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Week In The News: Pope In DC, Volkswagen Scandal, Death On The Hajj

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Pope Francis and China’s President in the US. Volkswagen meltdown. The Saudi stampede. Our weekly news roundtable goes behind the headlines.

Pope Francis addresses a joint meeting of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2015, making history as the first pontiff to do so.  (AP)
Pope Francis addresses a joint meeting of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2015, making history as the first pontiff to do so. (AP)

It’s the Pope all over this week. Above all, for us, before the US Congress saying the polarization has to end. For the Earth. For the poor, for immigrants, for families. House Speaker John Boehner will resign from Congress. China’s leader in Washington, too. Nice talk and tough issues. In 2016 politics we’ve got Scott Walker out. Ben Carson on Islam.  Hillary Clinton saying no to the Keystone pipeline. And Trump fighting FOX. Volkswagen’s in big trouble. More than 700 dead in Mecca. And Yogi Berra is gone. This hour, On Point, our weekly news roundtable goes behind the headlines.
-- Tom Ashbrook

Guests

David Joachim, assistant Washigton editor at the New York Times, focusing on national security. (@davidjoachim)

Ryan Grim, Washington bureau chief for the Huffington Post.

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

From Tom’s Reading List

New York Times: Pope Francis Challenges Congress to Heal World’s ‘Open Wounds’ -- "Taking a rostrum never before occupied by the bishop of Rome, the pontiff issued a vigorous call to action on issues largely favored by liberals, including a powerful defense of immigration, an endorsement of environmental legislation, a blistering condemnation of the arms trade and a plea to abolish the death penalty."

CBS News: Chinese President Xi Jinping heads to Washington, D.C. -- "With his feel-good tours of Boeing, Microsoft and a local high school complete, Chinese President Xi Jinping departs Washington state Thursday for the other Washington, where tougher discussions on cybersecurity, intellectual property protections and human rights await. President Barack Obama's administration said this week that he won't paper over disagreements between the two countries on those topics, even as the leaders find ground where they can work together on other issues, including trade and climate change."

The Guardian: Hajj pilgrimage: more than 700 dead in crush near Mecca -- "At least 717 people have been crushed to death in a stampede outside Mecca and more than 850 injured in the deadliest disaster on the annual hajj pilgrimage in a quarter of a century. Panic broke out when two groups of pilgrims preparing for one of the last major rites of their trip collided at the intersection of two narrow streets. Within minutes the tarmac was a macabre jumble of dishevelled, partially clothed bodies."

This program aired on September 25, 2015.

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