September 29, 2020 - PBS NewsHour full episode

President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden will face off Tuesday night, as the first of three presidential debates takes place in Cleveland. Yamiche Alcindor and Lisa Desjardins join Judy Woodruff to provide a preview of the debate, including what to expect from its format and topics, and a sense of how both candidates have been preparing for the event.

In the first presidential debate of the general election, both candidates want to perform well and avoid mistakes. How are they preparing before they take the stage? Republican strategist Brett O’Donnell, who worked with five presidential candidates on debate prep, and Democratic strategist Jennifer Palmieri, Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign communications director, join Judy Woodruff to discuss.

In our news wrap Tuesday, part of Northern California is under a state of emergency after wildfires killed three people and burned nearly 100 buildings. The wind-blown flames spread across Napa, Sonoma and Shasta Counties, prompting evacuation orders for 70,000 residents. Also, the National Hockey League’s Tampa Bay Lightning celebrated their second Stanley Cup win after beating the Dallas Stars.

The past few weeks have represented a back-to-school period like no other in recent memory. How are students, teachers, parents and administrators adapting to an academic year reshaped by the pandemic? We hear directly from some of them, and Daniel Domenech, executive director of the School Superintendents Association, joins Amna Nawaz to discuss the tough questions about reopening.

How the United States deals with China over the next decade will have major consequences for both countries -- and the world. Terry Branstad, the top American diplomat in Beijing, was an early supporter of President Trump and among his first diplomatic choices. Now he’s preparing to leave his post. Branstad joins Nick Schifrin to discuss why he sees the administration’s China policy as a success.

Robert Mueller’s name is at the heart of a major investigation into Russia and President Trump that roiled the first two years of Trump’s presidency. Although he rarely makes public statements, Mueller is now speaking out about a new book by a key member of the special counsel’s team, Andrew Weissmann. Weissmann joins Judy Woodruff to discuss “Where Law Ends: Inside the Mueller Investigation.”

More than 1 million people have died from the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide, with a total of 33 million confirmed cases. How do we make sense of such staggering numbers, and what can we do to change this tragic trajectory? Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove of the World Health Organization joins William Brangham to discuss the magnitude of this global catastrophe -- and how we can minimize more harm.