California to Release Inmates; L.A. City Attorney Race; TARP 2; The Pluto Files
California to Release Inmates
A special panel of federal judges tentatively ruled yesterday that the state will have to release inmates to relieve overcrowding. The San Francisco-based panel said it may hold more hearings before making a decision but if this ruling is finalized, the state would probably have to reduce its prison population by somewhere between 36,000 to 57,000 inmates. The head of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation says the state will appeal any final prisoner release order to the U.S. Supreme Court.
L.A. City Attorney Race
On March 3, voters in Los Angeles will choose a new city attorney. All of the candidates in this 5-way race join Larry Mantle to discuss their vision to lead one of the largest government legal offices in the country.
TARP 2
This morning Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner announced a rescue plan that may amount to $1.5 trillion in funds. From culpability to policy Geithner mapped out a new route to economic recovery. The newly named "financial stability plan" was unveiled today to help sturdy banks and credit markets. The plan focuses on the credit crisis, unblock consumer loans and conducting a review of the major banks before allotting federal aid.
The Pluto Files
Following its discovery in 1930, Pluto entered many hearts as the beloved tiny planet of the solar system. But Pluto's planetary status has since been demoted. Its composition is different, its rotation is backward and its orbit is out of the norm. Author Neil deGrasse Tyson is a lightning rod on this topic, because as director of the Hayden Planetarium, he helped to reclassify Pluto not as a planet but as a cold, icy object. He recently called Pluto an "oddball", whose tiny size is smaller than seven moons. The scientific community reached a consensus in 2006 by redefining Pluto to a "dwarf planet." In his book "The Pluto Files", he details the rise and fall of American children's favorite planet. Neil deGrasse Tyson joins Larry Mantle to discuss his book "The Pluto Files", exploring Pluto's influential place in science, history, and popular culture.