Today on AirTalk, we answer your questions about the impeachment process as the House moves forward with a full vote on Wednesday. We also take a look at the different options being proposed for student debt relief in 2020; pay respects to the brands we lost in the last decade; and more.
Impeachment Watch: The Ground Rules For Wednesday’s Vote. What Are Your Questions About The Process?
The House Rules Committee met on Tuesday to set the parameters for Wednesday's debate. As the House prepares for Wednesday's vote, more than a dozen Democrats announced they would be voting for impeachment. A handful or even fewer are expected to break ranks as Speaker Nancy Pelosi marches the majority toward a vote she hoped to avoid having Democrats take on their own.
House Democrats laid out their impeachment case against President Donald Trump on Monday, a sweeping report accusing him of betraying the nation and deserving to be ousted, as key lawmakers began to signal where they stand ahead of this week's landmark votes. What Democrats once hoped would be a bipartisan act, only the third time in U.S. history the House will be voting to impeach a president, is now on track to be a starkly partisan roll call Wednesday.
No Republicans are breaking with the president. Trump faces two articles of impeachment brought by Democrats. They say he abused the power of his office by pressuring Ukraine to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden ahead of the 2020 election and obstructed Congress by aggressively trying to block the House investigation from its oversight duties as part of the nation's system of checks and balances. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is rejecting the Democrats' push for fresh impeachment testimony against Trump and making a last-ditch plea for them to “turn back from the cliff" of Wednesday's expected vote to send the case to the Senate for trial.
With files from the Associated Press
Guests:
Ron Elving, senior editor and correspondent on the Washington Desk for NPR News; he tweets at
Jeffrey Engel, founding director of the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University; author of “Impeachment: An American History,” (Random House Publishing Group, 2018); he tweets
One Size Fits None: Are Standardized Clothing Sizes Just A Fantasy?
Finding the right size in clothing can be a major pain. Sizes aren’t standard and vary from brand to brand. It can make shopping online even more difficult and increases industry costs thanks to returned items, according to a recent piece from the Wall Street Journal.
Online size charts can only be so helpful, and some experts say universal size charts would cause unforeseen issues, as presented in a Vox article looking at the sizing problems in the clothing industry. Some companies are trying to remedy the issue by using data to help online consumers find the best sizes and fits. But is there really a true fix to this overwhelming issue? It’s complicated. Today on AirTalk, we discuss clothing sizes, industry consequences, potential remedies and personal woes. We want to hear from you. How does size variation impact you? Do you stick to certain brands because of the complicated nature of sizing? Do you stay away from online shopping? Join the conversation by calling 866-893-5722.
Guest:
Christopher Moore, chief analytics officer with True Fit, a data-driven company that assists consumers in finding the right clothing size and fit
Could Changes Be On The Horizon For How Student Loan Debt Is Overseen And Paid For?
It’s no secret that the United States has a student loan debt problem. Recent figures from the U.S. Department of Education suggest that almost 40 percent of students who took out a loan in 2004 will default on it by 2023. The question is, what should be done about it?
The answer depends who you ask. Several Democratic presidential candidates, including Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, have floated plans that they say would completely wipe out student debt in America. For its part, the Department of Education says it is considering spinning off the $1.6 trillion in debt that it oversees into its own agency. But how would that look? And would the debt actually be overseen by another government agency or is the Education Department’s plan, in effect, a step towards the privatization of federal student loans?
Today on AirTalk, we’ll discuss the specifics of the plans that certain Democratic presidential candidates have laid out and debate the Department of Education’s proposal to create a new agency that would take over the federal student loan portfolio.
This segment is being updated
Guests:
Paul Fain, news editor at Inside Higher Education, an online publication covering postsecondary and higher education news; he tweets
Mark Kantrowitz, student financial aid expert focused on college affordability and publisher and vice president of research for Savingforcollege.com, a guide to planning, saving and paying for college; he tweets
Mary Clare Amselem, education policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank based in Washington D.C.; her research focuses on higher education policy
Blockbuster, Borders And Many More Joined The Brand Graveyard This Last Decade
The last decade has seen some big shifts in how brands do business -- we’ve seen the rise of direct-to-consumer companies as well as the expansion of online retail. But the price of innovation is death of the old ways, and plenty of brands have gone the way of the dodo in the last decade.
In her recent aggregate Vox piece “In memoriam: The brands we lost in the 2010s,” Alanna Okun gathers stories of nostalgia and remembrance of brands past. There’s the closure of Borders, once thought of as the big bad corporate book store, now mourned as a lost third space subsumed by Amazon. There’s Blockbuster, a symbol of so many childhoods now buried under Netflix headquarters. And Payless, which made trendy shoes affordable, but perhaps overextended its reach.
Today, we pour one out for the brands that didn’t survive the decade. Which will you miss? What are your memories or stories? Call us at 866-893-5722.
Guest:
Alanna Okun, deputy editor at The Goods, a section of Vox that focuses on consumerism; her recent aggregate piece is “In memoriam: The brands we lost in the 2010s”