November 21, 2025 - PBS News Hour full episode

Congressman James Clyburn has spent more than three decades in Congress. In his new book, he turns his attention to the trailblazing Black men who were the first to walk those halls. Geoff Bennett sat down with Rep. Clyburn to discuss "The First Eight: A Personal History of the Pioneering Black Congressmen Who Shaped a Nation."

President Trump said he’d like to see Ukraine accept his peace plan by Thursday of next week. But the plan asks Ukraine to make concessions it's previously rejected, and President Zelenskyy said his country has to decide whether to lose a major partner, or lose what it's been fighting for. Stephanie Sy reports on the latest and Amna Nawaz discusses more with Richard Haass.

In our news wrap Friday, the Coast Guard will again classify swastikas and nooses as hate symbols, backing off a change to call those emblems "potentially divisive,” gunmen kidnapped students from a Catholic school in Nigeria, the Department of Transportation released a new crash test dummy that more closely resembles the female body and Mexico's Fátima Bosch Fernández was crowned Miss Universe.

President Trump and the future mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, met at the White House after months of trading insults. In an Oval Office meeting, they were far more civilized, with the president at times praising the mayor-elect despite their political differences. Both said they’ll look to work together to improve the nation’s largest city. Liz Landers reports from the White House.

This week, the CDC changed its website to suggest that vaccines may cause autism, even though there's no scientific evidence to prove such a link. It’s the latest change to vaccine guidance under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. In response, some Democratic-led states have taken steps aimed at protecting access to vaccines and pushing back on misinformation. William Brangham reports.

Jonathan Capehart of MS NOW and Matthew Continetti of the American Enterprise Institute join Amna Nawaz to discuss the week in politics, including President Trump playing nice with Zohran Mamdani in the Oval Office but calling six other Democrats traitors and saying the video they posted could be punishable by death and the president hosting the Saudi crown prince at the White House.

Each year, only about one out of every four hikers who set out to complete the Appalachian Trail reaches that goal. A thru-hike means traversing nearly 2,200 miles, across 14 states, in a single 12-month period. It's a monumental feat of physical and emotional endurance. Betty Kellenberger, an 80-year-old retired school teacher from Michigan, shares her story of completing the hike.