PBS NewsHour - Segments

President Trump's trade war with China escalated Thursday as the U.S. imposed a 25-percent tariff on nearly 300 more Chinese goods, including the high-tech products China is seeking to grow as part of its "Made in China 2025" initiative. As special correspondent Katrina Yu reports, critics of the Chinese plan say it harms American companies – and the international market.

This week has marked the longest uninterrupted stock market gains in U.S. history, thanks in part to a steady economic recovery now nine years old. But another driver is the growth of stock buybacks: companies purchasing their own shares. Whether this practice benefits the larger economy is very much in question. Economics correspondent Paul Solman has more in his weekly series, Making Sense.

It's one of the hits of the summer, a romantic comedy set in Singapore--but it's generating special attention for its casting. “Crazy Rich Asians” is the first major studio film with an all-Asian cast since “The Joy Luck Club,” released 25 years ago. Jeffrey Brown speaks with "To All the Boys I've Loved Before" author Jenny Han about how it feels to see greater ethnic representation on screen.

Author Jonny Sun amassed a loyal Twitter following through his honesty, humor and irreverent candor. His latest book, "Everyone’s a Aliebn When U a Alien Too," features the distinctive “intentional clumsiness” for which he is known. We turn to Sun for his Brief but Spectacular take on the upside of online anonymity.

Fallout continued today after a guilty plea and a guilty verdict for two men with close ties to President Trump in federal court on a combined 16 counts, ranging from tax fraud to campaign finance violations. Yamiche Alcindor, Lisa Desjardins and Larry Noble, a campaign finance expert and former general counsel for the Federal Election Commission, join Judy Woodruff to discuss the latest developments.

In our news wrap Wednesday, the Democratic National Committee says it has uncovered a new attempt to hack its voter database ahead of the midterm elections. House Speaker Paul Ryan stripped Republican Congressman Duncan Hunter of his committee posts after Hunter was indicted by a federal grand jury. Also, Hawaii’s Big Island is bracing for a hit from Hurricane Lane over the next several days.

For another perspective on Michael Cohen’s guilty plea, Judy Woodruff is joined by a former attorney general under President George W. Bush, Michael Mukasey. According to Mukasey, the payment in question would have violated campaign finance law only if its sole purpose was to influence the outcome of an election, which Mukasey says was not the case.

Lanny Davis is one of two attorneys representing Michael Cohen, President Trump’s former personal lawyer. Davis joins Judy Woodruff to discuss the legal implications of Cohen’s guilty plea, whether he plans to share information with the Mueller investigation and his desire to go forward with truth in his new life.

This week, a barrage of developments occurred around figures within President Trump’s inner circle. Senator Mark Warner, D-Virginia, joins Judy Woodruff to review the Manafort conviction, the Cohen guilty plea, whether Warner expects Cohen to testify on Capitol Hill and President Trump’s “alternative world.”

In our news wrap Friday, President Trump warned he might continue to revoke security clearances. In his sights is Bruce Ohr, a current official at the U.S. Department of Justice. Ohr had contacts with the former British agent who compiled an infamous "dossier" on the president's Russia ties. Also, President Trump again defended former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, calling him "a good man."

According to the latest numbers filed by the Trump administration, 565 children separated from their parents at the U.S. border remain in government custody. Amna Nawaz speaks with Lee Gelernt of the American Civil Liberties Union about the challenges of finding parents who have left the country and the difficult road that may lie ahead for traumatized children.

A Pennsylvania grand jury report this week revealed disturbing new details about widespread child sex abuse in the Catholic Church. Of the six dioceses under investigation, only Erie's Bishop Lawrence Persico testified in person. He talks to Judy Woodruff about the church’s “failure of leadership,” removing the statute of limitations for victims and whether his faith should reconsider celibacy.

Two years ago, British voters decided in a bitter referendum to quit the European Union. Now the country's imminent departure, possibly without an agreement between the two bodies, could cause chaos. Special correspondent Malcolm Brabant reports on how Brexit has divided Britain and how some are preparing for a potentially difficult economic fallout.

Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks join Judy Woodruff to discuss the week’s news, including how President Trump has "politicized" security clearances, the rules of a reality TV White House and why diversity and loyalty to the administration will be two top issues in November’s elections.

More than 7 million people viewed teacher Flossie Lewis's Brief but Spectacular take on growing old in 2016. When it aired, her former students contacted us by the dozen, many to express appreciation for the profound impact she had on their lives. Flossie, now 94, returns in this special installment for an inspirational class discussion with some of her biggest fans.