October 14, 2020 - PBS NewsHour full episode

Amy Coney Barrett faced another day of questioning from members of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. Lawmakers again brought up highly charged political issues such as abortion and the Affordable Care Act, but overall the hearing's tone was more civil than for previous Supreme Court nominees. The National Law Journal’s Marcia Coyle and Lisa Desjardins join Judy Woodruff to discuss.

Questions of judicial philosophy and Supreme Court precedent arose again on Day 3 of Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Judy Woodruff talks to Georgetown University’s Victoria Nourse, who was chief counsel to Vice President Joe Biden in 2015 and 2016, and the University of Virginia's Saikrishna Prakash, a former law clerk for Justice Clarence Thomas.

In our news wrap Wednesday, Russia reiterated appeals to Armenia and Azerbaijan to stop fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh. Instead, fighting escalated in the disputed territory, with each side accusing the other of breaking a ceasefire. Moscow is attempting to broker an end to the violence that erupted three weeks ago. Also, France has declared a new health emergency amid a surge of COVID-19 cases.

Discussions about how to vote safely in a pandemic have been occurring across the country for months. Will Americans be willing to wait in line at the polls to cast their ballots? In Georgia, early in-person voting began this week. Daniel Bush has been reporting in the state, and he joins Judy Woodruff to discuss what he’s seeing at polling places -- and hearing from concerned voters.

During this election, early and absentee voting are expected to reach record levels, with mail-in ballots drawing significant attention as a result. President Trump has repeatedly claimed, without evidence, that voting by mail is not safe or reliable -- but what do election experts say is the best method? Miles O’Brien reports on the security of paper ballots compared to older voting machines.

New York is one of 37 states seeing a rise in coronavirus cases over the past week, with officials there trying to target "microclusters" of disease. The state’s governor, Andrew Cuomo, writes about New York’s COVID-19 battle in his new book, “American Crisis.” He joins Judy Woodruff to discuss President Trump’s pandemic response and what Cuomo thinks about Joe Biden's electoral position.

Across the globe, governments and health officials are grappling with how to contain COVID-19 while keeping society open. One idea that has been raised is seeking widespread immunity by allowing a larger and healthier segment of the population to become infected with the virus. But many experts say that’s a dangerous path. Amna Nawaz talks to virologist Angela Rasmussen of Columbia Public Health.