August 30, 2023 - PBS NewsHour full episode

In our news wrap Wednesday, the White House announced a grant of $95 million to strengthen the electrical grid on the island of Maui following the wildfires there, a federal judge ruled Rudy Giuliani defamed two Georgia election workers by accusing them of ballot fraud in the 2020 vote and the U.S. says intelligence shows Putin is trying to buy weapons from North Korea for the war in Ukraine.

For the second time this summer, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell froze up while answering questions during a press conference. The Republican stared blankly for about 30 seconds Wednesday afternoon in Kentucky. There was a similar moment for the Senator on Capitol Hill last month. Congressional Correspondent Lisa Desjardins reports.

In the last two years, six countries across western and central Africa suffered what the UN has called an epidemic of coups. That number is now seven. Wednesday, soldiers in Gabon seized power immediately after election results were announced. Gabon is an oil-rich country and one of France’s most important allies in Africa. Nick Schifrin discussed more with Oge Onubogu of the Wilson Center.

A shooting at the Univ. of North Carolina this week left one professor dead and a community reeling. A campus lockdown lasted three hours, alarming students and staff who barricaded themselves for safety. The school's paper, The Daily Tar Heel, published a front page showing messages sent between friends and loved ones throughout the event. Amna Nawaz discussed more with editor Emmy Martin.

Judy Woodruff recently examined how the loss of thousands of local newspapers across the country is depriving communities of some of the glue that holds them together and fueling division. She now looks at how some news outlets are managing to hang on and whether what they’re doing is sustainable. It’s part of her series, America at a Crossroads.

Some say tennis is a metaphor for life, involving anticipation, problem-solving and incredibly hard work. For 25-year-old Frances Tiafoe, now one of the top 10 players in the world, those were lessons learned early, both on and off the court. Amna Nawaz caught up with Tiafoe at the U.S. Open in New York for our arts and culture series, CANVAS.

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell is heading to Florida to assess Hurricane Idalia’s damage first-hand. Before departing Washington, she joined Amna Nawaz to discuss the federal response.