April 16, 2021 - PBS NewsHour full episode

Questions over the fatal shooting and the role of the police in the death of a teen are front and center in Chicago. There, the mayor, city officials and community leaders are taking stock of how police respond with force, and whether more changes are needed. Stephanie Sy speaks to Hans Menos, the Vice President of Law Enforcement Initiatives for the Center for Policing Equity, for this report.

In our news wrap Friday, the U.S. Justice department rescinded a Trump-era curb on consent decrees, making it easier to investigate police departments and press for major changes in use of force. An Indiana man has become the first person to plead guilty to federal charges in the January assault on the U.S. Capitol. Russia responded to new U.S. sanctions today with penalties of its own.

This weekend, Mickey Guyton will become the first Black woman to co-host the Academy of Country Music Awards. She was the only Black woman to be nominated for an award this year. But as Amna Nawaz reports, a number of Black women are starting to gain traction in the genre. It’s part of our ongoing arts and culture coverage, CANVAS.

Police in Indianapolis have spent Friday looking for answers after a gunman shot eight people to death and then killed himself. The incident prompted President Biden to call the nation’s gun violence incidents a “national embarrassment.” The bloodshed stunned a city that's been hard hit by gun violence, and its mayor is calling for national action.

Friday saw the Biden administration giving mixed messages on refugee admission. After receiving blowback for keeping the historically low refugee cap set by President Trump, the White House quickly reversed its position, and said it will move to lift them. Yamiche Alcindor has more on the flip-flop, and discusses it with Jenny Yang, the vice president of advocacy and policy at World Relief.

New York Times columnist David Brooks and Washington Post columnist Jonathan Capehart join Judy Woodruff to discuss the week in politics, including police shootings of people of color, and the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Every Friday, we take a moment to remember the incredible lives lost to the COVID-19 pandemic. These are their stories.