American News Project Videos

No Paine, No Gain: A July 4th Special

npenniman — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 23:29:00 -0700

An Independence Day look back at the radical influence of Thomas Paine, the often-overlooked founding father whose words sparked the American Revolution.

July 4th: State of the Nation

jkamen — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 13:01:29 -0700

Despite the rise in gas prices, many Americans made the traditional pilgrimage to the nation's capital for July 4. At the White House we asked about people's deepest hopes and worries about the country's future after Independence Day.

Kids Having Babies

tdowlatshahi — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:06:30 -0700

Teen pregnancy is on the rise in America for the first time since 1991. One in three teenage girls in the US becomes pregnant. Recent media hype and movies like Juno give teen pregnancy a certain kind of treatment. ANP went to one health center in the Northeast of Washington, DC to explore the real thing.

The Revolving Door of K Street

npenniman — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 09:39:29 -0700

Capitol Hill lost yet another Congressman to K Street recently, as one more elected official rolled down the hill to join a lobbying firm. Through the story of the latest defector, the American News Project examines this burgeoning trend, known in DC as the "revolving door."

D.C. SNAPSHOT: Bush Lawyers on Child Torture and Burial Alive

hhanbury — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 15:34:53 -0700

On June 26, 2008, John Yoo and David Addington, two leading architects of the Bush administration's policies on torture, testified before the House Judiciary Committee. Even seemingly simple questions yielded evasive answers.

DC SNAPSHOT: Supreme Court Overturns Gun Ban

dhutchins — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 15:23:17 -0700

The Supreme Court has ruled 5-4 to get rid of Washington D.C.'s 32-year-ban on handguns. Gun rights advocates are celebrating it as a victory while others worry more legal guns in D.C. may make their way to the black market.

Spencer Ackerman on Torture at Gitmo

dhutchins — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:09:16 -0700

June 26 is the UN's official day to show support for victims of torture. ANP caught up with Washington Independent reporter Spencer Ackerman to see an exact replica of a Guatanamo Bay detention cell.

The Price of Hunger

gmclaurin — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 10:45:34 -0700

Hunger is a growing crisis in America. With a stagnant economy and rising fuel prices the cost of food is soaring. Congress is reacting, but will their efforts be enough? ANP spends a week with Brian Duss who agrees to take the Food Stamp Challenge and live off a dollar per meal for 7 days.

D.C. SNAPSHOT: Scott McClellan Under Oath

anpstaff — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 13:48:42 -0700

Former presidential spokesperson Scott McClellan testified under oath before the House Judiciary Committee and laid out a damning case against Bush's White House. Over the course of four tense hours, committee members clashed over calls for impeachment of President Bush and deception leading up to the invasion of Iraq.

A Mosque Grows In Virginia

jkamen — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 15:07:51 -0700

Defenders of their faiths and their nation, Muslims and Jews unite for a celebration of America's first freedom as the newest Mosque in the US opens outside Washington, DC.

PROFILE: Guantanamo Lawyer Speaks Out

hhanbury — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 21:50:32 -0700

Despite its recent 5-4 rejection of the legal basis for the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, the Supreme Court may flip back to support the Bush administration's views on executive power. Steven Wax, a Federal Public Defender who represents seven Gitmo prisoners, is in the middle of this Constitutional maelstrom.

Losing the Race

npenniman — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 13:10:00 -0700

Obama. The Reverend Wright. Immigration. Race is taking center stage in America and, as a result, the groups that try to heighten racial divisions are on the rise. ANP explores the phenomenon of "white nationalism."

ESSAY: The House That Rupert Built

dhutchins — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 12:48:36 -0700

ANP takes a humorous look at the grand achievement of the Newseum - a multi-million dollar shrine to the news industry brought to you by today's corporate media titans. Despite all the money, the curators might have failed on one key question: What is news?

D.C. SNAPSHOT: Senate Hearings Interrupted

dmurdock — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 06:45:27 -0700

On two consecutive days, hearings conducted by the Senate Judiciary Committee were suspended when Republicans invoked the rarely used "two hour rule" that states no hearing can run more than two hours.

ANP cameras were covering both hearings as part of ongoing stories and were able to capture the latest moves in the political chess match both parties are currently waging on Capitol Hill.

The $300 Billion Betrayal

npenniman — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 17:34:07 -0700

The Pentagon spends hundreds of billions of dollars on weapons systems, but our troops still aren't getting what they need. It's a scandal of enormous proportions that involves deceptive corporations and complacent government officials. But the biggest problem of all is that the people in Washington who could fix it continue to ignore it.

Greening the Evangelicals

tdowlatshahi — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 03:43:14 -0700

How solidly Republican will Christian evangelicals be in 2008? As the country enters the next phase in this historic election season, concern about the state of God's earth may be the issue that draws many believers into the Democratic camp. Richard Cizik of the National Association of Evangelicals estimates that perhaps 40% of evangelicals will be "up for grabs" in November.

Drop Weapons

dmurdock — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 10:53:00 -0700

Several soldiers who have returned from combat zones talk with the American News Project about what they say is the widespread practice of using "drop weapons" to cover up the killing of innocent civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan. We feature five veterans and current members of Iraq Veterans Against the War, plus retired Lieutenant Colonel Gary Solis, a Vietnam War veteran and legal scholar who taught "Law of War" at West Point.

Immigration: The Battle for Manassas

dhutchins — Fri, 30 May 2008 16:06:46 -0700

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates more than 10 million undocumented immigrants reside in the United States. In the absence of a national policy to stem the rise of illegals, some local governments are taking matters into their own hands. Virginia's Prince William County has implemented the "rule of law" policy which allows officers to arrest people suspected of being in the U.S. illegally and expedite deportation. And citizens are up in arms.

Iraq: One Winter Soldier's Tale

gmclaurin — Fri, 30 May 2008 04:19:00 -0700

In the spring of 2008, a conference was held on the outskirts of Washington, DC. Entitled Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan, it harkened back to the Winter Soldier testimonies held three decades ago during the Vietnam War. Of the testimonies we filmed, this one, by Iraq War vet Jon Michael Turner, was the most compelling and intense.

EPA's Troubled Waters

hhanbury — Tue, 20 May 2008 01:37:00 -0700

Polluters dump about 240 million pounds of toxins into our waterways each year, and the long-term effects on human health and the environment could be disastrous. Thirty five years after the Clean Water Act became law, ANP explores why our fish are changing sex and our water contains rocket fuel, pesticides, and pharmaceuticals.