This is part of an ongoing series of reports called ‘Chasing the Dream,’ which reports on poverty and opportunity in America. By Megan Thompson and Mori Rothman MEGAN THOMPSON: Nancy Kukay works at a community college in Maryland, coordinating technical education programs. She’s worked in education most of her career and loves her job. But at 65-ye…

JUDY WOODRUFF: Now a look at the winner of this year’s Nobel Prize in economics, announced today. Richard Thaler is a professor at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. The award acknowledged his groundbreaking work in establishing the field of behavioral economics, which blends psychology with economics to better understand human d…

HARI SREENIVASAN, PBS NEWSHOUR WEEKEND ANCHOR: Hurricane Maria destroyed Puerto Rico’s power grid, but it turns out Puerto Rico’s power company was in deep trouble before the storm struck two weeks ago. “Reuters” reporter Jessica Resnick-Ault has reported on that side of the story. She joins me now from Metairie, Louisiana, where she is already dep…

JUDY WOODRUFF: And in a piece of related news, the White House wouldn’t confirm or deny that President Trump will decertify the Iran nuclear deal before the October 15 deadline. It is being widely reported that he will take that step, and leave it to Congress to consider to reimpose sanctions. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders says Mr. Trum…

MICHAEL OATES, Welder: I would wake up in the morning and take four pills and snort two. That’s just to get out of bed. PAUL SOLMAN, Economics Correspondent: Michael Oates, a lifelong welder, is recovering from a 10-year opioid addiction which began when he took Vicodin for pain while working at a steel mill. Did you lose the job? MICHAEL OATES: Ac…

JUDY WOODRUFF: And let’s turn to a different conversation on questions of sexism, in tech, finance and Silicon Valley. Ellen Pao became a kind of cause celebre in 2012 after she filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against her employer, the powerful venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins. Pao had been a junior partner and claimed that her bosses did…

JUDY WOODRUFF: The president launched a major campaign today to pass big tax cuts, and perhaps the most sweeping overhaul of the tax code in more than three decades. Many key details are not yet decided. Whether he can succeed is very much an open question. But the president and congressional leaders said today they have ambitious plans, which incl…

JUDY WOODRUFF: This hurricane season has seen one devastating storm after another. Harvey, Irma and now Maria have left communities in ruin in their wake and put a spotlight on the problems plaguing the U.S.’ National Flood Insurance Program. That’s the subject Paul Solman tackles on our weekly economics series, Making Sense. LENI SHUCHTER, Pequann…

JUDY WOODRUFF: But first: one on one with Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire philanthropist, businessman and former mayor of New York City. As world leaders and other notable dignitaries gather in New York this week for the U.N. General Assembly, Bloomberg hosted a special forum today about economic challenges facing the country and the world. We s…

JUDY WOODRUFF: Recep Tayyip Erdogan has led Turkey since 2003, first as prime minister, and since 2014 as president, an office he has remade into the nation’s preeminent leader. Turkey has been an ally of the U.S. for decades, but that alliance is now tense. A main source of division, U.S. support for Syrian Kurdish militia known as the YPG, and it…

‘What Happened,’ according to Hillary Clinton (full interview) WILLIAM BRANGHAM: On Friday: Judy Woodruff sat down with Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state and Democratic presidential candidate, to discuss her new book titled “What Happened.” We return now to that interview, when Judy asked about Clinton’s campaign against Donald Trump a…

MEGAN THOMPSON: This summer, when President Trump withdrew the U.S. from the 2015 Paris climate accord — a voluntary pact to cut emissions of gases that cause global warming — some opposition came from what is perhaps a surprising place: big business. In response, hundreds of large U.S. companies publicly pledged to reduce their reliance on fossil …

‘What Happened,’ according to Hillary Clinton HARI SREENIVASAN: Hillary Clinton, she is one of the most prominent and polarizing figures in modern American history. This week, she is back in the spotlight promoting a new book. She opens up tonight to Judy Woodruff, revealing where she gives President Trump credit, but also her fears that he is dang…

HARI SREENIVASAN: But first: Tech giants are increasingly under scrutiny from politicians, regulators and experts on the left and the right. Some are concerned about their growing power, even calling them monopolies. And the tension keeps building, whether over privacy, politics or the displacement of workers by automation. Yet their role in contem…

JOHN YANG: Now we return to our Rethinking College series. This week, we take a look at efforts to help unemployed coal miners earn community college degrees and get on-the-job training. Hari Sreenivasan has our report, part of our weekly segment Making the Grade. HARI SREENIVASAN: In the heart of Appalachia, generations of coal miners have lived t…

JUDY WOODRUFF: It was five years ago this fall when Hurricane Sandy slammed into the Northeastern United States, leaving a death toll in the U.S. alone of more than 150 people. By the end, 24 states were affected, damages totaled over $70 billion, and it all happened at the height of the 2012 presidential election. New Jersey was the site of landfa…

JOHN YANG: The days of employees working with one company for their entire career are long gone. In today’s economy, most workers bounce around a lot. That’s true for Carlos Watson, now the CEO of a digital media company. Tonight, he shares his Humble Opinion on the importance of one skill you need wherever you go. CARLOS WATSON, OZY Media: There’s…

RELATED LINKS 55, unemployed and faking normal: One woman’s story of barely scraping by Are you hanging off a financial cliff? Here’s how to cope Column: Broke baby boomers, it’s time to face reality JUDY WOODRUFF: But first: Earlier this year, our economics correspondent, Paul Solman, profiled Elizabeth White. She was once comfortably middle class…

JOHN YANG: On this Labor Day, the national holiday that celebrates the contributions of America’s working men and women, President Trump said tweeted: “We are building our future with American hands, American labor, American iron, aluminum and steel.” Our William Brangham is talk about how President Trump is doing with his pledge to help workers — …

JUDY WOODRUFF: On this day when the White House is unveiling the outline of a tax system overhaul, and negotiating down to the wire over a federal spending plan to fund the government through September, I sat down with Mick Mulvaney, the head of the Office of Management and Budget. I spoke with him at his office this afternoon, before there were re…

JUDY WOODRUFF: For more on these political battles we have been talking about and the challenges facing Democrats, I spoke this afternoon with Senator Bernie Sanders, the ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee. And I started by asking whether he thinks an agreement will be reached to avert a government shutdown. SEN. BERNIE SANDERS, I-Vt.: W…

Editor’s Note: Watch the full, first question asked of Ambassador Rice in this interview here. JUDY WOODRUFF: In this morning’s Washington Post, some tough words for President Trump and his administration led the opinion pages. We spoke earlier this evening with former Obama White House National Security Adviser Susan Rice, the author of that piece…

JUDY WOODRUFF: Now: Has faith in the power of reason fallen victim to modern politics? Ten years after its original publication, former Vice President Al Gore has updated his book “The Assault on Reason.” Its new subtitle is telling: “Our Information Ecosystem: From the Age of Print to the Age of Trump.” I sat down with him this afternoon, and star…

JUDY WOODRUFF: Now to my interview with the speaker of the House of Representatives, Paul Ryan. We sat down at the Capitol. And I began by asking about his relationship with President Trump, after some tension during the campaign. REP. PAUL RYAN, R-Wis., Speaker of the House: We’re doing fine. We’re getting along very well, speak fairly frequently.…

JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, we turn now to my interview at the White House today with Vice President Mike Pence. It’s his first since assuming the office. I began by asking the former Indiana governor how he thinks the first few days have gone, a time some have described as turbulent. VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE: I think we’re off to a great start. The Amer…

JUDY WOODRUFF: Now, for more on the executive order on refugees and visa holders and changes the president to the makeup of the National Security Council, we turn first to former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. She served as the United States’ top diplomat during the Clinton administration. When we spoke a short time ago, I began by asking h…

WATCH MORE: The Obama Years JUDY WOODRUFF: This morning, I sat down with outgoing Secretary of State John Kerry at the U.S. Institute of Peace. He was one of many Obama administration officials participating in an event called Passing the Baton, focused on a smooth transition between administrations. I began by asking him just how smoothly the tran…

WATCH MORE: The Obama Years JUDY WOODRUFF: And now to my interview with Secretary of State John Kerry. I sat down with him earlier today at the State Department, before the public release of that intelligence report on Russia. But I began by asking, now that we have confirmation Russia interfered in the election, does that fundamentally change Wash…

WATCH MORE: The Obama Years JUDY WOODRUFF: Mr. Vice President, thank you for talking with us. VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: I’m delighted to be here with you, Judy. I really am. JUDY WOODRUFF: Let me start with health care, the Affordable Care Act. The Republicans say they plan to repeal it this month and then figuring Democrats are going to help them …

WATCH: Our entire interview with CIA Director John Brennan JUDY WOODRUFF: We return now to my conversation with CIA Director John Brennan. Last night, we focused largely on allegations of Russian hacking of U.S. political operations during the election and the war in Syria. Tonight, we begin with concerns raised by European intelligence officials a…