September 23, 2020 - PBS NewsHour full episode

Wednesday marked a somber day at the U.S. Supreme Court, where Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg lay in repose. Her former law clerks lined the building’s steps. Inside, her eight fellow justices gathered with family and friends to honor her contributions to the realm of American law and her personal spirit. Meanwhile, a political battle over her seat flares on Capitol Hill. Yamiche Alcindor reports.

Retired Army General H.R. McMaster was still on active duty when tapped to replace Michael Flynn as President Trump’s national security adviser in early 2017. He resigned the position himself about a year later. Now, McMaster has written a book, “Battlegrounds: The Fight to Defend the Free World,” which offers a strategic analysis of the world in which we live. He joins Judy Woodruff to discuss.

Amid memorials for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the political fight over confirming her replacement is already in full swing. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the Senate's second-highest ranking Democrat, is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He joins Lisa Desjardins to discuss why he thinks Republicans are being inconsistent about filling this Supreme Court vacancy and what happens next.

The fight over nominating a replacement for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is consuming Capitol Hill and upending the election, which is already underway in many states. How are American voters reacting to the court vacancy and other key political issues? John Yang talks to Washington Post columnist Gary Abernathy, who is based in Ohio, and author and journalist Sarah Smarsh, based in Kansas.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg made legal history in academia beginning in her 20s, working her way through the legal ranks to become a Supreme Court justice at age 60. But when she was in her 80s, something surprising happened: she became a pop culture icon. Jeffrey Brown reports as part of our ongoing arts and culture series, Canvas.