June 18, 2021 - PBS NewsHour full episode

In our news wrap Friday, the U.S. Gulf Coast is bracing for what could be the year's first tropical storm. Storm warnings extended across parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida — and Louisiana declared an emergency. Meanwhile, Western U.S. faced another day of searing heat — expected to last until next week. On Wall Street, stocks slumped on worries about future interest rate hikes.

On Thursday night, we looked at problems in Louisiana, where COVID-19 vaccination rates are lagging behind the rest of the country. William Brangham now turns focus to how vaccines have improved life dramatically in New York, but the toll on health workers may be permanent. Dr. Craig Spencer, the director of global health in emergency medicine at Columbia University, joins us for his perspective.

Iranians went to the polls Friday in a presidential election tightly-managed by the Islamic Republic's clerical elite — who allowed only 4 men on the ballot. After eight years of relative moderation under Hassan Rouhani, his likely successor is expected to be sharply conservative. Many Iranians protested the lack of choices by voting with their feet and boycotting the vote. Nick Schifrin explains.

New York Times columnist David Brooks and Washington Post columnist Jonathan Capehart join Judy Woodruff to discuss the week's politics, including emails showing attempts by former President Donald Trump’s team to overturn the 2020 election results, efforts toward election reform in the Senate, how President Joe Biden fared during his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Juneteenth.

House Democrats say they have new evidence of former President Donald Trump's efforts to remain in power after the 2020 election. As part of an investigation into the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, Democrats gained access to emails that show Trump and his staff pressured top Justice Department officials last December to file an election lawsuit in the Supreme Court. John Yang reports.

On this first federal Juneteenth holiday, Author and Historian Annette Gordon-Reed talks to Jeffrey Brown about the importance of this date through her personal history growing up in Texas. This reporting is part of NewsHour's arts and culture series, CANVAS.

Each week, PBS NewsHour pauses to remember five Americans lost to the COVID-19 pandemic, and shares memories and highlights from their lives.