JUDY WOODRUFF

Political commentator and columnist Mark Shields, who shared his insight into American politics and wit on “PBS NewsHour” for decades, has died.

Mark Shields, the longtime commentator known for his weekly political analysis and sense of humor, has died at the age of 85, PBS NewsHour confirmed.

Judy Woodruff says she plans to step down at anchor of PBS' daily ‘NewsHour’ program at the end of the year.

Republican gubernatorial nominee Glenn Youngkin's campaign announced Monday that the political newcomer would not debate Democratic nominee Terry McAuliffe at a perennial event hosted by the Virginia Bar Association, in part because of the journalist moderator. Jeff Roe, a strategist for Youngkin, told The Associated Press the campaign felt veteran journalist Judy Woodruff would not be an impartial moderator of the Virginia Bar Association debate that had been scheduled for later this month.

A Virginia tradition dating back more than 35 years will not be happening this election season.

A Virginia tradition dating back more than 35 years will not be happening this election season.

NEW YORK Weeks before political conventions, television networks would typically be confirming hotel reservations, booking experts and pounding the last nails in temporary studios for their top anchors. Networks expect Democrats to host a mega video wall event, with feeds of speakers from across the country. Fox News' Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, who are booked for the Democrats' convention site in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, are currently the only network anchors expected to travel. Despite the mystery of what the conventions are going to be, news executives anticipate a high level of interest among viewers. Either way, that challenge puts an enormous amount of pressure on Ricky Kirshner, who's producing the convention for Democrats, and the Trump campaign.

It might not be until fall 2021 that Americans "can be completely safe" from COVID-19, Bill Gates said in a Tuesday interview with Judy Woodruff on PBS Newshour. "The vaccine is critical, because, until you have that, things aren't really going to be normal," the billionaire philanthropist told Woodruff. And so they have been able to avoid a large rebound," he said. Beyond that, "returning to some semblance of normal," as Woodruff put it, can be predicted by watching the behaviors of other countries. Sweden, for example, isn't "locking down quite as much," so their experience will be informative, Gates explained.

Former PBS NewsHour anchor Jim Lehrer, who co-founded the groundbreaking news show the "MacNeil/Lehrer Report" in 1975 and went on to moderate more presidential debates than anyone in history, has died, Judy Woodruff, the anchor and managing editor of the PBS NewsHour, said. Over a career that spanned 50 years, Lehrer moderated a total of 12 presidential debates, more than anyone in history, including all the ones held in 1996 and 2000. Mr. Clinton honored Lehrer in a tweet on Thursday, writing "liked and admired Jim Lehrer. In 1988, Lehrer moderated his first debate with one of the two face-to-face matchups between former Vice President George H.W. MacNeil retired in 1995, leaving Lehrer to launch the solo "NewsHour with Jim Lehrer."