Executive producer David Simon, actor Wendell Pierce, and executive producer Eric Overmyer of 'Treme' speak during the HBO portion of the 2010 Television Critics Association Press Tour. (Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
Baltimore and Detroit as just two of many American cities trying to solve budget shortfalls; a history of Massey Energy Company's mining practices; China signals a small change to its currency policies; next steps in Haiti; actor Wendell Pierce on David Simon's new series, 'Treme'; weekend movies and 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.' Todd Zwillich fills in for John Hockenberry.
Jerome Vaughn, news director for WDET in Detroit tells us how his city is bracing for bankruptcy; this morning's headlines.
Across the country, dozens of cities are facing serious budget deficits, that are requiring officials to cut everything from swimming pools to firehouses. We're taking a closer look at two of those cities: Detroit and Baltimore. In Detroit, residents are worried that a shortfall of around $450 million may actually force the city to file for bankruptcy. Jerome Vaughn, news director at WDET joins us.
Chinese exports are cheap, but it's not all lower wages or efficient production. The cost of exports has been held down in recent years because the Chinese government has pegged the Yuan to the dropping dollar. But that may be changing. Murmurs within the halls of China's central bank, and central government, are pointing to an announcement in the coming days that the Yuan may move to a more flexible exchange rate against the dollar. This has big implications for trade, for President Obama, and for American consumers.
In 1980, R.E.M. played their first concert at a friend's birthday party. Thirty years later, they've become an iconic American alternative rock band with over 15 albums, containing almost 300 songs. In 2007, music blogger, Matthew Perpetua, decided to write a post about every single one of them. He joins the us to talk about some of his favorites.
For this week’s movie segment, we discuss the international film phenomenon, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Already the top grossing film in Scandinavian history, the cold case murder mystery has opened in a handful of theaters across the U.S. over the past several weeks to enthusiastic audiences, stellar reviews, and rumors of a Hollywood adaptation.
Jessica Lilly, reporter for West Virginia Public Broadcasting joins us with the latest on the mine tragedy; this morning's headlines.
We look behind Monday's coal mine explosion that killed 25 and left 4 miners trapped in Montcoal, W. Va. into the Massey corporation, which owns the mine.
With a press conference scheduled for Monday and the Master’s tournament in his sights, this is going to be a big week for Tiger Woods. We talk to David Feherty, a notorious golf announcer and personal friend of the golfer to see how the champion is faring as he gets back to golf.
Get your weekly fix of wit on the week's news as we run through who had a good week and who, well, didn't. In partnership with our friends at The Week magazine, we look back to see why 3100 lottery winners are smiling and why it's a bad week for Florida Democrats who need to go to the doctor.
Last month, the international community came together and pledged over $9 billion to the earthquake crippled country of Haiti. Now the question is, how should the money be used?
Most people know Cherie Currie as the lead singer of the '70s all-girl rock band The Runaways, but it turns out that she's had at least a half a dozen other strange and dazzling careers since then, including writer, retail clerk and chainsaw artist.
Fans of David Simon's "The Wire" are eagerly awaiting the premiere of his latest HBO Series, "Treme." "Treme" is another city-biopic that chronicles a group of people struggling for survival in a scarred neighborhood. But post-Katrina New Orleans is very different from the Baltimore projects fans of "The Wire" came to know intimately. Treme is a poor neighborhood in New Orleans and we get introduced to it three months after the flood waters have receded.
Democratic Congressman Bart Stupak of Michigan is set to formally announce he'll retire from Congress rather than seek another term, saying he wants to have more time with his family. Stupak was hotly critiqued during the debate over the health care for his anti-abortion stance. Ultimately, he supported the bill after President Obama pledged to sign an executive order to continue the ban on federal funding for elective abortions; and his support was crucial to the bill's passage. For more, we check in with Bill Ballenger, editor of Inside Michigan Politics.
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Jon Savage, journalist and author of "England's Dreaming: Sex Pistols and Punk Rock," joins us to talk about the legacy of Malcolm McLaren, who died at age 64. McLaren was the visionary who put the band together in order to promote his punk boutique, "Sex." We explore how McLaren impacted punk as style as music.
Today's Takeaway: Over 50 and Unemployed, Texting in Class, The Future of Yemen, and Why It's So Hard to End Poverty in America
Today's Takeaway: Dharun Ravi, NATO Summit, David McCullough, Chen Guangcheng and Unemployment for Older Americans
Why Increased Immigration is the Solution for America's Ailing Economy
Why Texting in Class Might Actually Be a Good Thing
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