Jillian Weinberger

In the summer of 2009, Van Jones, special adviser on the environment and green jobs to President Obama, faced a media firestorm. It was fueled by investigations into his past. Jones, a committed environmental activist and civil rights attorney, resigned the following September. "On the eve of historic fights for health care and clean energy, opponents of reform have mounted a vicious smear campaign against me. They are using lies and distortions to distract and divide," he said at the time. Since Jones resigned over two years ago, President Obama has faced mounting criticism from environmental activists, while contenders for the GOP nomination claim that the president is too extreme in his efforts to protect the environment.

Over the weekend, Friends of Syria, an organization of 60 nations created to support the Syrian opposition, gathered in Istanbul for yet another meeting on the seemingly unending revo...

While the GOP Presidential contenders prepare for primaries in Wisconsin, Maryland and Washington, D.C., candidate Mitt Romney garners key endorsements from Senator Rob Johnson and Co...

This story has all the trappings of a spy novel, or a James Bond film. Espionage. International intrigue. Underground nuclear development. It would make for quite a work of fiction...except that this story is true. In 2010, a little virus called Stuxnet caused severe damage to an Iranian uranium-enrichment facility, effectively delaying Iran’s nuclear capabilities for months or possibly years. It was long thought that Israel took the lead in developing Stuxnet, but our next guest thinks that the Untied States was the culprit. And while we Americans might be skilled in creating cyber-viruses, we might be completely unprepared when it comes to defending ourselves against them.  

Adrienne Rich, a poet and essayist who profoundly influenced a generation of modern American writers, died yesterday at the age of 82. Rich was known as the poet of the women’s moveme...

All this week, we're talking about Department of Health and Human Services vs. Florida, the health care case at the Supreme Court. Today the Court will hear arguments on the constitut...

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is now in the Supreme Court's hands, but it seems that the health care reforms then-Governor Mitt Romney implemented in Massachusetts will continue to ha...

The Supreme Court will hear a challenge to President Obama’s healthcare law today, kicking off a three-day proceeding. The Affordable Care Act mandates an expansion of health insuranc...

On March 1, 2003, Khalid Sheikh Mohammad was arrested in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, by members of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency and the CIA. It marked the end of one of the...

Pakistan was once the U.S.’s principal ally in the Afghanistan war. But tensions between the two countries have grown since the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad las...

The auto industry may be on its way back, but Detroit is close to bankruptcy. But as the city's fate hangs in the balance, Detroit Mayor Dave Bing is recovering from major surgery, an...

Where do most artists and inventors get their creative impulse? Author and journalist Jonah Lehrer explores the science behind imagination in his new book "Imagine: How Creativity Wor...

All this week, we’re talking about incarceration in America. Today we're focusing on life after prison, and what happens to former inmates once they're released. Joining us is Michell...

All this week we’re talking about incarceration in America. Yesterday we looked at juvenile justice, and whether life-without-parole sentences for teenage murder convicts violates the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Today, we’re talking about super-maximum-security prisons and the effects of solitary confinement.

Next week the Supreme Court will hear Department of Health and Human Services v. Florida, the case that will decide the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, or health insurance reform. The case includes a number of questions about states' rights, federal jurisdiction, and individual liberty. In addition, it shines a spotlight on the institution that will decide the constitutionality of President Obama's signature legislation. 

All this week, The Takeaway is talking about incarceration in America. We’ll talk with experts, advocates and former prisoners about the issues they’re facing, behind bars and outside the prison walls. Today we're focusing on juvenile justice.

The debate over whether to intervene in Syria continues, and many questions remain. What role would the U.S. play in an intervention? How should Americans engage the international community? Should we arm the Syrian opposition? 

Today we have the opportunity to reflect on the U.S.’s role in two recent conflicts. One year ago today, the American troops joined their French and British counterparts on the battlefield in Libya. Nine years ago today, the U.S. launched Operation Iraqi Freedom. What have we learned from these conflicts, and how do they inform U.S. foreign policy today? 

GOP Presidential candidates take the fight for the nomination to Illinois, while the Senate takes up the JOBS Act, a business de-regulation bill that SEC Chair Mary Schapiro warns would expose investors to fraud. The U.N. Security council meets to discuss the future of Afghanistan, while American officials debate the American role in the country. Finally, the Transportation Security Administration announces new regulations for elderly passengers as the owners of the Mets go to trial over money they made in the Madoff scandal.

Today is the one-year anniversary of the protest movement in Syria. While the Arab Spring brought regime change to Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has retained his grip on power. Syrian forces loyal to President Assad have stepped up attacks across the country. Yesterday, government forces began raiding Dara'a, the city where the uprising against the president began. In the last year, Syrian forces have killed more than 8,000 people, according to the United Nations. The international community can’t seem to agree on a solution, and the opposition movement is fractured. What's ahead for Syria?

 

Nearly three months after the Iowa Caucuses, the GOP race is still anyone’s game. Rick Santorum won the Kansas Caucuses on Saturday, while Romney picked up delegates in Wyoming, as well as Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Newt Gingrich continues to trail Romney and Santorum, but he has campaigned aggressively in the South, where primary voters will go to the polls in Alabama and Mississippi on Tuesday. How will Mitt Romney fare in the South, a conservative stronghold? Do Santorum’s wins in staunchly conservative states like Kansas and Oklahoma spell trouble for Romney? And how does Gingrich figure into the race going forward?