Today on AirTalk, we update you on the latest COVID-19 news and answer your questions. Also on the show, we discuss the latest Georgia senate runoff results and its ramifications; update you on the joint congressional hearing that will finalize the electoral college votes; and more.
COVID-19 AMA: California Over Capacity, New Variant And More
In our continuing series looking at the latest medical research and news on COVID-19, Larry Mantle speaks with Dr. Kimberly Shriner of Huntington Hospital.
Topics today include:
California over capacity:
Hospitals ordered to accept patients from other hospitals over capacity
Healthcare workers are getting sick
New COVID variant spreading in the state
Distribution troubles: some non-health care workers in L.A. County are skipping the line and getting vaccinated
Pfizer has a local clinical trial focusing on kids
Rise in COVID outbreaks in SoCal warehouses
EU commission approves Moderna’s vaccine
Guest:
Kimberly Shriner, M.D., infectious disease specialist at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena
The Latest In Georgia And What It Could Mean For The Dem Agenda
President-elect Joe Biden is heralding a Democratic victory in at least one of Georgia’s two U.S. Senate runoffs as part of “a resounding message,” as well as good news for his agenda.
Biden in a statement Wednesday congratulated Rev. Raphael Warnock on his “groundbreaking win” over Republican Kelly Loeffler, noting he was “hopeful” that fellow Democrat Jon Ossoff would also win his race. Biden, the first Democrat in decades to win Georgia’s electoral votes, campaigned several times for the Senate candidates, whose performances affect his legislative agenda’s success. Ossoff’s victory would mean a 50-50 Senate split, with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris serving as a tie-breaking vote. Ossoff held a small lead over Republican David Perdue as of Wednesday morning, though it was too early to call the race. Under Georgia law, a trailing candidate may request a recount when the margin of an election is less than or equal to 0.5 percentage points.
Today on AirTalk, we check in on where things stand in Georgia and talk with analysts about what the results could mean for moving legislation and the Dem agenda. Do you have thoughts or questions? Give us a call at 866-893-5722.
With files from the Associated Press
Guests:
Jack Pitney, professor of politics at Claremont McKenna College; he tweets
Amanda Renteria, board member for Emerge America, a national organization that works to identify and train Democratic women who want to run for political office; she is the former national political director for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and has been a staffer for Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI); she tweets
The Latest On Wednesday’s Joint Congressional Hearing To Finalize Electoral Votes
Wednesday’s congressional joint session to count electoral votes has taken on added importance this year as congressional Republicans allied with President Donald Trump are pledging to try and undo Democrat Joe Biden’s victory and subvert the will of the American people.
The Republicans — a dozen senators and many more House members — are citing Trump’s repeated, baseless charges of widespread fraud. They say they will officially object to the results, forcing votes in the Republican-run Senate and the Democratic-controlled House that will almost certainly fail. Nearly all of the legal challenges put forth by Trump and his allies have been dismissed by judges. The Supreme Court, which includes three Trump-nominated justices, has also denied requests to hear a pair of cases aimed at invalidating the outcome of the election in key battleground states. The congressional meeting on Jan. 6 is the final step in reaffirming Biden’s win, after the Electoral College officially elected him in December. The meeting is required by the Constitution and includes several distinct steps. Today on AirTalk, we check in on the latest with the hearing and discuss how the electoral process works. Do you have questions? Call 866-893-5722.
With files from the Associated Press
Guests:
Anita Kumar, White House correspondent and associate editor for POLITICO; she tweets
Pratheepan Gulasekaram, professor of law at Santa Clara Law, where he specializes in constitutional and immigration law; he tweets
AirTalk Special Broadcast: Insurrection At The Capitol
A violent mob loyal to President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday and forced lawmakers into hiding, in a stunning attempt to overturn America’s presidential election, undercut the nation’s democracy and keep Democrat Joe Biden from replacing Trump in the White House.
The nation’s elected representatives scrambled to crouch under desks and donned gas marks, while police futilely tried to barricade the building, one of the most jarring scenes ever to unfold in a seat of American political power. A woman was shot and killed inside the Capitol, and Washington’s mayor instituted an evening curfew in an attempt to contain the violence. The rioters were egged on by Trump, who has spent weeks falsely attacking the integrity of the election and had urged his supporters to descend on Washington Wednesday to protest Congress’ formal approval of Biden’s victory.
Together, the protests and the GOP election objections amounted to an almost unthinkable challenge to American democracy and exposed the depths of the divisions that have coursed through the country during Trump’s four years in office. Though the efforts to block Biden from being sworn in on Jan. 20 are sure to fail, the support Trump has received for his efforts to overturn the election results have badly strained the nation’s democratic guardrails.
We dive in with a special evening hour of AirTalk, co-hosted by KPCC politics reporter Libby Denkmann.
With files from the Associated Press
Guests:
Debbie Truong, reporter for NPR member station WAMU in Washington D.C.; she tweets
Katie Orr, KQED government and politics reporter based in Sacramento; she tweets
Ange-Marie Hancock-Alfaro, professor of political science and chair of the department of political science and international relations at USC; she tweets
Hal Kempfer, CEO of Global Risk Intelligence and Planning (GRIP), a management consulting firm based in Long Beach, and retired Marine lieutenant colonel; he has worked in military support for homeland security and defense both as an active member of the military and as a civilian
Joanna Mendelson, associate director for the Center on Extremism at the Anti-Defamation League; she tweets