Friday, December 13, 2002

Lott Under Fire
Excerpts from today’s news conference in which Mississippi Sen. Trent Lott apologized for his remarks during Sen. Strom Thurmond's birthday party and said that he would not step down as the Senate's Republican leader.

Shields and Brooks
Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and David Brooks of The Weekly Standard analyze the Lott situation and other events of the week.

Church in Crisis
After a report on Boston Cardinal Bernard Law’s resignation, Ray Suarez talks with Steve Krueger, interim executive director of Voice of the Faithful; Father Christopher Coyne, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Boston; and Stephen Pope, chairman of the theology department at Boston College.

The President's Smallpox Plan
Terence Smith speaks with Dr. Julie L. Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control, and Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, about President Bush’s announcement today that the U.S. will vaccinate selected military and health care workers against smallpox as a precaution against a bioterror attack.

Thursday, December 12, 2002

Under Fire
Jim Lehrer discusses the political controversy surrounding incoming Senate Republican leader Trent Lott with New York Times reporter Adam Nagourney and Washington Post reporter Thomas Edsall. President Bush spoke out today against Lott's statements about Sen. Strom Thurmond's 1948 presidential bid, but supported Lott's public apology.

Economic Picks
After a report on the selection of Stephen Friedman to head the National Economic Council, Ray Suarez discusses the new economic team with John Castellani, president of the Business Roundtable; Nell Minow, editor of the Corporate Library; Ken Kies, managing director of the federal policy group of Clark/Bardes Consulting; and Jeff Madrick, author and columnist for the New York Times.

Forests and Fires
After background on the administration's approval of a fire fighting method involving logging and thinning of overgrown forests, Terence Smith discusses the White House's approach to fire prevention with Michelle Ackermann, vice president of the Wilderness Society; and Terry Anderson, executive director of the Political Economy Research Center.

Wednesday, December 11, 2002

Dangerous Cargo
Ray Suarez discusses the seizing of North Korean SCUD missiles en route to Yemen with Joel Wit, a former State Department official; Colonel Edward Badolato, a naval attaché to a number of Middle Eastern countries; and Jillian Schwelder, an assistant professor in the Department of Government and Politics at the University of Maryland.

Rescue Mission
Correspondent Betty Ann Bowser reports on school reform in Philadelphia.

Improving Intelligence
After a report from Kwame Holman, Ray Suarez speaks with senators Bob Graham (D-Fla.) and Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), chairman and vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

Tuesday, December 10, 2002

Policing Wall Street
Gwen Ifill discusses the selection of William Donaldson to become the next chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission with Robert Mintz, head of the government investigations and white collar crime practice at McCarter and English, a New Jersey-based law firm; and Jack Coffee, a law professor at Columbia University Law School.

Next Moves?
Jim Lehrer gets congressional perspectives on the Iraq weapons confrontation from Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) and Sen. Carl Levin (D- Mich.).

Man of Peace
Former President Jimmy Carter accepts the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway, twenty four years after brokering the Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt.

Bankrupt
Ray Suarez discusses the rough road ahead for a bankrupt United Airlines with Harvard University law professor Elizabeth Warren and Paul Stephen Dempsey, professor of law and director of the Institute of Air and Space Law at McGill University.

Essay: A Line to my Heart
Frank Schaeffer, author and father of a young U.S. Marine, considers the relationship between father and son.

Monday, December 9, 2002

New Man at Treasury
After a report from Kwame Holman, Jim Lehrer discusses President Bush's nomination of railroad conglomerate chief John Snow to replace outgoing Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill with Jerry Jasinowski, president of the National Association of Manufacturers, and Robert Lenzner, national editor of Forbes Magazine.

Bankrupt
Elizabeth Brackett looks at how United Airlines' bankruptcy is affecting the company's employees.

Weapons Report
Ray Suarez talks with New York Times Foreign Correspondent John Burns from Baghdad about Iraq's arms declaration.

Margaret Warner discusses the process of deciphering Iraq's arms declaration with David Albright, a former nuclear inspector and president of the Institute for Science and International Security; and Jean Krasno, deputy director of the U.N. Oral History Project at Yale University.

In Memoriam: Roone Arledge
Terence Smith remembers ABC News Chairman Roone Arledge.