February 22, 2019 - PBS NewsHour full episode

In our Friday news wrap, the Trump administration announced it will bar federally funded family-planning clinics from referring women for abortions. Abortion opponents applauded the move, while abortion rights advocates condemned it. Also, R&B star R. Kelly will face multiple counts of aggravated sexual abuse. He was charged in Chicago for crimes involving victims between 13 and 17 years old.

Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks analyze the week in politics, including how Congress is reacting to President Trump’s declaration of a national emergency over immigration, the 2020 candidacy of Bernie Sanders and whether democratic socialism is becoming mainstream.

The hit Broadway play “Choir Boy” chronicles an African-American prep school and its star pupil, the choir boy, who happens to be gay. Written by Tarell McCraney, a MacArthur Fellowship recipient, the play explores themes not often addressed publicly within the black community or outside it. Jeffrey Brown sits down with McCraney to discuss what it means to bring important voices to the stage.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Friday that a few hundred American troops may stay in Syria as a stabilizing force after the majority of U.S. forces withdraw. Still, American allies fear that ISIS will have the capability to create a powerful insurgency as U.S. presence in Syria recedes. Nick Schifrin talks to Judy Woodruff about President Trump's new plan and the reaction to it.

This weekend, many PBS stations will air “An Evening with Ken Chenault,” a special about the man who was chairman and CEO of American Express for 17 years. It was created by The HistoryMakers, a Chicago-based oral history project collecting the stories of African-Americans from all around the world. Jeffrey Brown previews the special with HistoryMakers founder Julieanna L. Richardson.

Violence has broken out in Venezuela as opposition groups, led by Juan Guaido, attempt to bring in foreign aid against the will of President Nicolas Maduro. Despite international support for Guaido, a fiercely loyal minority of Venezuelans known as Chavistas are determined to keep Maduro in power -- and the U.S. out. Special correspondent Nadja Drost and videographer Bruno Federico report.

A federal judge ruled Thursday that prosecutors led by current Labor Secretary Alex Acosta broke the law when he was U.S. attorney in Florida. Acosta's team allegedly concealed a plea agreement from more than 30 underage victims who had been sexually abused by billionaire Jeffrey Epstein. Amna Nawaz talks to Julie Brown of the Miami Herald about the troubling details she heard from victims.