December 14, 2023 - PBS NewsHour full episode

Evangelical Christian leaders have sounded the alarm in recent years about problems of polarization and radicalization in their churches. Laura Barrón-López spoke to one pastor trying to shift the conversation.

The Federal Reserve is projecting as many as three interest rate cuts next year. That could help lower mortgage rates, which have been at a two-decade high this year, and help improve the affordability of buying a home. But a landmark jury decision could also change the costs of buying and selling a home and its overall price tag. Economics correspondent Paul Solman reports from Missouri.

The United Nations says Gaza’s health system has virtually collapsed, and Gazans who have survived daily bombings now face the risk of disease amid chronically overcrowded hospitals. William Brangham discussed that with Avril Benoit, the executive director of Doctors Without Borders in the U.S. The international humanitarian organization has been operating in Gaza since the start of the war.

In a sign that a deal on border security and Ukraine funding could still emerge by Christmas, the U.S. Senate is staying in town next week instead of going on its scheduled recess. Congressional Correspondent Lisa Desjardins and White House Correspondent Laura Barrón-López discuss Thursday's developments.

Russian President Vladimir Putin held his first press conference that included international media in more than two years and insisted that he would continue to wage war in Ukraine until all his goals were met. Much of what he had to say bears directly on how the U.S. and Europe help Ukraine going forward. Nick Schifrin discussed more with Thomas Graham of the Council on Foreign Relations.

In our news wrap Thursday, authorities in Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands arrested seven people accused of plotting terror attacks, the U.S. House overwhelmingly passed a defense policy bill today worth $886 billion, Kenya's military intensified efforts to evacuate hundreds of people trapped by flooding and retail sales rebounded in November in a surprise start to the holiday shopping season.

With global pressure on Israel growing over the war in Gaza, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his top lieutenants Thursday. U.S. criticism of Israel's operations, which have killed more than 18,000 people, is growing, but Netanyahu said after the meeting that Israel would continue until "absolute victory." William Brangham reports.