December 2, 2021 - PBS NewsHour full episode

NEWS WRAP

Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the second highest ranking Democrat, joins Judy Woodruff to discuss the latest congressional negotiations over government funding to avoid a federal shutdown, debate over the debt ceiling and progress in talks about the Build Back Better bill.

While we don't know whether the omicron variant will lead to more severe cases of COVID-19, its ability to spread is becoming clearer. Cases in South Africa are spiking at the fastest rate since the pandemic began, and European officials said their modeling found that omicron would likely be responsible for more than half of their cases this winter. William Brangham looks at the global picture.

Funding for the federal government runs out Friday at midnight. House Democrats passed a short term measure Thursday to keep the government funded through February, but a group of Republican lawmakers in the Senate are threatening to force a shutdown over President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate. Judy Woodruff and congressional correspondent Lisa Desjardins to break down the latest negotiations.

Dozens of schools across suburban Detroit cancelled classes Thursday, two days after four students were killed in a shooting at Oxford High School. The alleged shooter, who is 15, remains held without bail, charged with murder and terrorism. The prosecutor is considering charging his parents, saying their actions went "far beyond negligence," making guns "freely available." John Yang reports.

For more than 25 years, Peggy Orenstein has broken new ground with her intimate explorations of adolescence. In her bestselling books “Girls and Sex” and “Boys and Sex,” she dives into the lives of young people to unravel the hidden truths, hard lessons, and important realities of their lives. This is her Brief But Spectacular take on talking to kids about sex.

Sanford Biggers is an artist who mixes media and pushes boundaries to create an art all his own. Jeffrey Brown looks at his interdisciplinary work, focusing on a signature piece, “Fool’s Folly.” This report is part of our arts and culture series, CANVAS.