October 7, 2020 - PBS NewsHour full episode

Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Kamala Harris are preparing for the campaign’s only vice presidential debate Wednesday. The face-off comes as the Trump White House has evolved into a COVID-19 hot spot -- and as the president has reversed course on negotiations over additional pandemic aid legislation. Yamiche Alcindor reports and joins Lisa Desjardins and Judy Woodruff to discuss.

While parts of the U.S. economy have recovered from the pandemic better and more quickly than expected, there are signs that millions of Americans could be without a job for six months or longer. That prospect -- along with the expiration of certain federal benefits -- has some economists worried. Neel Kashkari, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, joins Judy Woodruff to discuss.

In our news wrap Wednesday, Hurricane Delta is back over the Gulf of Mexico after crossing the Yucatan Peninsula. The storm weakened before making landfall near Cancun, but debris littered the shoreline, boats were capsized and trees toppled. Also, Derek Chauvin, the fired Minneapolis police officer charged with murdering George Floyd, has been released from jail after posting a $1 million bond.

Election Day is less than four weeks away, and millions of Americans have already cast ballots. But rules in many states are still undecided due to pending court cases -- mostly over the distribution, verification and return of mail-in ballots. John Yang talks to Tammy Patrick of Democracy Fund, a nonpartisan foundation aiming to improve the democratic process, about what voters should know.

Two of the most notorious Islamic State militants were charged in a Virginia federal courtroom Wednesday with crimes stemming from the kidnapping and killing of four Americans in Syria. It’s the next step in the pursuit of justice for a case that began with unspeakable horrors. Nick Schifrin reports and talks to John Demers, assistant attorney general for national security, about its significance.

Totaling some 6.8 million people, American Indians and Native Alaskans could play a key role in the upcoming election, especially in Western swing states like Arizona and Nevada. But there are some obstacles in Native communities that make their residents less likely to vote. Stephanie Sy talks to attorney Jacqueline De Leon of the Native American Rights Fund about efforts to change that.