January 2, 2019 - PBS NewsHour full episode

Chaos erupted again at the U.S.-Mexico border Monday, as border patrol officers fired tear gas at migrants they say were throwing rocks. Meanwhile, other migrants reportedly tried to cross the border. U.S. officials say no children were harmed. For context on this use of force, the level of threat posed by the migrants and their state of being "in limbo," Judy Woodruff turns to Amna Nawaz.

House Democrats are “prepared to negotiate” with President Trump on border security, said incoming majority leader Rep. Steny Hoyer, but they don’t want the government, or the country, to be “penalized” in the meantime. Hoyer talks to Judy Woodruff about agreeing with the president on the end goal of border security, but not on how to achieve it.

For the past few years, a rare polio-like illness has been striking otherwise healthy children, often after a mild respiratory illness or fever. Cases of acute flaccid myelitis, or AFM, reached record-high numbers in 2018, and doctors still cannot pinpoint what causes the disease, how to treat it or how to stop it. Amna Nawaz explores how families are recovering from its devastating consequences.

The White House director of strategic communications says President Trump proposed a plan to Democrats to fund a southern border wall and resolve the partial government shutdown, but they "refused to negotiate." A Wednesday meeting hasn't yet led to a solution. Mercedes Schlapp speaks to Judy Woodruff about the funding number the president will accept and why a “physical barrier” is necessary now.

It's day 12 of the partial government shutdown. President Trump met with congressional leaders Wednesday afternoon, the day before Democrats take control of the House, to reiterate that affected government agencies would remain closed as long as it takes to deliver the border wall funding he wants. For more on the significance of this unprecedented shutdown, Judy Woodruff talks to Lisa Desjardins.

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is suing the Trump administration, arguing that it's illegal to force 400,000 federal employees to work without pay. According to J. David Cox, the president of the union, the Fair Labor Standards Act and legal precedent support his organization's stance. Cox sits down with Judy Woodruff to explain why he finds the shutdown "unconscionable."