arts and culture through our ongoing series, Canvas. This weekend, that effort expands into primetime on PBS with “Beyond the Canvas.” Jeffrey Brown and Amna Nawaz join Judy Woodruff to share a preview.

In Alabama, doctors and nurses are seeing record numbers of hospitalizations associated with COVID-19. The state has reported more than 1,300 deaths since the pandemic began. But certain regions and populations within the state are faring far worse than others -- and huge health disparities among Black residents are causing even more dire results. Stephanie Sy reports on a tragic legacy.

Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks join Judy Woodruff to discuss the week in politics, including how declining support for President Trump is shifting the momentum in several key Senate races toward Democrats, Trump’s decision to send federal forces into cities experiencing protests, Republican inaction on the pandemic and the legacy of John Lewis.

As we have every Friday for the past several months, we take a moment to remember some of the lives lost to the novel coronavirus pandemic, including a high school English teacher and a 39-year-old mother of six.