May 21, 2024 - PBS NewsHour full episode

Europe’s most important court has ruled that protection from climate change is a human right. The judgment will be put to the test in Britain by a climate change refugee who lost his cliff top home to sea erosion. Rising sea waters and increasingly violent storms, caused by melting ice and warmer oceans, are a special concern on Britain’s east coast. Special correspondent Malcolm Brabant reports.

Donald Trump’s defense team rested its case Tuesday in the trial brought against the former president by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. Next week, both sides will make their closing statements to the jury and then deliberations will begin. While this case is often called a hush money trial, the charges against the former president are more complicated. William Brangham explains.

One person is dead and roughly 70 others are injured after a Singapore Airlines flight headed from London to Singapore hit severe turbulence. The flight descended 6,000 feet in three minutes over the Indian Ocean, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing in Bangkok. Aviation correspondent Miles O’Brien reports.

Taiwan has a new president with Lai Ching-te inaugurated this past weekend. In the past, he has called himself a “political worker for Taiwanese independence,” words that enrage Beijing, which sees the island as a break-away province to be reunited with the mainland. President Biden has vowed to defend Taiwan, making it a potential flashpoint between the U.S. and China. Nick Schifrin reports.

Bill Maher is often a controversial figure in the world of politics and culture. He’s positioned himself as the ultimate truth-teller who takes equal pleasure in punching at the left and the right. Maher is taking stock of his decades of commentary in his new book, “What This Comedian Said Will Shock You.” Geoff Bennett sat down with Maher for our arts and culture series, CANVAS.

In 1904, nearly 1,200 Filipinos were brought to the U.S. to take part in the World’s Fair in St. Louis. Some worked as guides, but others were put on display. More than a century later, a new exhibit explores the impact in St. Louis and beyond. Communities correspondent Gabrielle Hays reports.