PBS NewsHour - Segments

After having a confidential letter revealed in the press, Christine Blasey Ford came forward this weekend as the woman accusing Judge Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault more than 30 years ago. Kavanaugh has issued a strong denial. Lisa Desjardins reports, then Judy Woodruff talks with Emma Brown from the Washington Post, who was in touch with Ford for months before publishing her account.

President Trump defended nominee Brett Kavanaugh on Monday from allegations by Christine Blasey Ford that he sexually assaulted her decades ago, but also said Ford should be heard out. Democrats have been quick to call for a delay, and a handful of Republicans have also voiced concern. Lisa Desjardins and Yamiche Alcindor share developments with Judy Woodruff.

Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, one of the 10 Democrats on the Judiciary Committee calling for chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley to postpone this week's committee vote on Brett Kavanaugh's nomination, joins Judy Woodruff to discuss the sexual assault allegations, and why he believes it’s important to hear the facts and not rush the process.

Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway says Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation to the Supreme Court has not been thrown off track by decades-old allegations of sexual assault that emerged over the last week. Conway joins Judy Woodruff to share her reaction to the release of the allegations and why she thinks it’s good for both parties to tell their sides of the story.

The mayor of Wilmington, North Carolina, said Monday that roads coming into the city are still impassable from flooding caused by Florence, and that they expect the river to crest midday on Tuesday. Mayor Bill Saffo talks with William Brangham about efforts to restore power amid record flooding.

Florence's powerful winds and storm surge have devastated the small city of New Bern, North Carolina, were residents of a public housing development were already frustrated by the terrible living conditions. The NewsHour’s P.J Tobia reports.

In our news wrap Monday, a powerful typhoon that left dozens in the Philippines dead has now weakened to a tropical storm over southern China. Also, multiple Taliban attacks in Afghanistan overnight killed at least 27 members of the security forces.

Russia and Turkey agreed Monday to create a demilitarized zone in Idlib province between the Syrian opposition and areas under the Assad's regime control. The agreement seems to save the region from a military assault and averts what was expected to be a humanitarian disaster. Nick Schifrin reports.

NPR’s Tamara Keith and Amy Walter from The Cook Political Report join Amna Nawaz to discuss the political significance of a Senate hearing to air sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, plus a new poll showing whether voters think elections are fair and the midterm lookout for Democrats picking up the Senate.

Organized crime and government corruption have made Mexico one of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists, especially those reporting on those issues. Emmanuel Guillén Lozano, a photographer who fled Mexico last year after receiving death threats, highlights those risks in his series “Blackness,” on display this week at the Photoville festival in New York City. He joins Ivette Feliciano for more.

In October 2017, Iraqi forces captured the town of Hawija from the Islamic State, taking back one of the militant group’s last remaining strongholds. But now, ISIS has regrouped in the area and continues to terrorize residents. NewsHour Weekend Special Correspondent Simona Foltyn recently traveled near Hawija to find out how much control the militants continue to assert over the civilian population for this report in cooperation with the Investigative Fund at the Nation Institute.

Christine Blasey Ford, a professor at Palo Alto University in California, told The Washington Post in a report published online Sunday that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in the early 1980s. Ford said that at a gathering of high school students, Kavanaugh and another friend corralled her to a bedroom where Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed and groped her, adding that she feared he might kill her. Kavanaugh has denied the allegations. NewsHour’s Lisa Desjardins joins Hari Sreenivasan for more.

A slew of top-ranking Trump administration officials say they did not write the explosive, anonymous essay in The New York Times that suggested appointees have vowed to thwart President Trump's "more misguided impulses.” The president on Thursday refused to comment about the firestorm, but on Twitter, he didn't hold back. Yamiche Alcindor reports.

In the past few days, a new book suggested that top advisers were taking documents off President Trump's desk, and an incendiary essay in the New York Times claims that senior officials are thwarting the commander in chief. White House Director of Strategic Communications Mercedes Schlapp tells John Yang that it’s because of the president’s leadership that the country is more prosperous.

Former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, who also served as White House chief of staff, says that it’s not tenable for the United States as a country if the president’s staff is working around him and trying to thwart parts of his agenda. Panetta joins John Yang to offer his reaction to an anonymous letter published in The New York Times and suggests that Congress should take action.