PBS News Hour

News and Public Affairs Series / 9 Seasons

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Watch: S2025 E92

57m 46s

Conservative lawyer on Trump's use of executive power

8m 25s

President Trump has an expansive view of presidential authority and is claiming sweeping powers over the executive branch, including independent federal agencies. Amna Nawaz spoke with Joel Alicea, a professor of law and director of the Center for The Constitution and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition at the Catholic University, for his take. It's part of our series, On Democracy.

Trump resumes family detention in immigration crackdown

7m 2s

One of the most contentious immigration policies in recent decades has been the detention of undocumented immigrant families. The Trump administration plans to detain thousands more in an effort to crack down on border crossings and legal pathways to asylum. John Yang discussed more with Caitlin Dickerson of The Atlantic.

Taiwan boosting defenses to resist Chinese aggression

11m

Taiwan has long been the most tense flashpoint between Washington and Beijing. By law, the U.S. is required to help Taiwan defend its democracy. This week, China’s People’s Liberation Army launched new drills and sent ships around Taiwan. The U.S. said the moves “put the region’s security, and the world’s prosperity, at risk.” Nick Schifrin reports for our series: Taiwan: Risk and Resistance.

GOP Sen. Johnson says he supports tariffs but has concerns

7m 59s

Financial markets sank in the wake of President Trump's decision to impose tariffs on practically all goods being imported to the U.S. Republican Sen. Ron Johnson is a member of the Senate budget and finance committees. His state of Wisconsin exports more than $27 billion in goods to international markets and he joined Amna Nawaz to discuss the tariffs.

Markets plunge in wake of Trump's tariffs, trade war fears

11m

U.S. markets plunged in the wake of President Trump's announcement of new tariffs. Many stocks had their worst single day since the start of the pandemic in 2020. Leaders around the world denounced the tariffs and experts warned the president's action could risk more inflation, stall growth and even trigger a recession. Lisa Desjardins reports and Geoff Bennett discusses more with Ron Insana.

News Wrap: Trump fires National Security Council members

7m

In our news wrap Thursday, President Trump will fire several members of his National Security Council after he met in the Oval Office with conservative activist and conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer, the Senate confirmed Dr. Mehmet Oz to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and a string of violent storms across the Midwest and South killed at least six people.

How Trump's tariffs could shake up U.S. and global economies

6m 46s

President Trump escalated trade wars with a new set of sweeping tariffs for about 60 countries. During a speech in the Rose Garden, the president declared a national economic emergency as the legal justification for the new tariffs. Trump says tariffs will revitalize manufacturing in the U.S. Amna Nawaz discussed the move with Roben Farzad, economic analyst and host of Full Disclosure.

News Wrap: Myanmar earthquake death toll tops 3,000

6m 45s

In our news wrap Wednesday, the death toll from the earthquake in Myanmar surpassed 3,000 as relief efforts are hampered by the country's civil war, Israel says it will establish a new security corridor across Gaza, Denmark's prime minister spoke out against President Trump's ambition to take control of Greenland and a federal judge dismissed corruption charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams.

What Florida and Wisconsin elections tell us about voters

8m 33s

A trio of off-cycle election results show the president and his party losing political ground, even as they won two of the three races. Political correspondent Lisa Desjardins has a look at the message sent by voters in Wisconsin and Florida.

Cuts will grind HHS work to a halt, former secretary says

8m 35s

There’s growing concern over massive cuts to the Department of Health and Human Services as Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. works to reduce the agency workforce by 25 percent. Geoff Bennett discussed the Trump administration's cuts with Kathleen Sebelius, the HHS secretary during the Obama administration.

Supreme Court hears Planned Parenthood Medicaid funding case

5m 39s

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in a case that could dramatically change how Medicaid recipients can choose their own medical providers. The case went before the court after South Carolina attempted to remove Planned Parenthood clinics from the state’s Medicaid program since it also provides abortions. Geoff Bennett discussed more with special correspondent Sarah Varney.

How private equity in health care is affecting patients

8m 20s

Economics correspondent Paul Solman is exploring the impact on communities in Massachusetts after a private equity firm bought struggling hospitals. In his second report, he looks at how private equity's increasing role in health care is affecting patients.

West Philadelphia uses art to confront neighborhood problems

7m 4s

Local arts organizations have the power to tackle everything from community challenges to threats against national democracy by expanding access to art. That mission drives one of the country’s most vibrant and diverse artistic hubs in West Philadelphia. Jeffrey Brown reports for our series, Art in Action, exploring the intersection of art and democracy and our arts and culture series, CANVAS.

Businesses brace for Trump’s tariffs as Democrats push back

2m 44s

The American public and U.S. trading partners are waiting for President Trump’s new set of tariffs, a plan he says is finalized and will be revealed on Wednesday. Trump's first two months back in office have seen him implement tariffs on countries like Canada and Mexico, only to reverse course days later. It’s not yet clear which countries will be taxed hardest. Geoff Bennett reports.

How food aid made it hard for Haiti to produce its own

10m 42s

As the U.S. sees new tariffs, we look at how they can make or break an economy. In Haiti, U.S. policies forced the government to bring down tariffs on foreign goods, allowing American farmers to export crops cheaply. That made it expensive for Haitians to eat food grown domestically, leading to dependence on foreign aid. Special correspondent Marcia Biggs and videographer Eric O'Connor report.

Professor explains why he's leaving Yale amid Trump threats

6m 42s

Princeton University said several dozen of its federal grants have been halted. It's just the latest Trump administration move targeting colleges. Partly in response, Yale philosophy professor Jason Stanley announced he’s leaving not only his school, but the country, to teach at the University of Toronto. Stanley joined Amna Nawaz to discuss his decision.

The impact of private equity's expansion into health care

7m 3s

Steward Health Care was once the largest private hospital system in the country. When the private equity-backed network filed for bankruptcy last year, it devastated providers and patients. In Massachusetts, five of the eight Steward-owned hospitals were salvaged by the state and two were shuttered. Economics correspondent Paul Solman went there to see what happened and how.

Mass firings begin at government health agencies

4m 13s

The Trump Administration began terminating thousands of staff and purging some of the top leaders at the Department of Health and Human Services. It included several key agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Geoff Bennett discussed more with Matthew Herper of STAT News.

Library and museum support agency faces massive cuts

6m 15s

It’s a small federal agency few have heard of, but it has a large impact around the country. The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the largest source of federal funding for museums and libraries and the Trump administration has placed roughly 80 percent of IMLS staff on administrative leave. Senior arts correspondent Jeffrey Brown reports for our arts and culture series, CANVAS.

News Wrap: Bondi seeks death penalty for Luigi Mangione

5m 51s

In our news wrap Tuesday, Attorney General Bondi directed federal prosecutors to pursue the death penalty for Luigi Mangione, the body of a fourth Army soldier who died in Lithuania has been found and Israel struck the Lebanese capital of Beirut for the second time since a ceasefire with Hezbollah took effect last November.

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