September 19, 2023 - PBS NewsHour full episode

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday addressed the United Nations General Assembly over the Russian invasion of his country and the ongoing war. Nick Schifrin, who is in Ukraine on assignment and has spent much of the last week with Ukrainian forces, joins Amna Nawaz from the city of Dnipro to discuss the speech and what he's learning on the ground.

The United Auto Workers strike is now in its fifth day, with the battle centering on disputes over wages, job protections and benefits. But it also involves the larger shift toward electric vehicles, which auto workers fear will render some jobs obsolete. David Ferris, who covers these issues for POLITICO and E&E News, joins William Brangham to discuss.

Only 11 days remain before the U.S. government shuts down, and proposed budget deals are stuck in partisan gridlock on Capitol Hill, Lisa Desjardins reports. A small group of House Republicans say they will not support the current deal to fund the government. Among that group is South Carolina Rep. Ralph Norman, a member of the House Freedom Caucus. He joins Amna Nawaz to discuss his stance.

Abandoned fishing gear, often called "ghost gear," is breaking down in our oceans and adding to the problems brought by plastics and microplastics. But there was a recent effort to get the United Nations to enforce tougher regulations, and a coalition announced new funding to remove some debris in the Gulf of Maine. Science correspondent Miles O'Brien reports.

Organizers on Tuesday took part in National Voter Registration Day, a civic holiday to encourage and register Americans to participate in elections up and down the ballot. The League of Women Voters is one of the largest on-the-ground organizations signing people up. Their president, Deborah Turner, joins Geoff Bennett to discuss the effort amid the 2024 presidential race ahead of key elections.

Ruth Simmons grew up in a deeply segregated part of Texas to become one of the country’s most distinguished educators, as president of three colleges and the first African American women to head an Ivy League university. But her new memoir takes us to the time before her rise. Jeffrey Brown traveled to Houston to speak with Simmons for our arts and culture series, "CANVAS."