Why Netanyahu’s latest move is a threat to a free press

The government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
shuttered the Israel offices of news network Al Jazeera this
week. The country blocked the network’s website, and Israeli
police raided their studios, confiscating broadcast equipment.
Americans would expect this move from an authoritarian leader,
not a democratic ally. Will the United States’ relationship with
Netanyahu’s country change how it views the threat to press
freedom?


South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem is under fire for several
controversies from her new memoir, including a reference to
shooting a 14-month-old puppy she described as “untrainable.”
Noem is pushing back at the criticism amid a bid to be Donald
Trump’s running mate this fall, but her pursuit of the vice
presidency may be over. KCRW speculates on Trump’s other options
for VP, and wonders aloud why other Republican politicians seem
unable to overcome controversy as easily as the former president.


There are plenty of reasons to argue that the news ecosystem is
biased — does that also apply to satire? Hear an excerpt from the
Cascade PBS Ideas Festival, where the Left, Right and Center
panel discussed political comedy and applauded the uniting power
of karaoke.