Inside the Americas

For the last edition of the show in its current version, we take a look back at some of the many places across the Americas we've gone to over the years. We also take a closer look at the hot-button issue of abortion and how a series of electoral wins for reproductive rights groups could spell bad news for Republicans come November in red states like in Florida.

A bipartisan group of US senators have introduced a bill that would criminalise the spread of non-consensual, sexualised images generated through artificial intelligence. It comes after AI-generated images of pop star Taylor Swift circulated this past week on X, formerly known as Twitter. Swift is also the target of conspiracy theories that she's being used as part of a plot to interfere in the upcoming US presidential elections. FRANCE 24's Julia Sieger tells us more. 

Former US president Donald Trump steamrolled to victory in New Hampshire this week, cementing his position as the shoe-in Republican nominee. With almost all the votes counted, Trump was ahead of his only remaining rival, former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, by about 11 percentage points. Haley, though, is vowing to fight on. FRANCE 24's International Affairs Editor Kethevane Gorjestani gives us her analysis.

In this special edition, we focus on Donald Trump's major win in the Iowa caucuses and what that means for this year's US presidential election. With 51 percent of the vote, Trump came out in front by 30 percentage points. His two main rivals, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, finished a distant second and third. The first-in-the-nation vote puts the former president on track to lock in the Republican nomination for the 2024 presidential campaign. FRANCE 24's James Andre gives us his analysis.

The US is gearing up for the first big vote of the 2024 presidential campaign. On January 15, Iowa will hold the first caucus of the Republican nominating cycle. Since it looks set to be a shoe-in for Donald Trump, all eyes are on who will come in second. We take a closer look.

This weekend, Chileans will again vote on whether or not to replace the country's constitution. The current one dates back to 1980 and the Pinochet dictatorship. The December 17 referendum is the second attempt to change the text. But for campaigners hoping for a more liberal document, with equal rights for women and Indigenous peoples, this new draft constitution is a big disappointment. We get analysis from Sofia Perez, professor at the Institute of Latin American Studies.

This week, the race for the White House geared up a notch with a new Republican debate. But once again, GOP frontrunner and former president Donald Trump decided not to attend. Just four other Republican candidates are left standing in the run-up to next year's presidential election. We take a closer look.

As the world looks to address climate change at the COP28 summit in Dubai, we take a look at the effects of extreme weather across the Americas – from Canada to Brazil – and at whether or not the region's leaders are prepared to tackle the issue. 

One year ago, the company OpenAI released ChatGPT, the artificial intelligence chatbot that can deliver complex answers to almost everything. Its massive success kicked off a revolution in the tech industry. But on November 17, the company board fired its CEO Sam Altman, citing a lack of candidness in his communications with the board of directors. His dismissal led to panic among investors and a successful campaign for his very prompt reinstatement. Our Business Editor Bryan Quinn explains.

In this special edition, we zoom in on the tight race for president in Argentina, between far-right populist Javier Milei and ruling party candidate Sergio Massa. The stakes are high in the country plagued by soaring inflation as the two candidates propose opposite plans to resolve Argentina's worst economic crisis in decades. For more, we talk to Juan Negri, politics professor at Torcuato Di Tella University in Argentina.

With just one year to go before the US presidential election, polls aren't looking good for President Joe Biden, but Democrats are banking on safeguarding issues like abortion rights in order to keep the White House. The US president's approval rating has dropped to 39 percent; not the lowest it's ever been, but still a source of concern. In another poll, Biden is seen trailing Republican frontrunner Donald Trump in five key states. We take a closer look and get analysis from Sean Safford, an associate professor at Sciences Po in Paris.

On November 5, 2024, one year from now, US voters will go to the polls to elect a new president. Joe Biden is seeking a second term, but former president Donald Trump is hoping to make a comeback. We speak to our Washington correspondent Fraser Jackson about the different candidates throwing their hat into the ring and the issues already influencing the campaign, such as the war in the Middle East.

As the conflict between Israel and Hamas rages, the number of hate crimes in the United States is on the rise. The Department of Homeland Security is warning of a heightened threat targeting Arabs, Muslims and Jews in the near to medium term. Vigils have been taking place after a Palestinian American child was stabbed to death by his neighbour in Chicago. The man has been charged with a hate crime. The Jewish community is also worried about the rise of anti-Semitism. This is especially the case in Pittsburgh, five years after a mass shooting at a synagogue there. Our correspondents Fanny Allard and Wassim Cornet report.

The above photo, posted to Joe Biden's social media accounts, shows the US president and vice president receiving an update on the Hamas attack in Israel and deciding their next steps. The US president expressed sympathy, solidarity and support for Israel. We take a closer look at the US military aid provided to the Jewish state, which is being boosted in the wake of the attacks. Plus, there have been numerous pro-Israeli rallies in the US, which is home to the largest Jewish community in the world. Our correspondent Wassim Cornet reports from Los Angeles.

This week, former president and Republican frontrunner Donald Trump was in court for the opening of a civil fraud trial against him. Trump and his adult sons are accused of deceiving banks and insurers by overstating his wealth by as much as $3.6 billion. This isn't the only case against Trump at the moment. For more, we speak to former federal and state prosecutor Eric Lisann. 

If you happen to be in San Francisco and need to take a taxi, you might be in for a bit of a surprise. Some 600 driverless taxis are now in operation. But even in a city famous for being at the forefront of technology, these cabs are still hitting a few bumps in the road. Our France 2 colleagues take a closer look.

This week, five US citizens freed from prison in Iran were able to embrace their loved ones back home. Under the deal brokered by Qatar, five Iranians detained in the United States were also released. The agreement included the unfreezing of nearly $6 billion in Iranian assets. So is the deal a sign of warming ties between Washington and Tehran? We put the question to David Smith, Washington bureau chief for the Guardian.

In the US, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy says the House of Representatives will open a formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. That's a long-shot effort to remove the Democrat from office after two impeachments of former Republican president Donald Trump. The focus is on Biden's youngest son, Hunter, and allegations of corruption in business dealings as Catherine Viette explains. 

On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr called for civil and economic rights for Black Americans; an end to racism in the United States. But 60 years after that iconic "I Have a Dream" speech, much more still needs to be done. In this second instalment of Inside the Americas from Atlanta, FRANCE 24's Genie Godula meets the people who are fighting for racial equality today in all its forms. 

On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr gave one of the most iconic speeches in history. "I have a dream" was a defining moment of the US civil rights movement, changing the course of the nation and paving the way for a transformation of American law and life. Sixty years after that speech, we head to his hometown of Atlanta where we speak to his daughter, close friends and fellow civil rights activists to discover the man behind the myth. 

In the US, the judges of the Supreme Court have issued a series of controversial rulings changing years of legal precedent. Most of the group of justices were nominated by Republican presidents. They have chosen to end student debt relief and affirmative action for universities, as well as rolling back LGBT rights. We discuss the impact of these decisions with FRANCE 24's Peter O'Brien.

US news outlets have released an audio recording that appears to demonstrate that former president Donald Trump knowingly held on to highly classified documents. CNN and The New York Times both reported on the recording of a July 2021 meeting – after Trump left office – at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. In it, Trump appears to refer to a "highly confidential" document about Iran that he is holding in his hand. We take a closer look.

Donald Trump has pled not guilty to federal charges that accuse him of hoarding hundreds of classified documents and trying to keep them from investigators. Investigators say the former president not only endangered national security, but also refused to hand classified documents back when asked to do so. After making an historic first court appearance as a federal defendant, Trump told his supporters the indictment was both politically motivated and "heinous". We take a closer look and get analysis from FRANCE 24's Shirli Sitbon.

The former US vice president is launching a bid for the White House. This is no normal set of circumstances for Mike Pence, who was loyal to former US President Donald Trump for years, only parting ways with him after the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol. Pence is polling in the single digits and along with former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is entering a growing field of Republican candidates challenging Donald Trump, who is the current frontrunner by far. 

For the first time in nine years, leaders from the regional bloc formerly known as the Union of South American Nations have convened this week in Brazil. The gathering of these 11 countries has demonstrated a renewed spirit of cooperation. A notable highlight is Brazilian President Lula da Silva's meeting with Venezuela's authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro, a significant move, as diplomatic relations were severed under Lula's predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro. FRANCE24's International Affairs Editor, Oliver Farry, provides further insight into this development.

This week, senators in the southern US state of South Carolina voted to ban abortions after six weeks. That's before many women even know they're pregnant. South Carolina is the latest in a long line of states to either partially or fully ban the procedure. Half of all US states have now passed or attempted to pass restrictions on abortion since Roe v. Wade was overturned last year. We take a closer look.

In Haiti, gang violence is still rocking the capital Port-au-Prince. We look at two very different initiatives to try to keep it in check: a basketball association working to keep kids off the streets and on the court, and a vigilante movement where civilians are taking justice into their own hands.

US authorities are bracing for a surge in illegal immigration along the southern border in the next few days. A Trump-era policy known as Title 42, which allowed for officials to quickly return migrants to Mexico, is set to end late on Thursday. The change could put pressure on an already fragile asylum system. We take a closer look and get analysis from FRANCE 24's Peter O'Brien.

Screenwriters in Hollywood are striking for the first time in 15 years. Negotiations between the Writers Guild of America and TV networks – as well as Netflix, Amazon and Disney – broke down after the two sides failed to find an agreement on issues like pay, mandatory staffing and guarantees against artificial intelligence. We take a closer look.

This week, Joe Biden announced he is seeking re-election. The 80-year-old US president says he wants to "finish the job". His announcement came as no surprise and sets the stage for a possible rematch next year between Biden and former president Donald Trump. In a campaign video announcing his bid, Biden took aim at what he called "MAGA extremists". But is Biden's advanced age a problem? We get some analysis with FRANCE 24's Monte Francis.

Production on some of your favourite TV shows could soon come to a halt, after unions representing thousands of TV and film writers voted overwhelmingly in support of a strike. The Writers Guild of America polled their members to gauge support for labour action and the results were unprecedented: almost 98 percent of writers were in favour. FRANCE 24's Culture reporter Olivia Salazar-Winspear tells us more.

This week, Twitter owner Elon Musk was back in the headlines with lawsuits, media rows and a secret plan to develop new artificial intelligence, after he said he wouldn't. Our Tech Editor Peter O'Brien breaks it all down for us. 

Donald Trump is a former US president, a candidate for re-election and now also a criminal defendant. The first former US president to face criminal charges is using the case against him to build support for another White House bid in 2024. Prosecutors accuse him of running a scheme to conceal damaging information from American voters before the 2016 election, including by paying hush money to a porn star. In this special edition, we take a closer look at the case and speak to Eric Lisann, a lawyer, legal analyst and former US federal prosecutor.

In this special edition, we focus on the continuing crisis in Haiti. The country, which has still not recovered from the devastation of the 2010 earthquake and a hurricane six years later, has been spiralling even deeper into disaster since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise almost two years ago. Some 531 people have been killed in gang violence in Haiti since the start of the year alone.

Some 531 people have been killed so far this year in Haiti as a result of ongoing violence and unrest. There are estimates that armed gangs now control about half of the country, including the capital Port-au-Prince. As the situation spirals out of control, the UN human rights office is calling for the international community to deploy a specialised force to the Caribbean nation. We take a closer look.

The Biden administration has made tackling climate change a key plank of its platform. But a new decision from the White House has left environmental activists fuming. This week, it approved a massive oil drilling project in Alaska known as the Willow Project. We take a closer look and get analysis from FRANCE 24's Environment Editor Valérie Dekimpe.

Brazil's former president Jair Bolsonaro has often been called the Trump of the Tropics, and this week he made an appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference in the US. The former Brazilian president has been living in Florida following his defeat to leftist leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in October of last year. Since then, rumours have been flying about when Bolsonaro might return to Brazil to stage a political comeback. For more, we speak to political analyst Guilherme Casaroes.

Florida governor Ron DeSantis has signed a bill giving him control of Walt Disney World's self-governing district. A five-member board will now be appointed to oversee the government services provided in the state's Disney properties. DeSantis is taking aim at Disney over the company's opposition to the state's "Don't Say Gay" law. The move also comes ahead of an expected announcement of his 2024 presidential run.

This week, the US president made a whirlwind trip to Ukraine and Poland. Joe Biden wanted to reassure allies that his administration is aware of the threats and impacts created by the grinding Russian invasion of Ukraine. He began his trip with a surprise visit to Kyiv, a highly complex security operation. A day later, he delivered a message of hope and support in Warsaw. FRANCE 24's international affairs editor Angela Diffley gives us her analysis.

The next presidential election in the United States is still 20 months away, but a second Republican has already thrown her hat in the ring: Nikki Haley, a former South Carolina governor and ex-US ambassador to the United Nations. She says she wants a "new generation" of leadership in Washington. Haley will now have to take on her former boss Donald Trump who announced his bid for re-election last year. 

This week, tensions between the US and China spiked further after an alleged spy balloon was shot down by Washington. Beijing later said it would firmly defend its interests after President Joe Biden vowed to protect the sovereignty of the United States. China continues to insist the balloon was for civilian purposes and had veered off course. FRANCE 24's Science Editor Shirli Sitbon explains why this spying technology is in fact nothing new.

This week, America was rocked by the brutal killing of Tyre Nichols. The 29-year-old Black man was killed during a traffic stop by an elite police unit made up of five police officers who are also Black. His beating in Memphis, Tennessee was viewed across the country through a series of video recordings. Nichols was laid to rest on Wednesday at a funeral attended by US Vice-President Kamala Harris, who condemned the deadly "act of violence".