To the Point
Is al Qaeda a Real Threat?
Is al Qaeda becoming more powerful? Two years after Osama bin Laden was killed, there are fears the terrorist group is planning attacks from Yemen and other countries.
By Madeleine Brand • • 51m ListenIs al Qaeda becoming more powerful? Two years after Osama bin Laden was killed, there are fears the terrorist group is planning attacks from Yemen and other countries. Also, new revelations about NSA monitoring of US correspondence, and the fascinating case of Henrietta Lacks, the African American woman who died young from cervical cancer. Her cells would be used by science to save the lives of millions of people. Now her family has a say in what the future research will be. Madeleine Brand guest hosts.
Banner image: A police trooper checks a van at the entrance of Sanaa International Airport August 7, 2013. Al Qaeda's Yemen-based branch AQAP has been behind plots against Western targets and neighbouring Saudi Arabia. Photo: Khaled Abdullah/Reuters
In this episode
3 storiesNew Revelations about NSA Monitoring of US Correspondence
The National Security Agency is monitoring more email and texts than previously acknowledged. The New York Times reports that the NSA monitors emails and texts from and to Americans who are writing about foreigners under surveillance.
Read the story8 minTwelve Years after 9-11, How Big a Threat Is al Qaeda?
Should we be afraid of al Qaeda? Officials in Yemen say they thwarted a plan by al Qaeda to seize a major port and kidnap or kill workers there. It's not clear how real that threat was. But the news came days after the US and Britain closed embassies across the Middle East and North Africa, fearing a terrorist attack.
Read the story33 minAn Update on 'The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks'
Henrietta Lacks was a poor black tobacco farmer who died in 1951 of cervical cancer. Unknown to her or her family, her cancer cells were saved and eventually used by scientists in 70 thousand experiments that created the polio vaccine, in vitro fertilization, live saving cancer drugs and other breakthroughs.
Read the story10 min
