April 2, 2025 - PBS News Hour full episode

President Trump escalated trade wars with a new set of sweeping tariffs for about 60 countries. During a speech in the Rose Garden, the president declared a national economic emergency as the legal justification for the new tariffs. Trump says tariffs will revitalize manufacturing in the U.S. Amna Nawaz discussed the move with Roben Farzad, economic analyst and host of Full Disclosure.

Local arts organizations have the power to tackle everything from community challenges to threats against national democracy by expanding access to art. That mission drives one of the country’s most vibrant and diverse artistic hubs in West Philadelphia. Jeffrey Brown reports for our series, Art in Action, exploring the intersection of art and democracy and our arts and culture series, CANVAS.

Economics correspondent Paul Solman is exploring the impact on communities in Massachusetts after a private equity firm bought struggling hospitals. In his second report, he looks at how private equity's increasing role in health care is affecting patients.

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in a case that could dramatically change how Medicaid recipients can choose their own medical providers. The case went before the court after South Carolina attempted to remove Planned Parenthood clinics from the state’s Medicaid program since it also provides abortions. Geoff Bennett discussed more with special correspondent Sarah Varney.

There’s growing concern over massive cuts to the Department of Health and Human Services as Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. works to reduce the agency workforce by 25 percent. Geoff Bennett discussed the Trump administration's cuts with Kathleen Sebelius, the HHS secretary during the Obama administration.

A trio of off-cycle election results show the president and his party losing political ground, even as they won two of the three races. Political correspondent Lisa Desjardins has a look at the message sent by voters in Wisconsin and Florida.

In our news wrap Wednesday, the death toll from the earthquake in Myanmar surpassed 3,000 as relief efforts are hampered by the country's civil war, Israel says it will establish a new security corridor across Gaza, Denmark's prime minister spoke out against President Trump's ambition to take control of Greenland and a federal judge dismissed corruption charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams.