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New York Times
Ken Belson Covers the National Football League for the New York Times.
PROFILE
Ken Belson
Guest
FROM Ken Belson
To the Point
Sports… politics and patriotism Colin Kaepernick took a knee instead of saluting the flag. Will he ever play again in the National Football League? Gregg Popovich has called President Trump a " soulless coward ." Will he still be coaching in NBA basketball? It's often claimed that "sports are separate from politics," but that's a far cry from reality — especially in this era of hyper-partisanship. Men and women athletes, fans and owners — from sold-out stadiums to high school fields and gymnasiums — are all getting in on the action. Today, team owners with players behind closed doors at NFL headquarters in New York City. Now, the owners are meeting separately by themselves.
To the Point
Politics were unavoidable in this year's Super Bowl Before the Super Bowl, President Trump predicted an eight-point win for the New England Patriots. He reportedly left a viewing party early when the Atlanta Falcons were leading 28 to three. When the Patriots pulled it out in the first overtime in Super Bowl history, Trump tweeted, "What an amazing comeback… Tom Brady, Bob Kraft and Coach B." Ken Belson, who covers the NFL for the New York Times , has more on the game — and the politics.
To the Point
The Nuclear Danger Escalates in Japan As workers battle to cool spent fuel rods and damaged reactors, Japan's nuclear safety agency raised the assessment of danger to 5 on a scale of 7. That makes the crisis comparable to the partial meltdown at Pennsylvania's Three Mile Island reactor in 1979, but not to the total meltdown at Chernobyl in 1986. In the only country ever struck by atomic bombs, is there residual fear of radiation — even for medicine? What must it be like for the workers trying to control one of history's worst nuclear calamities? We speak with former inspector who blew the whistle on the situation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, a Hiroshima survivor and others.
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To the Point
The Trump agenda: where's the beef? President Trump says big things are happening. After celebrating a House bill on health care, he doesn’t yet have Senate agreement. With James Comey’s public testimony scheduled tomorrow, the President today tweeted his selection of a new FBI Director. Is the Chief Executive all style and no substance? Later, terror attacks in Iran and conflicting claims about who’s behind them.
To the Point
Human Rights in the era of Donald Trump President Trump’s UN Ambassador, Nikki Haley, said today the US might pull out of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council. Serious violators of human rights are members of the Council itself–and a US resignation could make things worse. Later on today’s show, now that he’s into his second term, comedian turned US Senator Al Franken is telling jokes again.
To the Point
Is the threat from Russia missing from the Russia meddling probe? There's much being made about the Trump administration's possible ties with Russia. But the bottom line is Russia's effort to influence American democracy. Do the President and his aides care enough to take action before voters go back to the polls?
To the Point
Janesville and the American Dream Janesville, Wisconsin is the hometown of Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan. But he couldn’t prevent the closing of the General Motors factory after 100 years. On this Memorial Day rebroadcast of To the Point, we hear what’s happened to what once was a model of American middle-class unity.