April 1, 2021 - PBS NewsHour full episode

Tonight, we report on why palliative care is crucial in rural communities from three different perspectives. Dr. Jennifer Blechman of Bend, Oregon, hospice and social worker Liz Anderson of Asheville, North Carolina, and patient Joanie Devine alongside her fiance David Keenan of Waynesville, North Carolina, join us with their Brief But Spectacular take on the issue.

In our news wrap Thursday, police in Southern California identified the man who allegedly shot and killed four people, including a 9-year-old boy, on Wednesday. The White House said a problem with Johnson and Johnson's supply of COVID-19 vaccines will not slow the pace of U.S. inoculations, and President Biden held his first full cabinet meeting with every member spread out and fully masked.

Prosecutors continued to lay out their case on day four of the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who is charged with second and third degree murder and manslaughter in the killing of George Floyd last May. Jurors heard from Floyd's girlfriend about his life and struggles. Special correspondent Fred De Sam Lazaro has the story.

President Biden's infrastructure proposal includes hundreds of billions of dollars to address climate change by cutting emissions and increasing the use of clean energy, which critics say amounts to a version of the Green New Deal proposal released by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., in 2019. Energy secretary Jennifer Granholm joins us to discuss the matter.

The Biden administration's plans to spend hundreds of billions to address climate change as part of the latest infrastructure package has been likened to The Green New Deal proposal released by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., in 2019. Republican Rep. Rodney Davis of Illinois serves on the transportation and infrastructure committee and joins us now to elaborate.

Even as the U.S. sets records for daily COVID-19 vaccinations, disparities in availability persist. We cover the stories of some medically vulnerable people, most of whom are still waiting for their shot. And for more on the reasons behind the wait, William Brangham speaks to Jen Kates, the Senior Vice President and Director of Global Health and HIV Policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation.

In another blow to the city’s democracy, seven of Hong Kong’s most prominent pro-democracy leaders were convicted of unlawful assembly on Thursday and could face up to five years in jail. Nick Schifrin focuses on three of those convicted and their fight against an increasingly aggressive Beijing.