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Hong Kong simmers as schools close

Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters paralyzed parts of the city for a fourth successive day Thursday, forcing schools to close and blocking highways. China has positioned up to 12,000 troops in Hong Kong who have kept to barracks, but officials have vowed to stop any attempts at independence. We learn more from Hong Kong official Ronny Tong. Also, what is the history of American efforts to counter corruption around the world and why that work has been so important for US foreign policy. Plus,...


A new public phase for the impeachment inquiry

US lawmakers charted new territory Wednesday in their impeachment inquiry of US President Donald Trump with the start of public testimony on Capitol Hill. Plus, former US Ambassador Daniel Fried reflects on Wednesday's testimony and how the Trump administration conducts foreign policy. And, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made a controversial visit to the White House. Finally, Venice, a city of canals sitting on top of a lagoon, is currently experiencing flooding not seen in 50 years...


The Supreme Court hears DACA case

The US Supreme Court has finished hearing oral arguments over President Donald Trump's efforts to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA. The program protects hundreds of thousands of immigrants who entered the US as children from deportation. We hear from one of the case's plaintiffs, a DACA recipient. The former president of Bolivia, Evo Morales, arrived in Mexico Tuesday. Morales said he fled his country because his life was in danger. And, we take a tour of a...


Violence leaves scar on Hong Kong protests

A pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong finds itself at a crossroads after a police officer shot a demonstrator at close range and a pro-Beijing supporter was doused in flammable liquid and set on fire. The US Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Tuesday in a case about Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA. The case is viewed as one of the most critical on the court's docket. And, a reboot of the acclaimed show "Blue's Clues & You" premiers Monday. We speak with the new host...


Lawmakers release new transcripts from impeachment inquiry

The House impeachment inquiry released two more transcripts of testimonies Friday. We look into what we learned from the transcript of Fiona Hill, President Donald Trump's top adviser on Russia until she stepped down in August and from Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, director of European affairs on the National Security Council. Also, Saturday is the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. We hear from Germans remembering what they felt like when they heard the Wall had come down. And,...


Former Twitter employees charged with spying

The US Justice Department has charged two former Twitter employees with spying on behalf of Saudi Arabia. According to an unsealed criminal complaint, two former Twitter employees allegedly accessed the data of dissidents criticizing the Saudi government. And, a Somali American who became the youngest person ever to be elected to the Lewiston City Council in Maine endured hate attacks from online trolls around the US during her campaign. Plus, what 415 hours of home movies reveal about life...


A wave of anti-government protests in Iraq

Iraq is experiencing the biggest wave of anti-government demonstrations in decades and motorized rickshaws are becoming a symbol of the protests, as the tuk-tuks cart away the wounded. Also, it's been 30 years since the fall of the Berlin wall — we have a story about how West Germans once tried to tunnel underneath. Plus, how everybody's a loser when it comes to the US-China trade war.


Family of US-Mexico citizens killed in attack

At least nine members of a family of dual US-Mexican citizens were ambushed and killed in a northern Mexican state Monday night. The attack was grisly, even by the standards of organized crime in Mexico. And, in supplemental testimony released Tuesday, ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland, presumed there was a quid pro quo in the Trump administration's withholding of US aid to Ukraine pending an anti-corruption investigation, according to an excerpt released by congressional...


Transcripts of testimony released in impeachment inquiry

The House impeachment inquiry is entering a new and more public-facing phase. Monday, more than 400 pages of testimony were released from depositions given by former US Ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch and Michael McKinley, former advisor to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. And, the air in New Delhi, India has reached poisonous extremes, creating a public health hazard, delayed flights and closed schools. Plus, Netflix has picked up a new animated series for preschoolers that portrays...


How can the US secure its 2020 elections?

How secure are US elections after Russian operatives tried to hack voting systems in all 50 states? A new law goes into effect Friday imposing new controls on the internet in Russia. And, as clocks change for daylight savings Sunday, an economist explains why he thinks time zones should be abolished.


US House takes next step in impeachment inquiry

The US House of Representatives has voted to proceed with the formal impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. Lawmakers approved rules for the next stage, including public hearings, in the investigation into Trump's attempt to have Ukraine investigate a domestic political rival. Also, President Barack Obama's former National Security Advisor, Susan Rice on impeachment, the US withdrawal from northern Syria and why she thinks the US is exporting what she calls, "instability around...


Boris Johnson gambles on a new election

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has won parliamentary approval for a new election that he hopes will break the deadlock over Brexit. Plus, WhatsApp is suing an Israeli company for hacking into mobile phones and allegedly installing malware on the devices. And researchers are counting the world's whale populations from outer space.


White House official who heard Trump's Ukraine call testifies

A White House national security official and decorated Iraq War veteran testified before House investigators Tuesday as part of the impeachment inquiry. Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, director of European affairs on the National Security Council, personally heard President Donald Trump call with Ukraine's president. Plus, Turkey is struggling to get international support for a plan to resettle 2 million Syrian refugees in a strip of land along the Turkey-Syria border. And we've got a piece...


What comes after the Baghdadi raid?

The leader of ISIS is dead. What could happen now to the terrorist organization, structurally and symbolically, without Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi? Also, what data did the US acquire during the raid and how that could help find the far-reaching tentacles of ISIS and for the future fight against the world's most feared terrorist organization? Plus, global shipping firms are under pressure to cut carbon emissions, so some are experimenting with an age-old technology: sails.


(Featured) Things That Go Boom: How a Washington Post journalist ended up in a notorious Iranian prison

The first clue something was wrong came in the form of an alert on Yegi Rezaian’s phone. Where I grew up,” she says, “these things don’t happen by accident.” Within hours, Yegi Rezaian and her husband, Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian, found themselves in Iran’s notorious Evin Prison. Interrogations quickly turned surreal for Jason Rezaian; captors seemed convinced his Kickstarter campaign to bring avocados to Iran was some kind of spycraft. It took some time to realize that one of...


More testimony and growing challenges for President Trump

Where are we in the impeachment process after a full week of dramatic moments? And, students preparing to join the Foreign Service have been watching testimony by diplomats who say they were cut out of the process by Trump operatives. They're trying to understand at what point they, too, would turn against their administrations. Plus, the logo for the 2024 Olympics in Paris has been released. Is it meant to be playful, sexist or just very French?


US troops leave Syria — but not entirely

President Trump has declared that northern Syria is no longer America's problem and that US troops are getting out. But troops aren't leaving the region entirely. What role will US troops play in Syria and Iraq? Plus, Leonardo da Vinci dreamed of building a long bridge, but it never came to fruition. Now 500 years later, MIT engineers wanted to know if the design could have worked. Also, how could Brexit impact Britain's fashion industry?


How are Ukrainians viewing the impeachment inquiry?

What does the impeachment inquiry look like to Ukrainians who rely on the US for assistance and security? Also, migrants crossing into the US may soon be forced to provide a DNA sample. And, the US House Tuesday passed a resolution calling on the Russian government to provide evidence of wrongdoing or else release former US Marine Paul Whelan. We speak to Whelan's twin brother, David Whelan, about his brother's case.


What's next in northern Syria as ceasefire ends

Five days ago, the Trump administration brokered what it called a "ceasefire" in the fighting in northern Syria. The fighting decreased, but never really stopped. Still, the truce lapses this afternoon. What comes next in the conflict in northern Syria? Plus, Canadian voters have given Prime Minister Justin Trudeau another term in office, but Trudeau lost his majority and will be forced to form a coalition to govern. And, the World Series starts Tuesday night and the lineups, as they are...