PROFILE
FROM Tom Sykes
Long Live the Queen Queen Elizabeth II has now spent 63 years, 7 months on the throne — surpassing her great-great grandmother, Queen Victoria, as Britain's longest-serving monarch. Her reign started when Winston Churchill was British Prime Minister and Harry Truman was President of the United States. When she became Britain's longest-serving monarch today, she was typically modest, addressing a crowd at the opening of the Borders Railway in Scotland. "Although it is not one to which I have ever aspired, inevitably a long life can pass by many milestones. My own is no exception. But I thank you all and the many others at home and overseas, for your touching messages of great kindness." Tom Sykes is editor of the Royalist blog for the Daily Beast .
London Prepares for the Olympics London last hosted the Olympics in 1948 amid austerity in the aftermath of World War II. Amateur athletes slept on cots and brought their own towels. This year, the Games are a $15 billion spectacle -- ostensibly in peacetime, but protected by warships in the River Thames, missile-launchers on rooftops and 35,000 police and military personnel. We hear how Londoners are preparing, for better or worse.
Does London Really Need the Olympics? Five massive rings now hang from the Tower Bridge, and the Olympics logo will be brightly lit every night after the games begin later this month. But after the Queen's recent Jubilee, are Londoners excited or thoroughly underwhelmed? Traffic congestion has many working at home. There's commercial saturation, and public space has been sold to private investors. There will be warships in the River Thames, missile-launchers on apartment rooftops and 35,000 police and military personnel. London last hosted the Olympics in 1948 amid austerity in the aftermath of World War II. Amateur athletes slept on cots and brought their own towels. Will the "Spirit of the Olympics" finally overwhelm doubts about a $15 billion spectacle in the midst of economic recession?
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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?
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.
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.
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?