To the Point

Before he goes to the White House this week, the President of China will meet with the leaders of US tech firms that are the victims of Chinese cyber attacks. He reportedly wants an unlikely alliance against the Obama administration, which has threatened sanctions against China for cyber attacks and theft of intellectual property.

Pope Francis helped renew diplomatic relations between the US and Cuba. Now he's visiting both countries, with a lot to say about their different ideologies, economies and treatment of those Jesus called "the least among us."

This week's arrest of a 14-year-old Muslim student whose home-made clock was mistaken for some kind of bomb raised the issue of Islamaphobia in America. Now it's become an issue in the presidential campaign. 

Eleven Republican candidates for president got three hours of exposure last night on CNN. Some 23 million people watched a debate that was as contentious as the network's moderators could make it. We hear how front-runner Donald Trump handled himself and how ten competitors handled him.

Record-low interest rates have helped lift the economy out of the Great Recession, but now there's worry about inflation. Would a rate-increase threaten employment? This week, Janet Yellin and the Federal Reserve are pondering a crucial decision.

The US locks up more people than any other country — especially blacks and Hispanics imprisoned for non-violent drug crimes. Republicans agree with Democrats it's a waste of money, and bipartisan criminal-justice reforms are pending in both houses of Congress. Will they be stopped in their tracks by recent reports that crime is on the increase?

As Europe struggles to deal with a massive refugee crisis, the largest numbers are fleeing from Syria's civil war. Russia and the US are on different sides of that conflict — but they do share a common enemy in ISIS. We hear what that could mean as circumstances change on the ground.

The nations of Europe are divided over what to do about tens of thousands of refugees from Syria's civil war. The US is also divided between its historic offer of liberty to the world's "huddled masses" and fears about homeland security.

Congress has so much unfinished business and time is growing so short that the federal government faces another shutdown at the end of this month. We hear how it may become hostage to a single, hot-button political issue: funding for Planned Parenthood.

The Iran nuclear deal is closer than ever to becoming reality with opponents in trouble — not just in the Senate, but also in Congress.  But, even if the "Resolution of Disapproval" fails in both houses, disagreement over the deal itself may continue — into the first term of the next President.