The largest wildfire in state history is 92 percent contained, but the recovery is far from over – for those of you impacted, how are you coping? We also dive into the political and economic implications of a proposal that would allow Californians to work around the new cap on state and local tax deductions; our microprocessors are compromised, so what now?; and more.
DoJ is changing whether pot crimes will be prosecuted. Does it affect California?
Attorney General Jeff Sessions has rescinded an Obama-era policy that paved the way for legalized marijuana to flourish in states across the country, creating new confusion about enforcement and use just three days after a new legalization law went into effect in California.
President Donald Trump's top law enforcement official announced the change Thursday. Instead of the previous lenient-federal-enforcement policy, Sessions' new stance will instead let federal prosecutors where marijuana is legal decide how aggressively to enforce longstanding federal law prohibiting it.
Sessions' plan drew immediate strong objection from Republican Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado, one of eight states that have legalized marijuana for recreational use.
The move by Trump's attorney general likely is sure to add to confusion about whether it's OK to grow, buy or use marijuana in states where the drug is legal.
It comes just after shops opened in California, launching what is expected to become the world's largest market for legal recreational marijuana and, as polls show, a solid majority of Americans believe the drug should be legal.
With files from the Associated Press.
Guests:
Laurie Levenson, former federal prosecutor and a professor of law at Loyola Law School
Ron Hosko, president of the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund, a Virginia-based nonprofit that provides legal assistance to law enforcement professionals; former Assistant Director of the Criminal Investigation Division at the FBI (2012 - 2014)
Pamela Epstein, cannabis attorney and owner and founder of Green Wise Consulting in L.A., a firm that assists cannabis businesses on regulations
We open up the phones to hear from those most impacted by the Thomas fire
The Thomas fire, which first began raging on Dec. 4, is 92% contained as of earlier this week. The fire has burned over 273,000 acres, becoming the biggest wildfire in modern California’s history.
Over 2,800 firefighters have worked on putting out the flames, and one of them — Cory Iverson — was killed from burns and smoke inhalation while battling the fire.
Over a thousand homes and buildings have been destroyed. As survivors of the Thomas fire are just beginning to sift through their losses and starting to put their lives back together, AirTalk opens up the phones for them to talk about their concerns, struggles, and hopes.
If you or your loved ones have been affected by the Thomas Fire, we welcome you to call 866-893-5722 to share your stories.
Guests:
Sharon McNary, reporter at KPCC who’s been covering the Thomas fire and its aftermath; her latest piece looks at potential scams aimed at victims of the Thomas fire
Neal Andrews, Mayor of the City of Ventura
Greg Gillis-Smith, administrator of Thomas Fire Info, a Facebook group for those impacted by the Thomas fire; he is also captain of the Sequoia Crest Volunteer Fire Brigade; he is a resident of Moorpark
Can California come up with a plan to avoid the new cap on state and local tax deductions?
The GOP tax plan puts a new federal cap on state and local tax deductions that affects Californians who itemize deductions – but now California Democrats are developing a new proposal that would allow Californians to work their way around the limit.
The idea being floated by California Senate President pro tempore Kevin de León is for Californians to be able to donate to the state instead of paying their income taxes, and claiming the donation as a federal charitable deduction.
We discuss the merits and drawbacks of the idea.
Guests:
Kevin de León, California State Senator and Senate President pro tempore; he represents California’s 24th Senate district, which includes East Los Angeles, much of downtown, Eagle Rock, and parts of Los Feliz
Dan Walters, long-time CA politics observer with CALmatters, a nonprofit public interest publication
Edward McCaffery, professor of law, economics and political science at USC; he analyzes tax policy
Susan Shelley, vice president of communications for the Howard Jarvis Taxpayer’s Association and a columnist and a member of the editorial board of the Southern California News Group
Kirk Stark, professor of tax law and policy at UCLA School of Law; he is advising Democrats in California on the proposal
Our microprocessors are compromised. What now?
Researchers have discovered two major processor security flaws, called “Meltdown” and “Spectre,” which allow hackers to access and steal computer information from devices computers, as well as phones and servers running in cloud networks.
These design flaws are built into almost every computer made in the last 20 years. Meltdown compromises Intel processors and can threaten cloud-computing systems, such as Amazon Web Services. Software patches have been released for Meltdown, but they could significantly slow down your computer’s processing power. Spectre, on the other hand, has no simple solution and could necessitate a complete processor redesign.
What are these design flaws and how can they be exploited? Why is this information being released to the public now? What can consumers do to protect their data?
Guests:
Nicole Perlroth, cybersecurity reporter for the New York Times; she recently co-wrote the article “Researchers Discover Two Major Flaws in the World’s Computers”; she tweets
Dmitri Alperovitch, co-founder and chief technology officer of the cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike and former Vice President of Threat Research at the security software company McAfee; he tweets