PBS News Hour

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.

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.

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.

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.

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."

Demand in the United States for one popular food is driving deforestation in Mexico. Daniel Wilkinson, senior policy adviser at Climate Rights International, joins Stephanie Sy to discuss the environmental and human costs of skyrocketing avocado sales and what can be done to address the issue.

There has been a flood of state laws restricting abortion since the Supreme Court said access to the procedure was no longer a constitutional right. Those laws are affecting how medical residents in obstetrics and gynecology are trained in performing abortions and in counseling patients about their reproductive choices. Ali Rogin speaks with Dr. Sarah Osmundson to learn more.

In the last three elections, voter turnout hit record highs among those born after 1997. This year, both the Harris and Trump campaigns are heavily courting this generation. A new book, “The Politics of Gen Z: How the Youngest Voters Will Shape Our Democracy,” looks at the effect they’re likely to have on American politics for years to come. John Yang speaks with author Melissa Deckman for more.

Many studies have shown that the burden of air pollution in the United States disproportionately falls on racial minorities, especially Black Americans. In August, a federal judge barred the EPA and DOJ from using part of the Civil Rights Act to investigate how Louisiana regulates industrial plants. John Yang speaks with Beverly Wright of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice for more.

The U.S. birth rate hit a record low in 2023, but data suggests that over the past 30 years, the number of adults who want to have children has remained relatively stable. So why aren’t more Americans having children or expanding their families? Ali Rogin explores the complexities of today’s family planning and speaks with family demographer Karen Guzzo to learn more.

Wisconsin is coming back from its worst drought in decades. Along with unusually high temperatures, it’s affected wildlife in and around the state’s rivers. While spring rains ended the drought, recovery in some places has been slow. PBS Wisconsin’s Nathan Denzin reports on one species that’s been hit particularly hard.

The latest jobs report paints a mixed picture of the overall economy. The U.S. added 142,000 new jobs last month and the unemployment rate dipped slightly to 4.2 percent. The report was better than July, but with revisions, it shows a job market that is notably cooler than this past winter. Geoff Bennett discussed more with Austan Goolsbee, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.