April 14, 2021 - PBS NewsHour full episode

In our news wrap Wednesday, Kim Potter, the former police officer who fatally shot Daunte Wright outside Minneapolis was charged with second-degree manslaughter. Then, a scathing new report blames the leadership of the Capitol Police for a raft of failures before January 6. And, the Biden administration has proposed ending a Trump-era ban on federally funded clinics referring women for abortions.

Former financier Bernie Madoff, who organized the largest fraud in wall street's history, died Wednesday. He swindled major charities, universities and celebrities out of billions, and was serving 150 years in prison. Stephanie Sy has our report about his rise and fall.

Judy Woodruff speaks with three experts on Afghanistan. Retired Lt. Gen. Doug Lute served in both the George W. Bush and Obama administrations focusing on Afghanistan. Annie Pforzheimer was acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Afghanistan until 2019. And David Sedney was Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia during the Obama administration.

More than half of public schools around the country are back to full time in-person classes. But many school districts still are using distance or hybrid learning, and there are many questions ahead about what it will take to reopen more fully in the coming months. Amna Nawaz looks at those questions and more with Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona.

President Joe Biden has proposed a $2 trillion measure, The American Jobs Plan, to improve the country's infrastructure. As negotiations on that get underway in Washington, Judy Woodruff is joined by a senator who's deeply involved - ranking member of the Environment and Public Works committee, Republican Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, to discuss the package.

The defense team for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has been making the case that George Floyd died for other reasons, and that Chauvin's kneeling on Floyd's neck was not the crucial factor. Today, the defense focused on that question with its own expert testimony stating that instead of "homicide," Floyd's manner of death was "undetermined." Yamiche Alcindor has our report.

As the nation watches the trial of Derek Chauvin, we return to the debate that George Floyd's death ignited. Special correspondent Charlayne Hunter-Gault spoke with current and former law enforcement officers about "defunding the police," and what reforms they believe are needed to improve relations between them and the communities they serve. It's part of our ongoing series, Race Matters.