June 8, 2020 - PBS NewsHour full episode

As we have seen in Minneapolis, whose city council says it will defund the police, the move to reform law enforcement is gaining steam. Some activists want to abolish police departments entirely, while others aim to reallocate some of their funding to other services. Judy Woodruff talks to Charlene Carruthers of the Movement for Black Lives and Chuck Wexler of the Police Executive Research Forum.

While “defund the police” has become a rallying cry for Black Lives Matter activists and some of the thousands of protesters across the country, Democrats on Capitol Hill are considering a different set of reforms. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., is one of the sponsors of a new bill, and he joins Amna Nawaz to discuss the “common sense” police reforms he advocates and how to heal American society.

In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, millions of Americans are relying on mail carriers and delivery workers for essential supplies. The workload for many of these employees has increased significantly with so many consumers ordering from home. Stress and fatigue are at high levels, as workers worry about virus exposure -- and take extra precautions not to bring it home. Amna Nawaz reports.

Nationwide protests against police violence toward black Americans have raised concerns about the potential spread of coronavirus. If people are not social distancing and are gathering in the thousands, are they exposing themselves to greater risk for COVID-19? And how should that risk be weighed? Lisa Desjardins talks to Dr. Georges Benjamin of the American Public Health Association.

NPR’s Tamara Keith and Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report join Judy Woodruff to discuss the latest political news, including the pressure that mass public protests are putting on lawmakers to enact police reform, President Trump’s “law and order” strategy and whether it will energize his base and where former Vice President Joe Biden stands on changes to American law enforcement.