May 23, 2019 - PBS NewsHour full episode

American farmers have been among the hardest hit by the U.S. trade war with China. With no deal between the world’s two largest economies in sight, the Trump administration unveiled a second emergency aid plan Thursday to help offset agricultural losses. William Brangham talks to Iowa Public Television's Delaney Howell about farmers' support for President Trump and what they want more than aid.

John Walker Lindh, who became known as the "American Taliban," was released from federal prison Thursday, three years short of his 20-year sentence. President Trump criticized the release, saying Lindh was still an extremist. Nick Schifrin reports and talks to Kevin Lowry, who was chief probation officer for the U.S. district court in Minnesota, about how the U.S. deals with convicted radicals.

Kirsten Gillibrand has represented New York in the Senate for a decade, with a record of advocacy on sexual abuse and gender rights. Now running for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, Gillibrand sits down with Judy Woodruff to discuss the challenge of standing up to former colleague Al Franken and why she thinks President Trump is more interested in fighting over trade than improving it.

Providing for the elderly has become a multi-billion dollar industry, with about 29,000 residential care facilities operating across the country. But a new investigation by Reveal, from The Center for Investigative Reporting, finds that some of these facilities are profiting by exploiting caregivers, effectively paying them as little as $2 an hour to work around the clock. Jennifer Gollan reports.

In our news wrap Thursday, President Trump said he doubts there is a need to send more U.S. troops to the Middle East, despite heightened tensions with Iran. Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan also disputed news reports that the U.S. would send 10,000 additional troops to the region. Meanwhile, the Justice Department filed a new 18-count indictment against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

The remains of the last slave ship that came to America have been found. In 1860, the schooner Clotilda brought 110 Africans to U.S. shores, decades after it was illegal to import slaves into the country. The wreckage of the boat was discovered in Alabama’s Mobile River. Megan Thompson reports on the search for Clotilda, its history and the significance for the descendants of those slaves.

Marine biologist Sylvia Earle has spent more than four decades at the forefront of ocean exploration -- and at age 83, she shows no signs of slowing down. Earle was the first female chief scientist of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and was named Time magazine’s 1998 "Hero of the Planet.” Earle offers her brief but spectacular take on passion for the ocean and the planet.

SEVERE WEATHER

Parts of Missouri are in disaster mode after a barrage of tornadoes struck Wednesday night. The violent storms flipped vehicles and tore up neighborhoods. While the state capital, Jefferson City, escaped with no fatalities, three people were killed 150 miles away in Golden City. But Governor Mike Parson expressed thanks that the outcome wasn't even more devastating. Amna Nawaz reports.