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Week In The News: Cuba Thaw, Taliban Attack, Hollywood Hacking

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With guest host Michel Martin.

Cuba reset. Russia’s rubble troubles. School massacre in Pakistan. Jeb explores 2016. Our weekly news roundtable goes behind the headlines.

Alan Gross, waves as he and his wife Judy leave following his statement at his lawyer's office in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2014. Gross was released from Cuba after 5 years in a Cuban prison. (AP)
Alan Gross, waves as he and his wife Judy leave following his statement at his lawyer's office in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2014. Gross was released from Cuba after 5 years in a Cuban prison. (AP)

A big week of news around the globe.  President Obama moves to normalize relations with Cuba.  On the other side of the world, Putin lashes out—and blames the West for Russia’s economic woes.   There was international outrage following a deadly school attack by the Taliban in Pakistan. Closer to home, Jeb Bush announces he’s “actively exploring” a run for the president, New York says no to fracking. The 2013 Congress ends. What did they accomplish?  The Sony Pictures / North Korea story just keeps getting weirder. This hour, On Point: Our weekly news roundtable goes behind the headlines.
-- Michel Martin

Guests

Margaret Brennan, foreign policy correspondent for CBS News. (@margbrennan)

SV Dáte, Washington Desk editor at NPR News. Author of "Jeb: America's Next Bush." (@svdate)

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

From The Reading List

CBS News: Obama to start normalizing U.S. relations with Cuba — "Since entering the White House, President Obama had expressed interest in normalizing relations with Cuba. The breakthrough announced Wednesday came after Cuba agreed to release American prisoner Alan Gross. Mr. Obama called Cuban President Raul Castro on Tuesday — the first engagement at the presidential level between Cuba and the United States since the Cuban revolution — to discuss the release of Gross and one other man characterized as a U.S. intelligence asset, as well as the United States' release of three Cuban intelligence officers."

NPR News: With Facebook Post, Jeb Bush Takes A Big Step Toward 2016 -- "After months of hints and Hamlet-esque worries about the woes of a modern presidential campaign, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush announced on a Facebook post that he is 'actively' exploring a presidential run. Bush wrote that the decision came after spending time with his wife, Columba, and their children and grandchildren over Thanksgiving. 'We shared good food and watched a whole lot of football,' Bush wrote. 'We also talked about the future of our nation. As a result of these conversations and thoughtful consideration of the kind of strong leadership I think America needs, I have decided to actively explore the possibility of running for President of the United States.'"

The Wall Street Journal: North Korean Role in Sony Hack Presents Quandary for U.S. — "U.S. officials’ conclusion that Pyongyang was behind the hacking attack on Sony Pictures has raised the difficult question of how Washington should respond to an aggressive act by a foreign government. Within the U.S. government, there has been an internal debate in recent days about when and how to reveal that belief publicly, because doing so could complicate relations with allies, especially Japan."

This program aired on December 19, 2014.

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