AirTalk brings you the latest on the second day of Mark Zuckerberg’s testimony before Congress – plus, did Ted Cruz’s assertion yesterday that Facebook is politically biased have any merit? We also dive into the implications of a possible U.S. strike on Syria; can federal election campaign funds be used for childcare?; and more.
Zuckerberg testifies in day 2 before Congress on Cambridge Analytica and how Facebook collects data
Facebook co-founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg is set to testify Wednesday before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on how Facebook collects and analyzes data from users.
This is Zuckerberg’s second appearance before Congress. In his Tuesday testimony to a joint session of the Senate commerce and judiciary committees, the Facebook CEO apologized for mistakes that led to the research firm Cambridge Analytica scandal. Facebook is facing scrutiny following allegations that Cambridge Analytica had improperly gained access to private information of as many as 87 million Facebook users, including 71 million Americans. The political consulting firm is linked to President Trump’s presidential campaign.
Speaking before a packed room with 44 senators in attendance on Tuesday, Zuckerberg said his company is rethinking its responsibilities to users and society.
Guests:
Sarah Frier, tech reporter for Bloomberg who is at Zuckerberg’s hearing; her cover story for Bloomberg BusinessWeek this week looks at the Facebook scandal; she tweets
Alina Selyukh, tech and business reporter at NPR, she tweets
Next steps for GOP after Paul Ryan roils Republican ranks with retirement announcement
The race to see who will be the next Speaker of the House of Representatives kicked off in earnest on Wednesday after Speaker Paul Ryan announced that he would not seek reelection in November.
In a morning press conference, Ryan told reporters that he felt he needed to spend more time with his family, and that he didn’t want his kids to continue growing up knowing him only as a weekend father. He said he planned to “run through the tape” and finish his term strong but that he couldn’t, in good conscience, run and then retire after the election, despite being told that it was the “politically shrewd” thing to do. He added that while it was no secret that when he accepted the job, he did so reluctantly, he had put everything he had into it and was proud of what he and the party had gotten done during his time as Speaker, noting the passage of major tax reform and increasing the military’s budget as two of their proudest accomplishments.
The news, first reported by Axios, is yet another blow to a Republican party that is already trying to stop the bleeding after losing key special elections in Alabama and Pennsylvania districts that went to President Trump in the 2016 election. Among the many questions still to be answered is who will take Ryan’s place. California’s Kevin McCarthy and Louisiana’s Steve Scalise are said to be the two frontrunners for the job. There are also concerns about the larger implications for the GOP, including whether deep-pocketed donors will continue to write big checks to the party if Ryan is no longer in the picture and whether other Republicans will follow suit and step down, not wanting to face angry voters in the upcoming midterms.
What impact do you see this having on Republicans in the 2018 midterms? And what about Democrats? How does this change the power structure among Congressional Republicans?
Here's Speaker Ryan's full announcement on Wednesday morning:
Guests:
Steve Shepard, chief polling analyst for POLITICO; he tweets
Sean T. Walsh, Republican political analyst and partner at Wilson Walsh Consulting in San Francisco; he is a former adviser to California Governors Pete Wilson and Arnold Schwarzenegger and a former White House staffer for Presidents Reagan and H.W. Bush
Trump considers retaliatory strike on Syria, Russia warns against US missiles
On Sunday, aids groups implicated President Bashar al-Assad for a suspected chemical attack in Syria against a rebel-occupied area of Douma.
This has set off a chain reaction of events, with Trump saying he will consider military response and a Russian diplomat saying that a U.S. missile fired at Syria would be shot down. which elicited this response from Trump:
Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria. Get ready Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and “smart!” You shouldn’t be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)
Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria. Get ready Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and “smart!” You shouldn’t be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 11, 2018
We get the latest from Washington Post national political reporter John Wagner.
Guest:
John Wagner, national political reporter for the Washington Post; he tweets
LA city is one step closer to regulating AirBnB rentals
A Los Angeles City Council committee voted yesterday to move forward with a proposal to limit the number of days landlords in the city can put their units up on AirBnB to 120 days.
In addition, the draft rules will only let people rent out their primary residences. One of the criticisms against AirBnB is that the platform encourages landlords from taking rental units off the market and converting them into de facto
The full City Council would still need to approve the plan before it can go into effect.
Call us at 866.893.5722 to weigh in on the proposed rules.
Guest:
Jenna Chandler, editor of Curbed L.A., the popular housing-related blog who’s been following the story; she tweets
Can federal election campaign funds be used for childcare?
A candidate running for federal office can use campaign funds to pay for a plane ticket to a rally, to pick up the tab at an official restaurant meeting or pay the salary of a campaign manager – but what about using those funds to pay for a babysitter?
Liuba Grechen Shirley, who’s running for Congress in New York, filed a request with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) last week requesting permission to use campaign funds to pay for caring for her two children while she’s running for office. In an op-ed she wrote for the Washington Post, Grechen Shirley argues that parents should be able to use campaign funds for childcare. And since women are more likely to be responsible for childcare, this would pave the road for more female candidates in federal races.
Under current FEC rules, it’s illegal to use campaign funds for personal use. Proper spending needs to pass the “irrespective test,” i.e. would the expense benefit the candidate if they were not running for office? A fancy watch, for example? A $400 haircut? If yes, then that’s not a valid expense.
It’s unclear whether childcare will count as a valid expense. The FEC is due to make it decision within the next two months. Meanwhile, we get a breakdown of current FEC campaign finance rules.
Plus, do you think federal election funds should be used for childcare? Would this make it easier for women to run for office?
Guest:
Bradley Smith, expert in election law and campaign finance; professor of law at Capital University Law School in Columbus, Ohio; he served on the Federal Election Commission (2000-2005) and was Chairman of the Commission in 2004
Have you heard about Andre Ingram, the 32-year-old Lakers rookie that burned up the court in his debut?
For a team known for its youth, the star of last night’s Lakers game was a 32-year-old rookie named Andre Ingram.
Ingram spent 10 years in the NBA minor league before getting the call of his career from Lakers head coach Luke Walton – to step in and play in the game against the Houston Rockets.
And Ingram made the most out of his NBA debut, scoring 19 points; his first shot was a 3-pointer that was nothing but net.
Inspired by Ingram’s debut, AirTalk wants to hear your story of stepping into a situation as a newbie, upstart, rookie (you get the point) – and nailing it.
Call us at 866.893.5722.
Guests:
Bill Oram, reporter who covers the Los Angeles Lakers for the Southern California News Group; his latest piece looks at Andre Ingram’s impressive debut
A Martínez, host of KPCC’s Take Two