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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Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas responded at the UN to the Trump administration's vision for the Middle East by saying "a thousand nos." He's urging U.N. diplomats to reject it too.
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Marie Yovanovitch, the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine until last spring when she was ousted following a disinformation campaign by the president's private lawyer, is retiring — not resigning.
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Ukraine's new president still has not made it to the White House. But, Ukrainian officials say they are looking forward to a visit to Kyiv by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
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The U.S. claims Iran killed more than 1,000 people in recent riots and anti-government protests, which is higher than monitors have found and a claim that could cut both ways for those protesting.
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Last week a confirmation hearing for the candidate to be No. 2 at the State Department was held. This job is important if Secretary of State Pompeo leaves the job to run for Senate.
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Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, testified that military aid to Ukraine was conditioned on political investigations and that President Trump's direction was clear.
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The diplomat will be the sole witness Friday, the second day of public testimony in the impeachment inquiry. State Department colleagues say she was removed after a slander campaign by Rudy Giuliani. -
Acting Ambassador William Taylor and Deputy Assistant Secretary George Kent took copious notes about the Trump administration's dealings with Ukraine. They'll testify publicly Wednesday.
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The House committees leading the impeachment inquiry into President Trump have released the transcript of their interview with former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch.
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Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan has his Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday to become the next U.S. ambassador to Russia. He may face some tough questions on Ukraine.
