One word: Panama. And no, we're not talking the Van Halen 80s classic.
There's a little matter of that canal that cuts through the Central American country, and the vital role it plays in world trade. There's a four-year effort underway to widen the canal, to let bigger and bigger cargo ships through. But there's a snag. The consortium doing the work says there are cost overruns, and they'll stop working unless the Panamanians cough up a billion more dollars. And you can't understand canal politics today without understanding America's role in building and maintaining it. Fifty years ago this week, some Panamanian students took to the streets to protest the US role in their country, with deadly results. We'll revisit that era on today's show.
Plus, how India is reacting to the expulsion of one of its diplomats from the United States, and how France is reacting to the rumors that its President, Francois Hollande, is having an affair. Is France really as "laissez-faire" about these matters as all of us Yanks think it is?
And former NBA player Ira Newble is no stranger to activism. He's been heavily involved in issues surrounding Darfur. We get Newble to weigh in on Dennis Rodman's long, strange North Korean trip.