Stories of the Week | PBS NewsHour Podcast | PBS

Education correspondent John Merrow reports on a Chicago program that targets high-risk, low-income young children before they begin falling behind in school.

The manhunt for ex-LA cop Christopher Dorner has allegedly ended in Big Bear Lake, Calif., where police suspect Dorner was killed in a fire. Jeffrey Brown gets an update from Kate Mather who's been covering the story for the Los Angeles Times.

The week-long manhunt for ex-Los Angeles police officer Christopher Dorner seems to be at an end. A police standoff in southern California ended in the burning down of a cabin where Dorner was allegedly hiding.

A day after the 2013 State of the Union address, President Obama toured a North Carolina factory in order to press his economic plan to raise the minimum wage. Judy Woodruff examines the president's plan with Kevin Hassett of the American Enterprise Insitute and Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor of The Nation.

Ray Suarez talks with journalist Phil Bronstein who wrote an Esquire profile of the Navy SEAL credited with killing Osama bin Laden. Since the SEAL -- known as "the shooter" -- retired from service, but he's been met with significant challenges, or as Bronstein writes, "no landing pad in civilian life."

A week after President Obama unveiled a sweeping list of proposals to address gun violence, Vice President Biden hosted a Google+ Hangout with Hari Sreenivasan to talk to Americans and answer questions on the gun debate. NewsHour political editor Christina Bellantoni weighs in on where the gun fight stands in Congress.

Will the Chinese economy continue its torrid pace of growth and overtake the U.S.'s top status? Or is it a bubble destined to burst, taking the world economy down with it? Paul Solman interviews a highly-respected China "bull" and a prominent China "bear" as part of his ongoing Making Sen$e project.

In the wake of outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's testimony on the Benghazi attack, her presumptive successor Sen. John Kerry begins confirmation hearings. Kwame Holman reports on the proceedings and Jeffrey Brown talks with two former presidential national security advisers, Zbigniew Brzezinski and Stephen Hadley.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says he will lift a 19-year ban on servicewomen serving in combat. Jeffrey Brown reports that this move may open up more than 200,000 jobs to women. Gwen Ifill looks at the implications of Panetta's decision with Col. Ellen Haring of the U.S. Army and former Marine Corps officer Wade Zirkle.

The U.S. House voted to extend the nation's debt limit for another three months. Can the Republican party use fiscal issues to regain its footing? Gwen Ifill talks with Susan Page of USA Today and Stuart Rothenberg of the Rothenberg Political Report and Roll Call.

PBS's NOVA explores the pros, cons and controversies of drone warfare, as well as the technology behind drone strikes. Jeffrey Brown discusses with Seth Jones of RAND Corporation and Chris Anders from the American Civil Liberties Union.

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta decided to lift the ban on women in the military serving in combat, opening thousands of front line jobs to women and reversing the 1994 policy that kept them out of those positions. Gwen Ifill talks with James Kitfield of National Journal about the historic change and implications.

As Secretary Clinton offers congressional testimony on the consulate attack in Benghazi, Jeffrey Brown talks with former U.S. Ambassador Nicholas Burns and Danielle Pletka of the American Enterprise Institute about Clinton's performance and whether the United States is doing enough to combat Islamic militants in North Africa.

In other news Wednesday, subzero temperatures in parts of the Northeast and Midwest caused 15 states to issue wind chill warnings. Also, the U.S. Air Force vowed to put an end to all sexual misconduct within its ranks. It received some 800 reports of inappropriate behavior in 2012 alone.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke before Senate and House committees about the deadly attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya. Gwen Ifill reports on Clinton's taking responsibility for the inadequate security as well as her rejection of claims from Republicans that the Obama administration had deceived the nation.