August 31, 2020 - PBS NewsHour full episode

This summer has seen mass protests stretch across the United States, some of them yielding vandalism and violence. The presence of armed civilian groups at these demonstrations seems to be on the rise, further raising the stakes in situations already tense. Amna Nawaz talks to Georgetown University’s Mary McCord, former Justice Department acting assistant attorney general for national security.

John Thompson, a Hall of Fame basketball coach who transformed Georgetown University into a national championship school, has died at age 78. The first Black head coach to win an NCAA title, Thompson was known for helping to mold stars including Patrick Ewing and Allen Iverson. He was also outspoken about the role of race in sports and society. Jeffrey Brown reports.

In our news wrap Monday, a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., has refused to end the criminal case against Michael Flynn. The former national security adviser pleaded guilty to lying about his contacts with Russia. Also, in Lebanon, lawmakers endorsed diplomat Mustapha Adib as prime minister-designate. The largest Sunni party, the Shiite Hezbollah and Christian blocs all backed him.

With Election Day just over two months away, Americans will begin casting ballots in a few weeks. The U.S. intelligence community has already warned of multiple attempts by foreign powers to intervene in the November election. But now comes word of changes in how top U.S. intelligence officials will brief Congress about the threats. Lisa Desjardins and Nick Schifrin join Judy Woodruff to discuss.

Thousands of protesters in Belarus marked President Alexander Lukashenko’s birthday on Sunday with a derisive chant calling him a “psychopath.” The defiant gesture came after a week in which government security forces furthered their crackdown on protesters and journalists in the country. Special correspondent Simon Ostrovsky reports from Minsk.

The presidential election may determine the course of U.S. health care. America's health system is the most expensive in the world, brimming with innovation but also leaving more than 30 million people uninsured. How does it compare to services in other modern industrialized nations? William Brangham reports from Houston for the first in a new series, “The Best Health Care? America & the World.”

Coming Soon: The Best Health Care? America & the World

NPR’s Tamara Keith and Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report join Judy Woodruff to discuss the latest political news, including the rhetorical battle over peaceful protests and incidents of violence and whether that conversation benefits President Trump or Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.