September 20, 2024 - PBS News Hour full episode

Split-ticket voters, those who vote for candidates from different parties, are increasingly rare in modern American politics. But those who cross the aisle on their ballots this November may decide which party controls the Senate next year. Lisa Desjardins reports.

Over her decades-long career, Connie Chung covered everything from the Watergate scandal to conflict overseas, landing sought-after exclusive interviews along the way. Her new memoir, “Connie,” paints a fuller picture of what actually unfolded behind the scenes. Amna Nawaz sat down with the iconic journalist for our arts and culture series, CANVAS.

Israel says it killed a top Hezbollah commander and other senior figures in the militant group. Lebanon's health ministry said at least 14 people died and dozens more were wounded in the Israeli airstrike. The attack comes days after beepers and walkie-talkies laced with explosives by Israel were detonated, killing 37 people and injuring thousands more across Lebanon. Nick Schifrin reports.

The 2024 voting season is officially underway as polling stations opened Friday for early in-person voting in Minnesota, South Dakota and Virginia. Meantime, the state election board in Georgia passed a new vote-counting rule that has sparked heated debate. Stephanie Sy reports.

In our news wrap Friday, the Secret Service acknowledged communication lapses and complacency in the days leading up to the Trump assassination attempt in July, torrential rains across Western and Central Africa triggered the worst floods the region has seen in decades and the Federal Trade Commission is suing the nation's three largest pharmacy benefit managers for inflating the price of insulin.

A group of U.S. lawmakers came together in a show of bipartisan support to call for the release of Hong Kong businessman Jimmy Lai. Lai, who owned the newspaper Apple Daily, is one of the hundreds of democracy activists, journalists and political leaders imprisoned as part of mainland China's ongoing crackdown on dissent in Hong Kong. Nick Schifrin discussed more with Lai's son and his lawyer.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he's drawing up a "comprehensive plan" for how Kyiv believes the war with Russia should end. Poland has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine in its war with Russia and has taken in hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees. Geoff Bennett discussed more with Radosław Sikorski, Poland’s foreign minister.

New York Times columnist David Brooks and Washington Post associate editor Jonathan Capehart join Geoff Bennett to discuss the week in politics, including the GOP facing a major scandal involving Mark Robinson, the Republican nominee for governor in North Carolina, Donald Trump's latest comments about Jewish voters and Israel and if an electoral culture shift will benefit Kamala Harris.