JUDY WOODRUFF: Good evening.

I'm Judy Woodruff.

On the "NewsHour" tonight: a momentous anniversary.

We look at how America is still grappling with racism as we mark Juneteenth, commemorating the end of slavery in the U.S. Then: echoes across the continent of Africa.

George Floyd's killing sparks widespread protests, condemnation of the United States, and demands for equality.

VERONICA MENTE, South African National Assembly: We don't want to be done any favors, but all we want is that we must be treated like human beings.

JUDY WOODRUFF: And the politics of face coverings.

Health officials say they save lives in the pandemic, but Americans are increasingly divided over whether to wear masks.

And it's Friday.

Mark Shields and David Brooks break down the week's political news, from the reaction to John Bolton's book to the Supreme Court's immigration ruling.

All that and more on tonight's "PBS NewsHour."

(BREAK) JUDY WOODRUFF: Americans marked this Juneteenth holiday with marches and rallies nationwide to commemorate the emancipation of slaves in the U.S. more than a century-and-a-half ago.

It was a day of celebration, and an urgent call to action.

Amna Nawaz has our report.

AMNA NAWAZ: Across the country, massive gatherings on a scale many say is long overdue, from Oakland California, to Atlanta, Georgia.

DANIELLE ROBINSON, Protester: I wanted to be here amongst the people that I grew up with, in order to form some type of unity.

AMNA NAWAZ: Meanwhile, in Galveston, Texas: MAN: District of Texas.

AMNA NAWAZ: A reading of the military order that on June 19, 1865, informed the last group of enslaved people here they were free.

That was two years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.

President Trump has claimed credit for raising awareness of Juneteenth, after planning a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, home to the 1921 Tulsa massacre, in which white mobs killed hundreds of black residents.

Trump postponed the rally to Saturday, and today tweeted a warning salvo to any -- quote -- "protesters, anarchists, agitators, looters, or lowlifes."

Juneteenth is not a federal holiday, but 47 states and the District of Columbia now recognize the day as a holiday or observance.

In Virginia and New York, it's now a paid holiday for state workers.

And corporations from Twitter to Target, Nike to the NFL, have also made Juneteenth a paid holiday.

But, as Juneteenth is remembered, history is revisited.

In Washington, D.C., a monument for George Preston Marshall, the man who refused to integrate the city's professional football team, was removed.

In Decatur, Georgia, cranes pulled down a 112-year-old Confederate monument.

And in Brooklyn, New York, a reflection on how far the country has come.

RODNEYSE BICHOTTE, New York State Assemblywoman: For a very long time, Juneteenth was not recognized.

It was not celebrated, not heavily, right?

And over the course of the weeks, it took people like you, who finally heard the struggles that we have been struggling with for years in our community.

AMNA NAWAZ: As this next chapter in history is still being written.

For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Amna Nawaz.

JUDY WOODRUFF: We will have more on the Juneteenth holiday and take a closer look at the history of racial violence in Tulsa, Oklahoma, right after this news summary.

The mayor of Louisville, Kentucky, said that one of the officers involved in the killing of Breonna Taylor will be fired.

Two other officers remain on administrative reassignment pending the investigation into the shooting inside her apartment in March.

Meanwhile, the Atlanta police officer who shot Rayshard Brooks to death waived his initial court appearance today.

Garrett Rolfe faces felony murder and other charges.

There are new concerns today that the COVID-19 pandemic is accelerating.

The World Health Organization reported that the largest single-day uptick in global cases to date, nearly half of the 150,000 new coronavirus infections, are in the Americas.

TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, WHO Director General: The world is in a new and dangerous phase.

Many people are understandably fed up with being at home.

Countries are understandably eager to open up their societies and economies.

But the virus is still spreading fast, it is still deadly, and most people are still susceptible.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Yesterday, five U.S. states, Florida, South Carolina, Texas, Arizona, and California, all set new daily records for infections.

Today, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert and a White House health adviser, said it's -- quote -- "unfortunate and frustrating that some Americans aren't following recommended health guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19."

The U.S. Navy today upheld the firing of an aircraft carrier captain who warned of the spread of COVID-19 aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt.

About a quarter of the 5,000 sailors aboard ultimately became infected with the virus, including one who died.

The Navy says the virus came aboard during a port call to Vietnam.

Nick Schifrin has this story.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Judy, it was a remarkable scene at the Pentagon.

The Navy's top officer, Admiral Michael Gilday, excoriated the captain of the T.R., Brett Crozier, accusing him and his boss, Rear Admiral Stuart Baker, of failing to prevent the COVID-19 outbreak.

They were accused of being too slow to evacuate sailors and for endangering the entire ship when they moved some infected sailors out of quarantine.

All of that happened before Crozier's alarming March e-mail that leaked and started this crisis.

Today, Gilday said that e-mail was unnecessary because other officials were already taking the steps that Captain Crozier was recommending.

Today's announcement was also a reversal for the military, which initially suggested that Crozier be reinstated.

The Navy will not hold more senior officials responsible, even those who approved that port visit to Vietnam.

As for the ship, it's back at sea -- Judy.

JUDY WOODRUFF: And thank you, Nick.

President Trump, meantime, pledging to renew efforts to end protections for those brought to the U.S. illegally as children.

Yesterday, the Supreme Court rejected his action to end the DACA program.

Today, the president tweeted that his administration -- quote -- "will be submitting enhanced papers shortly," but he didn't provide any further details.

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany followed up this afternoon.

KAYLEIGH MCENANY, White House Press Secretary: We're looking at documents currently, and we're going to move forward in a responsible way and cure some of the remedies and the unlawfulness that we see with the previous memo that brought DACA into place.

But we want to find a compassionate way to do this.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled that the president does have the authority to end DACA, but his reasoning was -- quote - - "arbitrary and capricious."

Chief Master Sergeant JoAnne Bass has been selected to be the next chief master sergeant of the Air Force.

She will also be the first woman in U.S. history to serve as the highest-ranking noncommissioned officer to lead one of the U.S. military services.

Bass has been in the Air Force for nearly 30 years.

In the presidential campaign, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar is no longer vying to be presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden's running mate.

The former presidential candidate said late Thursday, he should use the opportunity to heal this nation in her words, by picking a non-white woman instead.

SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN): America must seize on this moment, and I truly believe, as I actually told the vice president last night when I called him, that I think this is a moment to put a woman of color on that ticket.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Klobuchar's decision comes amid protests over racial inequities that began in her home state after the killing of George Floyd by a white police officer in Minneapolis.

A federal judge in California has approved Pacific Gas & Electric's plan to exit bankruptcy.

Its outdated equipment sparked wildfires that killed more than 100 people.

PG&E will now pay more than $25 billion to victims' families and businesses that were impacted by those fires.

Stocks were mixed on Wall Street today.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 208 points, to close at 25871.

The Nasdaq rose three points, and the S&P 500 slid 17.

A passing to note tonight.

Acclaimed British actor Ian Holm has died from a Parkinson's-related illness.

Holm played Bilbo Baggins in "The Hobbit" and "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

He was also a longtime member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, and known for his award-winning performance in the title role of "King Lear."

Ian Holm was 88 years old.

And an abandoned bus in the Alaskan woods made famous by the book and movie "Into the Wild" has been removed over safety concerns.

State officials said that tourists routinely needed rescuing from the site, where they paid homage to a young man who died of starvation there in 1992.

An Alaska National Guard helicopter airlifted the bus from near Denali National Park to an undisclosed site.

Still to come on the "NewsHour": the United States continues to grapple with racial inequality on this Juneteenth; George Floyd's killing sparks widespread protests and demands for justice across Africa; wearing a mask becomes an increasingly political act, as the pandemic persists; and much more.

As we saw earlier, people across the country today are observing Juneteenth, a holiday marking the end of slavery in the United States.

The commemorations are being held in many communities, including Tulsa, Oklahoma, where President Trump will hold an election rally tomorrow.

Some residents are upset with the timing of the visit, especially as the city is trying to deal with its long history of racial violence.

Yamiche Alcindor's story was produced in partnership with PBS affiliate OETA in Tulsa.

And a warning: It includes some disturbing images.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Today, commemorations for Juneteenth kicked off in Tulsa's historic Greenwood district.

Kristi Williams, a community activist and tour guide, calls this sacred ground.

KRISTI WILLIAMS, The Real Black Wall Street Tour: You can feel the pain.

You can feel the hurt.

You can even sometimes hear the tears of those ancestors as you walk through Greenwood.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: A hundred years ago, Greenwood spanned 40 blocks of black-owned business and homes.

It was known as Black Wall Street, one of the most prosperous areas in the country for African-Americans.

KRISTI WILLIAMS: Greenwood had hotels, architects, doctors, attorneys.

It was the Mecca of black entrepreneurship, black economics.

They actually created an economy within an economy.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: But starting on May 31, 1921, a white mob killed some 300 black residents here and burned much of Greenwood to the ground.

The Tulsa Race Massacre, as the incident is now known, came after allegations that a young black man working as a shoe shiner had assaulted a white woman.

The woman later requested charges be dropped in the case.

The drama of the real-life massacre was captured in the recent HBO fictional series "Watchmen."

No arrests have ever been made.

And insurance companies refused to pay out claims.

And the stories of those who survived the violence were largely burned through fear and intimidation.

DR. TIFFANY CRUTCHER, Community Activist: We didn't talk about it all, Yamiche.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Tiffany Crutcher, another community activist, says she only learned about the massacre after leaving the city.

DR. TIFFANY CRUTCHER: The first I heard of it is when I went off to college, and people would ask, where are you from?

Tulsa.

And they would just immediately say Black Wall Street or Tulsa race riot.

After the third time, I went home and said, dad, what are they talking about?

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: For the Crutcher family, Tulsa's racial violence isn't just history.

In 2016, her twin brother, Terence Crutcher, was killed by a white police officer.

He was unarmed, and video of his killing became national news.

The next year, a jury found the officer who killed him, Betty Shelby, not guilty of first-degree manslaughter.

DR. TIFFANY CRUTCHER: Terence, I miss him so much.

And I made a vow that night that I would not rest until I transformed Tulsa's police department and police agencies all over this country.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: For her, for Kristi Williams, and for so many others in this community, the death of George Floyd has reopened wounds.

Following the protests over Floyd's death, body cam footage showed Tulsa police arresting two black teenagers for jaywalking, in what many saw as an abusive and unnecessary stop.

Around the same time, Major Travis Yates of the Tulsa Police Department said in an interview that officers should actually be shooting more African-Americans than they currently do.

MAJOR TRAVIS YATES, Tulsa Police Department: All of their research says, we're shooting African-Americans about 24 percent less than we probably ought to be, based on the crimes being committed.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: The backlash came fast.

LT. MARCUS HARPER, Tulsa Police Department: The issue is the culture of policing.

That's what we're fighting against.

Is he the voice of the Tulsa Police Department?

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: The comments by the local officer and the nationwide protests over policing have renewed focus on Tulsa's dark history and racial struggles.

DR. TIFFANY CRUTCHER: As I always say that the same culture that burned down Black Wall Street is the same policing culture that killed Terence Crutcher.

And we have yet to receive reparations for Black Wall Street.

And my family, we have yet to receive any atonement or acknowledgment of what happened to Terence from this city.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Meanwhile, this weekend, President Trump is planning to visit Tulsa for an indoor campaign rally, his first since the coronavirus shutdown.

It was originally scheduled on Juneteenth, but he moved it to Saturday after facing fierce criticism.

DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States: And we're going to be in Oklahoma, and it's a crowd like I guess nobody's seen before.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: In 2016, the state of Oklahoma overwhelmingly voted for President Trump.

His supporters, some who lined up for days ahead of the event, say they're excited to have him back on the campaign trail.

MAN: Nothing like a Trump rally.

DELMAR PHILLIPS, Trump Supporter: Him and his family have sacrificed so much for our country.

DARRYL HENRY, Trump Supporter: They have a steady hand and a stable genius for such a time as this that is an answer to prayer.

It's an answer to prayer.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: But the state is experiencing a significant spike in COVID-19 cases.

And, this week, city officials, including the Republican mayor, G.T.

Bynum, said they are worried about the rally and counterprotests.

G.T.

BYNUM (R), Mayor of Tulsa, Oklahoma: Well, I want to be clear.

I'm not positive that everything is safe.

I'm not a public health professional.

I'm not here to testify to the safety of anything.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Tiffany Crutcher said she is most scared for the elderly, mostly African-American workers at the arena where the rally will take place, and about possible violence in a city that's already seen so much.

DR. TIFFANY CRUTCHER: We're a ticking time bomb.

And on top of that, this weekend, one of the largest gun shows at the fairgrounds in Tulsa will be taking place.

So, we're trying to make sense of it all.

KRISTI WILLIAMS: It's a distraction from what we really need to be focusing on.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: For her part, Kristi Williams, the tour guide, says, on Juneteenth, her community needs to focus not on President Trump, but on rebuilding what they lost so many years ago.

KRISTI WILLIAMS: It's a time for black people to come together all across this world, especially in this country, but to reevaluate where we are as far as economics, as far as jobs, as far as health, as far as education, as far as housing.

And we need to look at where we stand, create a plan to progress in all of those areas, and then we need to convene back in Greenwood on Juneteenth to see the progress that we have made.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: To talk more about the significance of Juneteenth, the Tulsa massacre, and this moment of national reckoning, I'm joined by Mark Anthony Neal.

He's a professor of African and African-American studies at Duke University.

Thanks so much for being here, Mark.

MARK ANTHONY NEAL, Duke University: Thanks for having me.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Juneteenth has been commemorated for decades by Americans across the country, but a lot of Americans are just now learning about Juneteenth.

What do you think people should understand about this holiday or this day, as you think about the moment that we're living through?

MARK ANTHONY NEAL: It's an important historical marker.

Of course, the Emancipation Proclamation occurs January 1, 1863.

General Granger delivers that to the folks in Texas on June 19, 1865, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation.

What's important to remember about this particular moment is that the Emancipation Proclamation actually only freed slaves that were in the Confederacy, not in the Union.

It wasn't until January of 1865 that we see the 13th Amendment, which makes slavery abolished.

So, it's six months -- or it's six months after even that the message finally gets to the folks in Texas.

And what I'm always struck with, with that - - General Granger's language is that what's implied in the context of it is that folks should, in fact, stay on the plantations and continue to work as they have, except with wages, and very clear language about the fact that black idleness, black leisure would not be tolerated going forward.

So, there were always limits on what citizenship really could be in that moment, even as folks suddenly had some sense of freedom.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: What do you make of President Trump saying that he made Juneteenth famous and the renewed attention that the day is getting this year?

(LAUGHTER) MARK ANTHONY NEAL: It's not surprising.

And, of course, he thinks that he's been the best thing that has ever happened to black America.

That being said, it speaks to the fact that there's always been a huge gap between African-American cultural practices, the things that we believe in, the things that we do, the ceremonies that we engage, and what white America actually knows about us.

So there's no question that, even though he did not make the holiday more famous or well-known, it is something that is now in the consciousness of white Americans in ways that it hadn't been before.

And, quite frankly, had he not chosen initially to schedule this rally in Tulsa on Juneteenth, whether that was a conscious political decision or just him not being able to read the room, it's clear that, over the last couple of weeks, there are more white Americans who are aware of Juneteenth than had ever been aware of Juneteenth before.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: What should white Americans and corporate America who are just learning about this holiday, what should they consider?

MARK ANTHONY NEAL: I think it's important to remember that this is obviously an opportunity to learn.

We have seen a lot of incredible shifts in terms of corporate America.

When you think about these almost timeless symbols of slavery and post-slavery, Aunt Jemima, the Cream of Wheat man who we actually don't know what his name is, Uncle Ben, the fact that these symbols are suddenly disappearing, it would suggest that corporate America is starting to try to be on the right side of history.

But we also need to be clear about the fact that we live in a cancel culture, a culture that very quickly is able to shift people's allegiances.

And corporate America is well aware of the bottom line within this context.

We'd like to believe that they have been acting for good faith to be on the right side of history, but, in this case, the right side of history is also very clearly connected to the bottom line.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: And thinking about the culture that we're living in, you talked about cancel culture.

We're also living through police protests.

We're also living through the anniversary of this massacre, Juneteenth, President Trump's rally and rhetoric.

All of this is happening at the same time.

What do you make of that?

MARK ANTHONY NEAL: You know, this feels like a rupturous moment, almost like that moment of Juneteenth, that something has changed, and something has shifted in the culture.

There's almost like it's like this alignment of stars, if you will, that we could have never imagined.

So many Americans were feeling in traumatic states because of the COVID dynamic, in which they were raising general questions in their own lives, regardless of race, about whether or not they had full citizenship in this country.

Because so many folks were at home dealing with COVID and the pandemic, it meant that they spent much more time watching television.

So, literally, everyone got to see George Floyd's killing in ways that they might not have been able to check in on it before.

And because of COVID, when we think about all of those young folks who are out there in the streets, who normally would be in school or pursuing internships or working, suddenly now had available time in which they could act upon their passions and political passions, it's just a unique moment where all these things come together, again, going back to even the president's decision to hold this rally.

And, of course, he's been aching to hold a rally, because he hasn't been able to for so long.

And choosing that particular date, it just allowed for us to have a much deeper conversation about race in this country.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: We only have a couple seconds left.

But, as we think about Juneteenth, after slavery came Jim Crow and KKK and domestic violence that African-Americans had to experience throughout the history of America.

What gaps still exist when we think about what America did and how it failed to ensure equality for all Americans?

MARK ANTHONY NEAL: I think one of the clearest gaps is around economic inequality and economic inequities.

When I think about the great work that's being done now by my colleague Sandy Darity and his partner Kirsten Mullen, in which they're still looking at reparations in their book "From Here to Equality," I think that's one of the ways in which we can go forward and address the kind of gaps that still exist.

I think we can achieve some level of racial equality if folks feel that they are on the same economic playing field.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Thanks so much, Mark Anthony Neal of Duke University.

JUDY WOODRUFF: The protests over the killing of George Floyd have struck a chord across the continent of Africa, and sparked not only demonstrations, but a deeper examination of the roles of race, colonialism, and exploitation through the centuries and of the reputation of the United States.

From Kampala, Uganda, special correspondent Michael Baleke reports.

MICHAEL BALEKE: From the castles on the Gold Coast of Africa that held men and women before they were loaded onto ships to be sold in the Americas, to the bustling modern capital of Ethiopia in East Africa, to protests in South Africa, a country still feeling the effects of apartheid, Africans are questioning the legacy of colonialism and slavery.

Racial discrimination is on Amos Wekesa's mind as he plays a board game with his son during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Wekesa is a Ugandan businessman, a black African married to a white American.

They believe they are safer in Uganda than in the U.S., safer from the racial discrimination his wife observed growing up in the U.S. AMOS WEKESA, Businessman: Every time we have conversation, our firstborn is thinking about university, even the second-born.

And it's very sad that she has to tell him, if you're thinking about university outside Uganda, don't think about the U.S., because of the racial challenges that are in there.

But also, at the same time, people like me, the husband who travels to the U.S. for business, or them that travel for family issues, they go there in a very scared way.

MICHAEL BALEKE: Amos and his family have joined in solidarity with U.S. protesters against police violence towards African-Americans, as did people at this Black Lives Matter rally outside the U.S. Consulate in Cape Town.

The lingering effects of police brutality resonate there.

Systemic racism was entrenched in the law.

VERONICA MENTE, South African National Assembly: How you treat a suspected individual of a white person, this is the same way you must treat a black life.

Subject them to a law that is fair and just.

We don't want to be done any favors, but all we want is that we must be treated like human beings.

MICHAEL BALEKE: Across the continent, there's been an awakening about Africa's colonial history, the names of streets and buildings, symbols of European colonial oppression and exploitation.

In a bid to reclaim the country's pride, Ugandan lawyer Apollo Makubuya is leading a petition drive to change those names.

APOLLO MAKUBUYA, Attorney: We are targeting those, and on whom we have evidence to show that they perpetrated crimes against humanity, they violated human rights, and we object to their continued glorification on the streets of Uganda and elsewhere.

MICHAEL BALEKE: They propose to use the names of heroes instead.

The events in the U.S. and Europe are creating more awareness in Africa about the history of colonial rule.

This is inspiring Africans to take a closer look at the past and to think about how to reframe it, says Professor Mwambutsya Ndebesa.

MWAMBUTSYA NDEBESA, Makerere University: Colonialism, racism, discrimination, and whatever cannot be eliminated by merely removing symbols.

But symbols is one of those efforts towards removing those injustices.

MICHAEL BALEKE: The U.S. protests have redoubled plans by some Ethiopian Americans to invest in their country.

Feleg Tsegaye gave up on the U.S. seven years ago.

He now runs a successful online food delivery service.

Even with the threat of COVID-19, he says Ethiopia offers more opportunity for him and his business than the U.S. did.

FELEG TSEGAYE, Founder, Deliver Addis: I never thought there might be that many people that would want such a service here.

And, in fact, even my own family thought I was a little bit crazy at first.

But we have seen over the past even three years, we have grown 2X year over year.

MICHAEL BALEKE: He runs Ethiopia's first e-commerce company, a 21st century success run by and for Africans.

And a world away from the business conducted centuries ago on the Cape Coast in West Africa, then the center of the gold and slave trades, key historical sites like the Elmina Castle, built by the Portuguese and later taken over by the British, still stand in Ghana,.

the steel barriers and rusted chains that bound slaves before the horrific Middle Passage across the Atlantic still in the holding cells.

But as the rest of the world pulls down monuments that depict colonialism, authorities here are calling for the renovation and rehabilitation of such sites as reminders of the past.

ATO ESHUN, Director, Cape Coast Castle: You are here today, so you have seen it.

What of those who will come after you?

What will they see to learn from what happened in the past?

So, this is critical.

MICHAEL BALEKE: But historians argue there are now different ways horrific events can be remembered.

MWAMBUTSYA NDEBESA: I am not for erasing that history, because history is important, whether positive or negative.

Those names should be put down in books or in a museum for people to recognize them in the past.

MICHAEL BALEKE: Last year, Ghana marked 400 years since the first slave ship sailed.

This year, a policeman's knee on an African-American's neck is a stark reminder of the enduring consequences of that voyage.

For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Michael Baleke in Kampala, Uganda.

JUDY WOODRUFF: With more and more states experiencing spikes in coronavirus cases and COVID-19 hospitalizations, the debate over wearing face masks is creating a sharp divide among some Americans.

In a moment, William Brangham will talk with a doctor about the evidence surrounding masks, but, first, he begins with this report.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Even though nearly everyone in the public health community says wearing a mask in crowded places can help slow the spread of this pandemic, for some, masks are an affront.

AUBREY HUFF, Former Major League Baseball Player: I understand the coronavirus is real.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Former Major League Baseball player Aubrey Huff summed up this view: AUBREY HUFF: Hell, I would rather die from coronavirus than to live the rest of my life in fear and wearing a damn mask.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Every week, social media lights up with videos of people resisting mask requirements.

MAN: I work for Costco, and I'm asking this member to wear a mask, because that is our company policy.

So, either wear the mask... MAN: And I'm not doing it because I woke up in a free country.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: On the flip side, there are numerous stories of people engaging in mask shaming, like here, where shoppers in a grocery store hound a woman for not wearing one.

This fight is also spilling into government.

MAN: Wearing masks decreases the shed of this virus.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: In Montgomery, Alabama, after a parade of doctors and nurses testified about the surge of COVID hospitalizations and the need for masks, the City Council on Tuesday voted down a face mask requirement.

BRANTLEY LYONS, Montgomery, Alabama, City Council: I think this is an overreach of the government.

I think to make somebody do something or require somebody to wear something is overreach.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: But the next day, Montgomery's mayor passed an executive order requiring them.

Some governors, like California's Gavin Newsom, require everyone wear masks in public places.

But Greg Abbott, the Republican governor of Texas, has banned cities and counties from fining residents who refuse to wear them.

GOV.

GREG ABBOTT (R-TX): All of us have a collective responsibility to educate the public that wearing a mask is the best thing to do.

Putting people in jail, however, is the wrong approach.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization both now recommend people wear cloth masks as a proven prevention strategy.

But that wasn't always their recommendation, and that reversal has added to people's suspicion.

Dr. Anthony Fauci recently tried to explain that change, saying officials were worried about early mask shortages for health care workers.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, NIAID Director: We wanted to make sure that the people, namely, the health care workers who were brave enough to put themselves in harm's way, we did not want them to be without the equipment that they needed.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: President Trump this week suggested some people choose to wear masks not for protection, but to signal they don't like him.

And with rare exception, and against the advice of his own officials, the president has repeatedly refused to wear a mask in public.

Across the country, many of his supporters are following his lead.

For more on the politics and the science of mask wearing, I'm joined now by Dr. Ranit Mishori.

She is a professor of family medicine at Georgetown University School of Medicine, and she is also the senior medical adviser for Physicians for Human Rights.

Dr. Mishori, very nice to see you again.

Thank you for being here.

Before we get to the politics issue, could you just remind us about the science, about the efficacy of masks?

DR. RANIT MISHORI, Georgetown University School of Medicine: Yes, well, it's almost -- it seems like almost every day we're getting a new study that shows that face masks are actually pretty efficacious in trying to curb the transmission of the coronavirus.

From studies in labs, to modeling studies, to actual studies in communities, we have seen evidence that wearing a mask can be extremely efficacious in lowering the transmission rate and getting people not to be infected with the virus.

So, we're seeing really impressive numbers.

We're seeing one study from "Health Affairs," which was a modeling study, but it showed that wearing a mask, the more states that allow that or mandate that, that we can avert the transmission to between 230,000 and 450,000 people.

That's a lot of people for an action that is so easy, so simple, and only mildly inconvenient.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Mildly inconvenient is right.

As I mentioned in that tape piece, there was a lot of mixed messaging that came out at first at the beginning of the pandemic, where public health officials said, there's no need for American citizens to wear masks, and then, all of a sudden, that switched.

You saw Dr. Fauci's response to that.

What do you make of that mixed messaging, and the confusion it might have sowed?

DR. RANIT MISHORI: Yes, there's no question that there was confusion.

And, remember, in the old days back then, it seems like years ago, those were the same messages that I gave to my own patients.

But the reality is, back then, we didn't have as many studies specifically looking at coronavirus.

We had studies based on wearing masks for flu prevention.

So, one thing is, the science is evolving when it comes to the coronavirus, on everything, including mask wearing, but also clinical management is changing basically on a daily basis.

So that's one reason.

But the other one, as he was talking about, is that, at the time, there was a huge shortage in personal protective equipment for physicians.

And there was a concern that, if everybody ran out to get the N95 or even the surgical masks, then nothing would be left for physicians and nurses and other health professionals.

And that would mean that those people who come in the closest contact with very, very sick people wouldn't be protected.

But now the shortages are not as bad, and we have a lot more research that shows that this is very effective.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: So, what do you make of these protests?

If the evidence is so clear - - and, as you say, it's really not that much of an inconvenience -- how do you explain this growing sort of revolt against wearing masks among some parts of the population?

DR. RANIT MISHORI: As a doctor, it's really, really hard to accept it and to look at it and think that it's appropriate or acceptable.

It has become very socially and politically contentious, of course.

I think some people think that the coronavirus pandemic itself is a hoax.

And if that is a hoax, and it's not really happening, then why would I need a mask?

Other people see it through a political lens.

They think of people who wear a mask as somehow sending anti-Trump messages.

But, again, as a public health person, as a doctor, I think we need to see it through the lens of public health, through the lens of helping somebody else in your community be protected.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: I want to turn to a slightly different issue, and that is that, in some states that have been reopening recently in the last weeks or month, we have seen a spike in new infection rates and those very troubling charts from each state of new cases going up.

The president and some of his administration have argued that we shouldn't be alarmed at those spike in cases, and that's simply a reflection that we're doing more testing, and so we're finding more cases.

That, in part, may be true, but that's really not the whole story, right?

DR. RANIT MISHORI: Absolutely.

I mean, yes, when we test more, we will find more.

But what's really happening is, beyond the increased number of testing, is that we're seeing hospitals being overwhelmed, ICUs being filled to capacity, people going into the hospitals.

So a lot of it is about the capacity of hospitals and the fact that more people are showing up and are sick enough to require hospitalization, which, to me, is a sign that it's not just about testing.

It's about more people actually getting very sick.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Dr. Ranit Mishori of Georgetown University Medical School, thank you so much for being here again.

DR. RANIT MISHORI: Thank you so much for having me.

Appreciate that.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Now we turn to the analysis of Shields and Brooks.

That is syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks.

Hello to both of you.

So much to talk about this week.

I guess that's the way it always is lately.

But, Mark, let's start with these two big Supreme Court rulings this week.

Yesterday, the court ruled in favor of young immigrants who came to the U.S. illegally.

Earlier in the week, they -- the ruling was in favor of LGBTQ rights, saying that they were covered under the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

In both cases, one or more of the more conservative justices sided with the liberals.

The president responded by saying he wants new justices on the court.

I guess my question is, what do these rulings say about the court?

And is it in step with the country?

MARK SHIELDS: I think the court is in step with the country, Judy.

Ironically, the LGBTQ decision was a historical imperative from the 164 Civil Rights Act, when Judge Howard Smith, a segregationist from Virginia, chairman of the Rules Committee, inserted, after color, race, creed and national origin in the civil rights bill, sex, and hoping to submarine the bill, sabotage it.

But it sailed through with sex there, and that was where, of course, Justice Gorsuch found the justification for changing the absolutely contradictory ruling that had been prevalent in the United States that a couple could get married on a Sunday legally, same-sex, and the bride or the groom could be fired on Monday for having been married, revealed to be an LGBTQ, a member of that community.

So I think, in that sense, there was almost an important -- a historical direction to it.

And, as far as -- I do not understand Donald Trump on the question of DACA, of children who came here, who were brought here without their will, not even involved in their will, raised, have gone on to college, have served in the United States Marine Corps or the United States Army, have no criminal record.

Somewhere between seven out of 10 and eight out of 10 Americans believe those people should remain in the country.

I don't know where he sees the mean streak in the American electorate that wants these people, who have only lived in the United States, who have served their country, and who are abiding by good citizenship rules, to be exported, and to a country and culture they do not know.

And I just think he's on the losing side of this issue in public opinion and on justice and decency.

JUDY WOODRUFF: David, what about these two cases?

What do they say?

DAVID BROOKS: Well, when you don't have a functional Congress, then the power of the branch of government that is actually functioning is going to take control.

And that's sort of what's happened here.

As Mark said, both in DACA and the LGBTQ case, overwhelming majorities, 80 percent, 70 percent, think it's a terrible idea to be able to fire somebody on the basis of their sexual orientation.

They support DACA.

And Congress is unable to act, when you have got gigantic majorities.

And so the Supreme Court acted.

I'm not sure it was judicial, what they did.

It looks a little legislative to me, if you look at the decisions.

But the country moves with the people.

And the people have moved on both these issues.

And the court is now the only functioning branch of government we have.

JUDY WOODRUFF: And the president saying on the young immigrants that they're going to try to come up with new language, but remains to be seen whether they can do that.

Mark, another piece of bad news the president got this week came in the form of John Bolton's book, his former national security adviser, the title of the book, in -- "The Room Where It Happened," and that's a lot of what's in the book, embarrassing for the president, saying that he asked the Chinese leader to help him with his reelection, that he didn't know Norway wasn't part of Russia, and just a lot more.

The White House denying it all.

But how much of this is damaging, Mark, do you think, to the president, and what does it say about John Bolton?

MARK SHIELDS: What it says about John Bolton is, you can him a truth-teller.

You can call it a snitch or a rat fink.

You really can't call him a patriot.

I mean, John Bolton, obviously, in reading this book, or looking at it, has concluded that Donald Trump is intellectually unqualified, morally bankrupt, and ethically handicapped.

But he refused to testify, did not volunteer to testify at the impeachment hearing, and - - this past February, very kind of artfully skirted around it.

I think it could come back to bite some of the Republicans who voted against witnesses, Joni Ernst and Steve Daines and Thom Tillis and Lindsey Graham, who voted against witnesses, given this.

His testimony then might very well have fallen into a partisan maw and just been chewed up.

But now it's the center.

And I would say the first person that owes us an apology is the University of Pennsylvania for turning out a graduate who did not know that Finland was not part of Russia, did not know that the third nation in the world to get the nuclear power was the United Kingdom, some 64 years before he was elected.

So, I think, in that sense -- but the point you raised, Judy, is the key one, and that is China, that -- going to run against Joe Biden on China, that Joe Biden was too chummy to China?

And what John Bolton tells us is that Donald Trump was asking China to give him a hand in the reelection by buying soybeans, so it would help him get reelected, and had no qualms at all, gave a moral green light to the millions Uyghurs, Muslims in China being put into concentration camps.

JUDY WOODRUFF: I'm glad you corrected me, Mark.

I met Finland.

I said Norway, but it was Finland that the president was -- asked about whether it was part of Russia.

But, David, what about the book?

What does it say about the president?

Does it change opinions of the president?

DAVID BROOKS: I don't think it really changes our opinion.

I mean, he uses the office for personal gain.

I think that's the portrait that gets -- we get from the whole book, certainly get from the excerpts.

And that's the definition of corruption, not using the office to serve the public good, but to serve Donald Trump's good.

I think, if he had said -- the one thing, the story that stuck out that I did not know about was the tele -- the Chinese telecom company GTE -- or ZTE, which, apparently, Trump offered to give them a break on the investigation of their apparent breakage of the Iran blockade.

And Trump said: I could go light on that investigation.

And that's true corruption.

That's what a president is not supposed to do.

If Bolton had come out with that story in the middle of the impeachment process, it would have been a gigantic story.

Would it have ended in impeachment?

I doubt it.

But it would have been a very big story, and we wouldn't know a lot more about what exactly happened.

JUDY WOODRUFF: I want to come back with both of you to the -- so much discussion in the country lately about race relations, treatment of black Americans.

That had a lot to do, I'm sure, with Amy Klobuchar's statement last night in a TV interview, Mark, that she wanted to be taken out of the running.

I guess she had called Vice President Biden earlier.

She wanted to be taken out of the running to be his vice presidential running mate, then saying she's urging him to choose an African-American woman.

How much pressure is on Joe Biden to choose a woman of color?

MARK SHIELDS: Well, the pressure on Joe Biden is self-administered.

He volunteered, of course, he was going to pick a woman in an unpressured debate situation with Bernie Sanders.

So, there he is.

And, obviously, events have given greater impetus and support to a woman of color joining the ticket.

I'd say this, Judy.

The polls are not unimportant.

The wider the gap between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, and if it does continue to widen in the polls between now and the 1st of August, it gives him a lot more latitude on whom he chooses.

Most decisions for vice president are made on who can help me.

I need that help.

But I would say right now that the chances of a woman -- a woman of color being chosen are pretty good.

One leading Democrat said to me this week, "I wish he could choose Elizabeth Warren."

And I -- "Why?"

And he said: "Well, because Elizabeth Warren in 10 minutes took $350 million of Mike Bloomberg and a public career of distinguished achievements and reduced it to rubble, in 10 minutes.

And what she would do to Mike Pence, the Humane Society would have to intervene to stop the carnage."

But the problem is that you want Elizabeth Warren there on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

And I guess that's the dilemma to some degree that Joe Biden faces.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Referring back to how she handled Mike Bloomberg during the primary debates.

But, David, what about Joe Biden and his coming decision, whenever it comes?

DAVID BROOKS: Yes.

Well, first of all, I think it's unfortunate that, if you were a prosecutor, that's now a problem to be the Democratic nominee -- to be a nominee for vice president.

And that's true of Amy Klobuchar or Kamala Harris.

Being a prosecutor is a necessary and a noble public function.

And I don't think it was -- it turned out to be a negative for her.

And I think that's unfortunate.

If I'm Joe Biden, I don't think the vice presidential pick matters that much in getting elected or not elected.

What it really matters is in governing.

He needs someone who can help him govern.

He needs someone who can make sure that there is no gigantic civil war between moderates and people on the left within his administration.

He needs somebody who maybe can take over on a moment's notice.

And so I would focus on that.

Now, are there women color who can do that?

Obviously.

Maybe Mayor Bottoms.

I don't know.

I think there's a -- there's a lot of people who could fit that bill.

And so I think he has a lot of great options.

But I just would say it's about governing, not about running.

JUDY WOODRUFF: And, of course, a lot of people bring up the point that, if Joe Biden's elected, he would be the oldest person ever to occupy or ever to take office as president of the United States.

We have only got about a minute, so just in a few seconds to both of you.

Juneteenth, Mark, it's a day we were aware of, but now, in a way, never before.

What does it say about this country, in just a few seconds?

MARK SHIELDS: Well, Judy, it's remarkable.

I mean, if you think of January 1, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation, and then two-and-a-half years later, the word finally gets, after some two-and-a-half months after the end of the war, gets to Galveston, Texas, that slavery is abolished, its end, in one day.

I mean, what a remarkable transformation, and what a day to celebrate.

And I just -- I think our dawning awareness of it is important.

And I think it ought to be nationally institutionalized.

And it's a positive, it really is, that we do fulfill the Declaration of Independence that all men are created equal.

JUDY WOODRUFF: David, in just a few seconds.

DAVID BROOKS: Yes, I'm struck by, for many decades, the pioneer experience was the defining American experience.

And then the immigrant experience was the defining American experience.

Now the struggle for racial justice is the defining American experience.

And it's natural that a holiday about that rises in prominence.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Today is Juneteenth.

And we thank both of you, Mark Shields, David Brooks.

We will see you next Friday.

The pandemic continues to claim the lives of hundreds of Americans every day.

We want to again take a moment to recognize just a few of them.

Samantha Wissinger is was a fighter.

The Michigan native never lost her infectious laugh or uplifting spirit, even as she battled stage three breast cancer and stage four brain cancer.

She was always helping others, whether that meant working as a registered nurse or fostering kittens.

Last year, Samantha married the love of her life, Markus.

Wednesday would have been their first anniversary.

Samantha was 29 years old.

Costell Akrie was so kind and humble that people called him Saint Costell.

He served in the Air Force during the Korean War, which led him to meet Dianne.

They were engaged after one month, and would have celebrated 65 years of marriage this year.

Costell earned five college degrees while working three jobs to support his wife and two children.

Active in his community in Oakland, California, he helped build a neighborhood playground and headed the Bay Area Urban League's Bureau for Veterans Affairs.

Costell was 88.

Jeff Baumbach knew how to brighten anyone's day.

That joyful spirit propelled his career as an intensive care nurse and his volunteer work for the Boy Scouts of America in Lodi, California.

Jeff met his wife, Karen, in high school.

Together, they raised four children and planned countless family vacations, from Caribbean cruises to Disneyland.

He was 57 years old.

Eric Gore was quiet and reserved, but fiercely loyal to his family and community.

Following in his father's footsteps, Eric spent decades in the civil service, including as a Philadelphia firefighter.

When he wasn't working, his daughter Logan was always by his side.

Together, they learned Spanish and Mandarin.

Eric was 48 years old.

Anita Wynalda of Washington state stood at just 4 feet, 9 inches, but her daughter says she had a huge personality.

Boisterous and loving, Anita, or Anna, worked around the clock to provide for her family, including her 13 grandchildren.

Anna's generosity came through in her work as a registered nurse and overnight cashier at Walmart, where she knew many of her customers by name.

Anna was 66.

And our hearts go out to the families of all who have lost loved ones in this pandemic.

And we will be back right here on Monday with a look at how rulings from the Supreme Court are changing the political landscape.

That is the "NewsHour" for tonight.

I'm Judy Woodruff.

Thank you, please stay safe, and good night.