National Security Advisor General Michael Flynn resigned Monday – what happened and who will fill his position?; the Oroville dam incident begs a look at the history of dam failures in SoCal; and whether it’s the statue of limitations or curling up in the feeble position, we want to hear you uses and misuses of common phrases; and more.
What we know so far about the circumstances surrounding Gen. Flynn’s resignation
National Security Advisor General Michael Flynn resigned late Monday night in the latest spate of bad publicity for the White House.
He'd been targeted with heavy criticism for flatly denying he talked about sanctions with the Russian ambassador to the U.S. before Donald Trump assumed the presidency. That could be a violation of a 200-year-old law against a private citizen negotiating conflicts with a foreign government. However, Flynn's biggest problem reportedly stemmed from telling Vice-President Mike Pence sanctions never came up in the conversation. That left the VP with egg on his face when he publicly defended Flynn, after which more reporting surfaced that seemed to confirm suspicions that Flynn had, indeed, discussed sanctions. Flynn has been replaced by Army Lt. Gen (ret.) Keith Kellogg, who will fill the spot in the interim until the president appoints a successor.
The timing is difficult, with both North Korea and Russia conducting missile tests, and there are still many questions remaining about how much the White House knew about Flynn’s conversation, when it knew that information, and what it decided to do with it.
What do you think about the White House’s handling of this issue? Whose names are being thrown around as possible replacements for Flynn?
Guests:
Josh Gerstein, reporter for POLITICO covering the White House and Justice Dept.; he tweets
Phil Ewing, national security editor for NPR; he tweets
Oroville Dam spillway incident one of many in US history
In the last decade, dam safety officials from across the country have reported hundreds of dam failures and "incidents" - situations that, without intervention, would likely have resulted in dam failure.
According to data gathered by the Association of State Dam Safety Officials, from January 2005 through June 2013, there were reports of 173 dam failures and 687 incidents, out of 87,000 dams nationwide. The good news, according to the Association's executive director, Lori Spragens, is an uptick in repaired deficient dams.
Meanwhile, crews working around the clock atop the crippled Oroville Dam have made progress repairing the damaged spillway, reducing the lake level by at least 8 feet overnight at the Northern California reservoir.
Workers hoisted giant white bags filled with rocks, and at least two helicopters planned to fly in rocks Tuesday then release them into the eroded area of the spillway.
Dump trucks full of boulders also were dumping cargo on the damaged spillway.
Workers are rushing to repair the barrier at the nation's tallest dam after authorities ordered the evacuation of nearly 200,000 people for everyone living below the lake amid concerns the spillway could fail and send water roaring downstream. Evacuations remain in place.
State Department of Water Resources officials hope to reduce the lake level to 860 feet by Thursday when storms will bring more rain, spokesman Chris Orrock said. The level was 884 feet on Tuesday morning.
With files from the Associated Press.
Guests:
Eric Kurhi, reporter at The Mercury News following the story
Lori Spragens, Executive Director, Association of State Dam Safety Officials
Should CA end using occupation as one factor for cheaper auto insurance?
Consumer Watchdog, the Santa Monica-based consumer rights organization, wants the California Department of Insurance to stop allowing companies to offer auto insurance discounts based on someone’s occupation.
The group charges that the practice is discriminatory, because discounts are generally given to those in more “elite” professions like lawyers and engineers. Those in lower-skilled professions, Consumer Watchdog says, are hit with higher insurance rates as a result.
Auto insurers say this type of insurance discounts actually doesn't raise rates on other consumers. The state Department of Insurance told the L.A. Times that it’s looking into the issue.
Guests:
Mark Sektnan, president of the Association of California Insurance Companies (ACIC), an advocacy organization
Jonathan Phenix, staff attorney at Consumer Watchdog, a consumer rights organization that has filed the complaint
What legal responsibilities should social workers bear in protecting their clients?
A judge will soon decide if four LA County social workers will stand trial in the 2013 death of an 8-year-old boy.
The caseworkers are accused of ignoring the severity of the boy's injuries, and the case is being watched by child services employees across the country, fearing that it might have a chilling effect on bringing people to the field.
Guests:
Marilyn Flynn, dean and professor at the University of Southern California’s Suzanne Dworak Peck School of Social Work
Garrett Therolf, former LA Times reporter who broke the Gabriel Fernandez story; reporter for the Investigative Reporting Program at UC Berkeley and Common sense news; he tweets
On the use - and misuse - of common idioms and proverbs
Actions speak louder than words. A picture is worth a thousand words. Birds of a feather flock together.
Proverbs are an integral part of the English language. Larry speaks with two language experts to find out how they’ve maintained their staying power, and why people go back to them over and over again.
Which new idioms or proverbs have you just learned? Which are your favorite phrases? Which do you absolutely detest? Call 866-893-5722 and let us know.
Guests:
Simon Horobin, professor of English Language and Literature at the University of Oxford. He recently wrote a piece for the online journal, “The Conversation,”on why some English phrases are so prone to misuse
Orin Hargraves, a lexicographer and author of the book on cliches called “It’s Been Said Before” (Oxford, 2014)