January 11, 2022 - PBS NewsHour full episode

In our news wrap Tuesday, the United Nations is appealing for a record $5 billion in humanitarian assistance for Afghanistan and neighboring countries as the U.S. announced $300 million in aid. Also, the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in the U.S. hit a new record, Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell testified for his re-nomination, and North Korea test-fires a ballistic missile.

As President Biden and Vice President Harris step up their push for Democrats to pass federal voting rights legislation, Geoff Bennet gets two different views on the significance of their trip to Georgia Tuesday and what lies ahead. Latosha Brown, co-founder of Black Voters Matter, and Gabriel Sterling, chief operating officer of the Georgia Secretary of State's office, join him to discuss.

During Tuesday's congressional hearing about the pandemic, there were tough criticisms of the Biden administration and the lack of available testing. Biden has announced plans to ramp up the response, from requiring insurers to pay for rapid at-home testing to making 500 million tests available. Thomas Inglesby, senior advisor to the White House COVID team, joins Judy Woodruff to discuss.

Chinese authorities locked down after discovering two cases of omicron in Anyang, a city of 5.5 million people about 300 miles outside Beijing. It’s the third Chinese city now in lockdown and comes less than a month before the Beijing Olympics. These lockdowns are tests of China’s zero-COVID policy, which authorities have called a success. But critics ask: at what cost? Nick Schifrin reports.

With the spread of omicron exacerbating staffing shortages, returning to school after winter break has been a significant struggle in many parts of the country. The overwhelming number of districts are back in person, but some have gone virtual for a few weeks. And, as Stephanie Sy reports, the biggest battle over whether to return to in-person learning has been playing out in Chicago.

Tuesday marked 20 years since the military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba opened. Since Jan. 11, 2002, it’s been one of the most enduring symbols of the United States' war on terror. But it's also a symbol of government waste and mismanagement, and a legacy of torture. Amna Nawaz looks back at the facility's two decades, and what's to come, with Carol Rosenberg of The New York Time.