Washington Post
National technology reporter, and former Johannesburg Bureau Chief, for the Washington Post
PROFILE
Craig Timberg
Guest
FROM Craig Timberg
To the Point
Does Facial Recognition Technology Threaten Your Privacy? Fingerprints for identifying suspects is old news. Now the US Supreme Court says law enforcement can make databases that include DNA. Another advancing technology is raising familiar questions about the expectation of privacy. Thirty-seven states are putting drivers' license photographs into databases that use facial-recognition technology. That's according to a study by the Washington Post . We here more from reporter Craig Timberg and from Jay Stanley, senior policy analyst with the ACLU's Speech, Privacy and Technology Project .
To the Point
Mugabe Snubs an Emergency Regional Summit The opposition to Zimbabwe's President has called for a general strike starting on Tuesday. Robert Mugabe says he won't attend a much-awaited summit with other African leaders. He's banned all political rallies, and human rights groups report that he's launched a campaign of systematic violence. Craig Timberg is Johannesburg Bureau Chief for the Washington Post , just home after three weeks in Zimbabwe.
To the Point
ANC Deeply Divided over Vote for New Party Leader After 55 years of disciplined unity, South Africa's ruling party is engaged in a bitter dispute over leadership, which could determine who will be the country's next president. President Thabo Mbeki cannot run for a third term in 2009. Today, he's being challenged as leader of the African National Congress , the party that's ruled the country since apartheid ended 13 years ago. Jacob Zuma , fired as Mbeki's deputy, leads the opposition and is a popular figure. We get an update from Craig Timberg, Johannesburg Bureau Chief for the Washington Post , and Stephen Smith, Professor of African Studies at Duke University and former Africa Bureau Chief for Le Monde.
To the Point
Can America Impact the Humanitarian Crisis in Darfur? In his UN speech today, President Bush said the people of Darfur--the province in western Sudan--have suffered "unspeakable violence." UN officials have declared that "no issue needs more urgent attention." Reminding the General Assembly that the US deems such violence "genocide," the President called on the UN to bolster the African Union forces with peacekeepers of its own, even if the government of Sudan disapproves, and said he's appointed a special American envoy to deal with Darfur. We get the background on the humanitarian crisis and the likelihood of UN peacekeepers being sent to the region.
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To the Point
Terrorism and tweets, hate speech and murder Just days before an election, Britain is coping with a rash of deadly terrorism, and Prime Minister Theresa May is on the defensive. And again today, President Trump has tweeted criticism of the Mayor of London. Later, a double murder in Portland, Oregon has revealed the ugly past of a supposedly “progressive” city. One immediate question: is “hate speech” protected by the First Amendment?
To the Point
White House budget proposal slashes and burns President Trump's first budget request is considered dead on arrival in Congress — a familiar development in Capitol Hill. We hear what it reveals about the priorities of the new administration. What's likely to die… and what might survive?
To the Point
Who's to blame for the opioid crisis? Some of the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco are now going after Big Pharma. It’s all about the deadly epidemic of opioid use. Are the drug companies to blame? What about the users? Later, on today’s Talking Point: making sense of Britain’s upset election.
To the Point
Ex-FBI Director Comey tells his side of the story Today, former FBI Director James Comey came close to calling the President who fired him a liar. The White House denied the claim and called it insulting, but Republican Senators did not challenge Comey’s truthfulness. Many questions remain: did the President try to obstruct a federal investigation? Later, we’ll go behind the “velvet rope” for a look at 5-Star health care for the richest Americans.