April 2, 2019 - PBS NewsHour full episode

The Senate is considering changing the confirmation process for some nominees to federal courts and administration roles. Republicans want to limit debate time to speed up approvals, while Democrats argue that would compromise senators’ ability to vet nominees. Judy Woodruff talks to Kristine Lucius of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and the Heritage Foundation's Tom Jipping.

In our news wrap Tuesday, President Trump said Republicans will wait until after the 2020 elections to offer a replacement for the Affordable Care Act. For now, Trump will ask federal courts to strike down the existing law. Plus, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee moved to subpoena a former chief of White House security clearances, after claims that ineligible staffers received clearances.

A new season of Major League Baseball begins this week, after a busy and lucrative winter that saw just 10 players awarded a total of over $2 billion in contracts. What’s behind these huge numbers for superstars, and where does it leave the rest of the player population financially? Amna Nawaz talks to ESPN columnist Jeff Passan, author of a book about baseball players as commodities.

The first five years of a child’s life are critical for language exposure, but studies suggest children in lower-income families often don’t experience the rich literary environment wealthier kids do. A New York City initiative trying to close that gap encourages reading in a spot families visit every week -- but don't usually consider educational. Special correspondent Lisa Stark reports.

Food pantries are appearing more frequently in a surprising type of location: colleges and universities. More than 700 educational institutions belong to a national nonprofit aiming to alleviate food insecurity among college students. From PBS station WTTW in Chicago, Brandis Friedman reports on how City Colleges and the Greater Chicago Food Depository are providing nutrition along with knowledge.

A wide-ranging disaster relief bill failed in the Senate Monday due to a disagreement about federal aid for Puerto Rico. Meanwhile, the island territory is struggling to recover from Hurricane Maria's damaging blow a year and a half ago. Lisa Desjardins reports on the stalled legislation, and John Yang talks to Associated Press reporter Danica Coto about what’s at stake for Puerto Rico's people.