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Who do high profile people or companies facing a scandal call when they're in a crisis?

Maybe their therapists. But definitely a crisis communications specialist.

Like the work of Olivia Pope in the T-V series Scandal, crisis communications is the practice of shaping public perception and reputation during a crisis. And it's a vital tool for maintaining people's reputations in today's digital landscape.

For the latest installment of our "Ask A" series, we sit down with three crisis communications specialists and pull back the curtain on the little-known part of the PR industry.

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Abraham Lincoln was the first U.S. president to sport a beard. For the next 50 years, whiskers were commonplace in the White House. But then, they went out of style.

Now, Vice President JD Vance is the first executive branch leader in more than a century with a furry face.

And others are following suit. From the Senate to the campaign trail, more and more men in politics are letting their facial hair grow free. But what does that tell us about masculinity, power, and how we see each other?

We discuss why politicians remained bare faced for so long, and what the reemergence of whiskers in the White House represents.

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The controversial immigration detention center — dubbed by Florida officials and the Trump administration, "Alligator Alcatraz"-- has already hit some legal snags since opening earlier this month.

Civil rights groups are suing the Trump administration over due process complaints. The lawsuit alleges detainees are being held without charges and aren't being given access to their attorneys.

It comes after reports of overcrowded cells, overflowing toilets, and no access to prescription medications.

The center was constructed in only eight days at an airport in the Everglades. Three weeks after it opened, around 100 people have already been deported straight from the center.

We discuss the legal rights of those held in immigration detention centers and what's happening inside the one in the Everglades.

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The White House took a victory lap this week as President Donald Trump secured a trade deal with the European Union. The agreement sees goods imported to the U.S. subjected to a 15 percent tariff.

As the Jeffrey Epstein scandal continues to unfold, this week President Trump claimed that the New York financier "stole" young women working at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

American workers are beginning to notice how Donald Trump's crackdown on immigration is affecting the country's industry, with factories hit particularly hard.

World leaders are reacting to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's claims there is no starvation happening in Gaza, despite mounting evidence to the contrary.

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced his country will recognize Palestine as a state if Israel does not end the starvation in Gaza.

Despite initially setting a 50-day deadline for an end to the war in Ukraine, President Trump issued an ultimatum Russian President Vladimir Putin. He now expects the war to be over off in 10 to 12 days.

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Experts say a "worst-case" famine scenario is unfolding across the Gaza Strip.

That's according to a new report published this week by a U.N.-backed commission that tracks food security worldwide.

The starvation in Gaza is reawakening global attention to hunger crises unfolding around the world.

Elsewhere in the world: most of Haiti's population is experiencing critical levels of food insecurity. That's when people don't have access to enough safe and nutritious food for normal growth and development. And in Sudan, famine grips tens of millions of people.

We examine how humanitarian aid factors into the equation.

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Across the country, K-12 teachers are prepping classrooms, reviewing lesson plans, and bracing for another school year that, for some, feels politically and personally charged.

The Department of Education is slowly being dismantled by the Trump administration. In some districts, immigration officials have shown up at schools, which likely contributed to a rise in student absences last spring. And artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping what both teaching and learning look like.

We hear directly from educators and what's at the top of their minds as they head into the new school year.

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In this Trump administration it's another day, another deadline, another deal. On Monday, the president issued an ultimatum to Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine.

With this revised deadline, the president now wants peace efforts to make progress within 10 to 12 days. There has been little reaction from the Kremlin.

We discuss how the U.S. ultimatum could change the course of the conflict. With Volodymyr Zelensky facing challenges both on the frontlines and in governance, we discuss the impact this could this have on his way forward.

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Last week, more than 100 aid and human rights groups warned that Gaza is at risk of "mass starvation."

They signed an appeal demanding Israel allow food shipments into the territory. On Saturday, Israel's military announced airdrops of aid began in Gaza and that humanitarian corridors will be established.

Among those starving in the besieged strip are members of the press. Palestinian journalists are working for outlets around the world because Israel has barred international reporters from traveling to the area. Now, several news organizations are warning their employees in Gaza will die unless something changes.

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How does the public know what's happening in the federal government, especially when it's information the government doesn't want to share?

That's where whistleblowers come in. But in 2025, the Trump administration is cracking down on these brave folks and the journalists telling their stories.

In this installment of our politics series, "If You Can Keep It," we discuss weakening whistleblower protections under President Trump and what this means for those who rely on the information they share.

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New reporting in The Wall Street Journal indicates that the FBI told President Donald Trump in May that his name was mentioned in the Epstein Files. Congressional Republicans have mostly shrugged off the news. Speaker Mike Johnson shuts down the House for the summer.

Meanwhile, the European Union and at least 28 governments are criticizing Israel for "drip feeding" Palestinians in Gaza, as starvation grows worse in the Strip. More than 110 people have now died from hunger.

Reports indicate that Russian officials have involved teenagers as they test and deploy drones into Ukraine. Daily drone warfare has increased, as Russian president Putin inches towards a deadline imposed by President Trump to end the fighting.

The Trump administration withdraws the U.S. from UNESCO, the United Nations' cultural agency, just two years after rejoining.

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