Steve Inskeep http://redriverradio.org en Politics In The News http://redriverradio.org/post/politics-news-24 Transcript <p>DAVID GREENE, HOST: <p>It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Good morning, I'm David Greene.<p>STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: <p>And I'm Steve Inskeep.<p>Again and again, President Obama's administration tries to pivot attention toward East Asia. Administration officials believe China and its neighbors are where the economic future lies.<p>GREENE: And yet it's the Middle East that keeps demanding the president's attention. It brings to mind that line from F. Mon, 13 May 2013 08:21:00 +0000 Steve Inskeep 27521 at http://redriverradio.org U.S. Point Man On Syria Meets With Rebels Inside Syria http://redriverradio.org/post/us-point-man-syria-meets-rebels-inside-syria Ambassador Robert Ford crossed into northern Syria on Wednesday. The secret visit was confirmed by Syrian activists at the media office at the Bab al-Salama crossing on the Turkish frontier. Fri, 10 May 2013 09:45:00 +0000 Steve Inskeep 27417 at http://redriverradio.org Racin Case: Charges Dropped Against Miss. Man http://redriverradio.org/post/racin-case-charges-dropped-against-miss-man Transcript <p>DAVID GREENE, HOST: <p>This is MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm David Greene.<p>STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: <p>And I'm Steve Inskeep. Here's another reminder that a fast-moving news story can completely change. Prosecutors have dropped the charges against Paul Kevin Curtis. He's the Elvis impersonator first arrested in the case of ricin being sent to U.S. officials, as we reported last week.<p>Now we're reporting, just as prominently, the change in focus to another Mississippi man's house. NPR's Debbie Elliott has been following this case. She's on the line. Wed, 24 Apr 2013 10:03:00 +0000 Steve Inskeep 26652 at http://redriverradio.org Venezuelan Humorist Engages Kidnappers In Election Dialogue http://redriverradio.org/post/venezuelan-humorist-engages-kidnappers-election-dialogue Earlier this week in Caracas, we were about to go to an interview when it had to be rescheduled. The man we were going to speak with was unavoidably detained — kidnapped, to be precise.<p>It took awhile after that for Laureano Marquez to free up his schedule and meet us in a coffee shop.<p>"I'm so sorry," he said when he finally arrived, as if it was his fault for being thrown into a car and driven off to the far reaches of town.<p>We'd been planning to talk with Marquez about Venezuela's presidential election this weekend, an election that opens a door on a changing Latin America. Fri, 12 Apr 2013 11:53:00 +0000 Steve Inskeep 26140 at http://redriverradio.org Venezuelan Humorist Engages Kidnappers In Election Dialogue How Hugo Chavez's Policies Affected Ordinary Venezuelans http://redriverradio.org/post/how-hugo-chavezs-policies-affected-ordinary-venezuelans In the days before elevators, there was no such thing as a penthouse on the top floor. The highest floors of a building had cheaper rents because the stairs were hard to climb.<p>Caracas, Venezuela, is organized roughly the same way, with many poor neighborhoods climbing up the sides of a mountain valley. Some of the poorest homes are among the most remote, accessible not by any road but by alleyways and long flights of stairs.<p>Up one of those flights of stairs, we found a woman whose life says a lot about Venezuela and by extension about Latin America. Thu, 11 Apr 2013 09:45:00 +0000 Steve Inskeep 26075 at http://redriverradio.org How Hugo Chavez's Policies Affected Ordinary Venezuelans