January 15, 2021 - PBS NewsHour full episode

The nation entered the weekend on edge about the coming presidential inauguration. Investigators are still delving unto the trauma that shook Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6, as authorities brace for what's yet to come. Nick Schifrin reports.

President-elect Joe Biden on Thursday unveiled a major legislative package to address the twin health and economic crises now facing his administration. The $1.9 trillion plan would bolster funding for states, schools and small business, among other proposals. Heather Boushey, an incoming member of the Biden administration's White House Council of Economic Advisers, joins Judy Woodruff to discuss.

In our news wrap Friday, COVID-19 has now killed more than 2 million people worldwide since it emerged in China just over a year ago, White House says President Trump will depart Washington on the morning of the inauguration, the timing of the Trump's impeachment trial remains undecided, thousands of migrants in Honduras have started north in the year’s first caravan to the United States.

The unprecedented show of military force to defend the peaceful transfer of power is not just taking place in Washington, D.C. The FBI says there are threats to all 50 states, where there could be armed protests. In Pennsylvania, some of the 450 National Guard troops deployed will help protect the state Capitol in Harrisburg. Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman joins Nick Schifrin to discuss.

The U.S. Department of Defense announced Friday that military-force levels in Afghanistan are now at 2,500 service personnel -- the goal President Trump had set. This is the lowest number of American troops since the U.S. first invaded the country in 2001, and comes as the Afghan government and Taliban peace talks stall. Special correspondent Jane Ferguson joins Amna Nawaz from Kabul to discuss.

New York Times columnist David Brooks and Washington Post columnist Jonathan Capehart join Judy Woodruff to discuss the week in politics, including President Trump’s historic impeachment, the fallout from the Capitol insurrection and President-elect Biden’s economic relief plan.

As the nation nears 400,000 deaths from the coronavirus, we honor five people who lost their lives due to COVID-19.