September 21, 2020 - PBS NewsHour full episode

The United States is approaching another tragic marker of the coronavirus pandemic, with nearly 200,000 Americans dead from COVID-19 and related complications. The magnitude of the loss is difficult to comprehend. We examine how the virus has spread across the country, deeply affecting communities of all kinds, and evaluate this somber occasion in historical context. William Brangham reports.

Over the past six months, we have tried to capture and convey the heartbreaking loss of American life due to the coronavirus pandemic. As the country passes a somber threshold, with 200,000 people killed by COVID-19, Amna Nawaz talks to Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, and Dr. Megan Ranney, an emergency physician at Brown University.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death has created an opening on the U.S. Supreme Court -- mere weeks before a presidential election. Now a major political battle is brewing over whether that spot should be filled by President Trump now or by the candidate who is elected in November and inaugurated in January. The result could determine the Court’s trajectory for decades to come. John Yang reports.

The death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has already launched a high-stakes political battle over whether President Trump and Senate Republicans can push through a nomination and fill her seat before the November election. Yamiche Alcindor and Lisa Desjardins join Judy Woodruff to discuss names being considered to replace Ginsburg and the logistics involved in nominating and confirming a justice.

With Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death leaving an opening on the U.S. Supreme Court mere weeks from the presidential election, a political battle is escalating over whether President Trump and Senate Republicans should push through a nominee before the country votes. Can Democrats stop them? New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan joins Judy Woodruff to discuss Ginsburg's legacy and what comes next.

The Trump administration announced additional sanctions on Iran Monday, after declaring over the weekend that all United Nation sanctions initially lifted by the Iran nuclear deal had been reimposed. But that “snapback” of UN sanctions was rejected by much of the international community. Nick Schifrin reports and talks to Elliott Abrams, the State Department’s special representative for Iran.

NPR’s Tamara Keith and Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report join Judy Woodruff to discuss the latest political news, including the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, how it affects the presidential race and the power dynamics at play in the Senate around the battle for her replacement.