December 8, 2023 - PBS NewsHour full episode

Foreign ministers from several Arab allies of the United States are in Washington this week for meetings with the Biden administration over the Israel-Hamas war. Nick Schifrin sat down with the foreign minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, for a candid conversation about the way forward from the violence and Saudi Arabia's role in the region.

The U.S. military will ground its entire fleet of V-22 Osprey aircraft while it investigates the cause of last week’s crash off the coast of Japan that killed all eight service personnel on board. The extraordinary step was taken after a preliminary investigation found something wrong with the aircraft itself led to the crash and not errors by the crew onboard. Geoff Bennett reports.

The CDC says synthetic opioids, particularly fentanyl, contributed to about 75,000 overdose deaths in the United States in 2022. It's a crisis that hits every demographic group, but there are large racial disparities between who is offered the most effective treatment and who isn't. William Brangham reports for our ongoing series, America Addicted and Race Matters.

Hunter Biden has been indicted on nine tax-related charges, including three felony counts. According to federal prosecutors, the president’s 53-year-old son engaged in a scheme to not pay $1.4 million in taxes that he owed from 2016 through 2019. Prosecutors allege that he instead spent hundreds of thousands on drugs, escorts and exotic cars. Geoff Bennett discussed the case with Ryan Lucas.

Each year, the NewsHour asks the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service at the Pentagon to produce holiday songs with service members singing. On this second night of Hanukkah, we present "Ocho Kandelikas" by the composer and singer Flory Jagoda.

New York Times columnist David Brooks and Washington Post associate editor Jonathan Capehart join Geoff Bennett to discuss the week in politics, including the latest charges and accusations against Hunter Biden, President Biden's push for more aid to Ukraine and Trump's comments about being a dictator.