February 7, 2019 - PBS NewsHour full episode

In our news wrap Thursday, a House Oversight Panel is reviewing whether President Trump should be forced to disclose his tax returns. Meanwhile, the House Judiciary Committee approved a tentative subpoena for acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker after he said would not testify before Congress about the Russia probe unless the subpoena was dropped.

With two Virginia state leaders admitting to wearing blackface and another accused of sexual assault, Democrats are debating not only a change in leadership but what their party stands for. Amna Nawaz is joined by Washington Post reporter Eugene Scott and Harvard University historian Leah Wright Rigueur to discuss this moment of reckoning in American politics.

Democrats on Thursday introduced what they are calling the Green New Deal. The plan would require the U.S. government to reduce carbon emissions by overhauling how we get around, how we power our buildings and how we grow our food. William Brangham speaks to Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., who is co-sponsoring the resolution with freshman Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York.

Caroline Clark was diagnosed as deaf at the age of two. Born into a hearing family, she reflects on her relationship to words and how she turned to technology to help her speak. Clark now works with the Baker Institute, providing speech therapy for children, and offers her brief but spectacular take on being deaf.

Pope Francis is publicly acknowledging for the first time that clergymen have sexually abused nuns. Private reports that were sent to top Vatican officials, but not publicly reported on until much later, indicate the abuse goes as far back as the 1990s. John Yang speaks to Associated Press reporter Nicole Winfield about why it took so long for the accusations to come to light.

The U.S. has withdrawn from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, saying Russia was violating the arms control deal that dates back to the Cold War. Now, Russia plans begin to building mid-range nuclear missiles. Nick Schifrin speaks with Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security Andrea Thompson about whether the U.S. can avoid a new arms race.