Steve Inskeep

Politics In The News

Steve Inskeep — Mon, 13 May 2013 08:21:00 +0000

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Good morning, I'm David Greene.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And I'm Steve Inskeep.

Again and again, President Obama's administration tries to pivot attention toward East Asia. Administration officials believe China and its neighbors are where the economic future lies.

GREENE: And yet it's the Middle East that keeps demanding the president's attention. It brings to mind that line from F.

U.S. Point Man On Syria Meets With Rebels Inside Syria

Steve Inskeep — Fri, 10 May 2013 09:43:00 +0000

Ambassador Robert Ford crossed into northern Syria on Wednesday. The secret visit was confirmed by Syrian activists at the media office at the Bab al-Salama crossing on the Turkish frontier.

Violence Mutes Campaigning Ahead Of Pakistani Elections

Steve Inskeep — Wed, 08 May 2013 10:08:00 +0000

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DAVID GREENE, HOST:

This is MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. I'm David Greene.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And I'm Steve Inskeep, good morning.

Pakistan has seen its share of wild political events over the years: military coups, uprisings against dictators, even the occasional flash of democracy. But that vital and troubled U.S.

Italian Government Update

Steve Inskeep — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 09:34:00 +0000

Eight weeks after an exceptionally tight election, Italy still has no government. While the deadlock may be broken this week, the battle has wounded Italy's political establishment.

Blast Rips Through West, Texas, Fertilizer Plant

Steve Inskeep — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 09:59:00 +0000

A fertilizer plant exploded near Waco, Texas, Wednesday night. The explosion at West Fertilizer in downtown West, a community about 20 miles north of Waco, happened around 7 p.m. and could be heard as far away as Waxahachie, 45 miles to the north.

IAEA Team Probes Fukushima's Radioactive Water

Steve Inskeep — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 08:44:00 +0000

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DAVID GREENE, HOST:

On a Wednesday, it's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Good morning. I'm David Greene.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And I'm Steve Inskeep. A team from the International Atomic Energy Agency is visiting a Japanese nuclear power plant this week. The team has been checking on that plant for some time - the plant that melted down. Three of the reactors there melted down after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. And they arrive amid reports that a large amount of radioactive water had leaked from the plant.

Venezuela's Presidential Election Remains Disputed

Steve Inskeep — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 09:41:00 +0000

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

OK, Venezuela's presidential election is not precisely tied, but remains in dispute. The government declared Nicolas Maduro the winner on Sunday night. He's the man picked by the late President Hugo Chavez to become his successor. Opposition candidate Henrique Capriles is challenging his narrow defeat, less than a percentage point, and Capriles' supporters clashed with police yesterday.

NPR's Juan Forero is on the line from Caracas.

Presidential Candidates Wrap Up Campaigns In Venezuela

Steve Inskeep — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 21:01:00 +0000

Audie Cornish talks to Steve Inskeep of Morning Edition from Venezuela about the country's presidential election. Thursday is the last day for the candidates to campaign. Venezuelans will choose a new president, replacing the late Hugo Chavez, on Sunday.

How Hugo Chavez's Policies Affected Ordinary Venezuelans

Steve Inskeep — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 09:15:00 +0000

In the days before elevators, there was no such thing as a penthouse on the top floor. The highest floors of a building had cheaper rents because the stairs were hard to climb.

Caracas, Venezuela, is organized roughly the same way, with many poor neighborhoods climbing up the sides of a mountain valley. Some of the poorest homes are among the most remote, accessible not by any road but by alleyways and long flights of stairs.

Up one of those flights of stairs, we found a woman whose life says a lot about Venezuela and by extension about Latin America.

Hugo Chavez's Legacy Looms Over Venezuelan Election

Steve Inskeep — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 08:56:00 +0000

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DAVID GREENE, HOST:

This is MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm David Greene.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And I'm Steve Inskeep in Caracas, Venezuela. This country is about to hold a presidential election. Voters are replacing the late Hugo Chavez, who shouldered this oil-rich republic onto the world stage. He often denounced the United States as an oppressive empire - even as he sold Americans oil - and imported gasoline from U.S. refineries.

North Korea Bars South Korean Workers From Factory

Steve Inskeep — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 11:27:00 +0000

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DAVID GREENE, HOST:

This is MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm David Greene.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And I'm Steve Inskeep.

Over the past week, military tensions on the Korean Peninsula have been building. Those tensions are fed by a stream of threats made by North Korea against the South and against the United States. Yesterday the hard-line regime in Pyongyang announced it was re-starting its nuclear program. And today another move has come.

NPR's Louisa Lim is here to tell us about it. She's in Beijing.

Installation Mass Launches Pope Francis' Papacy

Steve Inskeep — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 11:52:00 +0000

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RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

This is MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. I'm Renee Montagne.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And I'm Steve Inskeep.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELLS RINGING)

INSKEEP: That's the sound of bells in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, as Pope Francis celebrated his inaugural Mass today.

When Pitching The Common Good Is Bad

Steve Inskeep — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 08:43:00 +0000

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

When President Obama recently called for stricter gun control laws, he started out by saying this.

(SOUNDBITE OF SPEECH)

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: This is the land of the free, and it always will be.

INSKEEP: The land of the free, he said. But he added this.

(SOUNDBITE OF SPEECH)

OBAMA: We don't live in isolation. We live in a society, a government of and by and for the people.

Selection Sunday Sets NCAA Tournament Brackets

Steve Inskeep — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 08:06:00 +0000

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

OK. The field is set for the NCAA Division One men's basketball tournament. Top seeds include Kansas, Louisville, Indiana and Gonzaga. The team previously known for its heroic upsets in the NCAA tournament is now one of the teams to beat. NPR's Mike Pesca is here to discuss the selections. Mike, good morning.

MIKE PESCA, BYLINE: Hello.

INSKEEP: How'd Gonzaga do it?

PESCA: I know, right? You read those other teams, and it's, like, perennial power, perennial power, perennial power, Jesuit school from Spokane.

(LAUGHTER)

PESCA: But they're awesome.

Pakistani Advocate For The Poor Slain By Gunmen

Steve Inskeep — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 09:26:00 +0000

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Gunmen killed a woman in Pakistan yesterday. The news stories about this were formulaic for Pakistan, she was killed in a customary manner by assassins on motorcycles who rolled away with impunity. What's remarkable is the way she lived. Parveen Rehman came from Karachi, one of the world's largest cities.

Employment Data Expected To Show Modest Improvement

Steve Inskeep — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 09:39:00 +0000

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep. Good morning on this Friday. Let's talk a little more deeply about the surprisingly strong jobs report that came out today. NPR's Yuki Noguchi is here with the numbers. Hi, Yuki.

YUKI NOGUCHI, BYLINE: Good morning.

INSKEEP: OK. So what does the Labor Department say happened in the labor market in February?

NOGUCHI: OK. So, 236,000 net jobs added last month. The prediction had been for 160,000, so this is far better. The unemployment rate ticked down more than expected, to 7.7 percent.

Bin Laden's Son-In-Law To Appear In U.S. Court

Steve Inskeep — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 09:39:00 +0000

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep.

LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:

And I'm Linda Wertheimer. Osama bin Laden's son-in-law has pleaded not guilty in New York federal court this morning. He's been charged with conspiracy to kill Americans. He was captured in Jordan last week. What is interesting about this terrorism case is that it is not being heard in the military commissions at Guantanamo Bay. It is in a U.S. criminal court.

Venezuela To Display Chavez Body For Perpetuity

Steve Inskeep — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 09:39:00 +0000

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Thousands of Venezuelans have been filling streets this week, listening to music and lining up to see the coffin of their leader, Hugo Chavez, who died on Tuesday. Leaders from around the world have also come to the capital city, Caracas, for a funeral which formerly takes place today. And in keeping with his often larger-than-life persona, the Venezuelan government plans to embalm Chavez and keep his body on display under glass, in perpetuity. NPR's Juan Forero is in Caracas, following events there.

Second-Person Narrator Tells Readers 'How To' Live, Love — And Get Filthy Rich

Steve Inskeep — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 11:28:00 +0000

This is not the first time Pakistani author Mohsin Hamid has taken a risky approach to a novel. His The Reluctant Fundamentalist was written entirely in the second person. The bearded narrator of that book sits at a tea stall in Lahore, talking about his drift toward extremism while directly addressing "you," the reader, who is taken to be an increasingly jumpy and terrified American across the table.

Hamid returns to the second person in How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia, but this time it's in the form of a self-help book — a particularly sly one.

Deciphering Hidden Biases During Interviews

Steve Inskeep — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 09:45:00 +0000

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Benjamin Franklin said the only certain things are death and taxes. Let's add a third thing: Interviews. At many points, starting with school admissions or a new job, you're going to sit down before someone else and answer their questions.

Which is what NPR's Shankar Vedantam is about to do with us because he's got some new research relating to this topic. Hi, Shankar.

SHANKAR VEDANTAM, BYLINE: Hi, Steve.

INSKEEP: And let's begin this interview.

Analyzing Jeb Bush's Immigration Position

Steve Inskeep — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 10:18:00 +0000

In the past, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush favored a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, but in a new book, he modifies that position to call for requiring illegal immigrants to leave the U.S. and re-apply to enter if they want to pursue citizenship.

Vatican Is Without Sitting Pope

Steve Inskeep — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 10:41:00 +0000

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RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

This is MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Renee Montagne.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And I'm Steve Inskeep. Good morning. In Italy the papacy is officially vacant. The Vatican is now under the control of the cardinals who will elect a new leader of the Catholic Church. Yesterday Pope Benedict XVI gave up his ring, his cape and red papal shoes to become Pope Emeritus. Cokie Roberts was there, joins us from Rome.

Witnesses To Take The Stand In BP Trial

Steve Inskeep — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 10:21:00 +0000

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep.

LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:

And I'm Linda Wertheimer.

Today, a federal judge in New Orleans hears from witnesses to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. A civil trial of BP opened yesterday in a case to determine blame and financial liability for the environmental disaster that was the worst disaster in U.S. history.

INSKEEP: NPR's Debbie Elliott covered that disaster as a reporter, and is now covering the trial. She was in the courtroom yesterday.

Trial Against BP To Begin Over 2010 Rig Explosion

Steve Inskeep — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 10:38:00 +0000

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. Good morning. I'm Steve Inskeep.

The worst environmental disaster in American history is the subject of a trial that is beginning today. It's a big and complicated civil lawsuit stemming from the 2010 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico - and, of course, the spill that followed that.

We're going to talk about this with two NPR correspondents who've been covering this story for years. The first is NPR's Debbie Elliott. She's on the Gulf Coast.

Finding A Path For Pakistan At The Karachi Literature Festival

Steve Inskeep — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 18:04:00 +0000

Friends in Karachi had me over for a beer Sunday evening. It wasn't hard for them to do. Alcohol is broadly outlawed in Pakistan, but with so many exceptions and so little enforcement, you can usually find something — in this case, tallboy cans of Murree's Millennium Brew from a Pakistani brewery.

Several of my friends were fathers, raising kids in a city where the number of homicides exceeded 2,000 last year. They told me they're not comfortable letting their younger children go out to play. Instead the kids play cricket, the national obsession, in apartment building hallways.

Where Does Overhauling Immigration Stand?

Steve Inskeep — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 11:31:00 +0000

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Bipartisan groups and lawmakers are working together on another issue: Immigration. Yesterday, the president spoke with several senators involved in negotiations on that issue. But, at the same time, some senators criticized the White House for drafting its own plan for changing immigration laws.

We're going to talk through this subject with NPR national political correspondent Mara Liasson.

Ex-LAPD Officer, Who Vowed Revenge, Suspected In Murders

Steve Inskeep — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 11:19:00 +0000

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DAVID GREENE, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Good morning. I'm David Greene.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And I'm Steve Inskeep.

It's been a tense 24 hours in Southern California. The former Los Angeles police officer wanted in connection with three murders is still at large this morning, despite a manhunt that has spanned hundreds of miles.

GREENE: The search for Christopher Jordan Dorner is now focussing on a mountain resort town of Big Bear, some 100 miles east and 6,000 feet above the city of Los Angeles.

European Authorities Probe Soccer Corruption

Steve Inskeep — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 11:48:00 +0000

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RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

This is MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Rene Montagne.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And I'm Steve Inskeep.

The world's most popular sport is under investigation for corruption. European police say they've found evidence of a vast criminal network that fixed hundreds of soccer matches. The conspiracies are alleged to span continents and involve players, team officials, league staff and serious criminals.

DOJ Paper: When Its OK To Kill Americans In Al-Qaida

Steve Inskeep — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 11:26:00 +0000

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President Obama's administration is trying to work out its legal rational for a controversial policy. It's the killing of American citizens suspected of terrorism. A newly obtained Justice Department document lays out a rational. That document argues the United States has authority to target Americans who are senior al-Qaida figures even without evidence they are about to carry out a specific attack.

NPR's justice correspondent Carrie Johnson is here to talk about this document.

Syria Accuses Israel Of Bombing Its Military Facility

Steve Inskeep — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 11:10:00 +0000

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Let's sort through what we know and do not know about Israel's reported airstrike on Syria. Syrian officials, the government of Bashar al-Assad, have affirmed that Israeli warplanes struck, although we have conflicting reports about what the target was. We're going to work through the information with NPR's Jerusalem correspondent, Larry Abramson. Hi, Larry.

LARRY ABRAMSON, BYLINE: Hi there, Steve.

INSKEEP: What do you know, and how do you know it?

ABRAMSON: Well, some of this we know from confirmation by U.S.