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Lawmakers, budget watchers’ first look at Governor Brown’s 2017-2018 state budget proposal

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Jerry Brown Introduces January California Budget

California Governor Jerry Brown speaks to reporters as he announces his proposed budget at the California State Capitol on January 10, 2011 in Sacramento, California. ; Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

AirTalk

California Governor Jerry Brown unveiled his budget for the 2017-2018 fiscal year today and for the first time in four years, it projects a deficit of about $1.6 billion.

In a letter he wrote to the legislature, Governor Brown calls the budget “the most difficult that we have faced since 2012” but says that rollbacks of planned spending increases and reallocation of money earmarked for things like affordable housing and state office building renovations will ensure the budget stays balanced while still putting state funds into things like counteracting poverty and increasing funding for K-12 and higher education in the state.

You can see the full budget summary here and read more about some of its highlights from KQED California politics and government reporter Marisa Lagos here.

Guests:

Marisa Lagos, reporter for KQED’s California Government and Politics desk; she tweets @mlagos

H.D. Palmer, spokesman for the California Department of Finance

Chris Hoene, executive director of the California Budget & Policy Center

Jay Obernolte(R-Hesperia), State Assemblyman representing the 33rd Assembly District and Assembly Republican Caucus Budget Committee Vice Chair

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.


The legality of the FBI’s paid Best Buy technician informants

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Best Buy Expands Geek Squad To Office Depot

"Geek Squad" agent Eric Fortuna (R) assists customer Charles King at a "Geek Squad" computer repair facility in a Best Buy store June 6, 2006 in Niles, Illinois.; Credit: Tim Boyle/Getty Images

Natalie Chudnovsky | AirTalk

In 2011, a California doctor sent his faulty computer’s hard drive to Best Buy’s Geek Squad City in Kentucky, where a technician repairing the drive found and reported child porn.

The doctor now faces federal charges, but the case, United States of America v. Mark A. Rettenmaier, has brought to light a small group of paid Geek Squad informants which the FBI has been cultivating over a four-year period – a relationship which will be explored by the defense attorneys in a motion hearing in Santa Ana, Orange County starting Wednesday.

The use of these eight technicians, who reported signs of child porn to the FBI in exchange for payment, has compromised the legality of search, bringing up questions about the FBI’s reach, consumer privacy and the Fourth Amendment’s protection against unreasonable searches.

If Best Buy was effectively operating as part of the government, it would require a warrant for searching drives. But in a statement released Monday, Best Buy said it has “no relationship with the FBI,” though when employees unintentionally come across child porn, they do report it to law enforcement – a policy they share with customers before repair.

Do Geek Squad’s customers consent to their computers being searched when they hand over their computers? Does the FBI’s use of paid informants compromise the legality of the search and render the findings unusable in court?

Guests: 

Ron Hosko, president of The Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund and former head of the FBI’s criminal investigative division

Lee Tien, Senior Staff Attorney and Adams Chair for Internet Rights at the Electronic Frontier Foundation

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Supreme Court case may change public school education for disabled students

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HUNGARY-EDUCATION-SOCIAL-ROMA-FILES

Picture taken on December 9, 2013 shows a pupil been helped by a teacher in a class roomat the Petofi Sandor school special school for disabled children in Gyongyos, northern Hungary.; Credit: ATTILA KISBENEDEK/AFP/Getty Images

AirTalk

As reported by the Los Angeles Times, the Supreme Court is deciding a case today that may change the legal standard of how public schools provide education for disabled students.

Federal law currently states that children have a right to a “free appropriate public education.” But this leaves much ambiguity for students with disabilities. Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District is the case going forward today, and involves a boy with autism and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

His family said he wasn’t able to make progress in his public school, which led them to place him in a private school. The boy’s parents are calling for a higher standard for disabled students, but some are saying that resources for schools are already slim, and there are still questions as to what these new standards would entail.

Guests:

Bill Koski, director of the Youth and Education Law Project at Stanford University; he is also co-counsel for the student's family

Alex Rojas, superintendent of the Bassett Unified School District, which is located in the San Gabriel Valley; serves some unincorporated parts of L.A. County and portions of the City of Industry, La Puente, and Whittier

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Unpacking Trump’s first post-election news conference

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President-Elect Donald Trump Holds Press Conference In New York

President-elect Donald Trump speaks at a news cenference at Trump Tower on January 11, 2017 in New York City. This is Trump's first official news conference since the November elections.; Credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

AirTalk

A verbal tussle with a CNN reporter, the President-elect's denial of everything in a dossier purported to detail Trump's involvement with Russia, the claim that Congress will repeal and replace the ACA very soon, that's for starters.

Larry Mantle and guests analyze Donald Trump's first post-election news conference.

Guests:

Jesse Byrnes, associate editor for The Hill

Matthew Rosenberg, reporter for The New York Times covering intelligence and national security

Kate Brannen, deputy managing editor of Just Security - online forum for the rigorous analysis of U.S. national security law and policy; Just Security is based at the New York University School of Law

Craig Holman, Ph.D., government affairs lobbyist for the Congress Watch division of Public Citizen

Sean T. Walsh, Republican political strategist and partner at Wilson Walsh Consulting in San Francisco

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Are police jobs getting tougher?

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Police recruits attend their graduation ceremony at LAPD Headquarters on July 8, 2016 in Los Angeles, California.; Credit: FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images

AirTalk

A new study by Pew Research Center has cast light on how police view their jobs.

And while policing has always been considered a tough career, officers are considering their positions to be even harder than before.

This comes in a post Ferguson era, when officer involved shootings of black citizens have brought more scrutiny to police. According to the study, officers said their jobs are riskier and they have more tension with people of color. Participants also said they’re more reluctant to to do their duties as officers.

To explain the details of the survey is it’s lead author, Kim Parker of the Pew Research Center. If you’re in law enforcement, do you feel like your job has gotten tougher? How has this affected the way you police? If you’re a civilian, how do you think this affects you?

Guest:

Kim Parker, director of social trends research at Pew Research Center and lead author on the Pew study, “Behind the Badge

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

CA Congressman Darrell Issa introduces bill to reform the H1B visa

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Ingram - 7

An employee inputs information into a computer that helps track packages on the lower level of the company's pick module area in Ingram Micro's Advanced Logistics Center.; Credit: Anibal Ortiz / KPCC

Leslie Berestein Rojas | AirTalk

With the topic of U.S. jobs filled by foreign workers fanning the heat of the presidential campaign, there's a new House bill that would restrict a controversial visa program for highly skilled overseas employees.

The H-1B program is widely used by the technology industry and many large U.S. companies to annually bring in tens of thousands of foreigners, many from South Asia. But the program has its detractors.

U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, a Republican representing parts of Orange County and San Diego County, is proposing to change certain exemptions that allow companies to hire more foreign workers when qualified U.S. candidates are not available.

“First and foremost, this bill is about protecting American jobs," Issa said in a statement.

Read the full story here.

Guests:

Michael Hayes, Government Affairs Manager for the Consumer Technology Association, an advocacy organization for the consumer tech industry

Ron Hira, an associate professor of public policy at Howard University, whose recent book, “Outsourcing America” (AMACOM, 2005), examines the economic and policy implications of the offshoring of high-skilled jobs

Vish Mishra, a venture capitalist and member of the Silicon Valley-based nonprofit organization, The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), which supports professionals and entrepreneurs with South Asian roots

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

After Trump presser, recapping what we missed from Tillerson confirmation hearing

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Senate Confirmation Hearing Held For Rex Tillerson To Become Secretary Of State

Former ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for Secretary of State, testifies during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee January 11, 2017 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.; Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images

AirTalk

As the Senate Foreign Relations Committee grilled Secretary of State nominee and former Exxon-Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson yesterday on Capitol Hill, much of the political world’s attention turned northward to New York City, where President-elect Donald Trump’s first press conference since being elected was chock full of highlights to unpack.

But amid the din kicked up by viral moments like Mr. Trump’s refusal to answer a question from CNN’s Jim Acosta and calling Buzzfeed News a “failing pile of garbage,” what was a times a very contentious confirmation hearing took a backseat to the spectacle in New York.

Tillerson faced a battery in questions ranging in topic from Russia to his time as CEO of Exxon-Mobil to defeating ISIS and more. He also distanced himself from the President-elect on some issues, taking a more moderate tone when discussing things climate change and Mr. Trump’s past proposal that Muslims be banned from entering the U.S. Florida Senator Marco Rubio went after Tillerson particularly hard after he backed away from using the term “war criminal” to describe Vladimir Putin. Rubio has since said he’s not coming out in support or opposition of Tillerson yet.

What were the major takeaways from yesterday’s confirmation hearing for Rex Tillerson? Has your opinion of him as possible secretary of state changed after hearing him be questioned?

Guests:

Burgess Everett, POLITICO congressional reporter; he was in Tillerson’s hearing Wednesday

Liam Denning, energy columnist for Bloomberg Gadfly

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

How the Chargers will fit in to LA’s already crowded nation of NFL fans

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San Diego Chargers v San Francisco 49ers

Quarterback Philip Rivers #17 of the San Diego Chargers reacts after throwing a fourth quarter touchdown pass to wide receiver Malcom Floyd #80 against the San Francisco 49ers.; Credit: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

AirTalk

After more than two decades without NFL football, Angelenos now officially have two hometown teams.

In a letter to fans, Chargers owner Dean Spanos announced that the team is moving from San Diego to Los Angeles, just one year after the now-Los Angeles Rams relocated to the Southland. The team will begin play in Los Angeles in 2017, and already the new logo has been posted to the team's Twitter feed early morning West Coast time on Thursday.

The Los Angeles @Chargers⚡️ pic.twitter.com/bJmv4LcPME

— NFL (@NFL) January 12, 2017

Already, forlorn Chargers fans in San Diego have started to pay their respects to their now former team, gathering outside the Chargers team offices to drop off their gear in memoriam. The team's departure leaves San Diego with just one professional team, the Padres, in the big four U.S. sports.

Former fans are dropping off their gear at #Chargers HQ's in #SD in protest of team's move to #LAhttps://t.co/M41xEcqGSD#ChargersToLApic.twitter.com/LVuKAj2Ows

— KPBS News (@KPBSnews) January 12, 2017

More Chargers fans very, very upset outside of Chargers Park. @ABC7pic.twitter.com/AdrvqZcERH

— Ashley Brewer (@abc7ashley) January 12, 2017

The Chargers will play the StubHub Center in Carson until the new stadium in Inglewood is completed. While it’s a much smaller venue that can only seat about 30,000 (the average NFL stadium has capacity for 60,000-90,000), it could play well for the team if the Chargers decide to play off of the “big market team with a small market feel and intimate venue” narrative. There is also the question of whether football fans who decided to support the Rams last year will continue to do so after their subpar season and with two teams between whom to choose. While the Chargers boast fan strongholds in parts of Orange and South L.A. County, the Rams and even the Raiders may still be the more beloved and entrenched teams among fans. Some, like L.A. Times columnist Bill Plaschke, argue for that reason it should have been the Raiders and not the Chargers to come to L.A.

How would the Chargers be received in L.A.? How do they fit in with the already crowded base of NFL fans in Los Angeles? Will L.A. transplants who brought their allegiances from their home states be interested in becoming Charger fans? Will Rams fans want to become Charger fans after the Rams had a lackluster first season?

Guest:

Jason Cole, NFL writer for the Bleacher Report  

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.


Debating BuzzFeed’s decision to publish the Trump-Russia dossier

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The logo of news website BuzzFeed is seen on a computer screen in Washington on March 25, 2014. ; Credit: NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images

AirTalk

BuzzFeed's decision to publish an unverified dossier purporting to detail Russia's compromising material on Donald Trump has fired up a vigorous debate about 21st Century journalism.

Jane Kirtley, a media ethicist with the University of Minnesota, defends the move saying "These days when the public is expecting to have access to the source material on which journalists rely, it's harder to justify not publishing the documents." Kirtley thinks BuzzFeed put the dossier in the appropriate context, plus that the intelligence community had presented the material to Trump made it a legitimately newsworthy document. While Kirtley's opinion is not an outlier on this controversy, media ethicist Kelly McBride, of the Poynter Institute, believes BuzzFeed's decision has dire consequences.

Writing in The New York Times, McBride argues, "By publishing an unverified report alleging the Russians have compromising information on President-elect Donald J. Trump, BuzzFeed made it less likely that truth will be journalists' only goal and less likely that when the truth surfaces, the public will believe it." She adds the fact that average citizens don't have the tools to sort through the dossier's allegations.

Why do you either support or oppose BuzzFeed's choice?

Guests:

Jane Kirtley, professor of media ethics and law at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota

Judy Muller, an Emmy and Peabody Award-winning television correspondent and a professor of journalism at USC

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Recent storms push the dial on Southern California drought, but how much?

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US-WEATHER-DROUGHT-CALIFORNIA

The Hollywood sign is seen during a rain storm in Hollywood, California on January 12, 2017.
; Credit: AFP/AFP/Getty Images

AirTalk

We’re not out of the woods yet, but thanks to this series of storms, more than 40 percent of California is seeing an end to the drought.

That’s according to a recent article from the Los Angeles Times, which has been following the U.S. Drought Monitor. The rain has considerably quenched much of the state, showing that 35 percent of the California has no unusual dryness. That’s an almost double increase from last week. While Los Angeles is still in the dry category, Northern California and the Sierra Nevada have been experiencing snow and blizzards. Needless to say, mudslides and floods can be an unwelcome companion to more rain and less drought.

Larry speaks to a team of water and weather experts today, to talk about the good, bad and ugly conditions that come with storms and what it means for the state.

Guests: 

William Patzert, a climatologist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Felicia Marcus, Chair of the California State Water Resources Control Board

Jeff Kightlinger, general manager for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Making sense of the Inspector General’s investigation into the FBI, Justice Department

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Top Intelligence Officials Brief U.S. House Of Reps On Russian Election Hacking Scheme

FBI Director James Comey arrives at the U.S. Capitol for a classified briefing on Russia for all members of the House of Representatives January 13, 2017 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. ; Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images

AirTalk

First, the Justice Department's Inspector General is investigating the Department and the FBI about controversial actions in the months before the Presidential election.

Michael Horowitz says he's responding to numerous requests that his office look into the unprecedented communications surrounding Hillary Clinton's private email server investigation. The Inspector General will look into FBI Director Jim Comey's public announcement that no criminal charges would be filed, as well as his later memo to a Congressional committee that the probe was being reopened in light of Clinton campaign emails found on Anthony Weiner's laptop. The Inspector General will also look at the email exchanges of the Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs, Peter Kadzik, with Clinton campaign head John Podesta. The Kadzik emails disclosing information about the Clinton investigation were revealed by Wikileaks as part of the hack of Podesta's email account.

Does this set up the same kind of "no win" scenario for Horowitz?

Guests:

Matt Apuzzo, New York Times reporter covering law enforcement and security; he has been covering the IG’s Office probe for the paper

Riley Roberts, Principal at West Wing Writers, a speechwriting and strategy firm with offices in D.C., New York, and San Francisco. He is the former chief speechwriter to Attorney General Eric Holder. Roberts’ recent piece for POLITICO Magazine is titled, “The Case Against James Comey

Bre Payton, reporter for The Federalist, a conservative online news magazine

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Southern Californians prep for inauguration and marches

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Washington DC Prepares For Presidential Inauguration

Stacks of security fencing are seen near the US Capitol in preparation for the upcoming inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump January 16, 2017 in Washington, DC. ; Credit: Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images

AirTalk

With over 800,000 people estimated to attend Friday’s inauguration in D.C. and 200,000 expected to go to the Women’s March the next day, the capital is preparing itself for at least a million visitors.

As of Friday, 26 Democratic members of Congress said they will boycott the inauguration, and there’s been controversy surrounding the entertainment, with Jennifer Holliday most recently backing out of the event, while Toby Keith defended his decision to perform.

Meanwhile, the March will be a nationwide event, with 13,000 people planning to attend in Los Angeles, according to the event’s Facebook page.

Ben Clymer Jr. is an executive with the Body Shop & Collision Centers of Southern California. He was a Trump delegate, and he’s planning to attend. Clymer told KPCC’s AirTalk that he feels the boycotters may be making a mistake.

“I firmly believe in freedom of speech, and so those that want to boycott, I understand they have their convictions,” Clymer said. “I don’t know if that’s representing their constituents effectively, and I don’t know if it’s an effective message. Their voices aren’t at the table.”

Johanna Siegmann of Los Feliz will be one of those marching in an anti-Trump protest on Saturday. She says as a woman, it’s important for her to go.

“The president elect often says that no one respects women more than him, and yet on a daily basis, his actions say otherwise. So I’m going to march because I want us to be both seen and heard, and that we’re real people, and that our issues are everyone’s issues,” Siegman said.

You can listen to Donald Trump’s inauguration on Friday on KPCC. Our live special coverage from NPR will begin at 7 a.m. You can also follow along on the KPCC app and our live stream.

In the meantime, let’s continue the conversation. What will you be doing on Inauguration Day? If you’re going to the inauguration or any of the protests, whether in D.C. or L.A., we want to hear from you – what are your plans and why are you going? And if not, what will you be doing instead?

Let us know in the comments or talk to us on Facebook or Twitter.

This story has been updated.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Monday politics: Previewing Inauguration 2017, plus Trump promises ‘insurance for everybody’

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Washington DC Prepares For Presidential Inauguration

Workers prepare the West Front of the US Capitol for the upcoming inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump January 16, 2017 in Washington, DC. ; Credit: Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images

AirTalk

President-elect Donald Trump will be formally sworn in on Friday as the 45th President of the United States.

But the spectacle of the Inauguration extends far beyond the ceremony itself. Also planned for the days leading up to and following Friday’s ceremony are a smattering of parties, protests, and rallies that will draw tens of thousands from all over the country to Washington D.C. Local protests are also being planned in many major cities around the U.S. and a list is forming of Democratic lawmakers who are boycotting the inauguration and won’t be in attendance.  

Staying inside the Beltway, Republicans in Congress moved one step closer to repealing the Affordable Care Act, passing a bill on Friday that would end the law. Amid concerns about what would replace the ACA, Donald Trump told the Washington Post in an interview this weekend that there would be ‘insurance for everybody,’ though he didn’t get into much detail about what that meant and how it would work. Here in California, Governor Jerry Brown is warning of the negative impact repealing the ACA would have on Californians, especially the 13.5 million who take advantage of MediCal.

Guests:

Dan Diamond, author of POLITICO Pulse, a daily briefing on health care politics and policy; he also hosts POLITICO’s Pulse Check podcast

Lanhee Chen, research fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and former policy director for the Romney-Ryan 2012 presidential campaign; he tweets @lanheechen

John Iadarola, host and creator of ThinkTank, part of The Young Turks Network; he also serves as a weekly co-host for The Young Turks weekly live show; he tweets @johniadarola

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

The South Korean political scandal claims another big name: Samsung

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SKOREA-POLITICS-CORRUPTION-SCANDAL-SAMSUNG

People walk past the Samsung logo at the Samsung group headquarters in Seoul. South Korean prosecutors on January 16 sought the arrest of the heir to giant conglomerate Samsung.; Credit: JUNG YEON-JE/AFP/Getty Images

AirTalk

South Korea has been embroiled by a political scandal involving President park Geun-hye and her confidante, Choi Soon-sil.

Park has been accused of letting Choi, who has no governmental post, meddle in political affairs for her own financial gains. And now, the political scandal has stretched into the highest reaches of corporate Korea, with word that investigators are looking to arrest Jay Y. Lee, head of Samsung – arguably the country’s biggest homegrown corporate giants – for allegedly bribing Park and Choi.

Investigators have started the process to get an arrest warrant for Lee, which has to be granted by a court. A hearing is likely set for Wednesday.

Guest:

Sung Yoon Lee, an expert on the Koreas and professor in Korean Studies at Tufts University

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

After 146 years, the end to ‘The Greatest Show on Earth’

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US-ENTERTAINMENT-CIRCUS-ELEPHANTS

A performer rides an elephant holding a US national flag during a Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus performance in Washington, DC on March 19, 2015. ; Credit: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP/Getty Images

AirTalk

The big top comes down: Ringling Bros. circus is closing.

After 146 years, the curtain is coming down on "The Greatest Show on Earth." The owner of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus told The Associated Press that the show will close forever in May.

The iconic American spectacle was felled by a variety of factors, company executives say. Declining attendance combined with high operating costs, along with changing public tastes and prolonged battles with animal rights groups all contributed to its demise.

Read the full story here.

Guest:

Les Neuhaus, reporter who’s been covering the story for the LA Times; he tweets @LesNeuhaus

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.


Physical illnesses with no apparent cause? A neurologist explains what they could tell you about your life

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A new study says brain games won't make you smarter.

; Credit: Katherine Streeter for NPR

AirTalk

In the book, “Is It All in Your Head,” neurologist and first-time book author Suzanne O’Sullivan looks at the possible causes behind some physical illnesses – like unrelenting pain, seizures, periodic paralysis -- medical science has failed to explain the cause of.  

They are called psychosomatic diseases and are little-studied. But they cost the health care system a considerable amount of money. O’Sullivan looks at the role stress and past traumas play in the manifestation of these ailments.

BOOK EVENT:

Suzanne O’Sullivan will be discussing her new book on Wednesday, January 18, at Vroman’s in Pasadena. The event starts at 7:00 pm. For more information, click here

Guest: 

Suzanne O’Sullivan, a neurologist and author of the award-winning book, “Is It All in Your Head: True Stories of Imaginary Illness” (Other Press, 2017)

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Debating reforms to California's high-priced bail rules

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20 Years Since The Rodney King Verdict Sparked Infamous L.A. Riots

Handcuffs are seen on the hands of a twenty-year old "Street Villains" gang member who was arrested by Los Angeles Police Department officers. ; Credit: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

AirTalk

A California Senate committee is considering major reforms to the state's criminal bail system which critics say unfairly punishes people with limited finances, plus costs taxpayers for jail time.

Senator Bob Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys), co-author of SB 10, argues detaining people simply due to an inability to afford money bail violates the American principles of equal protection and fundamental fairness. On the other side, Topo Padilla of the California Bail Agents Association concedes bail in California is excessive compared to the rest of the country, but he warns cheap bail conditions will encourage flight risks therefore harming the justice system.

If you have any first-hand experiences with California's bail or jail system, how has that informed your opinions?

Guests: 

Bob Hertzberg, California Senator (Democrat - Van Nuys), Co-Author of SB-10 - the California Money Bail Reform Act of 2017

Topo Padilla, Member of the California Bail Agents Association; Padilla has been a bail bondsman for 34 years

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Abortion rates drop to lowest level since Roe v. Wade, advocates debate the reasons why

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Supreme Court To Hear Abortion Rights Case

Pro-choice advocates (right) and anti-abortion advocates (left) rally outside of the Supreme Court, March 2, 2016 in Washington, DC. ; Credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

AirTalk

According a new report from the Guttmacher institute, the rate of abortions in the US has hit the lowest level recorded.

Abortion-rights advocates claim it's the result of the Affordable Care Act making birth control readily-available, particularly long-acting ones like IUDs. Supporters of abortion restrictions claim newer restrictions on abortion clinics are making a difference. But many factors are likely in play.

Guests:

Rachel Jones, Ph.D., principal research scientist at the Guttmacher Institute, a research group supporting legalized abortion; she is the lead author of the study “Abortion Incidence and Service Availability in the United States, 2014

Chuck Donovan, president of the anti-abortion rights Charlotte Lozier Institute, the research-based wing of the Susan B Anthony List

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

What President George Washington’s 1796 farewell address can tell us about our country now

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Major Snowstorm Bears Down On New York City

A statue of George Washington at Federal Hall is covered in snow following a major winter storm on February 9, 2013 in New York City. ; Credit: Andrew Kelly/Getty Images

AirTalk

It used to be one of the most widely read political documents in the country, but President George Washington’s farewell address has now become largely forgotten by the public.

With the help of James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, Washington laid out what he saw were the forces that threatened the nation: hyper-partisanship, foreign influence on our government, excessive debt, to name a few. Sounds familiar?

In the new book, “Washington’s Farewell,” author and Daily Beast editor-in-chief John Avlon revisits this important piece of writing to draw inspiration for how we can heal our country today.

Guest:

John Avlon, editor-in-chief of the news site, “The Daily Beast” and author of the book, “Washington’s Farewell: The Founding Father’s Warning to Future Generations” (Simon & Schuster, 2017)

 

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Analysis: President Obama defends decision to commute Chelsea Manning’s sentence

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US President Barack Obama speaks during a surprise appearance at White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest's last daily press briefing of the Obama administration.; Credit: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

AirTalk

President Barack Obama defended his decision to shorten the sentence of convicted leaker Chelsea Manning during his final news conference on Wednesday, two days before his second term ends.

Manning was among 273 people granted clemency Tuesday by Obama. The former Army intelligence analyst asked Obama last November to commute her 35-year sentence for giving classified government and military documents to the WikiLeaks website. Manning, who was known as Bradley Manning at the time of her 2010 arrest, is more than six years into the sentence. She is to be released from prison in May. Republicans blasted the decision to commute Manning's sentence, with House Speaker Paul Ryan calling it "outrageous" and saying Obama had set a "dangerous precedent" that anyone guilty of compromising U.S. national security will no longer have to pay for their crimes.

White House press secretary Josh Earnest previewed Obama's line of defense, saying in television interviews Wednesday morning that the amount of time Manning had served was consistent with sentences imposed on others found guilty of committing similar crimes.

One name missing from the list of pardons and commutations the White House announced Tuesday is U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. The former prisoner of war is accused of endangering comrades by walking off his post in Afghanistan, and has asked Obama for a pardon. A pardon would allow Bergdahl to avert a military trial scheduled for April. He faces charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. The misbehavior charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.

At the conference, Obama addressed the role of the free press in a functioning democracy, U.S. relations with Russia and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, among other topics. He also stressed that he would not be running for office any time soon.

Guest host Frank Stoltze checks in to analyze Obama’s statements and his defense of Chelsea Manning’s shortened sentence.   

With AP Files. 

Guest:

Cathleen Decker, politics reporter for the LA Times, who is in DC today covering the presser; she tweets @CathleenDecker

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

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