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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President Biden called it outrageous that the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court is seeking arrest warrants for Israel's prime minister and defense minister and three Hamas leaders.
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Secretary of State Antony Blinken ended his trip to Ukraine by promising U.S. help to push Russian troops out. But the lengthy debates in Washington over aid to Ukraine has impacted the battleground.
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It has been a whiplash day in Gaza. Hamas accepted a ceasefire proposal with Israel, but the Israeli cabinet has vowed to continue operation in Rafah.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that his government voted unanimously to shut down the local offices of Qatar-owned broadcaster Al Jazeera.
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Palestinians in the West Bank are following the protests on US campuses and say this movement is giving them hope.
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Israeli settlers tried to block a new aid route into Gaza. The incident was a setback for Blinken, who was trying to highlight progress in getting Palestinians food and supplies to stave off famine.
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Two men were in business together until Oct. 7. The Israeli looks forward to a day when that trade will resume, while the Palestinian hopes he'll survive a war in which he has lost everything.
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As Israel threatens to move on Rafah, Hamas is also adding pressure with the release of a video of two of its hostages. One is an American.
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The State Department has found that some Israeli units were responsible for gross violations of human rights, but so far has stopped short of restricting U.S. aid to them.
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Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who turned 24 last month while in captivity, has spent more than 200 days in captivity. His left arm was partially blown off by a grenade during the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7.