In a new audio message, Al Qaida leader Osama bin Laden claims responsibility for the Christmas Day bombing attempt and warns the United States of more attacks. We talk to Bruce Riedel, former CIA officer and advisor to the White House on terrorism and security.
It's been almost two weeks since the 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti and the government has formally called an end to the search and rescue efforts. The focus of relief will soon shift from treating the wounded survivors to embarking on the long slog of rebuilding a collapsed city. We get an update on the overall situation there and then we examine how other cities dealt with reconstruction challenges after a disaster like this.
We've gotten many, many calls and email messages this week from you, our listeners, about the special election in Massachusetts, the chances for national health care reform and yesterday's Supreme Court ruling.
This week in Washington has been all about the F word you can say on the air: 'Filibuster.'
The election of Republican Scott Brown as Massachusetts' new junior senator on Tuesday night sent shock waves through Washington. Politicians of on both sides of the aisle flocked to microphones to give their takes on the future of health care reform now that the Democrats no longer have the Senate 60 votes needed to avoid a filibuster. But how did we come to expect a 59-vote majority as a bad thing? We look at the history of the supermajority.
Yesterday we talked about some technological innovations that can help in emergency situations. Doctors Without Borders is bringing its own innovations to Haiti right now: Like the inflatable field hospital that is expected to arrive in the country today. We hear how the organization is treating the survivors of the Haiti earthquake with Sophie Delauney, executive director of Doctors Without Borders in the United States.
Yesterday, The Haitian Red Cross released its first estimate of the death toll after Tuesday's earthquake. It said between 45,000 and 50,000 people might have died. As the body count rises, relief efforts are intensifying. President Obama promised $100 million and more than 5,000 soldiers and marines, but the aid workers are facing many obstacles reaching the victims.
The CEOs of the country's major banks came under a grilling yesterday, as the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission kicked off hearings on the causes of last year's economic meltdown. We get reaction from Elizabeth Warren, who heads the group charged with overseeing the U.S. banking bailout, the Congressional Oversight Panel.
After four years of service, Spc. Marc Hall hoped he would be out of the Army by February, when his term was supposed to end. But he was told last fall that we will be kept in the military ranks for a yearlong tour in Iraq. That's when he wrote a hip-hop song blasting the Army and its "stop loss" policy and describing himself going on a shooting spree.
The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission kicked off hearings yesterday. Banks CEOs were the first ones to testify, and the debate heated up very quickly.
The 2008 race to the White House has been documented more thoroughly than any other. It kept bloggers, commentators, humorists busy on a daily basis for almost two years. So you might think you’ve heard it all. But two veteran political reporters say you haven’t.
Yesterday we heard some strong arguments against the very structure of bank bonuses from economics professor Dan Ariely. Today we hear from someone who represents the financial services industry to explain why bonuses are used.
The Democratic Party found out this week that two of its stars will be setting: Senators Christopher Dodd from Connecticut and Byron Dorgan of North Dakota – who’ve served a combined 46 years in the Senate. Both announced they will not seek reelection in 2010.
Colorado Governor Bill Ritter followed their lead and also announced yesterday he’s ending his bid to keep his seat. These retirements come on top of a string of party defections and seem to weaken the Democrats... With us this morning to look at the political landscape and history, as well as what’s at stake for both Democrats and Republicans, is Jeff Zeleny from The New York Times. We're also joined by Ron Kaufman, former White House political director; Republican National Committeeman for Massachusetts, and a close friend and advisor to Mitt Romney. Kaufman talks about what Republicans' strategy should be for the 2010 midterm elections.
The botched Christmas Day terror attack was only the latest blow for an already-hurting airline industry. Before that, there was the recession, which brought smaller travel budgets for companies and American travelers. That was on top of the soaring price of fuel, which led some airline companies to charge extra to cover the gas bill… Add to the picture the swine flu outbreaks, pension costs and new airport safety measures and you can really wonder: is the airline industry reaching a breaking point?
With us today to answer this question is Robert Crandall, former CEO of American Airlines. He led the company for 18 years in the '80s and '90s.
Two of the men behind an al-Qaida plot to blow up a Northwest Airlines jet over Detroit on Christmas Day were well known by U.S. and Saudi officials: They had both previously been detained at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba. The U.S. later sent those men to Saudi Arabia, where Saudi officials placed them in an “rehabilitation program."
That program, known colloquially as “jihad rehab,” is highly controversial, although it claims a 95% success rate at discouraging further crimes from the people in it. BBC’s Newshour host, Owen Bennett Jones, spent some time observing the program. He joins us this morning from his home in England.
At last week's White House Jobs Summit, small business owners from across the country pressed President Obama on dozens of issues related to the economic downturn. Credit, though, was a central issue: The credit crunch has prevented thousands of businesses from obtaining loans to expand, shift gears, or even just fund day-to-day operations. Today, Maryland governor Martin O'Malley will unveil a strategy intended to help small business owners get credit. One such business owner, Dawn P. Jackson, is the owner of NuDawn Marketing Group in Maryland and president of Women Business Owners of Prince George's Country. Dawn hoped to expand her small marketing business, but she has been discouraged from applying for credit after several banks told her that she was unlikely to get any. Maryland's Secretary of Commerce, Christian Johannson, joins us with a preview of what the governor's plan entails.
We're talking about the costs of caring for Grandma, and whether they're going to get any cheaper with health care reform. The CLASS ACT – short for 'Community Living Assistance Services and Support' – is a section of the Senate's health care bill. It was introduced by the late Senator Edward Kennedy to lower the cost of long term care for sick or aging family members, and would allow people to collect daily cash benefits of about $50 to $70 a day to pay for home care, adult day programs or nursing homes after paying premiums for five years. The goal is offer a voluntary long term care alternative to Medicaid and private nursing home insurance.
Takeaway Washington correspondent Todd Zwillich tells us how likely it is the CLASS ACT will remain in any final bill. Then Paula Span, author of "When the Time Comes: Families with Aging Parents Share Their Struggles and Solutions
The show is a co-production of WNYC Radio and Public Radio International, in collaboration with The BBC World Service, New York Times Radio and WGBH Boston.
Major funding provided by:
