December 3, 2020 - PBS NewsHour full episode

More than 1 million Uighurs, an ethnic-Muslim minority in China, are being detained in hundreds of Chinese detention facilities and camps, where there are reports of widespread torture and detentions that have evolved into forced labor. The Department of Homeland Security is now banning products thought to be made in China by forced Uighur labor. Nick Schifrin reports.

In our news wrap Thursday, another 712,00 people filed for jobless benefits last week, tripling the average total from before the pandemic. And momentum is building for a new economic relief measure in Washington as COVID-19 numbers continue to surge in the United States.

It was exactly one year ago Thursday that California Sen. Kamala Harris dropped out of the presidential race, citing a lack of funds. Now she is poised to break barriers as the first woman, first Black American and first South-Asian American vice president-elect. Yamiche Alcindor reports.

With just weeks left in the year, bipartisan support is growing in Congress for a more than $900 billion COVID-19 relief bill. If passed, it would extend aid for small businesses, unemployment benefits and provide extra funding for state and local governments. Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney is among those backing the bipartisan negotiations. He joins Judy Woodruff to discuss.

As President-elect Joe Biden continues to unroll selections for his Cabinet, some have questioned how diverse his choices have been thus far. Yamiche Alcindor spoke with California Rep. Karen Bass, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, to learn more.

The U.S. hit new milestones with the coronavirus Wednesday with record numbers of hospitalization, deaths and a medical staffing system that's burning out. Dr. Amy Compton-Phillips, chief clinical officer for the Providence Health System, which runs hospitals across the country, joins Judy Woodruff to discuss.