To the Point
Obama Visits the Arctic Circle
President Obama ends his Alaska visit today with more calls for urgent action on climate change. But is the US taking urgent enough action to get a foothold in the northern polar region where Russia, China and other nations have already staked claims?
By Barbara Bogaev • • 52m ListenPresident Obama ends his Alaska visit today with more calls for urgent action on climate change. But is the US taking urgent enough action to get a foothold in the northern polar region where Russia, China and other nations have already staked claims? Guest host Barbara Bogaev explores the new Cold War in the Arctic.
Also, the President secures a crucial Congressional vote on the Iran nuclear deal. On today's Talking Point, jail time instead of psychiatric help. How an arrest for stealing snacks ended in death for one mentally ill young man.
Photo: President Obama at Resurrection Bay in Alaska (Official White House photo)
In this episode
3 storiesIran Nuke Deal Secures Crucial Vote in Congress
The Obama Administration now appears to have enough Congressional votes in favor of the President's nuclear deal with Iran. Today Democratic Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland became the 34th Democrat to support the President's plan.
Read the story7 minClimate Change Creates a New Cold War in the Arctic
The Arctic's warming waters are full of ships, but few of them are flying a US flag. Forty-one Russian icebreakers patrol busy shipping channels, and that nation's laid claim to more than half a million square miles of the region's rich seabed. China, South Korea and Singapore are also vying to be polar expedition superpowers.
Read the story36 minWhen the Mentally Ill Land in Jail Instead of in Psych Treatment
There are approximately ten times more mentally ill people behind bars than in psychiatric hospitals. Last month, a 24-year-old African American man died in a Virginia jail four months after being arrested for stealing about $5 worth of junk food.
Read the story8 min
