PBS NewsHour - Segments

Despite feeling unqualified to provide legal advice, Bryan Stevenson discovered that just “showing up" for others can make a huge difference in their lives.

In our news wrap Monday, Hurricane Michael is heading toward the Florida Panhandle, and is expected to make landfall midweek. Forecasters say it could become a major hurricane with winds topping 110 miles an hour. Also, President Trump predicted the battle over Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh will spur Democrats to vote Republican in the midterm

Unless we immediately reduce the burning of coal and oil and gas that drive up global temperatures, a new UN report warns the world will suffer tremendous consequences as early as 2040. William Brangham talks with Rafe Pomerance of the Woods Hole Research Center and Gavin Schmidt from the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies.

Jamal Khashoggi, a singular voice willing to criticize Saudi leaders, has disappeared in Istanbul at the Saudi consulate. The Washington Post columnist and prominent former editor has previously spoken out about some of crown prince Mohammed bin Salman's actions, including the silencing of dissenters. Nick Schifrin talks with Fred Hiatt of the Washington Post and Robin Wright from the New Yorker.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reported significant progress in his talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on a visit to continue negotiations over nuclear disarmament on the Korean peninsula. The process has been fraught with mistrust, stemming from decades of hostile relations, and the United States trade war with China could put a damper on plans for collaboration. John Yang reports.

Tamara Keith of NPR and Shawna Thomas of VICE News join Judy Woodruff to discuss how Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court could affect voter enthusiasm in the midterm elections, plus the races that are up for grabs in swing districts.

Bestselling author Michael Lewis says the idea that civil servants are “lazy or stupid or dead weight on the society is...the most sinister idea alive in this country right now." In his new book, “The Fifth Risk,” Lewis examines how the Trump administration has been staffing the federal government, and its “ignorance of the mission.” Lewis sits down with William Brangham for a conversation.

Life on Tangier Island has always been defined by water. Now it is menacing its very existence. Battered by Chesapeake Bay's relentless waves, scientists say the land’s shrinking is accelerating, as man-made climate change makes the waves from rising seawater worse. John Yang talks with Earl Swift, author of "Chesapeake Requiem," and examines how life in the singular community is threatened.

This weekend, a major retrospective of filmmaker John Waters' work, titled “Indecent Exposure,” opened in his hometown at the Baltimore Museum of Art. Often satirizing violence, celebrity and sexuality, the cult film director has long pushed limits of cinematic decency with hits like Hairspray and Cry-Baby. NewsHour Weekend's Christopher Booker sat down with Waters to talk about his process.

Two members of Congress are in a close race to fill the seat of Arizona Republican Sen. Jeff Flake, who is retiring after playing a central role in the confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. In the lead up to November’s election, Arizona Public Media Political Reporter Christopher Conover joins Hari Sreenivasan from Tucson to explain some key issues in the race.

Much like President Trump and other populist leaders around the world, a far-right candidate on Sunday was leading Brazil’s presidential election. Jair Bolsonaro, a former fringe candidate, surged ahead in recent polling after he was stabbed nearly to death by an adversary on the trail. For more, The New York Times Brazil bureau chief Ernesto Londoño joins Hari Sreenivasan from Rio de Janeiro.

The Senate’s vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court came after weeks of furious debate over allegations that he committed sexual assault and questions of whether his temperament was fit for the nation’s highest court. Jamie Floyd, a legal analyst for WNYC, and Emily Bazelon, a staff writer for The New York Times Magazine, join Hari Sreenivasan to discuss how the confirmation will affect the country for decades to come.

The U.S. Senate on Saturday voted to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court by a margin of 50-48. The vote, cut mostly along party lines after 30 hours of speeches on the Senate floor, came as protests against his confirmation continued to ripple throughout the country. For more, Niels Lesniewski, a senior writer for Roll Call, joins Hari Sreenivasan from the Capitol.

Less than two years after Libya with American forces regained control of its coast from Islamic State fighters, the most potent affiliate outside of Iraq and Syria, law enforcement and U.S. policymakers worry about a resurgence. For the second of a two-part series on ISIS in Libya, NewsHour Weekend Special Correspondent Christopher Livesay traveled to the port city of Sabratha. This story was made possible with special funding from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., announced that they would vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh Friday, virtually ensuring his confirmation Saturday. This follows weeks of heated hearings along with a reopened FBI investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct. Lisa Desjardins and Yamiche Alcindor talk with Judy Woodruff about the political implications.