Robert Siegel talks to Republican Congresswoman Mimi Walters of California and Democratic Congressman Ruben Gallego of Arizona about starting their first term in Congress.
Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell will spend two years in federal prison. McDonnell was sentenced on Tuesday. He and his wife were convicted of using the governor's office for favors to businessman Johnnie Williams in exchange for over $170,000 in loans and gifts.
A 66-year-old Vietnam vet is due to be executed next week for the 1998 murder of a deputy sheriff in Georgia. There's no question that he shot the officer thanks to a grisly dashcam video. But the man's lawyers say PTSD and mental illness were not taken into consideration at sentencing.
Pitchers Randy Johnson, John Smoltz and Pedro Martinez, and second baseman Craig Biggio were elected to the Hall of Fame on Tuesday. Robert Siegel talks to Tom Goldman about the selections and some of the notable ballplayers who did not get in, like Don Mattingly.
A movement tinged with anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim sentiment has been growing in the German city of Dresden since the fall. The city's weekly rally grew to some 18,000 people on Monday. Robert Siegel speaks with Melanie Amann, who covers German national politics for the newspaper Der Spiegel, about the so-called "PEGIDA" movement.
Republicans formally took full control of Congress for the first time during Barack Obama's presidency on Tuesday. Republicans took over the Senate and added to their majority in the House.
Capital punishment and lethal injection were in the news quite a bit in 2014. Unable to secure certain drugs, states began using new ones, and that caused a number of executions to go awry.
To help end the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Michael Sharp sits among the banana trees and talks with the fighters about memories of the past and dreams for their children.
McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, were convicted in September on several charges of corruption while he was in office. McDonnell must report to prison next month.