Stories of the Week | PBS NewsHour Podcast | PBS

Ahmed Jabari, military head of Hamas, was killed by a precision airstrike into Gaza launched by Israel. The Israeli Defense Forces announced it was the beginning of a larger military campaign, and Hamas attempted to retaliate with rockets. The escalation comes on the heels of smaller violent conflicts between the two sides.

Americans hold U.S. military officers to a high ethical standard and propriety. Judy Woodruff talks to Richard Kohn of the University of North Carolina and retired Col. Andrew Bacevich on whether these standards are reasonable and why the U.S. is fascinated by the recent scandals of Generals like David Petraeus and John Allen.

In other news Wednesday, Rep. Nancy Pelosi announced she would run again for the position of House Minority Leader, with Democrats backing her leadership. Also, word broke that former CIA director David Petraeus will testify about the attacks on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya at an upcoming Senate hearing.

In his first post-election press conference, President Obama addressed the White House Press Corps on a range of issues, including the so-called "fiscal cliff," the resignation of former CIA director David Petraeus, immigration reform, climate change and more. Kwame Holman reports the highlights of the president's remarks.

As China's economy has grown, the way of life for many Chinese has changed, especially diet. Per capita, consumption of meat has quadrupled in China over the last 30 years. PRI's The World correspondent Mary Kay Magistad reports on how China is dealing with this growing demand.

President Barack Obama is meeting with conservative and progressive leaders to gather input on how to avoid going over the "fiscal cliff." Jeffrey Brown talks to National Education Association's Dennis Van Roekel and Moveon.org's Justin Ruben, progressive leaders who met with President Obama at the White House this week.

Election exit polls show that Republicans failed to earn votes from the growing demographics of minorities and young people. Jeffrey Brown talks to strategist Leslie Sanchez, FreedomWorks' Matt Kibbe and super PAC Y-G Action Fund's Brad Dayspring about how the GOP needs to change the way it explains its platform.

Congress returns to Washington next week for a lame duck session to begin to tackle the threat of going over the "fiscal cliff." In the private sector, some business leaders are taking a more vocal stance on the debt crisis and have joined the Campaign to Fix the Debt. Judy Woodruff talks to Aetna CEO Mark T. Bertolini.

Judy Woodruff talks to NewsHour political analysts Mark Shields and David Brooks for post-Election Day analysis about how changing demographics affected the election, plus how some politicians' ideological purity has obstructed necessary negotiations to fix the debt crisis, as well as the potential for a future 'grand bargain.'

President Obama has a second term to address major issues, including immigration, the fiscal cliff and health care. But with Congress still divided, compromise and cooperation may remain elusive. Gwen Ifill talks to Third Way's John Cowan and The Wall Street Journal's Naftali Bendavid on the reality for the next four years.

The election outcome mostly maintains political status quo in Washington, but certain races were significant. Jeffrey Brown talks to Linda Killian of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and The Rothenberg Political Report's Stu Rothenberg for what this tells us about what voters want from their elected leaders.

President Obama secured a second term by building a massive ground game to move voters, and by running negative ads early in the campaign. Judy Woodruff talks to the Washington Post's Philip Rucker, The Wall Street Journal's Carol Lee and Slate's Sasha Issenberg about which tactics worked or failed in the costly 2012 elections.

In other news Wednesday, Sandy victims and Northeast residents braced for another storm scheduled to hit the already battered East Coast, bringing powerful wind, heavy rain, and even snow. Hundreds of scheduled flights have been cancelled. Also Wall Street saw one of its worst days of the year.

President Barack Obama returned to Washington after winning both the Electoral College and the popular vote in the 2012 election, but there was little time to savor the victory in the face of a potential fiscal crisis at the end of the year. Kwame Holman reports on the day after and Gwen Ifill Talks to Ray Suarez from Chicago.

Barack Obama accepts re-election as President of the United States at a rally of his supporters at the McCormick Place convention center in Chicago. President Obama led the 2012 election against Republican challenger former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney after claiming victory in several swing states.