amna nawaz begins our conventi coverage, starting with a recap of last night. >> nawaz: for the thirdht in a row, republicans, like democrats before them, used their convention stage to argue that theoul of the nation is at stake. >> it's not so much whether merica will be more conservative or more liberal, more republican or more democrat. the choice in this election is whether america remains america. >> nawaz: vice president pence delivered his keynote address before a mostly-unmasked crowd at fort mchenry in baltimore. as the u.s. covid-19 death toll topped 178,000, he hailed the fedel sponse, and presented an optistic view of the ongoing pandemic. >> after all the sacrifice in thisli yea no other, all the hardship, we are finding our way forward again. >> acnawaz: while rl justice protests roiled communities after the police shooting of another black man, jacob blake, pence and the party doubled down on their message of law and rder. >> the hard truth is, you won't be safe in joe biden's america. u tnder presidemp, we will always stand withhose standing on the thin blue line, and

amna nawaz begins our coverage. >> nawaz: before a striking white house scene, president trump defined november'sda election i and dire terms: >> this election will decide whether we save the american dream or whether we allow a socialist agenda to demolish our cherished destiny. he iued dystopian warnings about democratic governance-- >> no one will be safe biden's america. >> nawaz: he argued that his rival, former vibi president jon, would dismantle democracy... >> a trojan horse for socialism. >> naz: ...destroy the economy... >> he is the destroyer of america's jobs. >> nawaz: ...and unleash violence and anarchy in american communities. >> most dangerous aspect of the biden platform is the atta on public safety. >> nawaz: the coronavirus h pandemic-- whi killed more than 180,000 americans-- seemed to be in the rearview mirror. >> the united states has among the lowest fatality rates of any major country anywhere in the world. >> nawaz: president trump misleadingly touted new jobs-- which make up less than half of the 22 million jobs lost since march-- as evidence that the economy

amna nawaz is back with more. >> nawaz: president ump's peated attacks on mail-in voting, along with reports about mailboxes being removed and sorting machines taken out of post offices, have all led to anxiety, fr and confusion. the postmaster general now says he's suspending any more changes until after the election. but many of you are worried about election security, how to vote safely during a pandemic, and how to make sure your vote counts. tojoined by david becker. he's the founder and executive director of e center for election innovation and research. david becker, welcome to the newshour. and thanks for being here. let's get right to these questions. the very first one comes from judy shapiro in new york. and this is her question. "how can i check what voting intions i have other than to the polls?" david, what do you say to judy? >> so, of course, there are a variety of different rules all we're actually not holding one election in november-- we're holding about 10,000 lite elections all over the country. and that can be really challenging. the best place to go is your cou

amna nawaz has our coverage. >> nawaz: for joe biden, these words had been decades in the making. >> it is with great honor and nomination for president of the united states of america. >> nawaz: the 2020 democratic presidential nominee made his appeal to americans in stark terms. >> the current president has cloaked america in darkness for much too long. too much anger. too much division. here and now, i give you my word-- if you entrust me with the presidency, i will draw on est of us, not the worst i will be an ally of the light, lat of the darkness. >> nawaz: bideasted president trump's pandemic response. >> we lead the world in confirmed cases. our economy is in tatters, and after all this time, the president still es not have a plan. >> nawaz: and he c the enowrds, after the 2017 neo-nazi march in charlottesville, virginia, as the moment he knewe had to run. >> remember the violent clash remember what the president said? he said, there we "very fine people on both sides." at the time, i said we were in a battle for the soul of this nation. and we are. >> nawa that sober warning

amna nawaz begins our coverage. >> nawaz: a scaled back convention, with a major 2020 mile marker. >> four more years!th >> nawazrenomination of donald trump and mike pence to serve four more years in the white house. >> joe biden was going to have their convention in milwauk and they didn't go there at all. they didn't do this. >> nawaz: the president appeared in person to address delegates. >> we said let's havbig deal, the roll call, let's have it right here, and let's do it, and i'm going to show up. >> nawaz: this mid-pandemic delegates sociallynced in336 charlotte. >> you're re-hired. >> nawaz: a straightforward roll call, simpler than democrats' virtual tour last week. >> i am a catholic, donald trump >> nawaz: and an invocation that blessed the incumbent, and seemed to swipe at his democratic rival joe biden, who is catholic. >> let us not be deceived by those that were ce close to you, but have turned away inci favor of embng politit l ideology, aiming catholic beliefs and words, while their >> nawaz: this convention gets a bruising few days for president trump. late last wee

for the pbs nehour, i'm amna nawaz. >> woodruff: and now to share her reporting i'm joined by our white house correspondent yamiche alcindor. so, asmiche, hello. e just heard, the first lady did address some of the suffertag that's ng place, great suffering among the american people over this virus, but we don't hear that, we haven't heard that from other spkers at the convention. that more are you learning ab that?>> that's right, the taupef first lady melania trump'sas speechastly different from what we've heard from the r.n.c. over the last weear she d off by expressing sympathy for people who have been infected by oronavirus or who have died. she said she understood some americans felt helpless because to have the virus and said you not alone. that said, other speakers, mainly larry kudlow, talked about th virus as if it was in past tense and this was all inew the rearv mirror. i want to put up for the viewers numbers that show where we are when it comes to the pandemic. united states has decreased in the last month in the united states, but this coury is eseeing 42,000 new cases pe

for the pbs newshour, i'm amna nawaz. >> woodruff: and joining me now: our own lisa desjardins is inilmington, delaware, where joe biden and kamala harris will deliver their convention addresses later this week. and yamiche alcindor is tracking president trump for us, as always, during this critical week. hello to both of you. lisa, to you first, in wilmington, as we just heard, this is the place where joe biden and kamala harris are going to speak, but, otherwise, a pretty quiet place. tell us what is going on there and how does this compare for you to other conventions you've covered. >> judy, there's never been a convention remotely like this, but being here feels so different. the convention that democrats had planned was supposed to be in an auditorium that could seat nearly 20,000 people. instead, judy, joe biden will be accepting his party's nomination in the building behind me in an auditorium for about 200 people, no audience, just a few members of the press. as you can see, it's an empty parking lot here in what would usually be a place teaming with activity. what the democ

amna nawaz begins our coverage. >> nawaztonight, former vice president joe ben will go from presumptiveoffial democratic presidential nominee. but the traditional roll-call vote to nominate him, going state by state to announce delegate counts, will instead be re-imagined for this now all-virtual affair. tonight's convention theme is" leadership matters," and will former secretary of state john kerry, also the party's 2004 nominee; progressive democratic congresswoman alexandria ocasi cortez of new york; former second lady jill biden; and two former presidents: bill clinton, and jimmy carter, who at 95 will at a nominating convention ine eight years. democrats already began making a case for leade thip change whir first-ever virtualic ♪ ♪entiond off yesterday. the opening night was aou jam-packed two of slk, highly-produced segments, with a miof pre-recorded and live remarks emceed by actress eva longor. the first night's theme was "we the people," highlighting the joe biden's coalitvice president that included some life-long republicans making the case against their pay's incumbent, pr

for the pbs newshour, i'm amna nawaz. >> woodruff: and we turn to our sjisa dins who is covering alls from wilmington, delaware. so, lisa, tonight, we are going to hear from kamala harris, but, as we've just heard from amna, the party's also going to looking to make some policy points. tell us a little bit about that. we know they're going to be speaking about women. share more. >> reporter: that's right, judy. tonight the theme is called a more perfect union, but really what democrats are doing is they're talking about sues in which they believe there is a clear and very sharp divide between biden and president trump. some of these issues -- immigration, as amna mentioned,g al safety, gun violence, and one more, climate. those are very big issues. biden has extensive plans on several of the issues including a $2 tllion climate pl. they want to point out the the contrast. we'll hear from speakers about all those issues. it's also a night for women in leadership. hillary clinton will be giving her speech, who lost by narrow margins in 2016 to donald trump, is going to say to voters do

amna? >> nawaz: judy, for the third night in a row, women will once again feature prominently in t slate of speakers. that includes a number of members of the repubcan caucus, including senators marsha blackburn and joni ernst, and congresswoman elise stefanik. it also includes a number of women who work with ent trump in the west wing, like his senior advisor kellyanne conway, who also ran his 2016 campaign, and the current white house press cretary, kayleigh mcenany. later tonight we'll also hear s frond lady karen pence, and tonight's keynote will be from her hband, vice president mike pence, who will officially accept the party's nomination for re-election. others will speak to more core conservative issues over the course of the night-- school choice, religious freedom, law and order-- all under the theme "land of heroes," on is third night of the republican national convention. >> woodruff: and i am joined by newsur white house correspondent yache alcindor from the north lawn of t white house. yamiche, how do thee y see convention is going? >> they feel the convention is going well. t

studio with political analyst amy walter and right around the corner our senior correspondence amna nawaz. both socially distanced. and we have reported and guests across the country. for our part despite the virtual nature of this time and social distancing, we will continue to bring you the same depth of coverage and analysis during this historic election year. so let's turn first to our newshour reporters. amna is here to help give us a sense what to expect tonight and some key moments to look out here. amna. >> hi judy. all the speakers tonight are making remarks under the theme of a more perfect union. there's a lot of anticipation in particular around what senator kamala harris will say tonight. she'll be making history as the first woman of color nominated for vice president by a major political party. among the speakers we're going to be hearing from tonight will be other history making women. who are they? among them nancy pelosi, the first woman to serve as speaker of the u.s. house of representatives. former secretary of state hillary clinton as you mentioned who in 2016 became

but amna nawaz looks at how a conspiracy theory cou make its way to the halls of congress after the election>> america's the greatest country in the world. amna: on tuesday, marjorie taylor greene won the republican runoff in georgia's 14th congressional district. >> i'm a conservative republican. amna: it's an overwhelmingly favored to win in november. >> we have an islamic invasion. amna: after politicoovered green's previous islamophobic, anti-semitic and racist remarks about black people, g.o.p. leaders distance themselves, condemning her words as appalling and bigoted. but republican leaders remain largely silent about green's support fo a far right support for a conspiracyheory known as qanon. >> q is a patriot. he is someone tt is very much loves this country and he's on the same page as us and is very pro trump. amna: qanon first emerged in the months after president trump took office, spreading to social media. adherents allege, among other things the target of so-called deep state actors, high ranking officials plotting against him. the conspiracy took off and the presatent's suppo

let's turn first to ounewshour reporters: amna nawaz is here to help guide us on what to expect -nd key moments to look out for. amna? >> judy, the closing message of the convention will be delivered by another high-powered, jam-packed slate of democratic speakers, all leading up to remarks from the nominee himself, former vice president joe biden. but under the theme of "america's promise," we'll also hear from more of biden's primary rivals. that includes former new york city mayor mike bloomberg, senator cory booker of new jersey, former south bend, indiana mayor pete buttigieg, and entrepreneur andrew yang. also listed among the speakers, two officials reportedly vetted as possible running mates for biden: atlanta mayor keisha lance bottoms and illinois senator tammy duckworth. tonight's keynote, of course, is the 2020 democratic nominee for president joe biden - fulfilling a dream he first had more than 30 years ago. and as they have every night so far, organizers say the voices and stories of everyday americans will be featured throughout. judy, democrats will take their pitch bac

to my colleague amna nawaz. amna.to >> we wan provide a little bit of context why we're hearing from somof these specific speakers tonight. we saw in the last few minutes cisiony graham who comes from evangecal leaders, and abby johnson an abortion rights activist and nicholas sandmann. the issue of abortion has long been one of those social writ mustests fo conseven -- litmus tests for conservative and core group of supports for president trump those are evangelicals. if you look at the numbers we have right here. t you see thapport for president trump actually growing among this core group of his base. 80% of white evangelicals voted forr. trump in 2016. pportis now up to an 82% su among this one group and that is why you're hearing about some of these key issues about abortione which stil much resonates it's interesting to note thatam abortionng conservatives has moved down the list of priorities and when you look at at's considered now a top issue for trump supports los a little different than a few years ag

have an important role to play in helping to lift others up.en he ry spoke with the newshour's amna nawaz about why he encourages anyone to write, make music or create art at this time. all that and more is on our website, www.artscanva and that is the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. have a great weekend. please stay safe. thank you, and good night. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >>hen the world gets complicated, a lot goes through your mind. with fidelity wealth managementi a ted advisor can tailor advice and recommendations to your life. that's fidelity wealth management. >> consumer cellular. >> johnson & johnson. >> financial services firm raymond james. >> the william and flora hewlett foundation. for mo than 50 years, advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world. at www.hewlett.org. >> supporting social entrepreneurs and their solutions to the world's most pressing problems-- skollfoundation.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutionsfr annds of the newshour. >> this program was made >>> night on kqed news

amna nawaz recently spoke to author and princeton professor eddie glaude, jr. about his work.art of our ongoing arts and culture series, canvas. >> grappling with the fact that the country semingly was doubling down on its darkness, on its meugly comms, and trying to figure out how could i muster the energy to push the rock back up the hill. and watching it take root in my own sun. it seemeto me i needed to find a way to get it on the page. i've been reading and i've been reading jimmy baldwin, where i call him jimmy, because he's like a personal friend. after all of these years, i've been rding him for abopl 30 years grg with his ideas. and then finally i turned to him to help me think about this current moment. so this is a book written with him about bob, about darkness of our times. >> nawaz: we should point out this wasn't rc academic ee. it was a physical. and you made a pilgrimage of sorts to different ses that were important through baldwin's life. >> so i took a quick flight to n.e. in order to go visit voldwin's home in st. paul, and, you know, it's being turned into

once again, amna nawaz begins our verage. >> i accept your nomination for vice president. >> nawaz: an historic moment, delivered without applause to mostly empty convention hall, under the pall of a pandemic. california senator kamala harris's formal acceptanced speech cape penultimate night of the convention. the daughter of jamaican and indian ifiigrants is the t woman of color on a major party ticket. tonight, the convention finale, joe biden's moment te claim the pr hasought r more than 30 years. the proceedings will also feature former biden campaign rivals-turned-backers, a reminder of a crowded democratic primary when debate stages were ll and auditoriums packe among them? entrepreneur andrew yang, former sou bend indiana mayor pete buttigieg, former new york city mayor michael bloomberg and new jersey senator cory booker. officials reportedly considered by biden to be his running mate, will also speak on his behalf tonight: atlanta mayor k lance bottoms and illinois senator tammy duckworth. they all follow a night when the party made its policy pitch to anlikely voters on what

for the pbs newshour, i'm amna nawaz. >> woodruff: and now to share their reporting, i joined by our white house correspondent yamiche alcindor and foreign affairs correspondent nick schifrin hello to both ofe,ou. so, yami know you have been talking to the campaign today. how do they feel they werab to get their message across or not last night? >> well, trump campaign officials as well as republican officials tell me they are veryt pleased wie way the rothenberg and gonzaler.new mex. there were a number of claims. the first is from president trump himself, we had the unprecedented first speech at the r.n.c., about an hour. this chins virus go away ande it's happening." this is false. the united states is leang in coronavirus cases, we have about 2 million cases. in the last week we've seen 42,000 cases per week. so the coronavirus is not at aln away. it is sometimes decreasing but not going away. house minority whip steve scalise says, "joe biden has embraced the left's insane mission to defund the police. "this is the second ranking g.o.p. official in the house. that is n lse. joe

but amna nawaz looks at how a conspiracy theory could make its way into the halls ocongress after theelection. >> nawaz: on tuesday, marjorie taylor greene won the republican runoff in georgia's 14th congressional district. it's an overwhelmingly g.o.p. district so shes favored to win in november. >> we have an islamic invasion into our government offices. >> nawaz: but after politico uncovered greene's previous islamophobic, anti-semitic and racist remarks about black people, g.o.p. leaders distanced themselves, condemning her words as "appalling," "disgusting" a"" bigoted." but republican leaders remy ned largelsilent about greene's support for a far-right conspiracy theory known as "q- anon." support she professed in a 2017 video she deleted before her campaign launch. >> q is a patriot. he is someone that very muchtr loves his coand is on the same page as us, and he is very pro-trump. in the mons after presidenterged trump took office, starting on fringe internet message boards before spreading to social media. adherents allege, among other things, that the president is the target

amna? >> nawaz: this is the rakublicans' last chance to their pitch from the convention stage, and tonight, we'll hear from some of the closest advisors first term.ent in his that includes the senior-most members of the republican caus, house minority leader kevin mccarthy and senate jority leader mitch mcconnell. one of the president's fiercest defenders, his personal attorney rudy giuliani, and one of his most influential advisors, daughter ivanka trump. finally tonight, we'll hear from the president himself, in what's expected to be a full-throated defense of his first four years inffice. judy, he'll be speaking ad a global pandemic, growing calls for racial justice, and after a g devastorm in the south. we'll see how he addressesach of those crises in his speech tonight. >> for sure. we'll be coming back to you throughout the night. right now, i'm joined by newshour white house correspondent yamiche alcindor house, where the president will theak tonight. yamiche, i se crowd behind you. looks like quite something the white house has planned. >> this is quite something, judy the white hou

. >> woodruff: and now amna nawaz is back to talk to a local public med why reporter. >> that's right, judy. among the speakers is a small business owner from montana wh o relithe paycheck protection program to keep her business afloat. even in big sky country the pandemic is front and center and the president holdstl significlead over joe bied en. so let's check in with ana rau from montana pbs for more. thanks for being here. we are hearing from a small business owner who is shing a story just in a minute on the republican national convention stage about federal funha, you they kept her business afloat. put that into context for us. when it comes tohe pandemic and the economy in montana, what has been the effect and where go thstand now? >> just as a side to that, we received $1.8 billion in those paycheck protection act funs, so over 22,000 businesses soofed at money in montana, it has been the economy in montana is not too bad. it didn't go quite as rugh as we thought it was going to. i talked with someone with the cbureau of business and eonomic today, he said we expected tourism