Stories of the Week | PBS NewsHour Podcast | PBS

Judy Woodruff talks with journalist and author Robert Kaiser about his new book, "Act of Congress: How America's Essential Institution Works, and How it Doesn't." Kaiser explores how members of Congress reshaped Wall Street regulations after the 2008 financial crisis.

In recent months, President Barack Obama has comforted Newtown families, memorialized Boston bombing victims and toured Oklahoma tornado destruction. Presidential historian Michael Beschloss and Alexis Simendinger of Real Clear Politics analyze with Gwen Ifill the role of presidents during times of national distress and tragedy.

The non-profit program Honor Flight gives veterans the opportunity to fly to Washington, D.C., to see the memorials dedicated to the wars in which they’ve served. For many veterans, especially those who have served in World War II, this may be the only chance they will get to see these memorials. Jeffrey Brown reports.

The NewsHour continues its examination of different aspects of the immigration reform bill with a look at the role of low-skilled workers in the American economy. Ray Suarez gets two views from Columbia University's Mae Ngai and Carol Swain of Vanderbilt University.

Some garment workers in Bangladesh are demanding better conditions, spurred by the collapse of a factory in April that killed more than a thousand people. Jonathan Rugman of Independent Television News has an update on the factory workers' fight and response from western retailers.

Two rockets exploded in an area of Beirut controlled by Hezbollah, raising new concerns about the spread of the Syrian conflict into Lebanon and the region. Jeffrey Brown talks to Margaret Warner from Beirut about Hezbollah's support for the Assad regime and the country's history of strife and its remaining sectarian tensions.

In other news Monday, 11 car bombs swept through Baghdad, killing 66 people. The attacks were the latest wave of sectarian violence and targets were mostly in Shiite areas. Also, police in Britain have arrested a 10th suspect in connection to the murder of British solider Lee Rigby.

President Barack Obama observed Memorial Day by visiting graves of troops killed in Iraq and Afghanistan at Arlington National Cemetery and meeting with family members of the fallen. The president urged Americans to not take for granted the sacrifices made by U.S. troops. Gwen Ifill reports on ceremonies around the nation.

New York Times columnist David Brooks and Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus discuss the week's top political news with Judy Woodruff, including President Barack Obama's speech on refining the fight against terrorism, controversies at the IRS and the Justice Department and the devastating tornadoes in Oklahoma.

There's money in the banana stand, but what about in streaming entertainment? Traditional TV shows are showing up on online-only venues, including "Arrested Development," which is getting a second wind on Netflix after being canceled in 2006. Gwen Ifill talks to show producer Brian Grazer and Eric Deggans of the Tampa Bay Times.

Researchers at Oregon Health and Science University have achieved a longtime goal. They cloned a human embryo to derive embryonic stem cells able to transform into tissues and organs genetically identical to patients who need them. Jeffrey Brown talks to NPR's Rob Stein about the science as well as the ethical concerns.

While lawmakers in Washington continue work on overhauling American immigration policy, Ray Suarez reports from Colorado, where members of the Evangelical Christian community are advocating passage of immigration reform to respond to demographic shifts in membership.

President Barack Obama hosted Turkish Prime Minister Erdoğan at the White House where talk centered on Syria. Margaret Warner talks with Henri Barkey of Lehigh University and Steve Heydemann of the U.S. Institute for Peace about how the international community could collaborate on ending the Syrian civil war and the violence.

In other news Thursday, the Justice Department failed to add a small number of terror suspects -- members of the federal witness protection program -- to the government "no-fly" list. Also, tornadoes in Texas killed at least six people, injured dozens and left hundreds homeless.

President Barack Obama used a rainy, Rose Garden news conference to get in front of a series of political storms, tackling questions on the IRS scandal, the AP subpoenas and Benghazi. Judy Woodruff talks to White House communications director Jennifer Palmieri about how the Obama administration is responding to various crises.