PBS News Hour

News and Public Affairs Series / 8 Seasons

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Watch Latest: S2024 E323

26m 45s

VA secretary on help for veterans affected by burn pits

9m 21s

Last year, President Biden signed the PACT Act which fundamentally changed the way veterans could get disability compensation for their war-related illnesses. More than 801,000 veterans and their survivors have filed claims since the act was signed. Amna Nawaz spoke with Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough about how the department is carrying out the claims.

A Brief But Spectacular take on forgiveness

2m 57s

Ramya Ramana is an award-winning author, poet and lyricist. She was a winner of the Youth Poet Laureate of New York City award. In addition to performing and writing, she has also worked as an educator and mentor for young women and poets. Ramana shares her Brief But Spectacular take on forgiveness.

Why NYC’s migrant crisis is reaching a breaking point

6m 6s

New York City has long been a city of immigrants, living up to the words on the Statue of Liberty in the city's harbor. Alone among major U.S. cities, New York has a legal obligation to offer shelter to everyone who wants it — but the current influx of migrants and asylum-seekers is putting that to the test. NPR correspondent Jasmine Garsd joins John Yang to discuss what’s happening.

What to know about USWNT’s heartbreaking World Cup loss

5m 54s

Going into the 2023 World Cup, few would have predicted what happened to the U.S. women’s national soccer team. They made their earliest departure ever from the tournament after Sunday’s loss to Sweden on penalty kicks in the round of 16. USA Today sports columnist Christine Brennan joins John Yang to discuss the biggest takeaways from the game.

Hmong chef brings a taste of home to Minnesota’s Twin Cities

8m 17s

St. Paul, Minnesota, is home to the nation’s largest population of Hmong, an Indigenous people from Southeast Asia. After the Vietnam War, thousands of Hmong refugees ended up in the Upper Midwest and have called the area home for nearly 50 years, but their cooking hadn’t quite found a foothold in the local dining scene. As special correspondent Megan Thompson reports, one chef is changing that.

FDA approves first pill to treat postpartum depression

6m 31s

Postpartum depression is one of the most common complications of childbirth, affecting about a half million Americans each year. It’s among the leading causes of pregnancy-related death. Now, the FDA has approved the first pill for treating postpartum depression. Patricia Kinser, co-chair of perinatal mental health research at VCU’s Institute for Women’s Health, joins John Yang to discuss.

Court cases targeting abortion raise data privacy concerns

6m 37s

In July, a Nebraska teenager and her mother were convicted after the teen terminated her pregnancy using abortion pills. Among the prosecution's key evidence was exchanges between the two on Facebook Messenger. Caitlin Seeley George with the nonprofit digital rights advocacy group Fight for the Future joins John Yang to discuss data privacy issues in a post-Roe America.

Fears rise over Japan’s plan to release Fukushima wastewater

6m 59s

Japan could soon start releasing treated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean. They’re running out of space to store the radiation-tainted water at the plant, which was damaged by the devastating 2011 earthquake and tsunami, but both locals and neighboring countries worry about the effect on their health and livelihoods. Special correspondent Rebecca Bundhun reports.

News Wrap: Texas abortion ban ruled unconstitutional

2m 50s

In our news wrap Saturday, a Texas judge has ruled that the state’s abortion ban is too restrictive, the Justice Department asked a federal judge to bar Trump from publicly discussing evidence or witnesses in the 2020 election case, Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan was arrested after a court sentenced him to jail, and five more schools are leaving the Pac-12 college football conference.

GOP candidates avoid climate change on campaign trail

7m 15s

The 2024 Republican presidential campaign season is in full swing and candidates are stumping on a host of key issues. But one topic that’s missing from their agenda is climate change. Despite a summer of record-setting heat, new polling shows that Republican voters still don't see a warming planet as a concern. As William Brangham reports, neither do the GOP candidates who want to lead them.

Lessons learned from COVID prepare world for future threats

7m 45s

The State Department is putting lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic into action. The Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy is aimed at better preventing, detecting and responding to existing and future health threats. Its first leader is renowned virologist Dr. John Nkengasong. He sat down with Geoff Bennett to discuss the new effort to respond to global health crises.

Studios, writers return to negotiations after 3 months

6m 34s

Major studios and producers are sitting down with the Writers Guild of America for the first time in three months. The writers strike began before the summer then actors joined in after contract negotiations broke down over similar issues. The talks will have to solve major divides over streaming revenues and the role of AI. Jeffrey Brown discussed the negotiations with Matthew Belloni.

U.S. company Haas appears to supply Russian arms industry

10m 2s

American machine tools giant Haas Automation faced allegations in March it sold technology to the Russian arms industry via a former distributor. Haas denied the story and said it halted sales when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. But research shows Haas may still be supplying the Russian arms industry indirectly. Special correspondent Simon Ostrovsky reports with support from the Pulitzer Center.

Job report falls short but shows recession might be avoided

4m 20s

The U.S. economy added 187,000 jobs in July, slightly fewer than expected but still a sign of a resilient job market. The report also shows the unemployment rate dipped to 3.5 percent. This comes after several encouraging reports in the last two weeks on GDP and inflation. Special correspondent and Washington Post columnist Catherine Rampell joined Geoff Bennett to break it all down.

Brooks and Capehart on Trump's latest indictment

10m 10s

New York Times columnist David Brooks and Washington Post associate editor Jonathan Capehart join Amna Nawaz to discuss the week in politics, including the latest indictment of former President Trump and the importance of climate policy going into the 2024 election.

News Wrap: Trump enters plea on new charges in document case

4m 41s

In our news wrap Friday, former President Trump entered another not-guilty plea, this time to a revised indictment in the classified documents case, a court in Russia sentenced opposition leader Alexei Navalny to 19 more years in prison and the Biden administration's policy limiting asylum for migrants will remain in effect while legal challenges play out.

Barr: Trump committed a 'grave wrongdoing' in Jan. 6 case

21m 29s

Former President Trump returned to Washington Thursday to face a federal judge on charges related to his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. Geoff Bennett spoke with former Attorney General Bill Barr about the historic legal case his former boss is now facing and his book, "One Damn Thing After Another."

Why a small town celebrates its heritage by honoring frogs

5m 10s

It started with an obscure bit of colonial history, dating back to an unseasonably warm summer night in the mid-18th century. That episode led to a New England town continuing to celebrate frogs in sculpture, poetry and song. David Wright of Rhode Island PBS Weekly takes this leap of whimsy as part of our arts and culture series, CANVAS.

Mojave Desert wildfire threatens iconic Joshua trees

3m 49s

Firefighters are working to control a massive blaze that swept through the California desert and into Nevada. A wildfire of this scale is not common in the Mojave Desert landscape, known for its unique vegetation and animal species. Stephanie Sy explores what has already been lost and why experts say it's unlikely for it to grow back.

Rising COVID hospitalizations point to summer surge

6m 1s

Signs point to a COVID-19 summer surge for the fourth consecutive year. Overall, infections remain much lower compared to the past, but cases began increasing last month and between 300 and 400 Americans are dying each week. John Yang discussed the growing concerns with epidemiologist Dr. Katelyn Jetelina.

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