December 21, 2023 - PBS NewsHour full episode

Leonard Francis, known as "Fat Leonard," was a defense contractor at the center of a huge scandal within the U.S. Navy. He is part of a prisoner swap between the U.S. and Venezuela announced Wednesday and was returned to the U.S. So who is Francis, what did he do and who was implicated? Amna Nawaz discussed that with Craig Whitlock, author of “Fat Leonard: The Con Who Corrupted the U.S. Navy.”

"The Boys in the Boat” is an improbable story of how nine working-class boys from the American West showed the meaning of true grit at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. Now the New York Times bestselling book has been adapted into a film directed by George Clooney. Stephanie Sy sat down with Clooney and author Daniel James Brown for our arts and culture series, CANVAS.

The last year has seen headlines of hope and outright fear around the rapid development of artificial intelligence. It creates questions about whether the innovations can lead to broad gains for everyone or just a select few. Economics correspondent Paul Solman focused on the connections between technology and prosperity with one of the co-authors of the new book, "Power and Progress."

One of the world’s top trading routes, the Suez Canal, is essentially closed for business to many shipping companies. That’s because Houthi rebels in Yemen have been attacking ships in response to Israel’s war in Gaza. It's a major route for oil and gas shipments so prices edged up this week. John Yang discusses the implications for international commerce with Ryan Petersen of Flexport.

Hezbollah and Israel have been trading fire in a limited but slowly escalating conflict. So far, the skirmishes have killed nine Israeli soldiers, four civilians and more than 100 Lebanese, most of them Hezbollah fighters. Israeli officials have said they are prepared to invade southern Lebanon, raising fears of a regional war. Special correspondent Simona Foltyn reports.

One of Europe's capital cities was shattered by gunfire Thursday. A shooter at a university in Prague, Czech Republic, killed at least 14 people and wounded at least 25 more. Police say the gunman was a 24-year-old who had expressed suicidal thoughts and killed his father before going to Prague to continue the violence. Amna Nawaz reports.