Today on AirTalk, we discuss the latest developments on the Derek Chauvin murder trial and talk about the unrest over the killing of Daunte Wright. Also on the show, we cover the latest COVID-19 news; analyze the TelevisaUnivision merger; and more.
DOC AMA: CDC Advisers Will Meet About Johnson & Johnson Vaccine, Orange County Will Offer Digital Vaccine Record And More
In our continuing series looking at the latest medical research and news on COVID-19, Larry Mantle speaks with Dr. Tim Brewer from UCLA.
Today’s topics include:
OC will offer digital vaccine record as an option, not a mandate
Regular exercise may help protect against severe COVID-19
CDC advisers will meet today about the J&J COVID-19 vaccine
Why aren't more men getting the COVID-19 vaccine?
Guest:
Timothy Brewer, M.D., epidemiologist and professor of medicine at UCLA’s school of public health; has served on the advisory boards of the World Health Organization, the National Institutes of Health, and the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention
TelevisaUnivision: Diving Into The Media Merger
Grupo Televisa, Mexico’s largest television network, announced Tuesday it is joining with U.S. Spanish-language broadcaster Univision to form a third company that will produce content for both that will be the “definitive global leader in Spanish-language media.”
The new company will be known as TelevisaUnivision. Both firms have been struggling to capture a share of the booming over-the-top video services sector.
Televisa said the new company will be in charge of producing shows, distributing and marketing for both Televisa and Univision and also will create a new streaming channel.
With files from the Associated Press.
Guests:
Julio Rumbaut, president of Rumbaut & Company, a media advisory and consulting firm that specializes in Spanish-language media; he tweets
Melita Garza, associate professor of journalism at Texas Christian University and author of “They Came to Toil: Newspaper Representations of Mexicans and Immigrants in the Great Depression” (University of Texas Press, February 2018)
Derek Chauvin Murder Trial: Defense Witness Takes The Stand, Unrest After Daunte Wright Shooting And More
A use-of-force expert testified that former Officer Derek Chauvin was justified in pinning George Floyd to the ground because of his frantic resistance, contradicting a parade of authorities from both inside and outside the Minneapolis Police Department.
Taking the stand at Chauvin’s murder trial for the defense Tuesday, Barry Brodd, a former Santa Rosa, California, police officer, said officers don’t have to wait for something bad to happen; they need only to have a reasonable fear that there’s a threat and then adjust their actions accordingly. Several top Minneapolis police officials — including the police chief — have testified that Chauvin used excessive force and violated his training. And medical experts called by prosecutors have testified that Floyd died from a lack of oxygen because of the way he was restrained. Brodd also appeared to endorse what prosecution witnesses have said is a common misconception: that if someone can talk, he or she can breathe. Chauvin, a 45-year-old white man, is on trial on charges of murder and manslaughter in Floyd’s death last May after his arrest of suspicion of passing a counterfeit $20 at a neighborhood market.
Chauvin attorney Eric Nelson has argued that the 19-year Minneapolis police veteran did what he was trained to do and that Floyd died because of his illegal drug use and underlying health problems, including high blood pressure and heart disease. Fentanyl and methamphetamine were discovered in his system. As the defense began presenting its case on Tuesday after the prosecution rested following 11 days of testimony and a mountain of video evidence, Nelson sought to plant doubt in jurors’ minds. He brought up a 2019 arrest in which Floyd suffered from dangerously high blood pressure and confessed to heavy use of opioids, and he suggested that the Black man may have suffered from “excited delirium” — what a witness described as a potentially lethal state of agitation and even superhuman strength that can be triggered by drug use, heart disease or mental problems. Today on AirTalk, we talk with a reporter who’s been covering the aftermath of the killing of Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. Plus, legal experts share their thoughts on what’s expected during Chauvin’s trial over the next several weeks. Do you have thoughts or questions? Call 866-893-5722.
With files from the Associated Press
Guests:
Matt Sepic, reporter with Minnesota Public Radio News who’s been following the aftermath of the shooting of Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota; he tweets
Daniel Herbert, Chicago defense attorney and former police officer and prosecutor; he tweets
Stanley Goldman, professor of criminal law and procedure at Loyola Law School, he previously served as an LA County deputy public defender for eight years
A New California Bill Seeks To Address Racial And Economic Inequities Through Public Banking
Several state lawmakers have signed on to a new bill that would offer California households free financial services— a move that could help families navigate the economic fallout from the pandemic.
If it’s passed, the bill would create BankCal, the first state government program in the nation to offer universal consumer banking. Through the program, participants could receive no-fee debit cards, direct deposits from employers and government agencies, electronic bill payment and ATM access, directly competing with private banks. The California Bankers Association opposes the bill, and argues that the state’s financial institutions already offer lower cost banking options. But the issues of the “underbanked” have become increasingly central during the COVID-19 pandemic, as racial and economic inequities widen. “The bill creates a way for Californians to bank without paying exorbitant fees — money that could be used for food and rent or rebuilding from the economic devastation wreaked by the pandemic,” said Assemblyman Miguel Santiago (D-Los Angeles), a lead author of the measure, Assembly Bill 1177. “If a rich person earns money, that money makes money. When a poor person earns money, that money is gouged from every corner. Financial institutions make enormous profit off the backs of those who … they say they help.”
Today on AirTalk, we’re learning more about the California Public Banking Option Act. Questions? Give us a call at 866-893-5722.
Guests:
Jyotswaroop Bawa, organizing and campaigns director for the California Reinvestment Coalition, which focuses on financial and banking needs in communities of color and low-income communities and is based in San Francisco; she tweets
Rodney Ramcharan, professor of finance and business economics at USC, he served as the first chief of the Systemic Financial Institutions and Markets Section at the Board Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Jack Humphreville, commentator on local and state budget and politics matters, member of the Neighborhood Council Budget Advocates, a group that gives feedback to city leaders on the budget, and a contributor to CityWatch, an online publication covering issues involving the City of Los Angeles; he tweets
New Book ‘Rock Me On The Water’ Dives Into Why 1974 Was Such A Crucial Year For LA In Movies, Music, Television And Politics
While it might seem like any other year in the city’s history, 1974 was a huge year for Los Angeles, particularly in pop culture.
It was a year in which a handful of pioneering and legendary figures in the fields of film, TV, and music that were all indicators of the changing social, cultural and political demographics of America. Legendary films like “Chinatown” and “The Godfather Part II” were released and the first draft screenplay of a movie called “Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope” was finished. Musical acts like Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell and The Eagles and others broke touring records worldwide. In his new book “Rock Me on the Water: 1974-The Year Los Angeles Transformed Movies, Music, Television, and Politics” veteran journalist and Pulitzer Prize finalist Ron Brownstein looks back at the significance of 1974 to Los Angeles in its illustrious pop culture history and how the music, TV and movies that came out of it spawned a pop culture revolution across the nation.
Guest:
Ron Brownstein, author of “Rock Me on the Water: 1974-The Year Los Angeles Transformed Movies, Music, Television, and Politics” (Harper Collins, March 2021); he is senior editor at The Atlantic, a senior political analyst for CNN, and has served as the national political correspondent and national affairs columnist for The Los Angeles Times and covered the White House and national politics for the National Journal; he tweets