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Should taxes on marijuana businesses help pay for homeless services?

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A homeless man fixes his tent along a street in Los Angeles.
; Credit: FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images

A new ballot measure approved this week by the LA county Board of Supervisors will give voters the decision of whether to tax marijuana businesses to help combat homelessness.

The proposal suggests a tax of up to 10% of gross receipts from businesses that sell marijuana or related products. County analysts speculate that if passed, the measure could garner up to $130 million dollars per year to fund services like rent subsidies, mental health and substance abuse treatments.

The Board’s 3-2  vote last Tuesday included Don Knabe, Sheila Kuehl and Hilda Solis voting in favor for the marijuana tax while Michael D. Antonovich and Ridley-Thomas voting against the measure.

Solis and Kuehl stated the vote would be a major step toward addressing the pervasive and growing homelessness crisis. Antonovich stated concerns about the impact on public health and safety of legalizing marijuana while Ridley-Thomas expressed a need for more time to analyze the effects of a marijuana tax.

Guests:

Robert "Bob" Solomon, Co-Director of Community & Economic Development Clinic and clinical law professor, University of California, Irvine

Mark Ridley-Thomas, Los Angeles County Supervisor representing the Second District


Beyond Emmys: 2016 Nominations and your under-the-radar gems

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68th Emmy Awards Nominations Announcement

Actors Anthony Anderson and Lauren Graham present the 68th Emmy Awards nominations announcement at the Saban Media Center on July 14, 2016 in North Hollywood, California.; Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Aside from the most celebrated Emmy contenders today such as "Game of Thrones" and “The People vs. O.J. Simpson,” the nominations recognize shows from newer content providers including Vimeo, Viceland, even LouisCK.net.

Thanks to streaming platforms and video-on-demand there is too much acclaimed content to watch let alone nominate. On AirTalk we will analyze trends in this year's slate of Emmy nominations, plus we will ask listeners about their under-the-radar gems.

Guest:

Dan Fienberg, Television Critic, The Hollywood Reporter; he tweets from @TheFienPrint

What the attack in Nice means for US national security

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People visit the scene and lay tributes to the victims of a terror attack on the Promenade des Anglais on July 15, 2016 in Nice, France. ; Credit: David Ramos/Getty Images

Apart from yesterday’s attack in Nice, two other terrorist attacks have occurred within France in less than two years.

Also in light of the terrorist attack in Orlando just last month and what seems like an increasing frequency of terrorists attack on civilians in the West, defense experts from both sides of the political spectrum discuss and debate what is being done and what domestic and foreign policy strategies should be rolled out in response.

On Airtalk Friday, Michael Rubin, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute who studies terrorism and the Middle East, said that no one strategy will be wholly effective in stopping the threat of terrorism.

"There’s a conceit in Washington that we can resolve everything with a political speech or in the course of this one administration," he said. "We’re gonna be living with [the] problem [of terrorism] for quite some time."

Interview highlights

On reconceptualizing how we think of the war on terrorism

Katulis: What I do think we all need to think about is reconceptualizing war to include the war of ideas, the battle against the ideologies of groups like [the Islamic State]. When you look at the U.S. strategy right now it has that in the five lines of effort, but everything that we debate is what our military does. And that’s important. But what we haven’t done enough is figure out "how do we actually counter the spread of the hate?"

On the U.S.'s approach to stopping attacks

Katulis: There is a gap when there are some signals, either in the immediate sort of environment of the individuals around their family or their friends and networks. We have an almost exclusively law-enforcement approach to countering violent extremists and ultimately terrorists. Meaning, we try to go for a conviction. I think that’s good before an incident happens. But there are instances where we don’t have the ability to pull people back from the edge when somebody notices and ‘sees something and says something'.

On our timeline for fighting terrorism

Rubin: We need to recognize that there is no magic formula right now. The seeds for this problem were set over the course of decades. There’s a conceit in Washington that we can resolve everything with a political speech or in the course of this one administration. We’re gonna be living with [the] problem [of terrorism] for quite some time.

Yesterday’s attack in France came on the heels of a spate of violence that has gripped our collective consciousness here in the U.S. We want to know how the string of recent events has affected you and your communities. Do you feel safe? Do you plan on changing your travel plans? Has any of this changed the way you live your daily life?

Call and leave KPCC a message at 818-797-5722 / 818-797-KPCC.

Guests:

Brian Katulis,  a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress - a left-leaning think tank in D.C., where his work focuses on U.S. national security strategy and counterterrorism policy

Michael Rubin,  resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank based in D.C., where his research focuses on terrorism and the Middle East. He is the author of the book “Dancing with the Devil,” a history of diplomacy with rogues and terrorists.

Trump selects Indiana Governor Mike Pence as his running mate

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Presumptive US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump (R) and his now-vice presidential nominee Indiana Governor Mike Pence (L) take the stage during a campaign rally at Grant Park Event Center in Westfield, Indiana, on July 12, 2016.; Credit: TASOS KATOPODIS/AFP/Getty Images

On Twitter this morning, Donald Trump announced that Indiana Governor Mike Pence would be his running mate. Pence has accepted, beating out a short list of vice presidential picks that included Newt Gingrich and Chris Christie.

Pence is known as an orthodox social conservative. In 2010, he supported a same-sex marriage ban in Indiana, as well as signing a “religious freedom” measure which allowed businesses to use their religious views as a defense for turning away LGBT customers.

So how can he help Trump? He has appeal with fellow party members struggling to accept Trump as their presumptive nominee. He also has connections to hefty donors like the Koch brothers, who’ve strongly resisted contributing to Trump’s campaign and has a long track record of experience in the political sphere, something that has been topic of criticism against Trump.

On AirTalk today, we’ll take a look at Pence’s political record, what factored into the Trump campaign’s decision, and what analysts expect Pence will bring to the Trump ticket.

Guests:

Leah Wright Rigueur, assistant professor of public policy at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and author of “The Loneliness of the Black Republican: Pragmatic Politics and the Pursuit of Power” (Princeton University Press, 2016)

Justin Vaughn, associate professor of political science at Boise State University and co-author of “Czars in the White House: The Rise of Policy Czars as a Presidential Management Tool” (University of Michigan Press, 2015)

Andrew “Andy” Downs, director of the Mike Downs Center for Indiana Politics and associate professor of political science at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne

RAND expert: 'Islamic State itself appears to be trying to figure out who Nice attacker was'

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Bastille Day Truck Attack Kills 84 In Nice

People gather and lay tributes on the Promenade des Anglais on July 15, 2016 in Nice, France. A French-Tunisian attacker killed 84 people as he drove a lorry through crowds, gathered to watch a firework display during Bastille Day Celebrations. The attacker then opened fire on people in the crowd before being shot dead by police.; Credit: Carl Court/Getty Images

At least 84 people are dead in Nice, France, including two Americans, after a truck plowed through crowds at a Bastille Day celebration. French authorities are investigating the incident as a possible terrorist attack.  This is the third major attack on French soil in less than two years.

Law enforcement sources have identified the suspect as 31-year-old Mohamed Bouhlel, a French-Tunisian man. Some have been quick to blame international terrorist organizations like the Islamic State, but uncertainty remains about Bouhlel’s motivation.

"A range of groups — including the Islamic State — [appear to be] trying themselves to figure out who this person was and what motivated him to conduct the attack." 

That was Seth Jones, the director of the International Security and Defense Policy Center at the RAND Corporation, speculated that prominent terror groups might also have questions about the attacker.

Airtalk spoke with Jones and Patrick Simon, a professor in Paris who he specializes in sociology and race relations in France to get a better understanding of the context for the the attack in Nice. 

Interview highlights

Jones: Groups like the Islamic State and Al Qaeda have generally taken responsibility for attacks that they have been directly involved in. In a few cases — and we saw this in Orlando, Florida — where someone did it in the name of a group, these kinds of organizations have used individuals’ names as examples of martyrs. In this case, it’s not clear that he did it in the name of or inspired by a specific organization. A lot of that detail has not come out yet. What appears to be the case is that a range of groups — including the Islamic State — are trying themselves to figure out who this person was and what motivated him to conduct the attack.

On the difficulty of preventing “lone-wolf” attacks:

Jones: I think what is going to be a challenge to law enforcement agencies is to try prevent these inspired individuals -- ones that aren’t connected directly to a terrorist organization or other militant group -- and such a wide variety of tactics used, from driving cars to assault-style attacks. Frankly, this is going to be a very challenging time for France and a range of other western countries.

On the Islamic State and Al Qaeda's efforts to inspire attacks

Jones: [Groups like the Islamic State are Al Qaeda] are focusing on this kind of an attack. That is to inspire an individual to conduct an attack that is so easy to perpetrate...This is the type of thing that these kind of extremist groups are encouraging people to do. It’s been the case for the last year or two, if not a little bit more than that.

On the likelihood of an increase anti-Muslim sentiment in France.

Patrick Simon: After the first two attacks in January and November we were expecting a surge in anti-Muslim sentiments, but the polls didn’t show that the public opinion was strongly against Muslims more than it was before. There is a very widespread anti-Muslim sentiment, which is not tied to the attacks themselves.

On how social isolation of Muslims in France has contributed to radicalization

Simon: The profile of the terrorists who have done the attacks these last events are related to an experience of social exclusion and discrimination. There is a link between [that and terrorism]. But the number of people who are exposed to this type of experience is pretty high, and only a very small minority of them are thinking or acting the way the terrorists are doing.

These situations of social exclusion that Muslims may experience in France are not the main explanation for the attacks. The attacks are related not to a domestic social situation in France, but more broadly the geopolitical situation in the Middle East.

Yesterday’s attack in France came on the heels of a spate of violence that has gripped our collective consciousness here in the U.S. We want to know how the string of recent events has affected you and your communities. Do you feel safe? Do you plan on changing your travel plans? Has any of this changed the way you live your daily life?

Call and leave KPCC a message at 818 797 5722. 818 797 KPCC

Guests:

Seth Jones, Director International Security and Defense Policy Center, RAND Corporation think tank; he has served as the representative for the commander, U.S. Special Operations Command, to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations; he is also the author of the book, "Hunting in the Shadows: The Pursuit of al Qa'ida after 9/11"

Patrick Simon, a professor at National Demographic Institute in Paris, where he specializes in sociology and race relations in France.

AirTalk asks: What’s the first big news story you remember?

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Barack Obama Is Sworn In As 44th President Of The United States

Barack H. Obama is sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts as the 44th president of the United States as his wife Michelle looks on January 20, 2009 in Washington, DC. Obama becomes the first African-American to be elected to the office of President in the history of the United States.; Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The past century has been filled with monumental news stories such as the Watergate scandal, the O.J. Simpson chase and trial, and the death of Princess Diana.

For many, major news events serve as chronological milestones in life, maybe because it’s the first time one is able to fully comprehend the magnitude of a tragedy or the implications of a great social triumph.

Deadspin recently asked its staff members to recall their first big news stories, popular events included Marvin Gaye’s murder, 9/11 and the 1986 explosion of NASA’s Space Shuttle Challenger --do you remember your first story?

What made that news story memorable and how do you now perceive it in retrospect? And thinking about some of the most recent events, which stories will be remembered by today's youth? 

Share your first news story with us at 866-893-5722.

Guest:

Sharon Shahid, Director of editorial content, video and interactive production, Newseum

Viewers' demand for filtering graphic sex and violence clashes with copyrights

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Premiere Of Warner Bros. Pictures' "Magic Mike XXL." - Arrivals

Writer/director/producer Reid Carolin (L) and actor/producer Channing Tatum attend the premiere of Warner Bros. Pictures' "Magic Mike XXL" at TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX on June 25, 2015 in Hollywood.; Credit: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

A new lawsuit alleges Hollywood directors and studios want to make it legally impossible for third parties to "filter" or edit out graphic sex, violence, and profanity for family viewing.

The claims come from VidAngel which provides such edited content, but the company is at risk of shutting down because a handful of major studios accuse the company of failing to license the movies and television shows before editing and streaming the content to consumers.

Aside from VidAngel, ClearPlay is a similar service that provides R-rated movies without "F-bombs" and the like.

It was sued by the Directors Guild of America back in 2004, but Congress responded by passing the Family Movie Act of 2005 which allows consumers to edit content for playback in their own homes.

Are Hollywood studios trying to pick winners and losers among filtering services? If you are a content creator, what are your thoughts on third-party editing? If you are a viewer who wants content with less graphic sex and/or violence, is the market meeting your demand?

Guests:

Tim Winter, President, Parents Television Council - a nonpartisan education organization advocating responsible entertainment

Lawrence Iser, Managing Partner of the law firm Kinsella, Weitzman, Iser, Kump, & Aldisert, based in Santa Monica.  He frequently litigates intellectual property disputes and has represented music artists including The Beatles, Michael Jackson and Jackson Browne

As GOP convention kicks off in Cleveland, what to expect in the week to come

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Republican National Convention: Day One

Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee, bangs the gavel to officially the open the first day of the Republican National Convention on July 18, 2016 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.; Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images

 

The Republican National Convention began today in Cleveland, Ohio, with delegates and protesters alike swarming the Midwestern city. On Thursday evening, Donald Trump is expected to be formally named the Republican candidate for president.

We kick off our coverage with an inside look at what California delegates anticipate, along with a visit from AirTalk's political experts, who share their thoughts on the week to come.

California sent 172 delegates to northeastern Ohio. The delegation was assigned to stay at a water park 60 miles away from downtown Cleveland, but they were given a prominent position near the stage inside the convention hall.

Seema Mehta, a political writer for the LA Times who has been covering the California delegation, said that this seating arrangement was no accident.

"The Trump campaign wants to have a nice picture of unity coming out of this convention, and unlike some of the other delegations, California's delegation is 100 percent pro-Trump," she said.

"That's because our primary happened after the race was effectively decided, and also because under our primary rules the campaign picks the delegates. So, all 172 delegates are Trump delegates."

Noel Irwin Hentschel, chief executive officer for AmericanTours International, is one of these delegates. She is the founder of Business Women Leaders for Trump and is representing California's 33rd Congressional District, which includes the Westside of Los Angeles and the South Bay.

A first-time delegate and member of the party platform committee, Hentschel emphasized that the convention will be focused on jobs and security — both economic and national. She believes that this approach can help bring the country together after the tumult of the past several weeks.

"I hope that this will unite our country. I think the way we get united is by getting America working again and making sure America is safe," she said.

She called California "a place of opportunity," and she said that a President Trump would help to create the pro-business climate necessary for all parts of the state to succeed.

"I grew up in South Los Angeles — I have a great affection for 'south of the 10' — and I've been there recently and it has deteriorated more and more over the last 10 years," Hentschel said.

"I do believe President Trump is going to make a difference to the communities that are really struggling across our country," she said.

Hentschel suggested Trump's business background will give him the experience necessary to create positive change.

"We need to run the United States of America like a [successful] business. That can only happen with Donald Trump," Hentschel said.

There will also be several Californians with speaking slots during the convention, including Trump's daughter Tiffany and professional golfer Natalie Gulbis. House Majority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy, whose district includes much of the southern Central Valley, will speak Tuesday.

Jamiel Shaw Sr., an Angeleno whose son was killed by an undocumented immigrant in 2008, will speak in a prime-time slot tonight.

Guests:

Seema Mehta, political writer for the L.A. Times; Mehta has been covering the California delegation. She tweets from @LATSeema

Lisa Garcia Bedolla, Chancellor’s Professor of education and political science at UC Berkeley

Zach Courser, Research Director of the Dreier Roundtable and visiting assistant professor of government at Claremont McKenna College

Noel Irwin Hentschel, chief executive officer for AmericanTours International and CEO and founder of Business Women Leaders for Trump; she is a delegate for California’s 33rd Congressional District, which includes the Westside of Los Angeles and the South Bay

Adam Winkler, a professor at the U.C.L.A. School of Law and the author of “Gunfight: The Battle Over the Right to Bear Arms in America” (W. W. Norton & Company, 2013)


A look at the Baton Rouge shooter's background: Black separatism, 'sovereign citizenship'

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Baton Rouge Reels In Aftermath Of Ambush Shooting Killing Three Police Officers

Robert Ossler, Chaplain of the Police and Fire Department of Millville, NJ visits a memorial for the three police officers who were shot and killed in an ambush on July 18, 2016 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.; Credit: Sean Gardner/Getty Images

Three police officers are dead and three more are injured after law enforcement officials in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, said they were “ambushed” Sunday. It's just the latest tragedy in a recent spate of violence touched off by two high-profile police-involved shootings in Baton Rouge and Falcon Heights, Minnesota.

The Baton Rouge shooter, Marine veteran Gavin Long, was killed in a gun battle with police Sunday. His trail of records showed he had previously declared himself a member of the Washitaw Nation separatist group, as well as as the Nation of Islam, although he had advised the public in a recent Facebook post not to affiliate him with any groups. 

Larry Mantle spoke with Brian Levin, criminologist and director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at Cal State, San Bernardino, and LAPD Detective Lou Turriaga this morning to unpack the details of the tragedy and find out how local law enforcement is reacting.

What is Washitaw Nation?

Brian Levin: When we think of the "sovereign citizen" movement, often times we think of it as a white male movement – and it generally is. Sovereign citizens, many people have heard of the Posse Comitatus, are folks that believe the power of government doesn’t go past the county level and the county sheriff is the highest authority.

The Washitaw Nation is a little different. They’re similar to their white counterparts in the sense that they don’t generally recognize government – particularly federal authority. They are part of a black separatist movement and they are an offshoot of the Moorish sovereign movement. In the 1800s, and it still exists now, the Moorish Science Temple, had a presence in the North East —particularly in Chicago. There was later an offshoot of the Moorish movement, it was called Washitaw Nation.

Interestingly enough, another entity that Gavin Long was affiliated with, the Nation of Islam, was also an offshoot of the Moorish Science Temple. Its founder, Wallace Fard Mohammed, was with the Moorish Science Temple, but he left after he didn’t get a leadership role and founded the Nation of Islam.

Is it unusual for someone with a military background to be pulled into one of these groups?

Levin: It’s not unusual, but the United States military is one of the largest institutions in the country, and it’s also an institution whose membership are targeted by an array of extremists from Neo-Nazis and the Klan, to other folks as well.

So, the thing is, when these folks act out violently, they have training and that’s why they’re sought out. 

Do you suspect that Dallas triggered Long?

Levin: A lot of these people have a grievance that is individual, and the template that I use before Congress or when training law enforcement, is there are three types of folks who get involved with this: the ideological offender, the psychologically dangerous, or the person who’s seeking personal benefit or revenge. We can have one be a primary factor and the other be a supporting factor, and it varies by each individual.

But often times, people tie individual frustrations and goals for revenge with a broader movement to make them feel important. We see this across the board. With sovereign citizens, often times, at least with folks whom are traditionally Caucasian, we see violence with respect to law enforcement when there’s something being executed: a warrant, a car stop or a domestic violence complaint.

Here, this ambush thing is something we saw much more with the black separatists that took place in the 1970s with the Black Liberation Army, when we had over a dozen police officers murdered.

I think [Long] took a ladle not just to the Washitaw Nation and the Nation of Islam, but also to the more extremist side of the anti-police movement, which is different than people who are protesting for criminal justice reform. I don’t want to put those folks who are peacefully protesting for reform in the same category.

Can extreme rhetoric can be a trigger to actual violence?

Levin: I think extreme rhetoric can certainly be a supporting factor. 

Following Sunday's attack on law enforcement in Baton Rouge, LAPD Detective Lou Turriaga said Los Angeles police officers are acting cautiously to 9-1-1 calls.      

“Police officers came on this job to make a difference. We want to protect and save our citizens – that’s the calling. It always has been, and always will be,” Turriaga said.

This interview has been edited for clarity.

Guests:

Lou Turriaga, LAPD Detective III and a director for the Los Angeles Police Protective League

Brian Levin, criminologist and attorney; director of the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism at Cal State, San Bernardino where he specializes in analysis of hate crime, terrorism and legal issues; he tweets from @proflevin 

Southern Californians react to attempted coup in Turkey

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Turkish solders stay with weapons at Taksim square as people protest against the military coup in Istanbul on July 16, 2016.; Credit: OZAN KOSE/AFP/Getty Images

Turkey’s failed military coup on Friday has caused concern with friends and family here in Los Angeles who have ties to the country.

With more than 8,000 government officials removed from office and 6,000 people detained, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has taken big action against his opponents. He is also reportedly contemplating the death penalty for detainees, which could potentially sever ties with Turkey and the European Union.

Turkey’s prime suspect for inciting the coup is Fethullah Gulen, an exiled cleric living in Pennsylvania. There are no plans currently to extradite Gulen.

So how has all of this impacted L.A.’s Turkish community? Worries about friends and family in that country, as well as Turkey’s political landscape have been at the forefront of many people’s minds.

What are your thoughts on the coup? If you have friends and family in Turkey, what is your biggest concern and how has it affected your community?

Guests:

Aaron David Miller, Vice President and distinguished fellow for the Middle East program at the Wilson Center and former advisor to Republican and Democratic Secretaries of State on Arab-Israeli negotiations, 1978-2003; author of "The End of Greatness: Why America Can't Have (and Doesn't Want) Another Great President"

Cenk Uygur, CEO and host of The Young Turks network, who’s been following the story. He tweets from @cenkuygur

Forecasting day two of the RNC after party-infighting, plagiarism accusations highlight opening day

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Republican National Convention: Day One

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump gestures to his wife Melania after she delivered a speech on the first day of the Republican National Convention.; Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

It didn’t take long for things to get interesting on the floor of the Republican National Convention’s first day.

Frustrated with the party rules process binding them to vote for the candidate that won their state’s primary or caucus, a majority of delegates in ten states tried to force a state-by-state roll call vote in the hopes of changing those rules. While the Trump campaign quickly quashed the revolt, it sheds light on simmering tensions within the party.

We’ll recap the first day of the RNC in Cleveland and look ahead to what to expect today with the theme being “Make America Work Again.” We’ll also look at how the Trump campaign is responding amidst allegations that portions of the speech his wife, Melania, gave last night were lifted from now-First Lady Michelle Obama’s speech at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

Guests:

Scott Shafer, reporter for KQED, he joins us from the RNC

Carl Sferrazza Anthony, First Ladies and presidential families historian and author of many books including the multi-volume “First Ladies: The Saga of the Presidents' Wives and Their Power”

Ange-Marie Hancock, associate professor of political science and gender studies at USC

Jack Pitney, professor of politics at Claremont McKenna College

Kendal Unruh, “Free the Delegates” group opposed to Donald Trump; RNC Rules Committee member and a Republican Delegate from Colorado who attempted a rules change for delegate voters; Seven-time convention delegate; in her professional life, Unruh is a high school teacher of American Government

Charles Moran, a Republican political strategist and the Immediate Past Chairman of the California Log Cabin Republicans, an organization representing gay conservatives and their allies; he is a Trump delegate for California’s 44th district which includes South Los Angeles.

After more doping allegations, should all Russian athletes be banned from the Olympics?

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2014 Paralympic Winter Games - Day 9

Roman Petushkov of Russia poses with the six gold medals won during the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games at Laura Cross-country Ski and Biathlon Center on March 16, 2014 in Sochi, Russia.; Credit: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

Anti-doping officials around the world are calling for Russian athletes in all sports to be banned from the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil after a scathing report out from the independent World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) on Monday implicated Russia in a doping scheme that involved hiding hundreds of positive drug test results ahead of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

This could be viewed as the second shoe dropping for Russia related to drug use. The Russian track and field team has already been banned from Rio thanks to doping allegations, and now WADA and other anti-doping agencies say that all Russian athletes should be barred from the Olympics.

The International Olympic Committee, the body with the power to ban an entire nation from the Olympics, didn’t indicate how it planned to deal with the allegations, but acknowledged the gravity of the situation and vowed to take the “strongest sanctions possible.” Russia has brushed off the report, saying it is largely political and maintains it has always maintained strict anti-doping rules for its international athletes.

Should Russia be banned based on the WADA report? What would it mean for the Olympic Games if Russia weren’t allowed to participate?

Guests:

Ed Hula, editor in chief of “Around the Rings,” a publication based in Atlanta, GA devoted to covering the Olympics

John Hoberman, sports historian and doping expert at the University of Texas-Austin; he studies politics and the Olympics, and use of performance-enhancing drugs

California drivers: What's your biggest pet peeve?

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California May Crackdown on Drivers with Cell Phones

Catherine Singer dials a cell phone in her car as a truck approaches in San Clemente, California. ; Credit: David McNew/Getty Images

If you could ask the California Highway Patrol to go on a ticketing blitz for a specific traffic violation, would you want them to target tailgaters, speeders and weavers, smog offenders, or a different scofflaw altogether?

Many drivers are peeved by a particular infraction such as failing to signal. Some Californians, while stuck in traffic jams, have witnessed one-too-many solo drivers abusing the HOV (high occupancy vehicle) lane. There are also the slow-pokes who coast far below the posted speed (yes, that can get you one point on your license), and the selfish folks, for instance on the 10 West getting into Santa Monica, who make a late break for an exit after speeding past all the drivers who had waited their turn.

Let's not forget texting or making a left turn across double yellow lines.

Which traffic laws should be enforced more frequently? What bugs you more - the potential for danger or slowing down traffic?

 

Guest:

Edgar Figueroa, California Highway Patrol Officer, Southern Division

Cause and Effect: How did Venezuela end up in a crisis?

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Members of the Venezuelan national guard control people as they queue to buy eggs at Petare neighborhood in Caracas on July 14, 2016.
; Credit: FEDERICO PARRA/AFP/Getty Images

The vast majority of Venezuelans are experiencing severe political calamity and economic distress.

Talks of recalling President Nicolás Maduro, food scarcity, oil dependency and social divide are just some of the focuses in the media, but how did Venezuela’s crisis develop?

Miguel Tinker Salas, an expert on Venezuela and professor of Latin American History at Pomona College, said Venezuela has a structural dependency on a single product that accounts for 96 percent of foreign revenue--oil, “As a result, when oil prices declined dramatically between 2012 and 2014, from $100 a barrel to the current $39 a barrel. Venezuela exports heavy crude, so they don’t receive the same price as say, Western Texas...so when the revenues are cut back, that means that Venezuela --who is a net importer of food-- is unable to import food at the same level it had previously.”

Tinker Salas added that the dependency on oil has been the main contributor to the basic and manufactured goods shortage.

Can the crisis be alleviated?

Guest:

Miguel Tinker Salas, Professor of Latin American History and Chicano Latino studies at Pomona College; his expertise includes culture and politics in Venezuela. Tinker Salas is also the author of three books on Venezuela, including, “Venezuela: What Everyone Needs to Know” (Oxford University Press, 2015)

CA Republican Vice Chair: ‘Reporters are ignoring RNC’s diversity’

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Dr. Ben Carson speaks on the second day of the Republican National Convention, as a portrait of Hilary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic party nominee for US president, appears on screens, at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland on July 19, 2016.; Credit: JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images

A writer for Donald Trump's company apologized this morning for using passages from a 2008 Michelle Obama speech in Melania Trump's speech Monday night.

Meredith McIver said she offered to resign, but Donald Trump refused to accept it. McIver previously worked on some of Donald Trump's books and was reportedly brought in to work with Melania after she rejected the draft written by two veteran speechwriters.  

While the controversy over Melania Trump’s speech has dominated the narrative of the Republican Convention, other stories have been breaking in Cleveland as well.

Concerns have been raised about delegations’ poor attendance, as well as the perceived lack of diverse voices on the floor.

AirTalk asked two Californians at the convention, Harmeet Dhillon and Jamiel Shaw, to weigh in.

Dhillon is a Trump delegate and Vice Chairwoman of the California Republican party. She is also is the 2016 RNC National Committeewoman-elect from California.

On Tuesday she began the convention proceedings with a Sikh prayer, and she emphasized that the delegations in Cleveland do contain a multitude of perspectives.

Interview highlights

 

Dhillon: I’ve seen reporters make such a big deal about the lack of diversity here, while studiously ignoring the fact that you had a Sikh prayer opening the events yesterday then you had a Muslim prayer closing them. [There is] a very diverse California delegation, for example. I don’t see that being reported. I see attempts to make stories out of stuff that aren’t really stories.

One of the stories that came out is that there were a lot of empty seats last night for the speeches and the event. What’s your sense comparing the mood in the hall [last] night versus four years ago in Tampa?

Dhillon: So I’m constantly monitoring my Twitter feed, and I saw that story come across, and it was completely false. I looked up into the stands and took a photograph myself; the stands were packed. If you take a photograph of the area behind the stage, that’s the only area that was empty last night. That is an exact example of my frustration with the false narrative.

Jamiel Shaw Sr. is an immigration activist whose son Jamiel Jr. was shot to death in Arlington Heights in 2008. His killer, Pedro Espinoza, was in the United States illegally.

Shaw, a self-identified Independent, spoke about being an African-American Trump supporter, and how politicians’ responses to his son’s death led him away from the Democratic Party.

Interview highlights

African-American voter registration is overwhelmingly Democratic. As an African-American supporter of Donald Trump, have you gotten a lot of criticism from Southern California African-Americans that you would support him?

Shaw: Of course. It goes both ways. You’ve got the people who are just anti-white people to the people who are just black Republicans. It’s a big spectrum, and I’m focused on the ones who support what I’m trying to do. I don’t have time to try and change people’s minds. I just tell them what happened. ‘This is what happened to me.’ If that [doesn’t] affect you, then, technically, screw you, because I’m telling you what happened. Somebody died. In real life. No matter what you heard about on TV. In real life there was a kid who was walking down the street and was shot dead in the street because he was black by somebody illegally in the country. You can’t spin that.

I thought I heard you say that after the killer of your son was identified as being in the country illegally, that all these politicians who had rallied around you and provided support for you as a grieving father...disappeared at that point.

Shaw: I thought I was at a David Copperfield show. It was like ‘now you see me, now you don’t.’ On the serious side, yeah, when it first happened I thought positively that I would get a lot of support from black people just because my son was black, and he was killed by an illegal [immigrant]...I personally went to [Herb Wesson’s] office and talked to him, and the first thing he said to me is that I ‘opened a hornet’s nest.’ I was like, ‘Me, what did I do?’ He said, ‘They're gonna be protesting, and this and that.’ I said, ‘Wait a minute, my son is dead.’

This story has been updated and the interview edited for clarity. Listen to the full discussion by clicking the playhead above.

Guests:

Lisa Mascaro, reporter for the Los Angeles Times; she covers Congress in Washington D.C and is attending the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.

Lynn Vavreck, professor of political science at UCLA; she tweets @vavreck

Zach Courser, Research Director of the Dreier Roundtable and visiting Assistant Professor of Government at Claremont McKenna College; he tweets @zcourser

Harmeet Dhillon, vice chair of the California Republican Party and 2016 RNC National Committeewoman-elect; she is also a delegate

Jamiel Shaw, speaker at the RNC this week; in 2008, his 17-year old son was fatally shot by Pedro Espinoza, who was in the country illegally


Filmmaker Garry Marshall took middlebrow entertainment to great heights

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Director Garry Marshall poses on arrival for the film premiere of New Year's Eve in Hollywood in 2011. Marshall died at 81.

Director Garry Marshall poses on arrival for the film premiere of "New Year's Eve" in Hollywood in 2011. Marshall died at 81.; Credit: Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images

He was beloved, talented, prolific, and influential. Garry Marshall, the long-time writer-director of popular movies and long-running television sitcoms died at age 81 in a Burbank hospital Tuesday of complications from pneumonia after having a stroke.

Marshall's massive television hits included "Mork & Mindy," "Laverne & Shirley," "The Odd Couple," and "Happy Days." On the big screen, his credits included "Pretty Woman," "Runaway Bride," "Frankie and Johnny," and too many others to recount here.

His films always had a roster of A-list actors because they loved working with and learning from Garry Marshall.

He is survived by his wife, Barbara, and the couple's three children, Lori, Kathleen and Scott.

What are your favorites among his credits, and why?

Guest:

Wade Major, Film Critic for KPCC and host for IGN’s DigiGods.com

Why your insurance may be going up by 13 percent this year

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Government Recovery Act Funds South Florida Low-Income Health Clinics

Emlyn Louis, MD speaks with Julia Herrera as he examines her at the Broward Community & Family Health Center. ; Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

If you’re enrolled in Covered California, you might experience a bit of sticker shock come 2017.

Premiums are expected to rise 13 percent in 2017, an increase that is more than triple the rate at which premiums went up in the previous two years. In 2015, rates rose 4.2 percent, and 4 percent the year after. Experts say the increase is thanks to rising costs in healthcare, pricey specialty drugs, and the end of a program that kept rates fairly stable for the first three years of the Affordable Care Act’s implementation.

Just how much extra does that mean you’ll have to pay next year? That depends on where you live and who is your insurance provider. Those whose premiums end up too high because of the hike could look to switch to another plan, but that could create more trouble than it’s worth for some patients who have chronic conditions that require long-term care from a consistent medical team.

What does the Covered CA rate hike mean for your wallet? Can enrollees expect more hikes like this in years down the road? What does this say about the Affordable Care Act as a whole?

Guests:

Stephanie O’Neill, KPCC health correspondent; she tweets from @ReporterSteph

Dylan Roby, assistant professor of health services administration at the University of Maryland School of Public Health and an adjunct assistant professor at UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health

Michael Cannon, director of health policy studies at the Cato Institute

From Anita Hill to Gretchen Carlson, what's changed in the way we talk about sexual harassment?

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"FOX & Friends" All American Concert Series - Cody Simpson

(L-R) Fox & Friends hosts Steve Doocy, Gretchen Carlson and Brian Kilmeade during "FOX & Friends" All American Concert Series outside of FOX Studios in New York City.; Credit: Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images

Reaction has been mixed ever since former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson brought a sexual harassment lawsuit against her former boss and Fox News chief executive Roger Ailes.

More women have made similar allegations against Ailes since Carlson came forward, while other observers have questioned her motives, such as radio talk show host John Ziegler, who wrote on Mediaite, “The fact that this [lawsuit] comes after Carlson was no longer employed and at a point in her career where she has very limited job options and very little to lose, makes me a little bit suspicious.”

That kind of questioning reminds some of the suspicion Anita Hill met in the 1980s when she made allegations against her then boss, Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas. At the time, many questioned why, if her allegations were true, she would continue to work for him.

The media industry remains dominated by male executives, and some say the dearth of female decision-makers and fear of retaliation are major hurdles in getting women to report harassment or abuse.

Has the way we talk about and treat sexual harassment changed in the three decades since Anita Hill? Have you personally experienced sexual harassment? And if so, did you report it? Do you regret your decision?

AirTalk listeners called us to share their experiences:

Christina in Inglewood: I asked a coworker several times not to harass me, but he continued. When I told him to stop, he giggled and dismissed me. To him, it didn’t matter what I thought or what I felt. So I wrote a report and turned it into my manager and personally contacted human resources.

After I reported him, I felt bad at first because I didn’t want to be responsible for someone losing their job, but I felt it was the right thing to do because I wasn’t the only one who was being treated that way. In a way, I feel like I stood up for myself and for other women. Human resources conducted an investigation and it turned out that he was not only doing it to me, but to other coworkers. They suspended him and I’m not sure if he got fired, but I never saw him again. 

Susan in downtown Los Angeles: I was sexually harassed by a superior soon after I started working at the organization. I actually saw him as a mentor — he presented himself that way. He actually talked about how he came to the defense of another woman who had been sexually harassed by a high-level person in the organization. I later realized that I was being manipulated, but I didn’t see that because I was still very young.

It became a quid pro quo kind of harassment. The overall culture in the organization was to say all sorts of sexually explicit things and things that made me very uncomfortable. But it was an older generation, and everyone just said that’s the way it is. I was on probation at the time and was afraid of losing my job, so I didn’t want to report it. I finally did because it kept continuing and I kept hoping it would end, and it didn’t end. When I went and spoke to the boss at the top, who was a woman, she told me to “suck it up” because if I wanted my career to be successful, that’s what I needed to do.

I filed with the EEOC, but it was a very traumatic experience. Things did change slowly, but it was at the cost at my standing in the organization and my ability to advance there. I don’t regret it because I do believe I made a difference. It does make me sad though because it took something away from me that I’ll never get back, within myself. 

Mariam from Beverly Hills: I was an on-air talent for a very big news organization and at the end of my contract, my boss took me to dinner to explain to me that the views were low, so they probably wouldn’t be able to move forward with renewing my contract unless I slept with him. It was the quintessential Los Angeles story. I was shocked, I was hurt, I cried later that evening and the reason why I didn’t move forward with my case and call this man out was because if I didn’t sleep with him, my contract would not get renewed. If I sued him or contacted his bosses, my contract would not get renewed and I would possibly become blacklisted as a talent in that network and its sister networks. The only incentive I had at the time to address the situation was to maybe stop him from doing this to other women, but I didn’t know for a fact that he was sexually harassing any other talent. And I knew he had kids, I knew he had a wife, so I thought there might not be a net gain, but a net loss by me calling this man out because I’d definitely destroy his family, his marriage, his kids and not necessarily for something tangible.

Sexual harassment affects your intellect. I thought, "I’m a millennial, I’ve grown up listening to these stories, I’ll never be a victim to one."  And I thought, for a year, this man had been manipulating me and making me feel like we were friends and we could trust each other and the entire thing was just to arrive to that one vulnerable moment at the end of my contract. So I felt like an idiot. Not to mention, when he prefaces that sexual invitation with, “Hey, your views are low. I don’t think we can renew your contract,” it already makes you feel like a failure.

David in Anaheim: I’ve been sexually harassed and raped before, both were obviously extremely unpleasant experiences. But what was probably the most horrible experience was having a woman use her power against me by saying I had done something I didn’t do. Just being accused of sexual harassment can ruin someone’s life. I almost lost more than one job because a woman decided she was going to accuse me of something I didn’t do, either because of bitterness or because of something else. 

Guest:

Jennifer Drobac, a professor at Indiana University's Robert H. McKinney School of Law, who has authored a textbook about sexual-harassment law

Inland Empire Trump delegate: "I was only CA delegate not booing Cruz"

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Republican National Convention: Day Three

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) delivers a speech on the third day of the Republican National Convention on July 20, 2016 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.; Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images

For those who’ve complained political conventions are overly controlled exercises in public relations, the Republican National Convention may be a dream come true.

Sen. Ted Cruz, Donald Trump’s top competitor for the Republican presidential nomination, refused to endorse the New York businessman in a prime-time speech last night. The crowed jeered during his talk, and he left the stage to emphatic boos.

Trump’s running mate, Mike Pence, shifted the mood of the evening.

His well-received remarks were aimed at social and ideological conservatives, making the argument that Trump shared their values and beliefs. That’s a message he’ll undoubtedly hit many times during the campaign.

The drama that surrounds Trump culminates in his acceptance speech tonight.

AirTalk spoke with Ben Clymer Jr., a first-time Republican delegate from the Inland Empire, about the California delegation’s reaction to Cruz’s speech and Trump’s appeal to small business workers.

“The Cruz [speech] that just happened last night had a lot of the delegates pretty upset, and the boos were intensely loud inside the stadium,” said Clymer, who works for his family’s auto repair business in Riverside County.

The interview that follows has been edited for clarity. You can listen to our full conversation with Ben Clymer, Jr. by clicking the blue play button above.

Interview highlights

Larry Mantle: What about from the California delegation? Were most of you booing the senator by the time he was done?

Ben Clymer: Yeah, I think I was the only one perhaps not booing him. The delegation was 172 for Trump, and keep in mind he won [Riverside County] with nearly 81 percent of the vote, so it was pretty unified that they weren’t happy about that sentence he put in there.

LM: What led you to cut him slack?

BC: I don’t mind rhetoric as much as I’m a sucker for votes. [Sen.] Cruz’s votes have always been amazingly consistent. Like Bernie Sanders, he was someone who had his principles. It doesn’t matter if I agree with Bernie Sanders. I think those that were supporters of him were hoping he would have enough backbone to stay true to his convictions. But he didn’t. Ted Cruz, in his own opinion, stayed true to what he felt his convictions were. I think it could’ve been delivered a lot more effectively, and found the win-win, but he chose not to go that route. That’s Ted.

LM: How much of the fact that you work at a family business has led you to have an affinity for Donald Trump?

BC: We know firsthand what it’s like to try and keep up each and every year with all the regulations and all the rules. California every year passes approximately 1,000 new bills; the federal government — approximately 1,000 new bills. Considering 25 percent or more affect small businesses and large businesses, we simply don’t have the capacity to make sure we’re complying with 500 new business-affecting bills, which lead to thousands of pages of additional rules and regulations. The only companies that can would be your Apples and your IBMs and your Wal-Marts.

Further, when Donald Trump Jr. was talking about his time as a young man growing up with the employees that helped make his family’s company successful, I personally could resonate with that. My brother and I started very young at our family’s business, and my father did not teach us every single step of the way. He too entrusted our business education to those who helped make our company a success. That made the [Trump] family a lot more real to us, despite the fact that their success on many levels is higher [than] our own.

Guests:

Ron Elving, Senior Editor and Correspondent, NPR’s Washington Desk; he joins us live from the RNC

Ange-Marie Hancock, associate professor of political science and gender studies at USC

Pete Peterson, dean of the School of Public Policy and executive director of The Davenport Institute at Pepperdine University

Ben Clymer Jr., CFO of Ben Clymer’s The Body Shop and president of the Lincoln Club of Riverside County; he is also a delegate for Donald Trump

​Role of religious rhetoric in contemporary political speeches

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Republican National Convention: Day Two

Former Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson delivers a speech on the second day of the Republican National Convention on July 19, 2016 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.; Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Speech after speech after speech at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland this week invokes God or Jesus, even Lucifer was mentioned by former primary candidate Dr. Ben Carson: "Are we willing to elect as president someone [Hillary Clinton] who has as their role model somebody [Saul Alinsky] who acknowledges Lucifer?"

Carson accurately pointed out the many references to God on American currency, the country's founding documents, and in daily American life.

Elsewhere in Cleveland, a billboard put up by the Freedom from Religion Foundation boasts a Ronald Reagan quote: "We establish no religion in this country... Church and state are, and must remain, separate."

During this campaign year, candidates from both parties talk regularly about how their faith instructs their professions and their views.

At a campaign event in Knoxville, Iowa earlier this year, a woman asked presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton how her beliefs align with the Ten Commandments. Clinton said the issue was important to her and continued, “I am a person of faith. I am a Christian. I am a Methodist. I have been raised Methodist. I feel very grateful for the instructions and support I received starting in my family but through my church, and I think that any of us who are Christian have a constantly, constant, conversation in our own heads about what we are called to do and how we are asked to do it, and I think it is absolutely appropriate for people to have very strong convictions…”

The backdrop to all of this is a declining number of Christians in the U.S., according to an in depth report from the Pew Research Center conducted in 2015. When it comes to the religious landscape in America, the sharpest growth is the number of Americans who describe themselves as "unaffiliated” - now at 22.8 percent, from 16.1 percent in 2007. However, the largest share by far still identifies as Christian, 70.6 percent.

Regardless of personal beliefs, what role do you see, if any, for religious rhetoric in contemporary political speech?

Guests:

Michael Shermer, Author of numerous books including his latest "Skeptic: Viewing the World With a Rational Eye;" founder of "Skeptic" magazine; and adjunct professor at Chapman University

John Eastman, professor of law and founding director of the Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence at Chapman University; He’s also Chairman of the Board of the National Organization for Marriage, a D.C.-based nonprofit focused on marriage laws

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