September 9, 2024 - PBS News Hour full episode

It's the eve of the pivotal presidential debate when Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are set to face off for the first time, and possibly the only time, between now and November. With only eight weeks remaining until Election Day, new polling suggests that the race is as close as ever. Geoff Bennett reports.

In our news wrap Monday, jury selection began in the trial of three former officers charged in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, wildfires in the western U.S. prompted tens of thousands of people to evacuate, the Israeli military ordered a new evacuation for parts of northwestern Gaza, Britain's Princess Kate says she has finished chemotherapy and actor James Earl Jones has died.

New details are emerging in the deadly shooting at a Georgia high school that took the lives of four people and injured nine others. The mother of the 14-year-old suspect reportedly contacted the school 30 minutes before the shooting began to warn of an “emergency” regarding her son and asked a counselor to find him. William Brangham discussed more with Chase McGee of Georgia Public Broadcasting.

House Republicans blamed the Biden administration for the chaotic and deadly U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, accusing the White House of ignoring Afghan, allied and military advice and conducting a subsequent coverup. The White House called the report partisan and dismissed the accusation of a coverup. Nick Schifrin reports.

Tuesday's presidential debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris will take place in the state that could prove to be the deciding factor in the race for the White House. Lisa Desjardins takes us inside one Pennsylvania county with a track record of picking the winner, a place both parties think could signal how the state, and possibly the country, could swing.

At Stanford Social Neuroscience Laboratory, scientists have spent years studying kindness, connection and empathy. But those can all seem in short supply at a time of deep divisions. But the head of that lab offers a data-driven reason to be hopeful about each other and the future. Amna Nawaz spoke with Jamil Zaki about his latest book, "Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness."

NPR’s Tamara Keith and Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter join Geoff Bennett to discuss the latest political news, including a look ahead to Tuesday night's debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, what the candidates hope to accomplish and new polls showing the race is tied.

Springfield, Ohio, is at the center of one of the most fraught issues in this election. GOP vice presidential candidate JD Vance wrote that “Haitian illegal immigrants” are “draining social services and generally causing chaos.” Springfield has seen its population grow by over 20 percent in four years, driven mostly by immigration. William Brangham visited the city to understand how it is coping.