May 12, 2021 - PBS NewsHour full episode

Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, a Republican, joins Judy Woodruff to discuss Wednesday's leadership vote in the house that ousted Rep. Liz Cheney and President Joe Biden's infrastructure meeting with congressional leaders. Prior to serving in the Senate, Portman was the O.M.B. director during the Bush-Cheney administration, and previously also served as a member on the House Republican Leadership Team.

On Wednesday afternoon, a key advisory panel to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended allowing Pfizer's COVID-19 shots for children aged 12 to 15. Many parents have been eagerly awaiting this decision, but it's far from universal. Dr. Francis Collins is the director of the National Institute of Health and joins Judy Woodruff to discuss the planned rollout for that age group.

More migrants were arrested or detained along the southern border in April than during any other month in the last 20 years. Desperate to make it to the U.S., many Central American migrants are being influenced by smugglers and their rosy pitches of an easy journey north. Amna Nawaz reports on the messages that are fueling migration.

President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Wednesday about the spiraling violence between Israelis and Palestinians. Biden said he hoped the conflict would end "sooner than later." At least 53 Palestinians, including 14 children, have been killed so far, and seven Israelis have died in rocket attacks. Even so, as John Yang reports, the conflict is far from over.

In our news wrap Wednesday, panic buying of gasoline intensified across the southeastern U.S. as the colonial pipeline resumed operations. Inflation fears washed over Wall Street and the financial markets. The U.S. death toll from COVID-19 has fallen to an average of about 600 a day — the lowest in 10 months. Partisan fireworks sparked at a Congressional hearing on the January Capitol attack.

96-year-old Stuart Hodes took his first dance lesson at the Martha Graham school after being discharged from a distinguished stint as an air force aviator in World War II, and he has been dancing through life ever since. He recently wrote a memoir called "Onstage with Martha Graham," and joins us to provide his Brief but Spectacular take on dancing into old age.