PBS News Hour

Split-ticket voters, those who vote for candidates from different parties, are increasingly rare in modern American politics. But those who cross the aisle on their ballots this November may decide which party controls the Senate next year. Lisa Desjardins reports.

The 2024 voting season is officially underway as polling stations opened Friday for early in-person voting in Minnesota, South Dakota and Virginia. Meantime, the state election board in Georgia passed a new vote-counting rule that has sparked heated debate. Stephanie Sy reports.

New York Times columnist David Brooks and Washington Post associate editor Jonathan Capehart join Geoff Bennett to discuss the week in politics, including the GOP facing a major scandal involving Mark Robinson, the Republican nominee for governor in North Carolina, Donald Trump's latest comments about Jewish voters and Israel and if an electoral culture shift will benefit Kamala Harris.

Over her decades-long career, Connie Chung covered everything from the Watergate scandal to conflict overseas, landing sought-after exclusive interviews along the way. Her new memoir, “Connie,” paints a fuller picture of what actually unfolded behind the scenes. Amna Nawaz sat down with the iconic journalist for our arts and culture series, CANVAS.

A group of U.S. lawmakers came together in a show of bipartisan support to call for the release of Hong Kong businessman Jimmy Lai. Lai, who owned the newspaper Apple Daily, is one of the hundreds of democracy activists, journalists and political leaders imprisoned as part of mainland China's ongoing crackdown on dissent in Hong Kong. Nick Schifrin discussed more with Lai's son and his lawyer.

Israel says it killed a top Hezbollah commander and other senior figures in the militant group. Lebanon's health ministry said at least 14 people died and dozens more were wounded in the Israeli airstrike. The attack comes days after beepers and walkie-talkies laced with explosives by Israel were detonated, killing 37 people and injuring thousands more across Lebanon. Nick Schifrin reports.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he's drawing up a "comprehensive plan" for how Kyiv believes the war with Russia should end. Poland has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine in its war with Russia and has taken in hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees. Geoff Bennett discussed more with Radosław Sikorski, Poland’s foreign minister.

With the race for the White House as close as ever, the election could come down to a small number of undecided voters. But in a hyper partisan political climate, who are those people that are still unsure? NPR's Domenico Montanaro spoke to a handful of undecided voters who have responded to our regular PBS News/NPR/Marist poll and joined Amna Nawaz to discuss what they’re thinking.

One of the nation’s largest unions, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, says it won't make an endorsement in the 2024 presidential election. It’s the first time the union has skipped an endorsement in a presidential race since 1996, having supported the Democratic nominee in each election since. Geoff Bennett discussed the decision with Teamsters General President Sean O'Brien.

The leader of Hezbollah says they will exact revenge on Israel for two days of attacks that killed dozens and wounded thousands. The News Hour is told that Israeli officials notified their U.S. counterparts they planted explosives in the pagers and walkie-talkies that exploded this week. Now, Israel is bracing for retaliation. Nick Schifrin reports. A warning, images in this story are disturbing.

Tax cuts and credits have been a popular theme during this campaign. Both candidates have also proposed several tax breaks and have not always explained how to pay for them. That's true of one idea former President Trump and Vice President Harris support: no taxes on tips. Economics correspondent Paul Solman looks at what's behind the proposal and some concerns around it.

Both presidential candidates are on the trail firing up their supporters with Vice President Harris in Michigan and former President Trump in Washington. While touting his economic record Thursday, President Biden also gave a brief but clear statement of support for Harris and warned of the economic ramifications of a second Trump presidency. Amna Nawaz reports.