Rival Palestinian leaders met in Cairo this week to discuss prospects for a reconciled government. For more than four years, the Palestinian Authority has governed the West Bank, while the militant Islamist group, Hamas, has ruled the Gaza Strip. But any government that included Hamas would face serious obstacles.
Guy Raz talks with our weekly commentators, E.J. Dionne of The Washington Post and the Brookings Institution and David Brooks of The New York Times, about Congress' tough spot, observations on the political divide, economic mobility and disagreement over core values.
It's been an All Things Considered Thanksgiving tradition since 1991— a Bailey White original short story. Over the years, White's stories have included tales about a rose queen, a telephone man, an ostrich farmer and a wife exacting revenge. This year, White presents "Call It Even." It's about a shy painter who moves from Florida to Vermont and wants to feel like he fits in — so he raises a dozen turkeys.
Originally from Springfield, Mo., "the Ozarks area of Missouri," Ingrid Gerdes is a neo-soul performer out of Boston, but she considers herself a Southern singer. Her latest album is titled Shed.
In the small-town of Elko, ambition looks like high-heel suede booties on the floor of the auto shop at the local high school.
Brandi and Kaylee look like the Olsen twins. And they're the best auto-shop students at Elko High. The girls have a plan. Everyday out the school window, they see trucks heading up to the gold mines. Day and night. So, the girls figure, why not open a truck repair shop after they graduate?
"In Elko we've been really blessed and really lucky to actually have a good economy," Kaylee says. "We can actually have our hopes and dreams."
Nov. 23, 1936, was a good day for recorded music. Two men, an ocean apart, each stepped up to a microphone and began to play. One was a cello prodigy who had performed for the Queen of Spain; the other was a guitar player in the juke joints of the Mississippi Delta. But on that day, Pablo Casals and Robert Johnson each made recordings that would change music history.
Seventy-five years ago Wednesday, two men, an ocean apart, stepped up to microphones. One man was a cello prodigy who had played for the queen of Spain. The other was the son of black sharecroppers, a regular in the juke joints of the Mississippi Delta. But on Nov. 23, 1936, Robert Johnson and Pablo Casals each walked into a room alone with their instruments. And on that day, each made recordings that would change music history.
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel is one of those small corners of the government with an important mission: It's supposed to help protect federal whistle-blowers and shield civil service workers from politics.
But during the Bush years, the office was engulfed in scandal. It was raided by FBI agents, and its chief was indicted for obstructing justice.
It's into that unsettled environment that the new leader, Carolyn Lerner, arrived five months ago. And good government groups say she's already taking the office in new directions.
The congressional supercommittee announced Monday that it failed to come to an agreement on reducing the deficit. After three months of negotiating, the Democrats and Republicans just couldn't agree on how much spending to cut or how high to raise taxes.
But this is not a story about how the left and right disagree with each other. In fact, they actually largely agree.
