Week In The News: Immigration Reform, Israeli Tensions, Mike Nichols Dead At 83

With Guest Host Jessica Yellin.

The president throws down the gauntlet on immigration. Bloodshed and new tensions in Israel. Keystone fails. Our weekly news roundtable goes behind the headlines.

Immigration showdown. President Obama unveils his executive action, and Republicans vow to block it --  is it overreach or leadership? A devastating massacre in a Jerusalem synagogue fueling new fears and rising tensions in Israel. Another horrifying beheading by ISIS.  A vote on the keystone pipeline fails. Another campus shooting.  Bill Cosby and new rape accusations. All eyes on Ferguson. And in Buffalo New York, it's snowmageddon. This hour, On Point: our weekly news roundtable goes behind the headlines
-- Jessica Yellin

Indira Lakshmanan, senior correspondent for Bloomberg News. (@indira_l)

Dana Bash, chief Congressional correspondent for CNN. (@danabashcnn)

Jack Beatty, On Point news analyst. (@JackBeattyNPR)

CNN: On immigration, a tale of two presidents — "When immigration reform died in Congress this year, Obama, like Bush, asked his lawyers if he could change the system on his own. This White House team came to the opposite conclusion. So, more than 500 days since the Senate passed a bipartisan immigration bill, Obama unveiled his plan to go it alone."

Bloomberg News: Netanyahu Condemns Backlash Against Israeli Arabs — "Violence has gripped Jerusalem since a Palestinian teenager was burned alive in July in suspected retribution for the kidnapping and killing of three Israeli Jewish youths in the West Bank. The tension has been heightened by disputes over prayer rights at the contested Jerusalem shrine known to Muslims as the al-Aqsa mosque complex and to Jews as the Temple Mount. Israel has responded to the unrest by boosting police forces in the capital’s Arab neighborhoods and destroying the family homes of Palestinians who carry out attacks."

New York Times: Mike Nichols, 83, Acclaimed Director on Broadway and in Hollywood, Dies — "Mike Nichols, one of America’s most celebrated directors, whose long, protean résumé of critic- and crowd-pleasing work earned him adulation both on Broadway and in Hollywood, died on Wednesday in Manhattan. He was 83. His death was announced by James Goldston, the president of ABC News. Mr. Nichols was married to the ABC broadcaster Diane Sawyer. A network spokeswoman said the cause was cardiac arrest."