PBS News Hour full episode, June 24, 2026

President Trump canceled the signing of a landmark housing affordability bill, which had passed Congress with veto-proof majorities, to pressure lawmakers into passing his controversial SAVE America Act on voting reform. This tactic, previously used to derail intelligence legislation, blindsided Republican senators and is seen as a major political vulnerability for the party ahead of the midterms, as housing affordability is a top voter concern.

President Trump has upended Congress' plans for a major housing bill, refusing to sign legislation that passed with veto-proof majorities as he tries to force action on his voting reform agenda. The tactic is familiar. Earlier this year, the president derailed a bipartisan deal on intelligence and surveillance legislation.

The proposed housing legislation, described as the biggest overhaul of federal housing policy in decades, contains no new spending but aims to boost supply by making construction cheaper and easier. Key provisions include streamlining environmental reviews, removing restrictions on manufactured homes, increasing access to small-dollar mortgages, and barring large institutional investors from owning more than 350 single-family homes. While its impact will take years to materialize, experts believe it could be transformational if implemented effectively at local levels.

The new legislation, the biggest overhaul of federal housing policy in decades, contains no new spending, but it does seek to boost supply by making it cheaper and easier to build across the country. That includes, among other things, new provisions that would streamline environmental reviews, remove restrictions for the construction of manufactured homes, increase access to small-dollar mortgages, and, moving forward, bar large institutional investors like private equity firms from owning more than 350 single-family homes.

Progressive Democrats achieved a resounding show of strength in New York's midterm primary elections, with all three candidates endorsed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani winning their races, two of them ousting sitting congressmen. The victories, particularly Brad Lander's 30-point win over Dan Goldman, heavily focused on differences over Israel policy, signaling a growing pro-Palestinian stance and a broader progressive agenda centered on working-class needs, Medicare for all, and universal childcare.

Progressive Democrats dominated last night's midterm primary elections in New York in a resounding show of strength for the Democratic socialist mayor of New York City. All three candidates endorsed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani won their races, two of them ousting sitting congressmen.

The Trump administration's efforts to reshape election processes, including a federal judge blocking the use of an immigration database for voter rolls and the Postmaster General threatening to withhold mail ballot delivery, are creating tension with election administrators. Experts like Gabe Sterling argue that proposals like the SAVE America Act (requiring proof of citizenship to register and photo ID to vote) would cause 'chaos' and disenfranchise voters, violating the Purcell doctrine against changing rules close to an election and undermining states' constitutional authority over elections.

The Trump administration has taken broad efforts over the last several months to assert control over elections. Today alone, a federal judge blocked the administration from using a revamped immigration database to check voter rolls. And the postmaster general told the Senate the Postal Service won't deliver mail ballots in states that refuse to hand over their voter lists.

The early retirement of General Chris Donahue, a highly respected Army officer, marks the sixth such departure of a three- or four-star officer under Secretary Pete Hegseth in 18 months. This 'distressing pattern' of senior officers being asked to resign or fired without explanation is raising concerns about political motivations influencing military leadership decisions. Critics argue this erodes trust within the officer corps, impacts morale, and undermines the apolitical foundation of civil-military relations, potentially causing the military to lose talent.

Today, the Army said he would be retiring and leaving his current job as the top Army officer in Europe early, the sixth Army three- and four-star officer to announce early retirement just in the last year-and-a-half.

Nine protesters received unusually long federal sentences, ranging from 30 to 100 years, after demonstrating outside a migrant detention facility in Texas. This case is the first to incorporate a presidential declaration labeling Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization, despite Antifa being a decentralized movement with no federal charge for domestic terrorism. Legal experts deem these sentences 'extremely harsh,' far exceeding those for January 6 Capitol rioters, and warn that such prosecutions, based on political views, could 'chill free speech' and the right to assemble.

These nine protesters were arrested after they demonstrated outside a migrant detention facility in Texas last year. During the protest, a police officer was shot in the neck. He survived. Their case is the first to incorporate new guidance from a presidential declaration last year that labels Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization.

Author Walter Isaacson highlights the Declaration of Independence's 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal...' as the 'greatest sentence ever written,' creating a new type of nation based on consent of the governed, individual freedom, and diversity. He emphasizes its deep contradiction, as one-fifth of the population was enslaved at its writing, even by drafters like Jefferson. Isaacson frames the sentence as an aspirational 'forcing mechanism' that later generations (Lincoln, MLK) invoked to push for equality, demonstrating its ongoing role in shaping the American narrative and pursuit of common ground.

For Walter Isaacson, one line stands out. He calls it the greatest sentence ever written, the title of his most recent book. That sentence: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.' There's a deep contradiction in the sentence and a contradiction in the way America was founded, and our narrative is how we resolve that contradiction.