July 6, 2020 - PBS NewsHour full episode

Fourth of July celebrations in many parts of the United States were muted this year, overshadowed by a virus spreading with alarming speed. The national death toll from COVID-19 has surpassed 130,000, and hospitals in the South and West particularly are struggling to keep up with the demand for urgent care. Still, some Americans oppose shutdowns and mask requirements. William Brangham reports.

In our news wrap Monday, a federal judge has ordered the shutdown of the Dakota Access Pipeline pending an environmental review. The decision represents a major victory for the Standing Rock Sioux tribe. Also, Chicago suffered one of its bloodiest holiday weekends, with 17 people shot and killed -- including a 7-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy. An additional 70 people were wounded by gunfire.

For months, it's been clear that the pandemic is taking a disproportionate toll on people of color. Now, new data quantifies the disparities, showing that African American and Latinx people are nearly three times as likely to contract COVID-19 as white Americans and twice as likely to die from it. Amna Nawaz talks to Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo of the University of California, San Francisco.

With the U.S. economy in shambles due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, Latina workers have suffered the worst job losses, with 19 percent reporting being unemployed in May. Latinx Americans are also among the groups most likely to contract COVID-19 -- and to die from it. We spoke to several Latina women, including two undocumented immigrants, about their experiences of the past few months.

Weather forecasters say the current tropical storm season is likely to be more active than normal, with as many as six major hurricanes. But planning for these disasters is more complex this year. The coronavirus pandemic has made it harder to stock up on emergency supplies and will almost certainly complicate evacuation efforts. John Yang reports.

Recent headlines out of Hong Kong have focused on politics, with the imposition of a controversial new national security law from Beijing. But on the public health front, Hong Kong has been a coronavirus success story, suffering much less infection and death than was expected considering the semi-autonomous city’s high population density and proximity to China. Nick Schifrin reports.

In Britain, pubs reopened over July 4th weekend after nearly three months of coronavirus lockdowns. Patrons expressed their desire to get out and socialize after the long period of isolation, and business owners took special precautions to prepare. But many revelers ignored appeals for social distancing, and police had to disperse drunken crowds. Special correspondent Malcolm Brabant reports.

Mike Smith co-founded the Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt in 1987. Now living through his second pandemic, Smith is finding ways to help out amid COVID-19 -- and to inspire others to do the same. He shares his Brief But Spectacular take on turning grief into action.

NPR’s Tamara Keith and Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report join Judy Woodruff to discuss the latest political news, including President Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric on race and American history, what polls say about how effective he is on these issues and why he’s not talking more about the coronavirus pandemic.