PBS NewsHour

What differentiates Tunisia in its progress establishing a young democracy, while other countries inspired by the Arab Spring have floundered? What are the lasting consequences for nations that have plunged into long-term conflict? Jeffrey Brown asks for an assessment from Hisham Melhem of Al-Arabiya, Mary-Jane Deeb of the Library of Congress and Tarek Masoud of Harvard University.

Three years ago, protests in Tunisia ignited a regional revolution known as the Arab Spring that has produced decidedly mixed results. Jeffrey Brown examines the outcome for Tunisia as well as the ongoing turmoil in Libya and Egypt.

As shale and natural gas fracking booms in South Texas, a new report raises unsettling concerns about possible related health risks and poor air quality. The Center for Public Integrity collaborated with others in examining nearly 300 complaints filed by residents. Jim Morris, a journalist who contributed to the report, joins Judy Woodruff to detail the findings and respond to the industry’s rejection.

As the United States military prepares to withdraw from Afghanistan, the lives of thousands of Afghan citizens who worked for Americans are being threatened by insurgents. While legislation greatly increased the number of visas available to those Afghans, the State Department has only approved around 25 percent of the quota. The NewsHour’s P.J. Tobia investigates the holdup.

Less than a year has passed since the death of Hugo Chavez and the election of President Nicolas Maduro, but the problems driving unrest in Venezuela have been building for a decade. Carl Meacham of the Center for Strategic and International Studies joins Gwen Ifill to offer background on the “snowballing” of anti-government sentiment and why neighboring countries have been shy to speak out.

Venezuelans demonstrated outside a Caracas court a day after a top opposition leader, accused of inciting violence in anti-government protests, turned himself in to authorities. Gwen Ifill reports on the factors leading up to recent deadly uprising and Venezuela’s order to U.S. diplomats to leave the country.

Amid dialogue over how to reverse income inequality, both political parties are seizing on a report by the Congressional Budget Office that claims that raising the minimum wage could lift 900,000 families out of poverty, while possibly eliminating half-a-million jobs. Judy Woodruff talks to Thea Lee of the AFL-CIO and David Neumark of University of California, Irvine for opposing takeaways on the report.

In our news wrap Wednesday, an overnight battle between security forces of the pro-Russian government and the opposition gave way to a truce after a late-night meeting in Kiev. Matt Frei of Independent Television News reports on the standoff that killed 26. Also, the Department of Homeland Security issued a warning about possible shoe bombs on airline flights.

What does hunger look like in America? In Colorado, a diverse group of women who receive food assistance benefits are chronicling their personal experiences through photography. The NewsHour’s Mary Jo Brooks takes a closer look at their work, which has been exhibited at coffee shops, libraries and the state capitol.

Ice skating, one of the most anticipated Winter Olympic sports, is taking center stage in Sochi. Americans Meryl Davis and Charlie White won gold in ice dancing, and the women’s figure skating competition is next on deck. Jeffrey Brown talks to Christine Brennan of USA Today and ABC News for an update on Olympic winners, plus the detainment of two members of the punk band Pussy Riot.

At $3 an hour, the workers at the Alta Gracia garment factory in the Dominican Republic are earning enough to feed a family of five. But after three years, this new, living wage-based business model has yet to turn a profit as global competition has pushed thousands of jobs to lower-cost countries. Special correspondent Fred de Sam Lazaro reports.

What you watch, read, buy and listen to online can tell political campaigns whether it’s worth their time and money to woo your vote. Gwen Ifill talks to Ken Goldstein of the University of San Francisco and Eitan Hersh of Yale University to learn more about how our digital footprints are being used in the evolution of political advertising.

As high school students gear up to take the SAT or ACT as part of the college application process, a new study claims that these standardized test scores don’t predict academic success as well as grade point average. William Hiss, the former dean of admissions at Bates College and lead author of the paper, joins Judy Woodruff to discuss why some institutions have dropped them as requirements.

The deadly violence and mayhem gripping Kiev signals an escalation in the more than two months of protests against the pro-Russia Ukrainian government. Steven Pifer of the Brookings Institution and Adrian Karatnycky of the Atlantic Council join Gwen Ifill to discuss the root causes of the unrest, the leverage of the West and the outside forces pushing Ukraine into battle.

In our news wrap Tuesday, more than a dozen people were killed in Ukraine’s capital city Kiev, as thousands of police attacked thousands of anti-government protesters, who have been demanding closer ties with the West. Meanwhile, in Iraq, a string of car bombings left 49 people dead and 90 wounded.