February 2, 2021 - PBS NewsHour full episode

As concerns continue to grow about coronavirus variants in the U.S. and globally, the British authorities on Tuesday said they believe a version of the U.K. variant may stunt the effect of some vaccines. Paul Turner, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the Yale School of Medicine and a specialist on how genes mutate, joins Judy Woodruff to discuss the efficacy of vaccines.

President Biden is out with a raft of initiatives Tuesday directed at the U.S. southern border, and the man who will manage immigration policies, Alejandro Mayorkas, is joining his Cabinet after being confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve as secretary of Homeland Security. Yamiche Alcindor reports.

Democrats and Republicans are preparing for an unprecedented second impeachment trial for former President Trump, which is set to begin in the U.S. Senate next week, as Trump's legal team offered a first glimpse at their defense. Lisa Desjardins joins Judy Woodruff to discuss.

The Biden administration and Senate Republicans continue to debate the merits and details of the president's $1.9 trillion relief plan. Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, the third-highest ranking Republican in the Senate, joins Judy Woodruff to discuss.

President Biden signed a series of executive actions Tuesday undoing many of the Trump administration's signature immigration policies. This follows orders he already signed that reverse other controversial Trump era immigration items, like reinstating the DACA program and stopping construction of the border wall. We spoke to some of those who are immediately and directly impacted by the changes.

In our news wrap Tuesday, President Biden’s nominee for transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg easily won Senate confirmation, the White House plans to ship a million doses of coronavirus vaccines nationwide, Russia's opposition leader is sentenced to prison, two FBI agents were killed in Florida, and the World War II veteran whose charity walks raised millions in pandemic relief died in Britain.

As the pandemic drags on, the toll taken on students and teachers, while trying to protect them from infection, has become one of the outbreak's most vexing and intractable challenges. Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, the nation's largest teachers union, joins Stephanie Sy to discuss.

President Biden appears ready to continue the push for his $1.9 trillion pandemic relief plan a day after he met with Senate Republicans to discuss its size and scope. Jared Bernstein, who was appointed to the White House Council of Economic Advisers, joins Judy Woodruff to discuss the Biden administration’s stance on the plan.