July 29, 2020 - PBS NewsHour full episode

In an interview released Wednesday, President Trump said that in a recent call with Vladimir Putin, he did not challenge the Russian president over reports his country sought to pay the Taliban to kill American troops in Afghanistan. This latest conversation came as the U.S. prepares to relocate forces within Europe -- despite concerns from some NATO members. Nick Schifrin reports.

Leaders of four tech giants testified on Capitol Hill Wednesday, with lawmakers grilling them about whether they are too dominant. The CEOs of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google appeared by video at a hearing of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, which has been investigating the companies for more than a year over possible unfair practices toward their competition. Amna Nawaz reports.

With Democrats and Republicans divided on key issues and time running out to pass a pandemic relief bill before some federal benefits and protections expire, congressional leaders met with the White House Wednesday in search of a path forward. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., joins Judy Woodruff to discuss unemployment, food stamps and why he wants this bill to cover only COVID-19.

In our news wrap Wednesday, federal agents will begin withdrawing from a federal courthouse in Portland, Oregon, where they have clashed with protesters. But Homeland Security officials said officers will remain in the city. Also, the eastern Caribbean is facing heavy rain and strong winds as a budding tropical storm blows through. The weather system is expected to pass near Puerto Rico overnight.

The CEOs of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google encountered intense scrutiny from House lawmakers on Wednesday, particularly over whether they leverage unfair business practices to prevent their competition from succeeding. Is American antitrust law sufficient to handle the rapidly changing landscape of technology? Dipayan Ghosh of the Harvard Kennedy School joins Amna Nawaz to discuss.

COVID-19 can be accompanied by secondary bacterial infections with deadly consequences. But the industry that researches and produces antibiotics to fight such illnesses has been upended -- and the pandemic is only making things worse. Now, medical experts worry about the long-term health implications of not having cutting-edge antibiotics in the pharmaceutical pipeline. Paul Solman reports.

Claudia Rankine, author of our July pick for the NewsHour-New York Times book club, Now Read This, joins Jeffrey Brown to answer reader questions about “Citizen: An American Lyric.”