September 1, 2021 - PBS NewsHour full episode

In our news wrap Wednesday, three suburban Denver police officers and two paramedics have been indicted on manslaughter and other charges in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain. President Joe Biden had his first face-to-face meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. A federal judge in White Plains, New York has approved the bankruptcy reorganization plan for oxycontin maker Purdue Pharma.

Firefighters in Northern California made more progress Wednesday against the massive Caldor Fire raging near the Lake Tahoe resort area. The flames are now 20 percent contained, after burning more than 204,000 acres since mid-August. Stephanie Sy has the latest.

A restrictive abortion law in Texas went into effect Wednesday after the Supreme Court failed to respond to an emergency plea to intervene before midnight. Texas has now banned most abortions after the 6th week of pregnancy. The law also empowers private citizens to file lawsuits against anyone who helps another person get an abortion, and is the most restrictive in the nation. John Yang reports.

Two days after the last American troops left Afghanistan, Taliban rulers are struggling to keep the country functioning. Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department is trying to secure the remaining Americans and Afghan allies' exit. As the world waits to see how the Taliban governs, Amna Nawaz speaks to Shaharzad Akbar, chairperson of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, about the issue.

Europe’s human rights commissioner has called on the continent to welcome Afghan refugees with open arms. But this latest chapter in the refugee and migrant crisis will add to thousands of people, mainly from Africa, still making the desperate journey. Special correspondent Malcolm Brabant just returned from the Italian island of Lampedusa, off the coast of Tunisia, where he filmed this report.

New technology is changing the way we think about the human brain. Miles o'Brien gives us a personal look at how rewiring the mind with the aid of machines is transforming the lives of those with amputated limbs. It is the second part of this story in our "Breakthroughs" series on innovation and invention.

To explore the federal government's response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Ida, Judy Woodruff is joined by David Bibo, acting associate administrator for response and recovery at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). He is just back from Louisiana, where he saw areas hit hardest by the storm and surveyed the damage.