January 16, 2024 - PBS NewsHour full episode

Fresh off his win in Iowa, former President Trump spent time in a New York courtroom. The trial that started Tuesday will decide how much he owes writer E. Jean Carroll for defaming her while he was president. Trump was already found liable for sexually abusing Carroll in the 1990s and then lying about her years later. William Brangham was in the courtroom and reports from New York.

The Biden administration will soon designate Houthi militants in Yemen as a specially designated global terrorist group, a White House official tells the NewsHour. It follows more than 30 Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and it's a reversal from the first days of the administration when the U.S. delisted the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization. Nick Schifrin reports.

The focus of the Republican presidential race moves to New Hampshire after former President Trump’s win in the Iowa caucuses. Trump dominated his rivals by 30 points with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in second place with 21 percent of the vote, followed closely by former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. Amna Nawaz discussed the race with Republican strategist Kevin Madden.

While the first contest of the presidential campaign is over, the race for the GOP nomination and the delegates who will vote at the Republican National Convention this summer is only beginning. Geoff Bennett and Domenico Montanaro of NPR discussed the long road ahead.

Israeli leaders are increasingly disagreeing in public over the best path forward with its war in Gaza. Nick Schifrin discussed the direction of the conflict and the splits within the Israeli war cabinet with David Makovsky, a distinguished fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

Between the House GOP’s funding fight and Donald Trump’s hold on the Republican party, much has been made of the far-right’s sway. But what doesn’t get as much attention is the far-left’s influence in the Democratic party. Geoff Bennett discussed that with Joshua Green, author of “The Rebels: Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and the Struggle for a New American Politics.”

Mental health among the nation's student population has been a growing concern, especially due to the pandemic. From PBS Wisconsin, Steven Potter reports on how peer support, school staff and psychology researchers are trying to keep up with the growing rate of mental health issues among students. It's part of our series, Early Warnings: America’s Youth Mental Health Crisis.