Nick O Malley on Places
Spy triumph became a free speech disaster
Nick O'Malley The AP phone records story came at the worst possible time for President Barack Obama.
Capitol succumbs to scandal fever
Nick O'Malley Scandal fever has so thoroughly gripped Washington some players were having difficulty distinguishing one from another on Tuesday.
Cleaving to hope
Nick O'Malley Louwana Miller never stopped fighting for her daughter who disappeared in April 2003.
Lost in plain sight
Nick O'Malley Louwana Miller never stopped fighting for her daughter, Amanda Berry, who disappeared in Cleveland in April 2003, the day before her 17th birthday.
Parents pull the trigger on failing schools
Nick O'Malley, US Correspondent Doreen Diaz says the worst thing about the Desert Trails Elementary School in Adelanto, California, a desert city 150-kilometres or so from Los Angeles, was not that it failed to teach her children,...
There will be blood: the US right bites back
Nick O'Malley In American politics making speeches targeted directly at your base, with little or no concern for the niceties of centrism, is known as ''throwing out the red meat''.
Teens incriminated by social media found guilty of rape
Nick O'Malley It was a case that attracted global attention: two young football stars from small-town Ohio accused of rape; a young woman who said she could not remember the assault because she was intoxicated and...
Carr alarmed over chemical weapons claim but all talk is of Gillard
Nick O'Malley When Bob Carr took his seat at the table during the United Nations Security Council Meeting in New York earlier today, it was the first time an Australian Foreign Minister had done so since 1986 - ...
Gay marriage push gains momentum
Nick O'Malley James Tolver, a serious-looking 21-year-old in a neat blue suit, sat patiently on the footpath outside the US Supreme Court as the justices inside began hearing arguments over gay marriage.
The numbers men of LA
Nick O'Malley The morning watch at the Los Angeles Police Department's Foothill division begins at 6am, when the shift's officers gather for roll-call and a briefing.
Parents sue schools over yoga program
Nick O'Malley School officials in California are fighting a lawsuit brought by a conservative organisation on behalf of a group of Christian parents to prevent the district from teaching primary school children...
Covert media campaign targets leader
Nick O'Malley A covert campaign to place articles unfavourable to Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim in the US media has been revealed by the expanding online publication Buzzfeed, normally better known for...
Waiting to inhale
Nick O'Malley After the legalisation of marijuana in two states, Americans are waiting to see if this is the beginning of the end for prohibition.
Legalised pot takes on state of the union
Nick O'Malley I was part-way through an interview with a defence lawyer and an AIDS activist when a warm sensation stole over me.
US shootings continue, along with gun debate
Nick O'Malley It has been a bloody few days in America. There is no evidence that it has been any bloodier than usual, but some of the crimes committed have been unusual enough to have added even more fuel to the...
We can seize this moment - but only together, says Obama
Nick O'Malley WASHINGTON: Standing in the shadow of the United States Capitol, a building that has become a morgue to collective action, the President used his second inaugural address to call for an end to...
Death turns spotlight on America's murder capital
Nick O'Malley JANUARY was a big month for Hadiya Pendleton. The 15-year-old drum majorette travelled to Washington to march in Barack Obama's inauguration parade, before returning home to Chicago for her finals.
Analysis
Obama looks to legacy with key speech
Nick O'Malley BACK in the early months of his presidency, when it appeared America's financial system was about to seize and destroy the nation's economy, Barack Obama was told by advisers to shelve his ambitions.
State of the Union? Divided by the gun
Nick O'Malley One way to get an idea of just how divided these United States are at present is to have a quick glance at the guest list for the State of the Union speech.
Liberal Obama reappears to tax the rich
Nick O'Malley Liberal President who emerged from the election and reintroduced himself at last month's inauguration reappeared at the State of the Union address, outlining a second-term agenda that would tax the...
