Friday, October 10, 2003

Nobel Peace Prize
Iranian attorney Shirin Ebadi was awarded the marquis Nobel peace prize today for her work to promote democracy and human rights in Iran. She is the first Muslim woman to win the prize. Ray Suarez discusses Ebadi with Azar Nafisi, a literary scholar and research associate at the John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and Gary Sick, a former National Security Council staff member and co-chairman of the Advisory Committee for Human Rights Watch/Middle East.

Standing Fast
Vice President Dick Cheney capped the first week of the new Bush administration public relations offensive on Iraq in an address this morning to the Heritage Foundation.

Democratic Face-Off
One year after the House of Representatives voted to authorize President Bush to wage war against Iraq, the nine Democrats who seek to replace him took aim at the president's war strategy during a debate in Phoenix last night.

Shields and Safire
Jim Lehrer talks to syndicated columnist Mark Shields and William Safire of The New York Times about the Democratic debate, the election of Arnold Schwarzenegger as California's governor, the White House leak investigation and recent developments in the Bush administration's Iraq policy.

Tuition Hikes
State budget crises have arrived on campus and hit cash-strapped college students in the wallet. Many public universities have countered reduced appropriations with increases in tuition. Kwame Holman explains the impact of these increases at college campuses in Virginia.

Essay: Suburban Blues
Essayist Anne Taylor Fleming explores some consequences of the culture created by America's expansion into the suburbs in the mid-20th century.

Thursday, October 9, 2003

Paying to Rebuild
President Bush's request for additional funding for the United States' postwar presence in Iraq and Afghanistan cleared another congressional hurdle today. Kwame Holman reports on the latest from Capitol Hill.

The Iraq Wars
Months after President Bush announced that major combat was completed in Iraq, politicians continue their war of words over the American military involvement there. Spencer Michels updates the debate, and Margaret Warner follows up in a conversation with New York Times writers David Sanger and Eric Schmitt.

Vital Findings
The drug letrozole, which suppresses estrogen production, cut the risk of breast cancer recurrence nearly in half for older women who had already taken the standard tamoxifen treatment, researchers reported today. Ray Suarez discusses this discovery with National Cancer Institute Director Andrew von Eschenbach.

Playing By the Numbers
With Major League Baseball's two historically "cursed" teams in play for their leagues' championships, Paul Solman explores the interplay of the national pastime and probability. He reports on how baseball players and managers look to percentages to help guide their strategy.

Perspectives on Press Leaks
Jim Lehrer reviews the historical context of presidential leaks to the press with journalist and author Haynes Johnson, George Mason University history professor Roger Wilkins, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum Director Richard Norton Smith and Montana State University history professor Joan Hoff.

Wednesday, October 8, 2003

Political Quake
In an emphatic electoral statement, Californian voters recalled Gov. Gray Davis yesterday and selected Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger to succeed him. Jeffrey Kaye of KCET in Los Angeles reports on the recall fallout.

California Voters
Last night's results in California were driven by a healthy voter turnout and a distinct distaste for the man in office. However, there was a lot more at play in this election, which elevated a novice politician with celebrity credentials to the highest office in the most populous state. Gwen Ifill follows up in a conversation with nonpartisan California pollster Mark DiCamillo.

California in Context
Jim Lehrer explores the implications of the successful recall with two tenured California politicians: San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown (D) and former Los Angeles Mayor and Schwarzenegger adviser Richard Riordan (R).

Media Merger: NBC Vivendi
General Electric Co. and Paris-based Vivendi Universal announced today that they had reached a final agreement to merge the French company's U.S. entertainment assets with GE's television network NBC, creating a media giant worth an estimated $43 billion. Terence Smith discusses the consolidation and its effect on the industry with New York Times television writer Bill Carter.

Paying to Rebuild Iraq
Kwame Holman updates the appropriations debate over the $87 billion the Bush administration has requested to fund reconstruction in postwar Iraq.

Start of the Term
The Supreme Court began its new term this week with a decision on the docket over whether the Americans with Disabilities Act requires employers to rehire employees who were terminated for drug or alcohol abuse. Ray Suarez previews the new Supreme Court term with Chicago Tribune correspondent and frequent NewsHour contributor Jan Crawford Greenburg.

Nobel Prize Winners
Two biochemists were honored with the Nobel prize for chemistry today in recognition of their discoveries of the tiny channels that let vital substances move through cell walls. Margaret Warner talks to Peter Agre, one of the prize recipients.

Tuesday, October 7, 2003

California Gubernatorial Recall Election
Californians vote today in a unique election that asks whether they want to recall their recently reelected governor, Gray Davis, and if so, who should replace him. Spencer Michels covers the latest developments.

2004 Presidential Campaign
The field of Democrats vying to replace President Bush shrank by one last night, when Sen. Bob Graham (D-Fla.) announced he would withdraw his candidacy. Margaret Warner discusses this decision and its impact on the election with Adam Nagourney, the chief political reporter for The New York Times.

The Turkish Impact in Iraq
The Turkish Parliament voted today to send peacekeeping troops to Iraq. Gwen Ifill explores the implications in a conversation with Bulent Aliriza, director of the Turkish Studies Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and Heath Lowry, professor of Ottoman and Modern Turkish Studies at Princeton University.

Western Drought
Western regions of the United States continue to cope with the decimation caused by the lack of rain. Ted Robbins of KUAT in Tucson, Ariz., provides an update on the drought.

Nobel Prize Winners
Three scientists won the Nobel prize in physics today for their research into the behavior of atoms and electrons at extremely low temperatures. Ray Suarez interviews one of newest Nobel laureates, Anthony Leggett of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Conversation: Naked in Baghdad
NPR senior foreign correspondent Anne Garrels gained a unique experience as one of only 16 non-embedded U.S. journalists who remained in Baghdad during the American-led attack on Iraq. Terence Smith speaks with Garrels about her decision to remain in Baghdad, the challenges she faced as an un-embedded female correspondent and her occasionally rocky encounters with the U.S. military, as detailed in her new book, "Naked in Baghdad."

Monday, October 6, 2003

Nobel Prize Winners
An American and a Briton won the Nobel prize in medicine today for laying the groundwork for the development of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), which has revolutionized the detection of disease. Gwen Ifill speaks to National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Elias Zerhouni about the pair's work.

New Violence
The Israeli military bombed what it says was a terrorist training camp inside Syria on Sunday, a day after a suicide attack on a restaurant in Israel that killed 19 civilians. Margaret Warner discusses the state of Syrian-Israeli relations with Edward Djerejian, former U.S. ambassador to the two countries, and Samuel Lewis, senior advisor to the Israel Policy Forum.

Election Eve
Spencer Michels offers an update on the California gubernatorial recall election on the eve of the historic vote.

Colombia's Struggle
Ray Suarez sits down with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe to discuss the leader's efforts to control narcotics trafficking and growing incidents of rebel attacks on civilians.

Essay: Century of Cars
Essayist Clarence Page of the Chicago Tribune shares some thoughts on a century of cars.