Michele Kelemen
Michele Kelemen has been with NPR for two decades, starting as NPR's Moscow bureau chief and now covering the State Department and Washington's diplomatic corps. Her reports can be heard on all NPR News programs, including Morning Edition and All Things Considered.
As Diplomatic Correspondent, Kelemen has traveled with Secretaries of State from Colin Powell to Mike Pompeo and everyone in between. She reports on the Trump administration's "America First" foreign policy and before that the Obama and Bush administration's diplomatic agendas. She was part of the NPR team that won the 2007 Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia University Award for coverage of the war in Iraq.
As NPR's Moscow bureau chief, Kelemen chronicled the end of the Yeltsin era and Vladimir Putin's consolidation of power. She recounted the terrible toll of the latest war in Chechnya, while also reporting on a lighter side of Russia, with stories about modern day Russian literature and sports.
Kelemen came to NPR in September 1998, after eight years working for the Voice of America. There, she learned the ropes as a news writer, newscaster and show host.
Michele earned her Bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a Master's degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Russian and East European Affairs and International Economics.
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Estonia's president left Washington, D.C., feeling more reassured about U.S. policy toward Russia. Kersti Kaljulaid says President Trump asked tough questions in his meeting with the Baltic leaders, but also talked about how he expelled 60 Russians in the wake of a nerve agent attack in the U.K.
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John Bolton is the latest Fox news commentator to join the Trump administration. He's built up a reputation as a hawk, rather than a consensus builder on some of the most pressing issues facing the U.S., Iran and North Korea.
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Bolton takes the job as two major foreign policy challenges come to a head, in North Korea and Iran. He replaces H.R. McMaster, becoming the third man to hold the position under President Trump. -
Unlike Rex Tillerson, a secretive former oil executive, Mike Pompeo's views of the world are much clearer. He's been a hawk on Iran and his views of Muslims have raised alarms. If he is confirmed as secretary of state, world leaders will have to adjust.
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As President Trump accepts North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's invitation to meet him, questions remain about whether the State Department has enough experts on hand to engage in serious negotiations with North Korea over its nuclear and missile programs.
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The Trump administration is trying to make it harder for North Korea to evade sanctions. It is putting the world on notice to look out for "deceptive shipping practices."
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The United Nations Secretary General António Guterres says that 400,000 Syrians are living in hell on earth in a suburb of Damascus. But what will the U.N. Security Council do about it?
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Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, angry over the Trump administration's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, wants other countries to lead peace efforts now. He is making his case to the U.N. Security Council.
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NPR spoke to the director of U.N. relief operations in the West Bank about how he makes the case for America's continued assistance in the region. -
The White House's withdrawal of Victor Cha as a candidate for ambassador to South Korea comes as an apparent result of differing views on the idea of using a preemptive strike against North Korea.
