March 18, 2025 - PBS News Hour full episode

An archaeologist is providing a different lens on the tension at the southern U.S. border, one that applies deep-dive anthropology to learn more about migration. Senior arts correspondent Jeffrey Brown spoke with National Book Award-winning author Jason De León, whose work explores the clandestine world of human smuggling, for our arts and culture series, CANVAS.

It’s been over five years since COVID-19 began spreading across the U.S. The virus killed more than a million Americans and reshaped our entire society. Our new series will bring reflections from people, in their own words, who lived and worked through the pandemic. We start with Dr. Colleen Bridger, who oversaw the public health response in San Antonio for nearly two years during the pandemic.

The Trump administration’s efforts to strip diversity, equity and inclusion prompted the Defense Department to remove thousands of pages and images honoring the contributions of women and people of color. The Pentagon is restoring some of those web pages, saying the removal was a mistake. For a deeper look at what stories are told and which are ignored, Geoff Bennett spoke with Don Moynihan.

As President Trump’s cost-cutting agenda continues through the government, Democratic governors are looking to recruit fired federal workers to their states. The state of New York launched a campaign for those impacted by DOGE cuts. Amna Nawaz discussed the effort, and other ways New York is pushing back against the Trump administration, with Gov. Kathy Hochul.

President Trump called for the impeachment of the judge who ordered a halt to the deportations of hundreds of Venezuelan migrants. The threat comes after Judge James Boasberg also scolded the administration for failing to answer questions about the deportations. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the DOJ would look into taking action against Boasberg. Laura Barrón-López reports.

In our news wrap Tuesday, two American astronauts stuck in space since last year are finally back on Earth, Senate Minority Leader Schumer brushed off Democratic calls to step aside, the board of the U.S. Institute of Peace has shrunk to just three members after a dramatic stand-off between the Trump administration and the independent non-profit and Hungary passed a law that bans Pride events.

Israel resumed hitting Gaza with airstrikes, shattering the fragile ceasefire there. For perspectives on the developments in Gaza, Geoff Bennett spoke with Aaron David Miller, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Hussein Ibish, a senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington.

Israel began striking targets across Gaza, blaming Hamas for its refusal to release more Israeli hostages before negotiations on the second phase of the ceasefire. But that Israeli hostage demand was not part of the overall ceasefire deal agreed to in mid-January brokered by the Biden administration. William Brangham reports.

President Trump and Russian President Putin agreed to a limited ceasefire in Ukraine. It came after they spoke for more than two hours on a call and agreed that Russia and Ukraine should stop attacks on each other's energy infrastructure for 30 days. Nick Schifrin reports.