Listen with Larry to the news conference about the Orange County jail break; discussing the polls and last-minute campaigns for Iowa; debating approval of gene editing in the U.K. and details about a new report from New York's attorney general about a "rigged" ticketing system for sports events and concerts.
Update and analysis on OC jail break
Listen with Larry to the news conference about the Orange County jail break.
After, we’ll hear analysis on how three violent criminals, Hossein Nayeri, Jonathan Tieu and Bac Duong broke out of jail with what seems to be assistance from an ESL jail teacher, Nooshafarin Ravaghi.
All have been caught, but how they did it remains a mystery.
Guest:
Lenny DePaul, Chief Inspector/Commander (Ret.) of the U.S. Marshals Service New York/New Jersey Task Force
AirTalk elections coverage 2016: What to expect as Iowa caucuses begin
Months on the campaign trail stumping and shaking hands have all led to this for Republican and Democratic presidential candidates.
Iowans will begin heading to caucuses this evening at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m CT, and the question looming over the Hawkeye State ahead of the voting is just how many people will turn out?
Polls are showing a tight race as the final hours tick down until the start of caucusing.
Quinnipiac’s latest poll has Bernie Sanders leading Hillary Clinton by three points and Trump holding a seven point lead over Ted Cruz. Will the frontrunners be able to activate their supporters in enough numbers to hold a lead or will a dark horse emerge in the final hour and surprise us all?
Guests:
Donna Hoffman, head of the Department of Political Science at the University of Northern Iowa
Edward-Isaac Dovere, senior White House reporter for POLITICO; he tweets from
Debating UK approval of gene editing in human embryos
LONDON (AP) - In a landmark decision that some ethicists warned is a step down the path toward "designer babies," Britain gave scientists approval Monday to conduct experiments in which they will try to edit the genes in human embryos.
The scientists won't be creating babies - the modified embryos will be destroyed after seven days. Instead, they said, the goal is to better understand human development and thereby improve fertility treatments and prevent miscarriages.
The decision by Britain's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority marks the first time a country's national regulator has approved the technique. Permission isn't explicitly required in many other countries, including the U.S. and China.
The U.S. does not allow the use of federal funds for embryo modification, but there is no outright ban on gene editing.Gene editing involves deleting, repairing or replacing DNA inside living cells in a sort of biological cut-and-paste technique that scientists say could one day lead to treatments for conditions like HIV or inherited disorders such as muscular dystrophy and sickle cell disease.
A team led by Kathy Niakan, an embryo and stem cell specialist at London's new Francis Crick Institute, received the OK to use gene editing to analyze the first week of an embryo's growth.
Read the full article here.
Guests:
Ronald Bailey, Science Correspondent for “Reason” magazine and Reason.com; Author of “The End of Doom: Environmental Renewal in the Twenty-first Century”
Marcy Darnovsky, Ph.D., executive director of the Center for Genetics and Society, a nonprofit organization working to encourage responsible uses and effective societal governance of human genetic, reproductive, and biomedical technologies
Science writer on how the mind can heal the body
What is our mind’s ability to heal our body?
It’s a controversial subject, one that has been dismissed by some in the medical community as new-age hogwash. But former “Nature” editor and science journalist Jo Marchant says there’s a lot more to the concept than most people think.
In her new book, “Cure,” Marchant cites a wealth of recent scientific research that lends credence to the idea that healing thoughts have the ability to heal the body.
Guest:
Jo Marchant, science journalist and author of of the new book, “Cure: A Journey into the Science of Mind over Body” (Crown, 2016)
NY AG report finds ticketing system for sports events, concerts ‘rigged’
A major report from New York finds that the ticketing industry is “rigged” against consumers, making it almost impossible for them to buy tickets to events and concerts at affordable prices.
The attorney general’s office started investigating the industry after complaints from consumers, and found that brokers like StubHub inflate the prices of tickets at average of almost 50 percent more than what they cost. Additionally, some brokers use “ticket bots” -- a type of illegal software -- to buy up tickets as quickly as possible. Two broker, the investigation found, were able to gobble up 15,000 tickets to a series of U2 concerts.
The report also found fault with Ticketmaster for piling on extra fees to the face value of a ticket.
NY Attorney General Ticket Sales Report
Guest:
Dave Brooks, Executive Editor of Amplify Media, focusing on the venues and live entertainment industry