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Week In The News: Obama’s Foreign Policy Pivot, Pope In The Holy Land, Economy Shrinks

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With guest host John Donvan

California massacre. Obama's foreign policy vision. Snowden speaks out.

President Barack Obama arrives to a graduation and commissioning ceremony at the U.S. Military Academy on Wednesday, May 28, 2014, in West Point, N.Y.  (AP)
President Barack Obama arrives to a graduation and commissioning ceremony at the U.S. Military Academy on Wednesday, May 28, 2014, in West Point, N.Y. (AP)

In the news this week: gun control, mental health after the Santa Barbara massacre, President Obama announces thousands of US troops to remain in Afghanistan after 2014 and, talks foreign policy at West Point. One-hundred-and-fifteen-day wait times confirmed at the Phoenix VA and new calls for Shinseki to go. Big votes in Ukraine and Egypt. The US economy shrinks a smudge. Edward Snowden says he’s a spy. Maya Angelou, gone.  This hour On Point: the roundtable goes behind the headlines.
-- John Donvan

Guests

David Shepardson, Washington, D.C. bureau chief for the Detroit News. (@davidshepardson)

Michael Hirsh, national editor for POLITICO Magazine. (@michaelphirsh)

Jack Beatty, On Point news analyst.

From The Reading List

The Wall Street Journal: Obama Defends U.S. Policy Based Less on Military Might -- "The president sought to articulate a doctrine that applies to an era of substantial shifts in the foreign policy landscape, marking the end of post-Sept. 11 wars, the rise of unexpected challenges from Russia,a new focus on European security, tensions in Asia, the evolving threat of terrorism and the persistent volatility of the Middle East."

NBC News: Inside the Mind of Edward Snowden — "Snowden said his desire to return to his homeland is foremost in his mind. 'I don’t think there’s ever been any question that I’d like to go home,' he said. But asked whether he would make a deal to return, Snowden said: 'My priority is not about myself. It’s about making sure that these programs are reformed — and that the family that I left behind, the country that I left behind — can be helped by my actions.'"

POLITICO Magazine: Tim’s Not Wild About Larry — "We already knew that Summers and Geithner, former comrades from the Clinton years, disagreed on issues from bank reform to stress testing as they faced down the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Indeed, the tensions started even before day one, stemming from the simple fact that after the 2008 election Obama offered a somewhat reluctant Geithner the post that Summers, his former superior in the Clinton administration, desperately coveted and was probably more qualified for: Treasury secretary. "

This program aired on May 30, 2014.

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