To the Point

Twenty years ago, before the alarm about Climate Change, the World Bank warned about upcoming wars — not over oil, but water. Is water a commercial product, or a basic human right?

Record-setting wildfires are raging across the West. After 10 days, the largest blaze in Washington State history is still only half contained. Is it time to manage so-called “wilderness” rather than leaving it free?

Secretary of State Kerry is shuttling around the Middle East in the hope of negotiating a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. We’ll hear about the challenges for international leaders as the war goes on.

Pro-Russian separatists have turned over the black boxes, and the remains of victims have been taken away on refrigerated train cars, but the lack of a smoking gun raises questions for the European Union. How deeply was Russia involved? Is it time for increased sanctions?

The carnage continues in Gaza, where some neighborhoods are strewn with the bodies of Palestinians, and a hospital has been shelled. We’ll get a report from the ground and get different perspectives on how long Israel’s “Operation Protective Edge” might go on.

The President said it’s too early to place the blame, but the US is raising tough questions about Russia’s involvement in the Malaysian Boeing 777 shot down yesterday over Eastern Ukraine. We’ll also give an update on Israel’s invasion of Gaza.

In the aftermath of the US occupation, Iraq has become a different country—with the prospect of not surviving as a country at all. Is intervention an option in a country torn by internal politics, violent religious extremism and the threat of terrorism?

The F-35 fighter-bomber was grounded again this week — the most expensive weapons system in history is too dangerous to fly. Is the F-35 a high-tech requirement for future warfare, or a pork-barrel project that will be obsolete when it finally gets off the ground?

Brazil hosted a month-long festival of great soccer, and global TV ratings went through the roof. Now it has to cope with the aftermath. We’ll look at the impact on Brazil—and on FIFA, soccer’s governing body, where reports of corruption and bribery are not going away.

The National Security Agency is not spying only on foreigners or just collecting “metadata.” Is the NSA making the nation safer? Is it abusing its vast resources? What happened to reforms promised after Edward Snowden’s first document dump?