February 22, 2021 - PBS NewsHour full episode

All of us face the risk that extreme weather events like the recent one in Texas will become more common and more destructive occurrences because of climate change. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has studied climate change for years, and he has prescriptions in his latest book, "How to Avoid a Climate Disaster." He joins Judy Woodruff to discuss.

In the years-long battle to retake northeastern Syria from ISIS, a small but powerful band of fighters led the way. The women of the YPJ, a Syrian-Kurdish force, fought alongside their male counterparts and face-to-face against ISIS. Author and journalist Gayle Tzemach Lemmon spent years reporting on their stories. She joins Amna Nawaz to discuss her new book, "The Daughters of Kobani."

It is a time of political peril for the seven Republican senators who voted to convict the dominant figure of their party. State and local Republican parties have censured -- or are thinking about censuring -- several of those senators. And Donald Trump himself is set to re-emerge for his first public appearance as former president this coming weekend. Yamiche Alcindor reports.

The U.S. on Monday marked a new, watershed moment in the COVID-19 pandemic with 500,000 confirmed deaths. It comes even as daily increases in infections and deaths have slowed sharply in recent weeks. William Brangham reports, and Judy Woodruff speaks with Dr. Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the Georgetown University Center for Global Health Science and Security, to learn more.

In our news wrap Monday, the World Health Organization head asked wealthy countries not to buy up all the COVID vaccines before poor nations get any, President Biden plans to funnel more federal pandemic aid to businesses owned by women and minorities, Virginia lawmakers voted to end capital punishment, and former President Trump lost bid to keep his tax records away from a New York prosecutor.

NPR’s Tamara Keith and Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report join Yamiche Alcindor to discuss the latest political news, including President Biden's COVID-relief package, his handling of the pandemic since taking office and former President Trump's continued impact on the Republican Party.