Aug 22 President Obama to travel to Baton Rouge after his vacation By Darlene Superville, Associated Press The glow from his vacation on the Massachusetts island of Martha's Vineyard may fade sooner than expected, though. Obama gets back on the road Tuesday to comfort residents of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, a city hard-hit in recent weeks by natural… Continue reading
Aug 19 Watch 7:21 Payment to Iran was used as ‘leverage’ for hostage release, admits State Department By PBS News Hour In January, Iran released American hostages in a development coinciding with a U.S. payout of $400 million -- money that had been owed for decades. The Obama administration previously denied a connection between the two events, but on Friday, the… Continue watching
Aug 18 Watch 6:25 News Wrap: California wildfire advances; horrors reported in Syrian prisons By PBS News Hour In our news wrap Thursday, the fast-moving fire just 60 miles east of Los Angeles flared even more; 1500 firefighters are battling flames only 4 percent contained. The inferno has charred nearly 50 square miles since Tuesday and forced 82,000… Continue watching
Aug 18 Obama administration to end use of private prisons By Eileen Sullivan, Associated Press The Justice Department says it's phasing out its relationships with private prisons after a recent audit found the private facilities have more safety and security problems than ones run by the government. Continue reading
Aug 17 Watch 2:28 News Wrap: Turkey releasing inmates to make room for coup arrests By PBS News Hour In our news wrap Wednesday, Turkey announced plans to release nearly 40,000 prison inmates to clear space for a similar number detained over last month’s coup attempt. Depending on their remaining sentences, prisoners may qualify for early release, although the… Continue watching
Aug 16 Watch 6:28 With Gitmo on the path to closure, Obama approves major prisoner release By PBS News Hour On Monday, President Obama approved his largest single release of prisoners from Guantanamo Bay, reducing its population by 15 to a total of 61 -- roughly 25% the size when he took office. Closing the facility he called a “recruitment… Continue watching
Aug 16 Column: Don’t be fooled. Clinton and Democrats have their own race problem By Leah Wright-Rigueur "Even as Clinton tallies high levels of support from black, Latino and Asian voters, simmering tensions continue to bubble under the political surface and highlight fractures of major concern." - Harvard professor Leah Wright-Rigueur… Continue reading
Aug 12 Watch 5:19 Despite poll deficits in key states, Trump expresses optimism By PBS News Hour Another bad week for Donald Trump concluded with the GOP nominee down by double digits in key states. He received support from RNC chairman Reince Priebus Friday at a campaign event in Pennsylvania, but top Republicans continued to express concern… Continue watching
Aug 11 Watch 3:22 Trump attempts to tie Clinton and Obama to rise of ISIS By PBS News Hour In the last 24 hours, Donald Trump has focused on tying Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama to the rise of the Islamic State. In Fort Lauderdale last night, the GOP nominee referred to Obama as the “founder” of the terrorist… Continue watching
Aug 11 Here are Obama’s top songs of the summer By Associated Press The president dropped a playlist on Twitter. Chance the Rapper, Prince, the Beach Boys and Billie Holiday all made the cut. Continue reading