Sexual Assault Charges Dropped Against Former Duke Athletes; Instant Runoff Voting for L.A.?; Presidential Candidates Poll; Mike Farrell
Sexual Assault Charges Dropped Against Former Duke Athletes
North Carolina's attorney general yesterday dropped all remaining charges against three former Duke University lacrosse players. The athletes were indicted last spring after a stripper hired for a team party in March 2006 accused them of kidnap and rape. State Attorney General Roy Cooper said his investigation found nothing to back up the stripper's story. He also described the Duke students as victims of a "tragic rush to accuse" by Mike Nifong, Durham County District Attorney. Larry Mantle talks with Laurie L. Levenson of Loyola Law School, and Najee Ali of Project Islamic Hope about the Duke sex case.
Instant Runoff Voting for L.A.?
A study released yesterday from the New America Foundation finds that runoff elections in Los Angeles result in higher costs to taxpayers and lower voter turnout. The Foundation proposes an electoral method known as Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) which allows voters to rank a first, second, and third choice candidate. Those runoff rankings would be used to elect a majority winner in a single election. Larry talks with Lynne Serpe, Deputy Director of the New America Foundation's Political Reform Program, and with Raphe Sonenshein, Professor of Political Science at CSU Fullerton about the results of the study.
Presidential Candidates Poll
A new LA Times/Bloomberg Poll of possible Presidential nominees shows how unsettled the Republican race remains. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani leads the field of potential Republican presidential contenders, followed by actor and former Senator Fred Thompson, who has not even entered the race, while Arizona Sen. John McCain has fallen to third place. The poll finds that Democratic Senator Hillary Clinton continues to lead Sen. Barack Obama and former Sen. John Edwards by comfortable margins. Larry discusses the poll's findings with veteran Republican political strategist and analyst Arnold Steinberg and California Democratic Party campaign advisor Bob Mulholland.
Mike Farrell
Larry talks with actor and activist, Mike Farrell, about his new autobiography Just Call Me Mike (Akashic Books). In it Farrell writes honestly about the paths that lead him to becoming, not only a respected actor and producer, but one of Hollywood's most prominent human rights activists. Best known for his portrayals of Dr. BJ Hunnicutt on M*A*S*H and Jim Hansen on Providence, Farrell is also a writer, director and producer. He has served on human rights and peace delegations to many countries and is President of Death Penalty Focus, an organization that campaigns to abolish capital punishment.