December 20, 2023 - PBS NewsHour full episode

A special concert is celebrating the holiday season and the tuba. NewsHour's Tim McPhillips reports on the role of this versatile booming brass instrument in the music we all love.

The top leader of Hamas was in Cairo as talks to renew a deal for a cease-fire and hostage swap in Gaza gained steam. Meantime, Israeli operations there continue as the death toll among Palestinians, according to the Hamas-led health ministry, topped 20,000 people since the terror attacks of Oct. 7. Amna Nawaz reports.

In a historic prisoner swap, ten Americans are headed home after the U.S. freed a top ally of Venezuelan President Maduro. Six of the Americans were judged "wrongfully detained" by the State Department. The Maduro government also agreed to free 20 Venezuelan political prisoners and return fugitive defense contractor Leonard Francis to the U.S. Amna Nawaz discussed the deal with Jonathan Franks.

A court decision could have a major impact on the 2024 race for the White House. A divided Colorado Supreme Court ruled Donald Trump is ineligible to serve as president under the Constitution’s insurrection clause and barred him from that state's primary ballot. The ruling sets up a likely showdown at the U.S. Supreme Court. Geoff Bennett discussed the ruling with Neal Katyal.

Amid new talks for a second cease-fire and hostage swap between Hamas and Israel, we're speaking to the family of an Israeli still held in Gaza. Noam Peri’s 79-year-old father, Chaim Peri, was one of the three men featured in a video released by Hamas Tuesday. Noam joined Amna Nawaz to discuss the potential cease-fire.

It’s been described as the airline industry’s silent struggle, the issue of pilot mental health. It was pushed into the spotlight when an off-duty pilot was charged with trying to crash an Alaska Airlines flight from inside the cockpit. The National Transportation Safety Board held a summit devoted to mental health in aviation and NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy joined Geoff Bennett to discuss.

The nearly five million direct care workers who support older adults and people with disabilities are the largest workforce in the U.S. But despite high demand, many are paid little more than minimum wage. A longstanding workforce shortage means people with disabilities who depend on those workers are left without the support they need. Judy Woodruff reports for our series, Disability Reframed.