 | 2009 NOVEMBER
November 24, 2009
Report: 23% of Mortgaged Homes 'Underwater'
The number of U.S. homes worth less than the mortgages owed on them reached 10.7 million, or 23 percent of all mortgaged homes, in the third quarter, according to a new report.
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| November 24, 2009
Phillip Hoose, National Book Award Winner for Young People's Literature
Art Beat talks to Phillip Hoose, who last week won the National Book Award for young people's literature for "Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice."
 
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| November 17, 2009
USDA: 1 in 7 U.S. Households Struggle for Food
At some point in 2008, 14.6 percent of U.S. households had trouble finding food, a 3.5 percent increase from 2007 and the highest since the USDA has kept records.
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| November 17, 2009
More Americans Facing Hunger, Report Finds
A new report found that almost 15 percent of U.S. households had trouble finding enough food in 2008. Jeffrey Brown speaks with experts for more.
 
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| November 17, 2009
In China, a Struggle for Rights, but Hope for Future
Jim Lehrer speaks with a human rights activist and a China expert about the state of the struggle for human rights in China.
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| November 16, 2009
Weekly Poem: 'Storm'
Kwame Dawes is director of the South Carolina Poetry Initiative and the University of South Carolina Arts Institute, where he also teaches as distinguished poet in residence.
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| November 12, 2009
White House Nominates New Leader to Revive USAID
The White House has named its USAID head nominee, after 10 months of a leadership vacuum that prompted public statements of frustration from Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
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| November 11, 2009
Exclusive | Ray Suarez: My Post-9/11 Interview With Anwar al-Awlaki
Editor's note: After the shooting at Fort Hood, suspected gunman Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan's relationship with Imam Anwar al-Awlaki-- believed to now be in Yemen -- has been the focus of much attention. Ray Suarez recalls a 2001 interview with him.
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| November 10, 2009
Iraqi Refugees Discover Security Comes at a Price
Nearly 32,000 Iraqi refugees have come to the United States over the past three years to escape violence and political uncertainty. But as Jeffrey Kaye reports, more refugees are learning that personal safety often comes at the cost of economic security.
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| November 10, 2009
Suspect's 'Radical' Views Examined in Fort Hood Investigation
Gwen Ifill speaks with two reporters about the ongoing investigation into last week's attack at Fort Hood, including new revelations that the alleged shooter had ties to a radical cleric in Yemen known for his anti-American teachings.
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| November 9, 2009
Supreme Court Hears High-Profile Cases on Juvenile Sentencing
The Supreme Court heard arguments Monday about whether giving juveniles life sentences with no chance of parole for non-homicide crimes qualifies as cruel and unusual punishment.
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| November 6, 2009
Freelancers Struggle As Unemployment Worsens in U.S.
As part of his Making Sen$e series on the financial crisis, Paul Solman looks at how freelancers are faring in the declining job market.
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| November 6, 2009
Germany's First Concentration Camp
Sachsenhausen Memorial, located about an hour's drive north of Berlin, holds the remnants of Germany's first large concentration camp. Sascha Klepzig, a German student, takes groups through the tree-lined site.
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| November 4, 2009
Maine Gay Marriage Repeal Draws Mixed Reaction
Voters in Maine on Tuesday dealt another defeat to gay-rights advocates after voting to repeal a new state law allowing same-sex marriage.
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| OCTOBER
October 29, 2009
House Health Care Bill Features Public Option Compromise
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled an $894 billion health care reform bill Thursday that would expand insurance coverage to as many as 36 million people. In a nod to moderates, the plan includes a public option in which rates are negotiated with doctors and hospitals. Betty Ann Bowser reports.
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| October 29, 2009
U.S. Economy Rebounds 3.5% in Third Quarter
The U.S. economy expanded at a 3.5 percent annual pace from July to September, according to Commerce Department figures released Thursday, in a signal that the worst recession since the 1930s may be easing.
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| October 28, 2009
Other News: Obama Expands Hate Crimes Law
In other news, President Obama signed an expansion of the federal hate crimes law, and new home sales fell unexpectedly by 3.6 percent in September.
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| October 28, 2009
New Strategies Considered to Curb U.S.-Mexico Drug Trade
The U.S. dealt a "significant blow" to one of Mexico's most infamous drug cartels last week after a 19-state drug raid resulted in 300 arrests and millions of dollars in confiscated money. This comes on the heels of new drug policy talks.
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| October 28, 2009
Obama Signs Measure to Widen Hate Crimes Law
In the first expansion of a federal hate crimes law since 1968, President Barack Obama signed a bill Wednesday that extends hate crime protections to include sexual orientation and gender identity.
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| October 23, 2009
In U.K., Political Extremism on BBC Causes Outrage
A heated debate over political extremism in the United Kingdom came to a head this week when the leader of the British National Party appeared on a BBC show.
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| October 20, 2009
HIV Vaccine Tests Confirm 'Modest' Protection, More Research Needed
PARIS | The complete results of the first vaccine trial to ever show some protection against HIV were released Tuesday, and researchers sought to refute criticism that the study's results could be weaker than indicated.
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| October 19, 2009
Voices of Health Care Reform: Children's Hospital CEO
Jim Shmerling, CEO of Children's Hospital in Denver, Colo., gives his take on health care reform and the importance of providing health care for children.
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| October 19, 2009
Health Reform Calculator: What Would You Pay?
As Congress works to consolidate pieces of legislation that could overhaul the U.S. health care system, the issue of how Americans would afford mandated health insurance is a focus of the debate.
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| October 16, 2009
Casualties Take Heavy Toll on Colorado Military Post
Tom Bearden reports on how soldiers at Fort Carson in Colorado are coping with rising casualties from among their ranks, first from the Iraq war and now from Afghanistan.
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| October 13, 2009
Finance Committee Passes Reform Bill With Support From Snowe
The Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday became the last of five congressional panels to act on a health reform bill, passing its legislation in a 14-9 vote that saw Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe breaking from Republicans -- at least for the moment.
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| October 12, 2009
Lawmakers Eye 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Reversal
Tens of thousands of demonstrators descended on Washington this past weekend demanding an end to the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Could a reversal be next? Kwame Holman reports.
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| October 12, 2009
Unusual Battle Lines Are Drawn on Role of Individual Mandate in Reform Bill
The Senate Finance Committee is expected to approve its health reform bill Tuesday, but the legislation may include an amendment that weakens penalties designed to support an individual mandate requiring most Americans to carry insurance.
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| October 12, 2009
Poll: Americans Support Civil Unions, but Oppose Same-sex Marriage
Americans broadly support giving gay and lesbian couples the same rights as people in heterosexual marriages, but using the term "marriage" still draws opposition, according to the latest Pew Research Center survey on same-sex marriage.
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| October 12, 2009
6 Uighurs Sentenced to Death Over Xinjiang Riots
A Chinese court sentenced six Uighur men to death and a seventh to life in prison on Monday for murder and other violent crimes committed this summer during ethnic rioting in Xinjiang, China's western region.
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| October 9, 2009
Obama's Reform Effort Faces More Hurdles After Finance Committee Vote
A key component of President Obama's health reform overhaul faces a vote next week in the Senate Finance Committee after the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office gave it an upbeat assessment.
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| October 8, 2009
Michelle Obama's Ancestry Reveals Intriguing Slave Tale
Jeffrey Brown examines first lady Michelle Obama's ancestral path as the descendant of a slave.
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| October 8, 2009
News Wrap: House OKs Hate Crime Protections for Gays, Lesbians
In other news, the House voted to include homosexuals in federal hate crime laws, and first-time claims for unemployment fell more than expected last week.
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| October 8, 2009
Health Reform Vote Set for Senate Finance Committee
The Senate Finance Committee will vote next week on revamping the nation's health care system. Kwame Holman reports.
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| October 8, 2009
Senate Committee Set for Health Reform Vote
The Senate Finance Committee will vote Tuesday on a sweeping revamp of the U.S. health care system as the debate over President Barack Obama's top domestic policy enters a new stage.
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| October 7, 2009
New Statue Honors Helen Keller
A bronze statue of Helen Keller was unveiled to Congress Wednesday. Kwame Holman reports.
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| SEPTEMBER
September 29, 2009
Welcome Home: A Look at Living in Slums
A multimedia exhibition from Norwegian photographer Jonas Bendiksen on display at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., documents the experiences of families living in unplanned, off-the-grid slums in Nairobi, Mumbai, Caracas and Jakarta.
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| September 25, 2009
Clinton Group Unites Private, Public Spheres on Big Issues
Amid the G-20 and U.N. summits, former President Bill Clinton's foundation brought together big names from both the private and public sectors to tackle major issues.
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| September 18, 2009
India's Population Boom Tests Green Revolution's Legacy
Fred De Sam Lazaro reports from India about new questions about the environmental impact of the nation's first major initiative to grow more food to meet the needs of a booming population.
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| September 17, 2009
For Young Americans, Health Insurance is Often Elusive
President Obama took his health reform call to young people Thursday with a speech at the University of Maryland. Kwame Holman reports on the challenges faced by the more than 10 million Americans between the ages of 19 and 26 without health insurance.
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| September 16, 2009
Debate on Race Emerges as Obama's Policies Take Shape
The question of race has simmered on the back burner of the national debate over President Obama's policy agenda. Gwen Ifill talks to columnists and academics about the role of race in the current political climate.
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| September 14, 2009
'Green Revolution' Founder Borlaug Dies at 95
A look back at the life of Norman Borlaug, a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize who developed important agricultural strategies for countries around the world. Borlaug died over the weekend at the age of 95.
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| September 11, 2009
Call to Service Resonates in Muslim Community
When President Barack Obama called on the nation to serve in remembrance of the 2001 terrorist attacks, many Muslim-Americans were mobilized to act and some have managed to shape new roles in their communities as a result.
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| September 10, 2009
Public Voices on Obama's Health Care Address
Spencer Michels gets reactions from the public to President Obama's health care speech.
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| September 10, 2009
U.S. Poverty Rising, Family Incomes Fall
The poverty rate increased in 2008 to its highest point since 1997 and median household income declined 3.6 percent as the effects of the recession set in, according to new census data released Thursday.
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| September 3, 2009
Health Care Reform Splits Retailers
In a summer of health care reform twists and turns, few things may have surprised the public more than the debate over the positions that their favorite -- and least-favorite -- places to shop have taken on the issue.
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| September 2, 2009
Eye Hospital in India Restores Sight with Free Surgeries
Special correspondent Fred de Sam Lazaro reports from India on the Aravind system of eye hospitals and clinics that subsidizes sight-restoring surgery for impoverished patients and provides top-of-the-line care for patients who can pay.
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| September 2, 2009
Two Decades On, India Eye Clinic Maintains Innovative Mission
In this Reporter's Notebook, Fred de Sam Lazaro visits the Aravind Eye Care System, 20 years after he first reported on the hospital in 1989.
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| AUGUST
August 31, 2009
Few Glimmers of Hope for Unemployed Americans
With the long-term unemployment rate at its highest level since 1948, the nation's jobless are taking little solace in recent data suggesting the recession is winding down. In the latest installment of his Making Sen$e series, Paul Solman explores the sometimes grueling search for work in an battered economy.
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| August 28, 2009
Kennedy's Immigration Legacy Shaped Makeup of U.S.
Ray Suarez examines the impacts of the 1965 Immigration Reform Act, one of Sen. Edward Kennedy's earliest and most-enduring pieces of legislation.
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| August 21, 2009
Controversial Afghan Law Leaves Shiite Women's Rights in Question
Afghan President Hamid Karzai faces continued international and domestic pressure to further overhaul a controversial law affecting Shiite women that critics say he passed to secure votes from conservatives in this week's election.
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SOCIAL ISSUES
