May 15, 2024 - PBS NewsHour full episode

President Biden and former President Trump have agreed to debate, one-on-one, but without the involvement of the Commission on Presidential Debates, which has run those debates since 1988. CNN and ABC will host the events in June and September, respectively. Amna Nawaz discussed more with Republican strategist Kevin Madden and Democratic strategist Faiz Shakir.

In our news wrap Wednesday, Slovakia's prime minister was shot multiple times today in an assassination attempt, the Supreme Court ordered Louisiana to hold congressional elections this year using a House map with a second mostly-Black district, the number of drug overdose deaths in the U.S. fell last year and Congress has passed a broad aviation bill aimed at increasing air safety.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed back against criticism of his Gaza strategy from within his own government. Israel's defense minister accused Netanyahu of “indecision” and leading Israel down a “dangerous course.” The public infighting comes as the Biden administration said Israel did not have a political plan for what’s next in Gaza. Nick Schifrin reports.

Inflation cooled somewhat in April, according to new numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The consumer price index rose at an annual rate of 3.4 percent, in line with expectations. But overall, inflation hasn't yet come down quite to the levels that many people have been hoping for. Economics correspondent Paul Solman reports.

Ukrainian troops fell back to defensive lines amid one of Russia’s largest offensives since the beginning of the full-scale invasion more than two years ago. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has postponed all foreign travel, and U.S. Secretary of State Blinken announced new weapons deliveries while visiting Ukraine. But as Nick Schifrin reports, in Kharkiv, the front is fragile.

The outbreak of bird flu in the U.S. has alarmed researchers and prompted new efforts to track the virus that’s already killed millions of birds from Europe to Antarctica. As H5N1 continues to jump into mammals, many scientists are concerned that we’re not watching closely enough as this virus spreads. William Brangham reports. A warning: This story contains scenes of animals in distress.

South Africa is celebrating 30 years since apartheid ended and Nelson Mandela became the nation’s first Black president. In the U.S., a South African musical group is spreading Mandela’s message of racial reconciliation and healing while reminding us that the fight for equality in both nations is far from over. Special correspondent Megan Thompson reports for our arts and culture series, CANVAS.

Latino Americans make up nearly 20 percent of the U.S. population and will be a critical constituency for both Republicans and Democrats in swing states. But the idea of Latinos voting as a bloc betrays the diversity of history, culture and perspectives within that community which may also help strengthen it against polarization. Judy Woodruff reports, for her series, America at a Crossroads.