PBS News Hour

In the last three elections, voter turnout hit record highs among those born after 1997. This year, both the Harris and Trump campaigns are heavily courting this generation. A new book, “The Politics of Gen Z: How the Youngest Voters Will Shape Our Democracy,” looks at the effect they’re likely to have on American politics for years to come. John Yang speaks with author Melissa Deckman for more.

Demand in the United States for one popular food is driving deforestation in Mexico. Daniel Wilkinson, senior policy adviser at Climate Rights International, joins Stephanie Sy to discuss the environmental and human costs of skyrocketing avocado sales and what can be done to address the issue.

The U.S. birth rate hit a record low in 2023, but data suggests that over the past 30 years, the number of adults who want to have children has remained relatively stable. So why aren’t more Americans having children or expanding their families? Ali Rogin explores the complexities of today’s family planning and speaks with family demographer Karen Guzzo to learn more.

Wisconsin is coming back from its worst drought in decades. Along with unusually high temperatures, it’s affected wildlife in and around the state’s rivers. While spring rains ended the drought, recovery in some places has been slow. PBS Wisconsin’s Nathan Denzin reports on one species that’s been hit particularly hard.

Many studies have shown that the burden of air pollution in the United States disproportionately falls on racial minorities, especially Black Americans. In August, a federal judge barred the EPA and DOJ from using part of the Civil Rights Act to investigate how Louisiana regulates industrial plants. John Yang speaks with Beverly Wright of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice for more.

New York Times columnist David Brooks and Boston Globe columnist Kimberly Atkins Stohr join Geoff Bennett to discuss the week in politics, including Donald Trump getting a political reprieve after the judge overseeing his New York criminal case delays his sentencing, if there's a double standard for what Trump and Harris say and former Vice President Dick Cheney announces he's voting for Harris.

It’s back-to-school season, but in Gaza, 625,000 students have no building to return to. Most of Gaza’s 560 schools have been either damaged or destroyed. More than half of the schools have been directly hit by Israel and the few remaining are now shelters for the displaced. Nick Schifrin reports with producer Shams Odeh.

Fans and families will pack the bleachers in high school stadiums across the country as football season ramps up. But after at least seven deaths tied to the sport in August, including two teenagers who sustained brain injuries on the same day, questions are again being raised about the safety of the game. William Brangham discussed more with Chris Nowinski.

The 2024 presidential campaign is entering the final weekend before the critical first debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. While the vice president huddles with her team for debate prep, the Republican nominee was in federal court fighting to overturn a guilty verdict while another case saw a big delay. John Yang reports.

U.N.-backed human rights investigators accused both sides in the Sudanese civil war of war crimes and advocated for an “independent and impartial force” to protect civilians. More than 10 million are displaced, millions are hungry and tens of thousands have been killed. Nick Schifrin discussed the world’s largest humanitarian crisis with Tom Perriello, the U.S. special envoy for Sudan.

In our news wrap Friday, the teenager charged with killing four in a Georgia school shooting made his first court appearance, Southern California is sweltering in the peak of a late-summer heat wave, the White House called on Israel to investigate the death of an American in the occupied West Bank and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says the U.S. will provide additional weapons to Ukraine.

The latest jobs report paints a mixed picture of the overall economy. The U.S. added 142,000 new jobs last month and the unemployment rate dipped slightly to 4.2 percent. The report was better than July, but with revisions, it shows a job market that is notably cooler than this past winter. Geoff Bennett discussed more with Austan Goolsbee, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.