November 13, 2025 - PBS News Hour full episode

Since last fall, more than 12,000 North Koreans have reportedly been deployed to fight with the Russian army in Ukraine. Recently, Ukraine accused the Kremlin of recruiting foreign fighters from African nations as it struggles to recruit troops among its own population. Special correspondent Simon Ostrovsky investigates the reliance on mercenaries in the world's deadliest conflicts.

As the Trump administration ramps up deportations, ICE has turned to local law enforcement through a program that has existed for decades. Under the agreements, sheriffs’ offices hold undocumented immigrants in jail before they are transferred. Butler County, Ohio, Sheriff Richard Jones reinstated his county’s partnership when Trump returned to office. He joined Geoff Bennett to discuss more.

In our news wrap Thursday, the Justice Department is suing to block California's new redistricting plan, more than 1,000 unionized Starbucks workers are on strike, at least four people are in critical condition after a tanker truck spilled ammonia gas in a hotel parking lot in Oklahoma and Paris marked 10 years since the terrorist attack that claimed more than 100 lives.

President Trump’s Justice Department was on defense in a northern Virginia courtroom. A judge is weighing whether to disqualify the U.S. attorney pursuing charges against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. That prosecutor, Lindsay Halligan, is a Trump ally with no prosecutorial experience. Geoff Bennett discussed more with Glenn Kirschner.

Military service personnel have been seeking outside legal advice about some of the missions the Trump administration has assigned them. The strikes against alleged drug traffickers and deployments to U.S. cities have sparked a debate over their legality. Amna Nawaz discussed more with Frank Rosenblatt, president of the National Institute of Military Justice, which runs The Orders Project.

So-called forever chemicals are both harmful to our health and are everywhere. Studies have found them in women's breast milk and even in rain falling in Tibet. A new book tells the story of how these extremely durable chemicals became so ubiquitous through the eyes of a small community that decided to fight for some measure of justice. William Brangham reports.

An outbreak of infant botulism, a rare but serious illness caused by toxins that attack the nervous system, is causing alarm among regulators and parents in the U.S. It's prompting an investigation and a nationwide recall of ByHeart Whole Nutrition Infant Formula. Stephanie Sy reports.