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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The Biden administration says the prisoners were all wrongfully held and that they are being reunited with their families for the first time in many years. They appear to be part of a prisoner swap.
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In a statement, the State Department said all the "wrongfully detained" Americans in China are now home. -
Israeli airstrikes shook Southern Beirut Monday and Hezbollah has continued to fire hundreds of rockets into Israel. Amid this violence, there are some signals of a diplomatic deal in the works.
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Trump has named the ambassador to Israel as former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who says there is no such place as the West Bank.
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Donald Trump's first presidency was marked by near-constant turnover of senior personnel. For his second run, the focus seems to be on hiring loyalists who won't challenge the president's wishes.
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Russian dissidents, who were exchanged in a prisoner swap, are trying to stay relevant abroad, planning a protest in Berlin and advocating for a US policy that ensures that Russia loses the war against Ukraine.
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The Biden administration says it is tracking thousands of North Korean troops in Russia and, according to U.S. intelligence reports, those troops could be involved in combat with Ukrainians soon.
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The U.S. and Qatar say that talks will resume on a ceasefire deal for Gaza, though it is not clear what Hamas' position is in the wake of the killing of its leader in Gaza.
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Israeli forces killed the Hamas leader in Gaza last week and they’ve been pressing their offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon too. Israel is also poised to strike Iran.
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Israel has allowed a “trickle” of aid into Gaza this week. But the U.S. says it is just not enough. The Biden administration is threatening to withhold some military aid to Israel unless that changes.
