April 4, 2025 - PBS News Hour full episode

Stocks were in free fall again Friday as markets saw their worst week in years. The trade war heated up as China responded to President Trump with their own 34 percent tariffs on imported U.S. goods. Markets fell further after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the tariffs are expected to lead to higher prices and weaken the economy. Amna Nawaz discussed more with Justin Wolfers.

President Trump abruptly fired the director and deputy director of the National Security Agency, the country’s powerful cyber intelligence bureau. That’s according to reports and members of the House and Senate intelligence committees. The firings came after right-wing activist Laura Loomer urged Trump to do so. Geoff Bennett discussed more with Stewart Baker, a former NSA general counsel.

The latest jobs report came in stronger than anticipated, demonstrating again that the job market has been far more resilient than many expected. But some say the data doesn't reflect layoffs underway and that job opportunities are tightening in the white-collar sector. That is a big worry for federal workers being cut. Economics correspondent Paul Solman reports.

In our news wrap Friday, President Trump said he's giving TikTok another 75 days to find an American buyer, Secretary of State Rubio said it will become clear within weeks whether Russia truly intends to pursue peace with Ukraine, a judge ordered the Trump administration to return a man who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador and a South Korean court removed President Yoon Suk Yeol from office.

The Kennedy Center is one of the nation’s premier performing arts centers, holding around 2,000 events each year. It’s a public-private partnership with most funding raised privately, but some coming from the federal government. The center has traditionally been a bipartisan institution but it’s now at a crossroads. Jeffrey Brown reports for our arts and culture series, CANVAS.

The NCAA Women’s Final Four tips off Friday in Tampa Bay with the men’s games starting Saturday in San Antonio. This year, the tournaments are unique because they feature a large number of players who previously played for a different school. That’s thanks to rule changes that let athletes easily move between schools. William Brangham discussed more with Jesse Dockerty of The Washington Post.

New York Times columnist David Brooks and Washington Post associate editor Jonathan Capehart join Amna Nawaz to discuss the week in politics, including President Trump’s sweeping new tariffs draw criticism from leaders on both sides of the aisle, how voters will respond to the move and Sen. Cory Booker's record-breaking speech on the Senate floor.