PBS NewsHour

One key piece of President-elect Biden's plan to fight COVID is to make major changes to how vaccines are distributed around the country. The plan comes amid a report that the vaccine reserves the Trump administration has promised to ship to states do not actually exist right now. Dr. Peter Hotez, an infectious disease specialist at Baylor College of Medicine, joins William Brangham to discuss.

The unprecedented show of military force to defend the peaceful transfer of power is not just taking place in Washington, D.C. The FBI says there are threats to all 50 states, where there could be armed protests. In Pennsylvania, some of the 450 National Guard troops deployed will help protect the state Capitol in Harrisburg. Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman joins Nick Schifrin to discuss.

In our news wrap Friday, COVID-19 has now killed more than 2 million people worldwide since it emerged in China just over a year ago, White House says President Trump will depart Washington on the morning of the inauguration, the timing of the Trump's impeachment trial remains undecided, thousands of migrants in Honduras have started north in the year’s first caravan to the United States.

As the nation nears 400,000 deaths from the coronavirus, we honor five people who lost their lives due to COVID-19.

New York Times columnist David Brooks and Washington Post columnist Jonathan Capehart join Judy Woodruff to discuss the week in politics, including President Trump’s historic impeachment, the fallout from the Capitol insurrection and President-elect Biden’s economic relief plan.

The U.S. Department of Defense announced Friday that military-force levels in Afghanistan are now at 2,500 service personnel -- the goal President Trump had set. This is the lowest number of American troops since the U.S. first invaded the country in 2001, and comes as the Afghan government and Taliban peace talks stall. Special correspondent Jane Ferguson joins Amna Nawaz from Kabul to discuss.

President-elect Joe Biden on Thursday unveiled a major legislative package to address the twin health and economic crises now facing his administration. The $1.9 trillion plan would bolster funding for states, schools and small business, among other proposals. Heather Boushey, an incoming member of the Biden administration's White House Council of Economic Advisers, joins Judy Woodruff to discuss.

The nation entered the weekend on edge about the coming presidential inauguration. Investigators are still delving unto the trauma that shook Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6, as authorities brace for what's yet to come. Nick Schifrin reports.

In our news wrap Thursday, coronavirus deaths in U.S. near 390,000, former Michigan officials charged in Flint water crisis, watchdog finds Justice Department knew President Trump’s border policy would separate children from parents, President-elect Biden taps deputy defense secretary David Norquist to temporarily lead the Pentagon, and 2020 essentially ties 2016 for hottest year on record.

In the 1960s, Ruby Bridges became the first African-American student to integrate into an entirely white public school system in New Orleans. She joins Charlayne Hunter-Gault, who followed in Bridges' footsteps 60 years ago and desegregated the University of Georgia along with Hamilton Holmes, to discuss racism and civil rights in the modern era.

As the days dwindle in the Trump administration, they are still issuing rules and regulations, sanctions and designations that could have impacts both abroad and at home, beyond the end of the administration. William Brangham and Nick Schifrin discuss Trump's orders and how some of them might hamstring the Biden administration.

The events at the Capitol, beginning with a violent mob and ending with the second impeachment of President Trump, have exposed deep rifts in the Republican Party. With Trump set to leave office, we discuss the GOP's future with Lanhee Chen, a Hoover Institution fellow who's advised several Republican presidential candidates, and Gary Abernathy, a contributing columnist to The Washington Post.

Since last week's riot at the Capitol, more and more companies are cutting ties with Donald Trump, and dozens of corporations suspended political contributions to the 147 members of Congress who refused to certify the election of Joe Biden. Paul Solman reports.

Prosecutors in Michigan announced 41 criminal charges against nine former state and city officials Thursday in the Flint water crisis, including Michigan's former governor. Sandra Jones, executive director of R. L. Jones Community Outreach Center at the Greater Holy Temple Church of God in Christ, joins John Yang to discuss the impact the public health failure continues to have on the community.

The timing of a Senate impeachment trial for President Trump remains up in the air, as authorities investigate potential threats during the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden, who is planning a nearly $2 trillion economic package to combat COVID-19 and the resulting economic fallout. Yamiche Alcindor and Lisa Desjardins join Judy Woodruff to discuss.

In a 232-197 vote Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives impeached President Trump for a second time, with just one week left in his term. Texas Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro, who is one of the managers of the impeachment trial, joins Judy Woodruff to discuss the history-making day.

Just after President Trump was impeached on Wednesday he released a video condemning violence, while also pushing back on what he called unfair censorship. Yamiche Alcindor joins Judy Woodruff to discuss.

They’ve become known as "long haulers" -- people who’ve been infected with COVID-19 but can’t seem to rid their bodies of its effects months later. Their symptoms run the gamut, from shortness of breath to heart palpitations to extreme fatigue. And this mystery has the medical community scrambling. Stephanie Sy reports.

In our news wrap Wednesday, pandemic deaths in the U.S. hit another high Tuesday with more than 4,300, the virus pushes the federal budget deficit to a new record, New York City is terminating all contracts with the Trump organization, President-elect Biden taps Samantha Power to lead the U.S. Agency for International Development, and a woman on death row is executed for the first time in decades.

Thousands of members of the National Guard will be in Washington, D.C. for President-elect Biden's inauguration after the violent attack at the U.S. Capitol last week raised concerns over security. Many of those worries also extend to 50 state capitols, where the FBI says protests will take place as well. Nick Schifrin spoke to Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel to learn more.