September 19, 2024 - PBS News Hour full episode

Both presidential candidates are on the trail firing up their supporters with Vice President Harris in Michigan and former President Trump in Washington. While touting his economic record Thursday, President Biden also gave a brief but clear statement of support for Harris and warned of the economic ramifications of a second Trump presidency. Amna Nawaz reports.

With the race for the White House as close as ever, the election could come down to a small number of undecided voters. But in a hyper partisan political climate, who are those people that are still unsure? NPR's Domenico Montanaro spoke to a handful of undecided voters who have responded to our regular PBS News/NPR/Marist poll and joined Amna Nawaz to discuss what they’re thinking.

The leader of Hezbollah says they will exact revenge on Israel for two days of attacks that killed dozens and wounded thousands. The News Hour is told that Israeli officials notified their U.S. counterparts they planted explosives in the pagers and walkie-talkies that exploded this week. Now, Israel is bracing for retaliation. Nick Schifrin reports. A warning, images in this story are disturbing.

Civil rights attorney Maya Wiley grew up in a household that prioritized activism. Her parents' influence set her on a path to a lifetime of advocacy work, but sometimes left her wondering how best to fulfill the family legacy on her own terms. Wiley sat down with Geoff Bennett to discuss her new memoir, “Remember, You Are a Wiley.”

One of the nation’s largest unions, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, says it won't make an endorsement in the 2024 presidential election. It’s the first time the union has skipped an endorsement in a presidential race since 1996, having supported the Democratic nominee in each election since. Geoff Bennett discussed the decision with Teamsters General President Sean O'Brien.

Tax cuts and credits have been a popular theme during this campaign. Both candidates have also proposed several tax breaks and have not always explained how to pay for them. That's true of one idea former President Trump and Vice President Harris support: no taxes on tips. Economics correspondent Paul Solman looks at what's behind the proposal and some concerns around it.

In our news wrap Thursday, President Biden said the Fed's interest rate cut is a vindication of his economic policies, Wall Street celebrated the cut with stocks surging to new highs and Republican nominee for Governor of North Carolina Mark Robinson says he won't quit the race despite a report about comments he allegedly made on a pornographic website more than a decade ago.

The kind of deep-sea mining that we've examined this week is only legally permitted inside a country's territorial waters. The only country on earth to allow it so far is Papua New Guinea. Videographer Edward Kiernan and special correspondent Willem Marx report on how difficult it is for the impoverished Pacific nation to monitor deep-sea mining activities.