PBS News Hour

Who owns a vibe? That question is at the heart of a lawsuit where one online influencer is suing another for copyright infringement. Sydney Gifford claims that Alyssa Sheill knowingly replicated Gifford’s aesthetic and her posts on social media. Amna Nawaz discussed more with Sandra E. Garcia, a reporter at The New York Times who has been covering this first-of-its-kind case.

In our news wrap Friday, a car drove through a crowd of people at a Christmas market in Germany, Ukraine struck inside Russia's Kursk region with U.S.-supplied weapons, the Biden administration announced it would forgive another $4 billion in student loan debt for roughly 55,000 borrowers who work in public service and Party City is closing its doors after nearly 40 years in business.

New York Times columnist David Brooks and Washington Post associate editor Jonathan Capehart join Geoff Bennett to discuss the week in politics, including yet another chaotic, down-to-the-wire funding battle in Congress, how President-elect Trump will govern during his second term and the political influence of Elon Musk.

Overnight in the occupied West Bank, a mosque was vandalized and set on fire by Israeli settlers. Attacks against Palestinians there have increased greatly since the Oct. 7 terror attacks. Israel describes the West Bank as one of seven fronts it is fighting on, stoked by Iranian support of militants. Nick Schifrin reports from the Jenin refugee camp, the epicenter of much of the violence.

The back-and-forth on the stopgap spending bill has created fault lines among House Republicans. Many were unsatisfied with the original text, but some also rejected the revised bill, which included President-elect Trump’s demands to suspend the debt limit. One of those members is Rep. David Schweikert of Arizona. He joined Geoff Bennett to discuss more.

American diplomats were in Syria for the first time since the U.S. shut its embassy in Damascus in 2012. They met with Syria's new ruler, Ahmed al-Sharaa, and announced the $10 million bounty the U.S. placed on him would be removed. For perspective on the latest developments, Geoff Bennett spoke with Theodore Kattouf, the U.S. ambassador to Syria during the George W. Bush administration.

Days of chaos and uncertainty on Capitol Hill appear to be winding down. A bill backed by President-elect Trump to keep the government open was rejected by the House Thursday night. But on Friday, an apparent breakthrough was announced by Speaker Mike Johnson. Lisa Desjardins is tracking it all on Capitol Hill.

This week, we are reporting on some promising treatments for two of the deadliest drugs in America: opioids and alcohol. William Brangham sat down with one of the nation’s leading researchers who is studying America’s addictions and how we can better address them.

Donald Trump is following through on threats of legal action against the media. After ABC agreed to pay $15 million to settle a defamation lawsuit brought by Trump, his legal team filed a suit against Ann Selzer and the Des Moines Register for a poll showing Kamala Harris leading. Trump's suit called the poll “election-interfering fiction.” Geoff Bennett discussed more with Clay Calvert.

Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina is retiring after 20 years in Congress. He has the distinction of being the only person to serve as speaker pro tempore of the House, a job that was forced on him for three chaotic weeks after the ouster of Speaker Kevin McCarthy a year ago. Lisa Desjardins sat down with Rep. McHenry to discuss his time in office and the current state of Capitol Hill.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in response to bird flu that's spreading among the state's dairy cows. The virus has already caused the deaths of more than 120 million birds across the country since 2022. Stephanie Sy reports on efforts in Colorado to keep the dairy workforce safe.

A Georgia appeals court has disqualified the top prosecutor overseeing an election interference case against President-elect Donald Trump and his allies, a decision that could upend the case. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was disqualified because she had a romantic relationship with an attorney she hired to help run the investigation. William Brangham reports.