Journalist detained
The week's news at a glance.
Washington, D.C.
State Department guards briefly detained a National Review Online reporter this week after he asked about a confidential cable from the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia. Reporter Joel Mowbray quoted from the cable at a press conference, embarrassing State Department spokesman Richard Boucher. Boucher had just denied that U.S. officials had recommended closing a controversial program granting expedited visas to Saudis. The cable proved otherwise. The visa program, known as Visa Express, has come under fire since investigators determined that 15 of the 19 hijackers on Sept. 11 were Saudi. The State Department said the half-hour interrogation of Mowbray was no big deal. “I don’t know what the meaning of ‘detained’ is,” an official said. “He was stopped by the guards and questioned about the cable.”
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
October 5 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include half-truth hucksters, Capitol lockdown, and more
-
Jaguar Land Rover’s cyber bailout
Talking Point Should the government do more to protect business from the ‘cyber shockwave’?
-
Russia: already at war with Europe?
Talking Point As Kremlin begins ‘cranking up attacks’ on Ukraine’s European allies, questions about future action remain unanswered