To the Point

World Hunger

At this week's World Food Summit in Rome, the only point of agreement among 180 is that 800 million hungry people are too many. Being nowhere near their goal set six years ago to halve that number by 2015, the summit is devolving into familiar debates about open markets, genetically altered food, and farm subsidies in America and Europe. We learn more about the economic, political and nutritional causes of hunger and the search for solutions - from governmental to grassroots, from the Under Secretary of State for Economic, Business and Agricultural Affairs, the co-director of the progressive think tank Food First, a professor of nutritional science and policy, and a director of the UN's Office for the Food and Agriculture. Newsmaker: Eventful First Meeting of the Loya Jirga At Afghanistan's loya jirga today, former King Zahir Shah formerly endorsed interim leader Hamid Karzai as head of state for the next 18 months, but many of the 1500 delegates are complaining about the role of the US. Quil Lawrence, reporter for PRI's news program The World, reviews the first day of the council gathering which included ethnic groups from around the country as well as several women. Reporter's Notebook: Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court Created in 1979, it meets in secret, and although very little is known about it operations, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court has become an increasingly important tool in our arsenal against hidden enemies. Counter-terrorism expert Michael Vatis, who has worked at the Departments of Defense and Justice, opens the books on the secret court that decides which Americans can be spied on and which can't.