October 16, 2020 - PBS NewsHour full episode

This week, President Trump highlighted a controversial New York Post report about Hunter Biden's business dealings. There are major questions about the story’s accuracy and origins. Meanwhile, we learned that senior presidential advisers expressed concerns in the past that Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, was peddling Russian disinformation. Nick Schifrin joins Judy Woodruff to discuss.

In our news wrap Friday, the prime minister of Thailand refused to resign despite a second day of demonstrations in Bangkok. Waves of protesters, mostly young, are demanding democratic reforms of the country’s monarchy. Also, firefighters in Colorado are battling the largest fire in the state’s history. The Cameron Peak Fire has already scorched some 167,000 acres over the past two months.

President Trump and Democratic rival Joe Biden campaigned in battleground states Friday, with Biden traveling to Michigan and Trump to Florida. The appearances come after the two participated in televised town hall events Thursday night. On different broadcast networks, they took questions from voters on issues including the pandemic, racism and the Supreme Court. Lisa Desjardins reports.

Across the globe, new cases of the coronavirus have climbed to an all-time high of more than 330,000 per day. Continental Europe is facing unprecedented spread, but conditions are worsening in the United Kingdom and in parts of Latin America, as well. Nick Schifrin and special correspondents Lucy Hough, Malcolm Brabant and Mary Triny Mena have a worldwide look at the worsening pandemic.

North of the Arctic Circle, in the tiny Alaskan village of Anaktuvuk, one woman is trying to expand agriculture in a climate largely hostile to it. Nasaġraq Rainey Hopson has successfully grown fresh produce for her community for several years, using special structures that protect plants. But now, the pandemic has brought her efforts to a halt. Alaska Public Media’s Erin McKinstry reports.

The Chicks, formerly known as the Dixie Chicks, are the best-selling female band of all time in the U.S. But they may be known just as much for a comment lead singer Natalie Maines made during the lead-up to the Iraq War -- and the outcry that followed, in which the group was virtually banned from country radio. Fourteen years after their last album, the Chicks are back. Jeffrey Brown reports.

As another week concludes, we again take a moment to remember a few of the individuals who have lost their lives to the coronavirus pandemic.

Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks join Judy Woodruff to discuss the week in politics, including what stood out from President Trump’s and Joe Biden’s TV town halls, how the two candidates are polling and whether the Senate confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett will affect the election.