To the Point

Can September 11 Intelligence Failures Be Fixed?

Last week, the House and Senate released their 900-page joint report on intelligence failures before September 11 and what-s been since done to correct them. Although President Bush claims intelligence failings have been corrected, the bipartisan report raises serious questions. Are the CIA and FBI more likely to share information? Is any single agency or official accountable if they don-t? What was the role of the Saudi royal family? How much was President Bush told about the threat of al Qaeda, and how did the White House respond? Will intelligence be an issue in next year-s presidential campaign? We hear several viewpoints from reporters, former intelligence agents and the families of September 11 victims. Making News: JP Morgan Chase and Citigroup Settle Enron Case Remember Enron? Two of America-s largest banks will for a long time to come. JP Morgan Chase and Citigroup have agreed to pay more than $300 million to settle investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission and Manhattan-s District Attorney. Gary Silverman, US banking editor for Financial Times, says although criminal charges were not filed, the sizeable settlements attest to the depth of the institutions- involvement. Reporter's Notebook: Study Finds Local News Ignores Campaigns and Elections Surveys show that most Americans get their news from local TV. That includes political news, the foundation for an informed, democratic electorate. Now, a massive study of local stations shows just how much reporting there was-or was not--about last year-s midterm elections. Martin Kaplan, associate dean of USC-s Annenberg School for Communications, has the disturbing story on the quality and quantity of broadcast political news.