June 10, 2020 - PBS NewsHour full episode

As the weather warms, gardening is providing a dose of sanity and fresh air for people who have been cooped up amid the coronavirus pandemic. Piet Oudolf, one of the world’s foremost landscape designers, is deeply familiar with the restorative properties of gardening. In a virtual visit, he talks to Jeffrey Brown about how plants can provide nourishment for both body and spirit.

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 brutal war in Syria is now in its 10th year, and amid renewed bombing by the air corps of Bashar al-Assad and his Russian backers, a new worry looms: coronavirus. The country’s health care system has been destroyed in the conflict, and people who have already suffered so much are now rushing to produce homemade COVID-19 tests, ventilators and disinfectant. Nick Schifrin reports.

Nearly one in four Americans lives with a disability. For some, that means a compromised immune system and greater risk for the coronavirus. Advocates are sounding the alarm that Congress needs to do more to help this population of society’s most vulnerable. Judy Woodruff talks to Tom Ridge of the National Organization on Disability and Danny Woodburn, an actor and disability rights advocate.

In our news wrap Wednesday, some 1,250 former Justice Department employees are calling to investigate Attorney General William Barr for his decision to forcibly remove peaceful protesters from near the White House last week. Their request was made Wednesday to the department’s inspector general. Also, NASCAR announced it is banning the Confederate flag from all its racing events and properties.

Although Americans are trying to move closer to their pre-pandemic routines, there are signs the coronavirus continues to spread in places that have eased restrictions. One of those is Alabama, among the last states to issue a stay-at-home order and the earliest to lift it. John Yang looks at the risks associated with reopening in this report.