To the Point
National Security and Military Spending
Defense Secretary Hagel wants to cut the Pentagon budget. We hear what he's proposing, what it means for national security and the likely response from Congress.
By Warren Olney • • 51m ListenDefense Secretary Chuck Hagel wants to cut the Pentagon budget, but the stocks of many defense contractors are going up. We hear what Hagel's proposing, what it means for national security and the likely response from Congress. Also, Russian President Putin calls for military exercises near a volatile Ukraine, and potentially good news about childhood obesity.
Banner image: Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey brief reporters on the defense budget proposal at the Pentagon, February 24, 2014. DOD photo by US Army Staff Sgt. Sean K. Harp
In this episode
3 storiesPutin Calls for Military Exercises near Volatile Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin today ordered a surprise military exercise of ground forces near the eastern border of troubled Ukraine. In Crimea, part of Ukraine itself, thousands of ethnic Russians are protesting the overthrow of former President Viktor Yanukovych. Steven Lee Myers is in Moscow for the New York Times .
Read the story8 minCuts in the Pentagon: Too Much or Not Enough?
Ground wars like those in Iraq and Afghanistan, at 13 years the longest in American history, are things of the past. Defense against Chinese cyber-warriors or terrorists in Africa won't require tanks, warplanes or massive armies. That's the theory behind Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel's proposed cuts in the Pentagon budget.
Read the story35 minEarly Childhood Obesity Fallen Greatly
For the first time since childhood obesity was called "epidemic," a study shows it's declining among very young children. A paper in today's edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association reports that obesity has dropped from 14% to 8% among children between the ages of two and five.
Read the story8 min
