A CIA report concluded that the Russian government interfered with the 2016 presidential election – we look at the evidence, as well as reactions from Trump, Democrats and the GOP; considering the wide-ranging capabilities of smart phones, will gadgets become obsolete?; Los Angeles is considering legalizing street vendors – we debate the specifics of the plan; and more.
AirTalk politics: The next steps following reports of Russian influence on U.S. election
Weekend reports found that some in the intelligence community believe Russia released hacked emails to aide President-elect Donald Trump. A bipartisan group in the Senate is calling for an investigation.
In our weekly politics roundtable, we’ll look at the Obama Administration’s call for intelligence agencies to do a full report on any efforts by Russia to influence the recent election and hear from ranking Democratic member of the House Intelligence Committee Adam Schiff on what the next investigative steps are now that both the FBI and CIA have reported possible cyber-meddling in the U.S. election.
Guests:
Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), U.S. Congressman and ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee
Mike Madrid, Republican strategist for Grassroots Lab, a firm based in Sacramento
Ed Espinoza, Democratic strategist and director of Progress Texas, a political communications firm based in Austin, TX; former Western States Director for the Democratic National Committee in California and a superdelegate in 2008
Are we facing a gadget apocalypse?
Ever find an old Walkman in your parent's house? What about a Gameboy you played as a kid? The feature of these gadgets - music, games, camera -are increasingly integrated into the one true smartphone.
Today, we are experiencing a real decline in small personal electronics, according to Farhad Manjoo, technology columnist at The New York Times. In his recent column, Manjoo declares that "winter is coming for gadget." Indeed, with the Fitbit's acquisition of smartwatch maker Pebble, the outlook for single-function devices isn't optimistic. But gadgets might be taking on a different form in today's tech landscape. Fitbit, the company that bought out Pebble, makes fitness tracker -- a gadget in its own right. In addition, there are more drones humming overhead than ever; there are more internet-connected hoverboards than ever. Some might even call a Tesla vehicle a “gadget” because of its connectivity and applications.
So where is the state of gadgetry right now? And how are gadget companies evolving as the market becomes saturated? What’s your most memorable gadget from the past?
Guests:
Farhad Manjoo, The New York Times Technology Columnist. His recent column is titled “The Gadget Apocalypse Is Upon Us;" he tweets
Ashley Carman, Tech reporter at the Verge. Her recent article is titled “No, Gadgets Aren’t Dead;” she tweets
City Council to vote today on legalizing street vending in LA
Street vending in L.A. could be legalized if a measure passes at today's city council committee meeting. The measure, which was proposed by councilmembers Joe Buscaino and Curren Price would legalize street vending in the city. As reported by KPCC, conditions for street vendors will include permission from adjacent brick and mortar businesses and allowing for a maximum of four street vendors, two on each side of the street, per block.
So how will this affect brick-and-mortar businesses and street vendors? Larry speaks to Buscaino today to find out more.
Guests:
Joe Buscaino, L.A. City Councilmember representing District 15 which includes San Pedro and Harbor City; he co-wrote the proposal to legalize street vending
Rudy Espinoza, Executive Director at the Leadership for Urban Renewal Network; he is part of the steering committee for the L.A. Street Vending campaign.
After Boxer's filibuster of own water bill fails, what's next for Californians in drought?
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) ended her filibuster of the Water Infrastructure Improvement Act last Friday, coming short of the 41 votes needed to block the $11 billion bill that would authorize water projects across the nation, according to the San Francisco Gate.
The sweeping legislation, which Boxer co-wrote, has sparked tensions between salmon-fishing conversation groups and urban water growers as reported by the Los Angeles Times. Boxer condemned late additions to the bill by longtime colleague Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) as a “sneak attack” and “midnight rider” that would devastate the nation’s salmon in order to help the San Joaquin Valley’s agribusiness.
Now that the bill has passed, what’s next for Southern Californians? Where exactly will our water go, and what are the environmental concerns against the Endangered Species Act?
Guests:
Doug Obegi, a senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council's water program
Roger Patterson, assistant general manager for strategic water initiatives, Metropolitan Water District
Stargazers: How a group of women scientists changed our understanding of the stars
In the mid-1800’s several women worked as human computers at Harvard College’s Observatory.
Their job was to interpret what their male co-workers saw while looking through telescopes at the night sky. Later, with the advent of photography, the same women studied the stars captured on glass photographic plates. Their discoveries attracted worldwide acclaim and their classification system for stars is still used today.
Dava Sobel’s book, “The Glass Universe” tells the story of this group of women who were pioneers in a field dominated by men. Now, decades later, the half-million plates they studied are being digitized for ongoing research.
Guest:
Dava Sobel, author of “The Glass Universe: How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars” (Viking, 2016) as well as a former science reporter for the New York Times