Mastermind chat with Paddy - 5Live Breakfast

After much anticipation, today sees the launch of the second series of the American political drama, House of Cards. Based on the British book and TV drama of the same name, it was the surprise TV hit of 2013, not least because it was produced and released exclusively online by the internet streaming site Netflix. The series stars Kevin Spacey as a scheming politician whose thirst for power knows no limits, and paints a picture of Washington that is ripe with cynicism and personal and political corruption.

Our North American Correspondent Rajini Vaidyanathan reports from Washington DC.


House of Cards vs West Wing - which is a better portrayal of Washington DC?

The Mayor of Toronto Rob Ford has admitted to smoking crack cocaine and being drunk on the job. But that hasn't stopped him launching an election campaign this week for a second term in office.Last year Mr Ford's colleagues at City Hall stripped him of many of his powers.However he refused to resign.And this week, more than three thousand of his loyal supporters attended a rally to kick off his campaign.  Rajini Vaidyanathan reports from Toronto. 


Can a Rob Ford, a Mayor who admitted smoking crack win re-election?

Thirty two American states still implement the death penalty, with lethal injection the favoured method of execution. Stocks of the chemicals used are now running low, leaving many states searching for new sources and combinations of substances. The legality of these new arrangements are now being challenged by lawyers for inmates on death row -- as Rajini Vaidynathan reports from Louisiana...

The death of the death penalty?

The funerals of the three Muslim  students who were shot dead in the US, by their neighbour, were held today. An initial police investigation suggested the motive for the attack was a dispute over parking, but relatives of the victims say it was a hate crime. One of the victim’s brothers told the BBC they’d been threatened by the gunman before. Last night thousands attended a vigil on the campus at the university of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Our correspondent Rajini Vaidyanathan reports from North Carolina. 

Brother of Deah Barakat tells BBC gunman threatened family before

A radio report on the fatal shooting of an Indian immigrant in Kansas, earlier this year.