PBS News Hour full episode, August 19, 2026

GEOFF BENNETT: Good evening. I'm Geoff Bennett. AMNA NAWAZ: And I'm Amna Nawaz. On the "NewsHour" tonight: A left-wing Democrat wins a primary upset in Florida, but now faces a tough road ahead in the general election. GEOFF BENNETT: Meta on trial. States accuse the tech giant of deliberately designing addictive features for children and negatively affecting their mental health.

AMNA NAWAZ: And Judy Woodruff joins a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist on a road trip to examine the parallels between the Gilded Age and today. BEVERLY GAGE, Author, "This Land is Your Land": It's often said that we live in a second Gilded Age. We have erased a lot of the 20th century and just gone back to the late 19th.

(BREAK) AMNA NAWAZ: Welcome to the "News Hour." An upset win by a progressive candidate in Florida leads a host of headlines from yesterday's primary elections. GEOFF BENNETT: Florida State Rep. Angie Nixon, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, beat moderate Democrat Alex Vindman, even though he had a major spending advantage. Nixon said the race challenges the way the right has sought to define progressives.

ANGIE NIXON (D), Florida Senatorial Candidate: They look at this movement and they call us extreme. They call us radical. But I think people see through that. I won't let them define me. And I know you will always know where I stand, with you everyday people, everyday hardworking people. (CHEERING) GEOFF BENNETT: In Alaska, another key race, moderate Democrat Mary Peltola,

is the top vote-getter in the nonpartisan U.S. Senate primary. She and incumbent Senator Dan Sullivan, a Republican, move on to the November ballot. Our Lisa Desjardins is here to talk us through what happened yesterday. OK, Lisa, so let's start with the surprise of the night, a big progressive win in Florida. Bring us up to speed.