Today on AirTalk, we'll discuss the tragic events at the Boston Marathon yesterday and evaluate the process of investigation. We'll also consider different ways to handle cases involving youth and cyberbullying. During our second hour, immigration experts join us for a conversation about new reforms and what the Gang of Eight has planned.
Investigating the Boston Marathon bombing
The two bombs that exploded at the historic Boston Marathon yesterday were contained in household pressure cookers with shards of metal, nails and ball bearings for maximum human devastation, according to AP sources. Three people are dead, including an 8-year-old boy, and more than 150 people were injured.
Dr. Alasdair Conn of Massachusetts General Hospital told the Associated Press, "This is something I've never seen in my 25 years here.... this amount of carnage in the civilian population. This is what we expect from war."
This morning, President Barack Obama called the attack an act of terror, but said investigators don't know if responsibility lies with an international or domestic group, or a "malevolent individual."
No other bombs were found in the Boston area, so investigators have to reconstruct the devices, comb through images and chase myriad leads. "We will go to the ends of the Earth to identify the subject or subjects who are responsible for this despicable crime, and we will do everything we can to bring them to justice," said lead FBI agent, Richard DesLauriers.
What is the process of the investigation going forward? If the attack had political intent, why hasn't responsibility been claimed? In the aftermath, is there any lesson to learn about security?
Guests:
Garrett Quinn, blogger for Boston Globe
Brian Michael Jenkins, Senior Advisor to the RAND Corporation’s President and one of the nation's leading experts on terrorism and homeland security; RAND is a nonprofit research institution focused on policy analysis.
Erroll Southers, Associate Director of the National Homeland Security Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events (CREATE) at the University of Southern California (USC) where he developed the Executive Program in Counter-Terrorism and serves as an Adjunct Professor of Homeland Security and Public Policy; Southers is a former Presidential nominee for Assistant Secretary of the TSA; Governor Schwarzenegger's Deputy Director in the California Office of Homeland Security; and FBI Special Agent.
What punishment fits the crime of teen cyberbullying?
Anti-bullying advocates across the country are calling for stricter laws to prosecute juveniles who harass others online. A California teenager killed herself just a week after she was sexually assaulted at a party and photos of the attack were circulated online. A Canadian teen, Rehtaeh Parsons also took her own life after allegedly being raped and cyber-bullied.
In Maryland, 15-year-old Grace McComus committed suicide after months of being bullied online. Her parents said they tried to stop the harassing messages but were told there was nothing they could do. These cases echo the recent Steubenville rape case, where two Ohio teen boys were convicted of rape after posting photos of the assault online and shared them on social media. In response, Maryland has passed a bill tightening laws against online harassment but it's expected to face constitutional challenges. The parents of Audrie Pott want to force California to try juveniles accused of online harassment as adults.
How can we protect young people from cyber bullying while respecting the first amendment right to free speech? Should teens accused of cyber bullying be tried as adults? How do we talk to our children about events like these?
Guest:
Elizabeth Englander, Professor of psychology at Bridgewater State University and the director of the Massachusetts aggression reduction center
Justin Patchin, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and co-director of the Cyberbullying Research Center
Details of Gang of Eight Senators’ immigration reform bill leaked
The Gang of Eight senators have pushed back the formal unveiling of their immigration overhaul bill to later this week, in light of yesterday’s attacks in Boston. However, details of the plan have already been leaked. According to a memo obtained by NBC Latino, the bill will provide a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrations who entered the country before December 31, 2011. The process would take 13 years. At the same time, the Department of Homeland Security will receive $3 billion to put in tougher border security. The bill also ups the H-1B visas for skilled workers significantly. Furthermore, it creates a new kind of visa, called the W-visa, for low-skilled workers.
Guests:
Rachel Von Dongen, Congressional Editor, POLITICO
Angela Maria Kelley, Vice President for Immigration Policy and Advocacy at the Center for American Progress.
Alfonso Aguilar, executive director of the Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles and former chief of the U.S. Office of Citizenship under President George W. Bush.
Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies
Kitty Felde, KPCC Washington Correspondent