PBS News Hour

Donald Trump isn’t the only one preparing for his return to the White House. Several Democratic governors are uniting, they say, to protect democracy at the state level during Trump’s second term in office. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis announced the launch of Governors Safeguarding Democracy. Pritzker joined Amna Nawaz to discuss more.

President Biden hosted President-elect Trump at the White House for nearly two hours on Wednesday, a familiar ritual in the peaceful handoff of power. White House Correspondent Laura Barrón-López reports on the transition meeting.

For perspective on President-elect Trump's pick of Pete Hegseth to be Secretary of Defense, Nick Schifrin spoke with James McPherson. He served as under secretary of the Army and as the Army's general council during the first Trump administration. He also had a 25-year career in the Navy and served as that service's top lawyer in uniform.

In our news wrap Wednesday, Secretary of State Blinken pledged to rush aid to Ukraine in the Biden administration's final months, a U.S. government employee has been charged with leaking classified information about Israel's plans to attack Iran, the FBI revealed Chinese affiliated actors targeted telecommunications companies and drug overdose deaths appear to be showing a sustained decline.

President-elect Trump took a victory lap in the nation’s capital, bouncing from meetings with House Republicans to President Biden in the Oval Office. It comes as critical roles are being filled, from more members of Trump’s cabinet to new leaders in the Senate. Lisa Desjardins reports.

President-elect Trump announced his picks to lead the bulk of the expansive, American security and diplomatic apparatus. A senator, a soldier-turned-television host and a former member of Congress have been chosen by Donald Trump to lead, respectively, the State Department, the Defense Department and the Directorate of National Intelligence. Nick Schifrin reports.

President-elect Trump nominated one of his most prominent loyalists in Congress to lead the Department of Justice. Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz is the former president’s pick to serve as the nation’s top prosecutor. The right-wing firebrand is well known for leading efforts to oust former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy. Geoff Bennett discussed more with Carrie Johnson of NPR.

The 119th Congress will have several members whose elections made history. One of them is Representative-elect Sarah McBride, a state senator who won Delaware’s at-large seat in the House. She will become the first openly transgender member of the United States Congress. McBride joined Amna Nawaz to discuss more.

In our news wrap Tuesday, the U.S. will not limit arms transfers to Israel after seeing some progress in boosting aid to Gaza, a judge delayed a decision on whether to uphold Trump’s hush-money conviction, the airman who leaked classified military documents about the Ukraine war was sentenced and a judge blocked a Louisiana law forcing public schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms.

With President-elect Trump's national security team coming into focus, one priority will be confronting and increasing pressure on Iran. So how does that look and feel to ordinary Iranians? Special Correspondent Reza Sayah in Tehran has been speaking with people there and sent us this report.

Newly-elected House members won’t take their seats until January but they are on Capitol Hill this week for congressional orientation. Republican Congressman-elect Rob Bresnahan is among them. He flipped his district in the northeast corner of Pennsylvania from blue to red. Bresnahan joined Geoff Bennett to discuss more.

When Centurion was founded, it was the first group of its kind working to overturn wrongful convictions for people facing execution or life. Decades later, the work continues and its story is being told by its founder and novelist John Grisham. Jeffrey Brown reports for our series, Art in Action, exploring the intersection of art and democracy and for our arts and culture coverage, CANVAS.