May 17, 2024 - PBS NewsHour full episode

As college students wrap up the year, many reflect on what they learned in the classroom and what it means for their lives. At the University of Notre Dame, a popular course offering has very real-life implications. Special correspondent Mike Cerre takes a look for our reporting on the intersection of art and health, part of our arts and culture series, CANVAS.

This week, China’s Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin inaugurated a “new era” of partnership, just before Taiwan inaugurates a new president on Monday. The new book, "World on the Brink: How America Can Beat China in the Race for the 21st Century," argues Taiwan is at the center of China’s challenge to U.S. power and influence in Asia. Nick Schifrin discussed more with Dmitri Alperovitch.

There has been a seismic shift within the United Methodist Church after it voted to lift bans on LGBTQ clergy and same-sex marriages. The move led some 7,600 conservative Methodist congregations, located mostly in the South, to leave the church. Geoff Bennett discussed the changes with Rev. Valerie Jackson of Park Hill United Methodist Church in Denver and the Reconciling Ministries Network.

This has been a big week for the stock market. The Dow Jones, the much broader S&P 500 and the NASDAQ all reached record highs with the Dow crossing the 40,000 threshold for the first time. The markets have rallied back from the recent lows of 2022 and the Dow is about 40 percent higher than when the pandemic started. Geoff Bennett discussed more with Roben Farzad of Full Disclosure.

In our news wrap Friday, Houston and other parts of the Gulf Coast are dealing with the aftermath of intense storms, the Israeli military says troops in Gaza found the bodies of three people killed by Hamas at the Nova music festival on Oct. 7, Russia carried out multiple strikes on Ukrainian territory and employees at two Mercedes facilities in Alabama voted against joining the UAW.

Washington Post associate editor Jonathan Capehart and Washington Free Beacon editor-in-chief Eliana Johnson join Geoff Bennett to discuss the week in politics, including President Biden and former President Trump agree to face off on the debate stage, Michael Cohen testifies in Trump's criminal trial and Justice Alito’s home flew a U.S. flag upside down after Jan. 6.