PBS Headlines

A U.S. Navy admiral who oversees military operations in Latin America handed off command responsibilities Friday as scrutiny increases over the Trump administration's deadly strikes on alleged drug boats in the region.

The Trump administration is arguing that requiring real-time American Sign Language interpretation of events like White House press briefings “would severely intrude on the President’s prerogative to control the image he presents to the public," part of a lawsuit seeking to require the White House to provide the services.

Newly released photos are offering a closer look at the influential and wealthy people who spent time with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Democrats on the House Oversight Committee say the batch of previously unreleased images came directly from Epstein’s estate. They include multiple images of President Trump and former President Bill Clinton, among others. Liz Landers reports.

In our news wrap Friday, a group of preservationists is suing President Trump over his White House ballroom renovation, officials say flooding and landslides are hitting Washington and Oregon, Gaza residents are clearing up from a winter storm that flooded camps, the E.U. agrees to freeze $250 billion in Russian assets and downhill skiing legend Lindsay Vonn made history in a World Cup race.

Nobel Peace Laureate Maria Corina Machado on Friday vowed to continue her political pursuit to create democracy in Venezuela. This week she braved an arduous journey to accept the peace prize in Oslo, Norway. Nick Schifrin speaks now with the man who helped her escape a Venezuelan government that's been hunting her for a year-and-a-half.

President Trump’s push to redraw congressional maps in Republicans' favor hit a major roadblock in Indiana Thursday when Indiana Republican state senators joined Democrats to vote against a plan that would likely have created two new Republican seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. One Republican who voted to block the maps is Indiana Sen. Mike Bohacek. He joins Lisa Desjardins to discuss.

President Trump has signed an executive order that would block states from enforcing laws they pass to regulate A.I., or artificial intelligence.The directive marks a big win for tech giants but will likely be challenged in the courts. Jacob Ward, founder of The Rip Current, joins Geoff Bennett to help break down the concerns and the arguments around all of this.

Israel's cabinet voted to extend legal status to 19 previously illegal settlements late last night, formalizing more control of land in the West Bank. Attacks by Jewish settlers against Palestinian communities there have increased sharply since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks in Israel. As Leila Molana-Allen tells us, the settlers' violence continues with few apparent consequences.

New York Times columnist David Brooks and Jonathan Capehart of MS NOW join Amna Nawaz to discuss the week in politics, including how President Trump's string of seeming disappointments this week is raising some doubts about his grip on the Republican Party and his ability to govern in his second term.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a privately funded group, is asking the U.S. District Court to block Trump’s White House ballroom project, which already has involved razing the East Wing, until it goes through comprehensive design reviews, environmental assessments, public comments and congressional debate and ratification.

“Early diagnosis quite simply saves lives," the king said.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday pressuring states not to regulate artificial intelligence.

On eight consecutive nightfalls, Jews gather with family and friends to light one additional candle in the menorah.

A federal appeals court blocked the immediate release of hundreds of immigrants detained during a Chicago area immigration crackdown in a split decision Thursday that also allowed the extension of a consent decree outlining how federal immigration agents can make warrantless arrests.

New York routinely issues commercial driver's licenses to immigrants that may be valid long after they are legally authorized to be in the country, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Friday and he threatened to withhold $73 million in highway funds unless the system is fixed and any flawed licenses are revoked.

Stark reimaginings of Christ's birth are drawing praise and outrage as churches turn the Christmas tableau into a commentary on federal immigration enforcement under the Trump administration.

Roughly half of Americans say it’s harder than usual to afford the things they want to give as holiday gifts, and similar numbers are delaying big purchases or cutting back on nonessential purchases more than they would normally.

The United States is using its economic power to “assert its will" and threaten military force against friend and foe alike, a Danish intelligence agency said in a new report.

The Somali flag was flown alongside the Vermont state flag and beneath the United States flag at a building that includes K-12 classrooms. Somali students cheered and clapped, telling administrators the flag flying meant a great deal to them.

Her detention comes as Iran has been cracking down on intellectuals and others as Tehran struggles with sanctions, an ailing economy and the fear of a renewed war with Israel.