Michele Kelemen

Can U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas deliver lasting peace? NPR's Leila Fadel speaks with veteran hostage negotiator Gershon Baskin about the Israel-Hamas ceasefire and President Trump's involvement in the agreement.

Interesting perspective on the diplomacy surrounding the hostage/ceasefire deal. www.npr.org/2025/10/10/n...

Two years after the Gaza war began, one Palestinian family shares their story of loss Over 67,000 Palestinians have been killed, a third of them children, in Israeli attacks since the war began two years ago. One Palestinian family shares their story of loss.

And this with reporting from Gaza www.npr.org/2025/10/07/n...

Held hostage in Gaza for 491 days, an Israeli man recalls how he survived in new book Eli Sharabi survived 491 days in Hamas captivity in Gaza following the Oct. 7, 2023 attack. Sharabi speaks with NPR's Leila Fadel about his book, "Hostage."

Some powerful stories on NPR this morning marking the anniversary of the Hamas-led attack on Israel.

www.npr.org/2025/10/07/n...

Press Release | The Academy’s 2025 Ross Media Award Winners Announced | American Academy of Diplomacy In a statement issued on October 6, 2025, the American Academy of Diplomacy announced that the winners of the 2025 Ross Media Award for Reporting and Commentary on the Practice of American Diplomacy a...

A well deserved honor for our colleague in Gaza.

www.academyofdiplomacy.org/news/press-r...

Retired U.S. diplomat George Kent talks about his cross-country cycling for Ukraine Following his retirement, former U.S. Ambassador George Kent cycled across the U.S. to raise awareness and money for the Ukrainian war effort. NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Kent about his journey.

www.npr.org/2025/10/04/n...

After Declining to Give Trump a Sword for King Charles, a Museum Leader Is Out

I mean come the hell on…

The request for a gift for King Charles came from a State Department liaison who used the email address “giftgirl2025” and initially told the museum that they were looking for “like a sword or something,”

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/a...

Today marks the first day in public media’s history without federal funding. And we’re not going anywhere.

Listeners like you keep our mission alive. Protect one of the last places where America comes together to hear itself.

Stand with us today. Donate at this link: n.pr/46wamAj

US Official Offers Regrets Over Detention of South Koreans US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau on Sunday expressed regret over the recent detention of hundreds of South Korean workers in Georgia.

US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau expressed regret on Sunday over the recent detention of hundreds of South Korean workers in Georgia and said those who returned home will face no disadvantage when re-entering the US

Today: Ed Sheeran performs live at the Tiny Desk We knew that when the time was right, Ed Sheeran would step behind the real Desk and that time is now. Watch a livestream of Sheeran's Tiny Desk today at noon ET.

NPR Music is trying something new today- a live Tiny Desk concert! Tune in at noon. www.npr.org/2025/09/09/g...

'Peacemaker': U Thant's son tells his story in new book In the early 1960s, U Thant, a practicing Buddhist from a remote town in Burma, became the first non-Western secretary-general of the United Nations.

Here’s my conversation with Thant Myint-U about his new book:

www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2...

A source tells me in a tense meeting this morning, Pentagon officials briefed Senate national security and leadership staff on last week’s U.S. strike on a Venezuelan boat. However, they provided little answers, and legal justification for the strike...

Russia Steps Up Disinformation Efforts as Trump Abandons Resistance

“The Russians now are able to basically control the information environment in Moldova in a way that they could only have dreamed a year ago,” said Thomas O. Melia

Russia Steps Up Disinformation Efforts as Trump Abandons Resistance www.nytimes.com/2025/09/07/b...

Jesse Merkel remembers his son, Fletcher, killed at the Minneapolis shooting Relatives and friends remember the two children who died in the Minnesota church shooting at a vigil on Thursday evening.

Remembering Fletcher for the person he was, an 8 year old who loved fishing and “any sport he was allowed to play” Devastated for these families.

www.npr.org/2025/08/29/n...

The human-rights situation in Iran has gotten so much worse over the past month….most people outside of Iran don’t understand how bad it’s become.

Opinion: Remembering Ted Clark, great colleague — better friend Scott Simon remembers former longtime NPR colleague Ted Clark, who passed away last week at the age of 79.

A lovely tribute to my mentor, Ted Clark. May his memory be a blessing. www.npr.org/2025/08/16/n...

Kari Lake’s Attempt to Deport Her Own Employees “Their time here is up,” she said of J-1 visa holders who worked for Voice of America.

www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

Alaska was once a full-fledged Russian colony. Now it's hosting a U.S.-Russia summit Russia lost a war in Crimea in the 1850s. To pay off war debts, Russia sold Alaska to the U.S. Now presidents Trump and Putin will meet Friday in Alaska to discuss another war involving Crimea.

www.npr.org/2025/08/12/g...

Cuts to public media will smash budgets of some local radio stations Congress voted to claw back federal funding to public media. Some of those hit hardest include community radio stations in areas that voted for the president.

www.npr.org/2025/07/20/n...

A Kite Surfer, Navy SEAL and Makeup Artist: Freed in a U.S.-Venezuela Swap

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/19/w...

State Dept. layoffs led by team of outsiders willing to ‘break stuff’ Interviews with more than 60 people detail a frenetic, arbitrary process underpinning the Trump administration’s far-reaching overhaul of the State Department.

www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

How bipartisan support for public media unraveled in the Trump era "It will test every single shred of creativity we have to continue to try to serve our mission," says one public media executive, as Congress ends federal funding for public broadcasting.

Last week, President Trump ramped up pressure on wavering GOP lawmakers, posting, "Any Republican that votes to allow this monstrosity to continue broadcasting will not have my support or Endorsement."

Case 8:25-cv-00951-PX Document 211-3 Filed 07/02/25 Page 22 of 40 114. Inmates in CECOT are confined to their cells for 23.5 hours daily and cannot go outdoors. They are denied access to reading materials, including even letters from friends or family. Inmates are prohibited from receiving visits from family and friends. Meals are provided through the bars, and the facility enforces strict regulations to maintain order. See Ex. H. 115. In May 2023, Cristosal, a leading human rights organization in El Salvador, released a comprehensive report detailing severe human rights abuses within the country's prison system, especially CECOT. See Ex. I. The investigation documented the deaths of 153 inmates between March 27, 2022, and March 27, 2023, attributing many to torture, beatings, mechanical asphyxiation (strangulation), and lack of medical attention. Id. Autopsies revealed common patterns of lacerations, hematomas, sharp object wounds, and signs of choking or strangulation. Id. Survivors reported being forced to pick food off the floor with their mouths, subjected to electric shocks, and exposed to untreated skin fungus epidemics. Id. Cristosal's director has emphasized that these systemic violations have become state policy. Id. 116. Plaintiff Abrego Garcia reports that he was subjected to severe mistreatment upon arrival at CECOT, including but not limited to severe beatings, severe sleep deprivation, inadequate nutrition, and psychological torture 117. Plaintiff Abrego Garcia was the first name called to disembark the plane that transported him to El Salvador on March 15, 2025. As he exited the aircraft, still in chains, two officials grabbed his arms and pushed him down the stairs, forcing his head down. 118. There were strong lights illuminating the area despite it being nighttime, and cameras were filming the detainees' arrival. 119. Plaintiff Abrego Garcia was pushed toward a bus, forcibly seated, and fitted with a second set of chains and handcuffs. He was repe…

Here’s Abrego Garcia’s amended complaint.

It alleges that Abrego Garcia “was subjected to severe mistreatment upon arrival at CECOT, including but not limited to severe beatings, severe sleep deprivation,
inadequate nutrition, and psychological torture..”

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

A Dangerous Quest for Food in Gaza : State of the World from NPR An NPR journalist in Gaza describes his harrowing experience seeking food from a distribution site run by private American contractors. He found himself facing Israeli military fire, crowds fighting f...

Amazing reporting from my colleagues in Israel and Gaza. www.npr.org/2025/07/02/1...

Why didn’t George W. Bush say anything when there was a fight to be had over this? Ditto for Obama. Solidarity is better than condolences.

Bush, Obama and Bono Commend USAID Staff Members on Their Last Day

Bush, Obama and Bono Commend USAID Staff Members on Their Last Day www.nytimes.com/2025/06/30/u...

Longtime State Department spokesman, diplomat Richard Boucher, dies at 73 Richard Boucher, who served for more than a decade as spokesman for the State Department and assistant secretary of state for public affairs, has died at age 73.

apnews.com/article/rich...

A consummate professional. Richard Boucher was spokesman when I first started covering the State Department. May his memory be a blessing.

Longtime State Department spokesman, diplomat Richard Boucher, dies at 73

Worldwide Caution

travel.state.gov/content/trav...

Learn About Your Destination

The State Dept is warning Americans of “the potential for demonstrations against U.S. citizens and interests abroad” in this new Worldwide Caution.

travel.state.gov/content/trav....