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Financial Disclosures Confirm Super PACs' Might

PBS NewsHour

Tue Feb. 21, 2012

January financial disclosures exposed the power of unaffiliated super PACs funds this election season. Margaret Warner and John Dunbar of the Center for Public Integrity's iWatch News discuss the fundraising reports, the $22 million raised and some of the big spenders helping these groups help their preferred candidates. Continue

GOP Rivals Set to Meet in Ariz. for 20th Debate

PBS NewsHour

Wed Feb. 22, 2012

With no other debates scheduled before Super Tuesday, Wednesday offers the last chance for each of the four remaining Republican presidential hopefuls to make a final impression to a national audience before voters in more than a dozen states cast their ballots. Continue

With Greece Bailout Comes Relief, Lingering Doubts

PBS NewsHour

Tue Feb. 21, 2012

Struggling to avoid even worse damage from its debt crisis, Greece was granted another EU bailout Tuesday, a $172 billion package aimed at helping the country avoid default. Richard Edgar of Independent Television News reports on the eurozone finance ministers' decision amid longer-term anxieties. Continue

Santorum Says Global Warming Is Politics, Not Science

PBS NewsHour

Tue Feb. 21, 2012

A nationwide Gallup poll showed presidential hopeful Rick Santorum leading the GOP field with 36 percent of Republican voters. The new frontrunner, who is leading rival Mitt Romney by eight points, drew crowds and criticism Monday after he said global warming is "not climate science but political science." Jeffrey Brown reports. Continue

John Glenn Recounts His Historic Mission in Space

PBS NewsHour

Mon Feb. 20, 2012

Fifty years ago, NASA astronaut John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth, despite numerous glitches. Judy Woodruff and Glenn discuss how the historic mission changed the space race. Continue

For Santorum, Front-runner Status Comes With Scrutiny

PBS NewsHour

Mon Feb. 20, 2012

Cash and fawning crowds aren't the only things that accompany a surge in national momentum. Rick Santorum is getting plenty of those, but also he is also seeing increased scrutiny on every front. Continue

African-American Museum an 'Opportunity for Understanding'

PBS NewsHour

Thu Feb. 23, 2012

Ground was broken Wednesday on the National Mall for the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture, set to open in 2015. Jeffrey Brown discusses the pivotal moment in the long, $500 million effort to showcase the stories and experiences of black Americans with journalist and author Isabel Wilkerson. Continue

2 Journalists Killed in Syria Amid Escalating Violence

PBS NewsHour

Thu Feb. 23, 2012

As Syria's government intensified its assault on the city of Homs Wednesday, activists said more than 70 people had been killed -- including an American reporter working for the British Sunday Times and a French photojournalist. Tim Ewart and Jonathan Miller of Independent Television News report. Continue

Clashes Over Quran Burnings in Afghanistan Turn Deadly

PBS NewsHour

Thu Feb. 23, 2012

At least seven people died in a second day of protests after Afghan workers at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan saw American troops put Qurans from a nearby prison into a burn pit for trash late Monday. Although the U.S. issued an apology, protests continued to spread across the country. Jeffrey Brown reports. Continue

Will Quran-Burning Investigation Quell Anger in Afghanistan?

PBS NewsHour

Thu Feb. 23, 2012

Hundreds of angry protesters voiced their anger at NATO and American forces Wednesday in Afghanistan after some U.S. troops were seen putting Qurans in a burn pit for trash. Jeffrey Brown and Heidi Vogt of The Associated Press in Kabul discuss the spreading anger and the implications for U.S.-Afghan relations. Continue

Thailand Grapples With Muslim, Buddhist Tensions

PBS NewsHour

Tue Feb. 21, 2012

At least 5,000 people have been killed since 2004 in Thailand's three southern provinces amid ongoing mistrust between minority Muslims and majority Buddhists. Kira Kaye reports on efforts to resolve tensions as part of the new Fault Lines of Faith series, produced in partnership with the Bureau for International Reporting. Continue

White House Plays Offense, Defense Over Gas Prices

PBS NewsHour

Tue Feb. 21, 2012

With President Obama taking heat from the GOP over rising gas prices, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney worked Tuesday to shift blame and tout domestic energy exploration efforts. Judy Woodruff discusses the political implications of $3.58 a gallon with The New York Times' Michael Shear and John Kilduff of Again Capital. Continue

FRONTLINE Wins Four Writers Guild Awards!

FRONTLINE

Mon Feb. 20, 2012

Last night FRONTLINE swept the Writers Guild Awards documentary and news categories, with awards for "Top Secret America," "WikiSecrets," "Educating Sergeant Pantzke," and "Doctor Hotspot." Continue

News Wrap: Eurozone Closer to Granting Greece Next Bailout

PBS NewsHour

Tue Feb. 21, 2012

In other news Monday, Eurozone finance ministers decided at a meeting in Brussels that Greece must implement more austerity measures before they approve a $171 billion bailout package to avoid defaulting on its debts. Also, U.N. inspectors began a two-day visit to Iran to press for information on Tehran's nuclear program. Continue

India Close to Being Polio-free, But Challenges Still Remain

PBS NewsHour

Tue Feb. 21, 2012

Health officials in India are close to wiping out polio, a disease forgotten in most of the world but still endemic in some developing countries. Special correspondent Fred de Sam Lazaro reports on India's challenge to remain vigilant in its campaign to immunize children one mouthful at a time. Continue

Is There a Media Obesity Problem in America?

MediaShift Idea Lab

Thu Feb. 23, 2012

Is our appetite for tasty celebrity news and comfortable opinions creating a toxically polarized society? What should our information diet be, and how would we measure it? Who's responsible for changing the media? Continue

Supreme Court Hears Free Speech Case Over Stolen Valor Act

PBS NewsHour

Thu Feb. 23, 2012

Falsely claiming a Congressional Medal of Honor could land you in jail according to the Stolen Valor Act, a federal law making it a crime to lie about a military decoration. Margaret Warner and Marcia Coyle discuss a case involving that law under review by the Supreme Court plus a case involving ownership of Montana riverbeds. Continue

Sizing up Romney, Santorum Campaigns in Arizona, Michigan

PBS NewsHour

Thu Feb. 23, 2012

GOP contenders campaigned Wednesday in Arizona as they prepared for the season's 20th presidential debate. Gwen Ifill reports from Phoenix. Then Judy Woodruff discusses the coming Michigan primary with Micheline Maynard of the public media project Changing Gears and Bill Ballenger of the Inside Michigan Politics newsletter. Continue

News Wrap: U.N. Team Says Iran Trip Yielded Little Info

PBS NewsHour

Thu Feb. 23, 2012

In other news Wednesday, a team from the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog agency ended a two-day mission to Iran, but the delegation's head said talks failed to yield any significant progress. Also, nearly 50 people were killed in Argentina when a commuter train crashed at a Buenos Aires station. Continue

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

PBS NewsHour

Thu Feb. 23, 2012

Tonight on the program, we examine the second day of protests in Afghanistan in the aftermath of Quran burnings in a U.S. base in Kabul. Also: the GOP campaign going into the Arizona debate, two western journalists killed in Syria, Marcia Coyle of the National Law Journal talks the Stolen Valor case taken on by the Supreme Court, and the future Smithsonian Museum of African-American History. Continue