To the Point

Reports of decreasing violence in Iraq are having repercussions on the presidential campaign. Obama says he'll revise his troop-withdrawal strategy to meet existing conditions. Is that a flip-flop? Does less violence mean that McCain is right to insist that troops stay until "victory" has been achieved? Also, today's suicide bombing outside the Indian embassy in Kabul, and  the US may be keeping potential winners out of the Beijing Olympics.

Athletes from all over the world are preparing for next month's Beijing Olympic Games.  But, as always, it isn't just about sports. Has China made good on its promises of clean air and open media access? Will production spectacles have to compete with protests over suppression of human rights? Also, a tour extension for Marines in Afghanistan, and patriotism and the presidential campaign.

• NOTE: This edition of To the Point will not air live on KCRW as it will be pre-empted by special holiday programming. It will be archived and available online.
  

Doctors and insurance companies will be exchanging angry TV spots this holiday weekend. At stake are 10% cuts in Medicare payments that could affect 52 million Americans. Also, Ingrid Betancourt is freed in a daring rescue in Colombia, and celebrating the Fourth…historically.

Auto sales in the US dropped to a ten-year low last month, and America's Big Three are in trouble. GM, Chrysler and Ford make big profits on big vehicles with big engines, but customers are thinking small, and $4 a gallon gasoline may signal the end of an era.  Also, President Bush challenges G-8 leaders to make good on the promise to developing nations, and Barack Obama's version of a faith-based initiative. 

The US Supreme Court says governments cannot ban guns, that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to self defense. So what happens to gun control? Also, the fragile truce between Hamas and Israel, and Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe at the African Union Summit.

The western powers call Robert Mugabe's re-election a "sham," but the President of Zimbabwe is seeking legitimacy at today's summit meeting of the African Union. Also, President Bush sings a $162 Billion war-spending bill, and the rhetoric heats up in the presidential campaign.   

In the final weeks of this year's term, the US Supreme Court was sharply divided on the death penalty, guns and Guantánamo Bay. But compared to last year, it's been an Era of Good Feeling between liberals and conservatives. Also, fear and voter intimidation in Zimbabwe, and Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and unity in Unity.

The charter school movement is growing fast all over the country, but in New Orleans charters encompass no less than 53% of all public school students. Are charters the answer to education reform? Also, the Supreme Court shoots down the DC gun ban, and North Korea makes good on a promise.

Just four months before the November election, Barack Obama is an

Saddam Hussein kicked the big western oil companies out of Iraq in 1972.  Now they're back, with no-bid service contracts that will put them inside Iraq's redeveloping industry. Will increased Iraqi production help postpone an energy crisis? Will US troops remain for security? Is that what the war in Iraq is really about? Also, another bad round of news on the economy, and myth and history in Homer's Odyssey.