Friday, March 4, 2005

Newsmaker: Condoleezza Rice
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced Friday that she will visit India on March 16 to review both countries' strategic ties. Her announcement comes after a week of repeated warnings to Syria and Iran. Jim Lehrer speaks with Rice about developments in the Middle East and her first months as America's top diplomat.

Selling Social Security
President Bush jump-started his "60 stops in 60 days" Social Security reform campaign Friday in New Jersey and Indiana. Vice President Cheney and Treasury Secretary John Snow also will be crisscrossing the country to promote the president's proposal. Terence Smith reports on how the Bush administration is trying to sell its Social Security plan.

Shields and Brooks
Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks speak with Jim Lehrer about President Bush's Social Security overhaul plan and Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's comments on a consumption tax.

Essay: Be a Man
An essay by Clarence Page of the Chicago Tribune on what it means to be a man.

Thursday, March 3, 2005

Consumption Tax

Ray Suarez leads a discussion on the pros and cons of a consumption tax with William Gale, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, and Leonard Burman, senior fellow at the Urban Institute.

Sistani.org
Elizabeth Farnsworth reports from the holy city of Qom about the impact of Shiite spiritual leader Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani's Web site, which dispenses advice and philosophy to his followers.

Hot Button Agency
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell announced in January that he was stepping down in March. Powell has been the FCC chairman since 2001 and a member of the panel since 1998. Terence Smith speaks with Reed Hundt, chairman of the FCC from 1993 to 1997, and Rep. Joe Barton R-Texas, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, about the future of the FCC.

Canadian Beef
On Wednesday, a federal judge in Montana postponed the March 7 reopening of U.S. borders to Canadian shipments of cattle and beef products. Fred de Sam Lazaro of Twin Cities Public Television looks at the debate.

Wednesday, March 2, 2005

Ten Commandments
The Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday about whether religious symbols like the Ten Commandments can be displayed on government property.

Jan Crawford Greenburg of the Chicago Tribune joins Ray Suarez to discuss the debate.

Spotlight on Syria
President Bush and other world leaders are pressuring Syria to withdraw its 15,000 troops from Lebanon. Gwen Ifill speaks with Imad Moustapha, Syrian ambassador to the United States, about the mounting pressure on his country.

Medicaid Squeeze
Susan Dentzer examines how Tennessee is coping with anticipated Medicaid funding cutbacks.

Bankruptcy Changes
A bill up for debate in the Senate will make it harder for people to walk away from personal debts such as credit cards after they have declared bankruptcy.

Jeffrey Brown leads a discussion with Sens. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., and Richard Durbin, D-Ill.

Gold Standard
On Wednesday, Congress honored Jackie Robinson with its highest civilian award. Kwame Holman reports on the posthumous awarding of the Congressional Gold Medal to Major League Baseball's first black player.

Tuesday, March 1, 2005

Juvenile Death Penalty
The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday by a 5-4 vote that the death penalty for convicted murderers under the age of 18 is unconstitutional. Gwen Ifill speaks with Jan Crawford Greenburg of the Chicago Tribune about the decision.

Newsmaker: Gen. John Abizaid
Over 2,000 Iraqis protested in the streets of Hillah Tuesday to condemn yesterday's suicide bombing that killed over 120 security officers and recruits. Jim Lehrer speaks with Gen. John Abizaid, head of U.S. Central Command in the Middle East, about the ongoing violence in Iraq and other developments in the region.

Faith and Charity
At a Faith-Based and Community Initiatives Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C., President Bush reaffirmed his commitment to faith-based programs to more than 250 religious leaders. Jeffrey Kaye of KCET-Los Angeles reports on the president’s initiative to grant federal funding to faith-based organizations.

Newsmaker: Sen. Bill Frist
Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn., speaks with Jim Lehrer about his role as Senate majority leader, President Bush's Social Security plan and the Democrats' use of the filibuster against the president's judicial nominees.

Monday, Feb. 28, 2005

Struggle for Security
In Hillah, Iraq, a suicide bomber killed over 120 security officers and recruits in one of the region's deadliest attacks since the war began two years ago. Ray Suarez speaks with Jackie Spinner of The Washington Post in Baghdad about today's suicide bombing.

Spotlight on Syria
Lebanese Prime Minister Omar Karami resigned Monday from his post amid opposition protests since the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Last October, Karami replaced Hariri who resigned in protest over the lifting of terms limits for pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud.

Gwen Ifill leads a discussion on the growing scrutiny of Syria with Hisham Melhem, Washington bureau chief for the Lebanese newspaper An-Nahar, and Augustus Richard Norton, professor of international relations at Boston University.

Social Security Series: How's it Playing
Members of Congress conducted town hall forums with their constituents to discuss and debate President Bush's Social Security proposal. Elizabeth Brackett of WTTW-Chicago and Lee Hochberg of Oregon Public Broadcasting report on two town meetings held in Wisconsin and Oregon.

Called to Account
Former WorldCom CEO Bernard Ebbers, called to the witness stand by his lawyers Monday, categorically denied any involvement in the $11 billion accounting fraud that resulted in the nation's largest bankruptcy case. Terence Smith provides a report about Ebbers' testimony.

Science of Aging
Tom Bearden looks at the relationship between genetics and aging.