Week In The News: Antarctic Ice Collapsing, Turkey Tragedy, India's Vote, Hillary's Brain

46:10

May 16, 2014

VA chief in the hot seat. Karl Rove on Hillary Clinton. Turkey’s mining tragedy. Antarctic meltdown.

Miners and members of the rescue services wait for the arrival of Turkey's President Abdullah Gul outside the mine in Soma, western Turkey, Thursday, May 15, 2014. An explosion and fire at a coal mine in Soma, some 250 kilometers (155 miles) south of Istanbul, killed hundreds of workers, authorities said, in one of the worst mining disasters in Turkish history. (AP)

Hot seat week for Veterans Affairs chief Eric Shinseki. For the prime minister of Turkey, his car pummeled by Turks furious over their mining disaster. For the whole world with news that a massive Antarctic ice sheet is now melting. Sea rise to follow. In politics, Karl Rove goes after Hillary Clinton’s brain. India’s vote comes in. Marco Rubio speaks on climate change. We’ve got an FCC vote on “net neutrality,” the top woman out at the New York Times, a right to be forgotten online in Europe, a gay kiss in the NFL draft. This hour On Point: Our weekly news roundtable goes behind the headlines.
-- Tom Ashbrook

Guests

John McCormack, senior writer at The Weekly Standard. (@McCormackJohn)

Miriam Elder, foreign editor at BuzzFeed. (@MiriamElder)

Jack Beatty, On Point news analyst.

From Tom's Reading List

The Weekly Standard: Eric Holder: No Plans at DOJ to Investigate Secret Waiting Lists and Veteran Deaths at VA Hospitals — "According to CNN, at least 40 veterans died while waiting for treatment at one VA hospital in Phoenix. Members of Congress have said in recent weeks that the inspector general investigation is inadequate and have called on the DOJ to launch its own investigation."

USA Today: Karl Rove's brain freeze: Our view -- "But nobody has to ask that about Karl Rove. The whip-smart Republican operative has a reputation for picking his words carefully and understanding how they'll resonate. So when Rove suggested at an off-the-record conference last week that Hillary Clinton might have a brain problem from a concussion she got in December 2012, he had to know how that might play out."

The Wall Street Journal: Death Toll at Turkish Coal Mine Rises to 283 -- "At least 283 people have died since the Tuesday explosion and fire at a coal mine in the country's western Soma region. About 100 people still believed to be underground at Soma Komur Isletmeleri AS's mine, two days after the explosion trapped 787 workers. Since late Wednesday, rescuers haven't evacuated any miners alive, said Energy Minister Taner Yildiz, who has been coordinating disaster efforts."

This program aired on May 16, 2014.

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