PBS News Hour

This week, we are reporting on some promising treatments for two of the deadliest drugs in America: opioids and alcohol. William Brangham sat down with one of the nation’s leading researchers who is studying America’s addictions and how we can better address them.

Donald Trump is following through on threats of legal action against the media. After ABC agreed to pay $15 million to settle a defamation lawsuit brought by Trump, his legal team filed a suit against Ann Selzer and the Des Moines Register for a poll showing Kamala Harris leading. Trump's suit called the poll “election-interfering fiction.” Geoff Bennett discussed more with Clay Calvert.

Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina is retiring after 20 years in Congress. He has the distinction of being the only person to serve as speaker pro tempore of the House, a job that was forced on him for three chaotic weeks after the ouster of Speaker Kevin McCarthy a year ago. Lisa Desjardins sat down with Rep. McHenry to discuss his time in office and the current state of Capitol Hill.

In our ongoing look at treating substance abuse in America, we turn to the most commonly used drug, and one of the deadliest: alcohol. Drinking kills more Americans every year than opioids or any other illegal drug. But promising treatments that could help people curb their drinking are barely being used. William Brangham reports.

There are a few weeks left until the Democratic Party faces Republican majorities in Congress. After a decisive loss in the presidential election, Democrats have been at odds over their future and direction during the new Trump era. Rep. Greg Casar of Texas was elected as the new chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and discussed his vision for the party with Lisa Desjardins.

The Federal Reserve lowered rates for the third consecutive time but also suggested there won’t be as many interest rate cuts in the year ahead as it once planned. Chairman Jerome Powell said the cut wasn’t an easy decision because of higher inflation in recent months. Geoff Bennett discussed the decision with Nick Timiraos of The Wall Street Journal.

As we learn more about the atrocities committed by the Assad regime, investigations are underway at sites across that country. Authorities and relatives are trying to uncover the fate of the many thousands detained and feared murdered during Assad's rule. Simona Foltyn visited three mass grave locations and reports.

Not even 24 hours after congressional leaders released a 1,500-page bill that would keep the government funded for the next three months, the threat of a shutdown at the end of this week is back. Republicans in Congress are being pressured by President-elect Trump to block the bill. Lisa Desjardins reports.

A pair of NASA astronauts who have been stuck at the International Space Station since June will have to wait a little longer to come back to Earth. NASA says astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams won’t return now until late March or even April, which means they will have lived and worked in orbit for more than nine months. Science correspondent Miles O’Brien reports.

Syrians are celebrating their hard-won freedoms throughout the nation, but that joy is tempered by the absence of so many imprisoned and never heard from again. In some ways, Syria is a land of ghosts, and the job of speaking for the dead falls to their loved ones and the new Syrian government. Leila Molana-Allen reports from the suburbs of Damascus. A warning, images in this story are disturbing.

In our news wrap Wednesday, California declared a state of emergency over a bird flu outbreak among dairy cattle, Russian authorities detained a suspect in the killing of a senior general in Moscow, Israel's military is preparing another offensive in central Gaza, and is telling Palestinians to evacuate the area and the U.S. repatriated three Guantanamo Bay prisoners back to their home countries.

In our news wrap Tuesday, prosecutors in New York charged the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare's CEO with murder as an act of terrorism, Wisconsin officials say the motive behind a school shooting appears to be a "combination of factors" and Ukraine claimed responsibility for a bomb blast in Moscow that killed one of Russia's top generals.