August 6, 2019 - PBS NewsHour full episode

El Paso is reeling from Saturday’s shooting massacre, which killed at least 22 people and injured dozens more. How is the community coping with the shocking violence? Dan Bush reports from the stricken Texas city and joins Judy Woodruff to discuss how fears of future violence are prompting residents to pursue protective gear and training and what they think about President Trump’s rhetoric.

Mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton have pushed gun safety back into the forefront of national politics. On Capitol Hill, how are lawmakers responding? Lisa Desjardins joins Judy Woodruff to discuss an unusual move from Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell, the current landscape of proposed gun legislation and whether there is a realistic chance for any expansion of background checks to pass.

Montana Gov. Steve Bullock is a two-term Democrat in a conservative state that President Trump won by more than 20 points in 2016. He’s also running for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, and a gun owner who has changed his mind about expanded background checks. Bullock sits down with Judy Woodruff to discuss recent mass shootings, campaign finance and what it means to be a progressive.

Author and Nobel laureate Toni Morrison died Monday at age 88. The acclaimed writer, editor and professor helped transform American literature, bringing forth a black perspective that had rarely been heard. Jeffrey Brown reports and talks to Princeton University’s Tracy K. Smith, a former U.S. poet laureate, about how she was influenced by Morrison's work, generosity and “amazing vigor.”

How do we explain and stop mass shootings like those in El Paso and Dayton? Some Americans point to guns, saying they're too common and easy to obtain, while others emphasize the mental and emotional conditions that could drive perpetrators to inflict such horror. Amna Nawaz talks to Dr. Garen Wintemute of UC Davis Medical Center and Duke University's Jeffrey Swanson for analysis of both theories.

Republican Carlos Curbelo represented Florida in Congress until losing reelection in 2018. The Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando occurred during his House tenure, prompting him to join Democratic colleagues in proposing new gun safety measures -- but they were never passed. Curbelo joins Judy Woodruff to discuss the details of gun safety and why he doesn’t think it should be “a partisan issue.”