May 8, 2024 - PBS NewsHour full episode

As the Biden administration puts a hold on sending thousands of bombs to Israel, we have perspectives from two members of Congress. Geoff Bennett spoke with Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat from Maryland and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Amna Nawaz discussed the latest with Republican Rep. Mike Lawler of New York, who serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Many Republicans and some Democrats are criticizing the Biden administration for suspending the delivery of thousands of bombs to Israel. At a Senate hearing, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin defended the move which comes as the White House also delayed a congressionally mandated report on Israeli military adherence to international humanitarian law. Nick Schifrin reports.

In our news wrap Wednesday, GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene failed in her attempt to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson, parts of the Midwest surveyed damage after a night of extreme weather that spawned tornadoes, Russia unleashed a barrage of more than 50 missiles and drones on Ukraine and Live Nation settled nearly all of the wrongful death lawsuits involving the Astroworld festival in Houston.

The debate around how colleges are handling protests played out in Washington D.C. Wednesday as police cleared out encampments at George Washington University. This week, we visited that encampment and others to hear why students are protesting and explore a long-standing divide over the rhetoric and language used to describe the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Stephanie Sy reports.

While most of the national attention around protests lately has been focused on much larger college campuses, there have been some problems in some high schools as well. It was the focus of another charged hearing on Capitol Hill as leaders of some of the nation's largest districts were grilled about the rise in antisemitism in their schools. Lisa Desjardins reports.

The classified documents case against former President Trump has been officially, and indefinitely, delayed by Judge Aileen Cannon. To many legal observers, this was considered the strongest, clearest-cut case against Trump. But now, a trial that was supposed to start in two weeks will almost certainly not begin before the election. William Brangham discussed where things stand with Mary McCord.

In addition to shortages of weapons and artillery in its war with Russia, Ukraine faces a critical manpower problem. Its troops are wounded and weary after more than two years of fighting and the military is struggling to replenish ranks. Amna Nawaz and producer Sam Lane report on both of those challenges.