June 22, 2022 - PBS NewsHour full episode

A WAY OUT OF NO WAY

Schools across the U.S. are getting some much-needed upgrades from the COVID relief package known as the American Rescue Plan. That's true in Missouri, where the state legislature decided how to allocate the federal money just weeks before it was set to expire. But experts say fixing systemic funding gaps in the public education system will require long-term investment. Gabrielle Hays reports.

Bluegrass guitar picker Molly Tuttle is at the top of her profession. Named the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Guitar Player of the Year, she was drawn to this traditional American art form from the cradle. But the story of how her career evolved is not entirely traditional. Tom Casciato reports as part of our arts and culture series, "CANVAS."

President Biden is calling on Congress to temporarily suspend the federal gas tax. The president told reporters at an event Wednesday that he knows the proposal isn’t a permanent solution to rising prices at the pump. White House correspondent Laura Barrón-López has been reporting on the plan, and joins Judy Woodruff to discuss.

Congress appears poised to deliver the biggest overhaul to the nation’s gun laws in nearly three decades. It’s a development few observers believed possible, even as mass shootings like those in Buffalo and Uvalde shook the country. Congressional correspondent Lisa Desjardins joins Judy Woodruff to explain what’s in the bill, what’s not, and where this proposal goes from here.

The Taliban leaders of Afghanistan are appealing for outside help after a devastating earthquake killed at least 1,000 people Wednesday and injured another 1,500. The quake struck in the eastern mountains near the Pakistan border. Officials warned the death toll may still rise as search efforts continue. Samira Sayed-Rahman, of the International Rescue Committee, joins Amna Nawaz to discuss.

Attorney General Merrick Garland traveled to Ukraine this week to review U.S. efforts to help prosecute Russian war criminals. Ukrainian officials say they are examining more than 15,000 possible war crimes since Russia’s February invasion, while the U.S. and Europe are also supporting an International Criminal Court investigation. ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan joins Nick Schifrin to discuss.