Today on AirTalk, we look at the possible sale of the dot-org domain and how nonprofits may be affected. We also discuss Trump's announcement to sue California's over the state's abortion policies; talk about a new change that could be coming to your FICO scores; and more.
Why Nonprofits Are Concerned About The Sale Of The Dot-Org Domain
The company that controls the dot-org online universe is putting the registry of domain names up for sale, and the nonprofits that often use the suffix in their websites are raising concerns about the move.
Nonprofit organizations and some tech activists plan to protest Friday outside the Los Angeles headquarters of the regulatory body for domain names where its board is meeting to discuss plans by private-equity firm Ethos Capital to buy the Public Interest Registry for $1.1 billion.
Opponents are concerned the cost of registering a dot-org website will skyrocket, and they worry about the potential loss of freedoms of speech and expression if the registry is in the wrong hands.
Ethos Capital and the Internet Society, which runs the registry now, said those concerns are misplaced and the sale is being misunderstood.
With files from the Associated Press
Guests:
Amy Sample-Ward, CEO of NTEN, a nonprofit focused on promoting the use of technology for nonprofits; she tweets
Cara Gagliano, staff attorney for Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital rights organization
Andrew Sullivan, CEO of the Internet Society, a nonprofit that works on internet-related standards and policy; the organization currently runs the dot-org registry; he tweets
Trump Admin Challenges Mandatory Abortion Coverage In CA
The Trump administration on Friday threatened California with a potential loss of federal health care funds over the state's requirement that insurance plans cover abortions.
The announcement, timed to coincide with the anti-abortion March for Life in the nation's capital, came hours before President Donald Trump was scheduled to address the marchers in person, becoming the first president to do so. Religious conservatives are a core element of Trump's political coalition, and his administration has gone out of its way to deliver on their demands.
The federal Health and Human Services Department said it is issuing a "notice of violation," giving California 30 days to comply with a federal law known as the Weldon amendment. That law bars federal health care funding from being provided to states or entities that practice "discrimination" against a health care organization on the basis that it "does not provide, pay for, provide coverage of, or refer for abortions."
The head of the HHS Office for Civil Rights, Roger Severino, said California is violating that restriction by requiring insurance plans to cover abortions. According to Severino, 28,000 Californians had abortion-free plans prior to the state's requirements and have now lost that option. The federal government has received complaints from an order of nuns - the Missionary Guadalupanas of the Holy Spirit - as well as a church.
With files from the Associated Press
We invited both the Department of Health and Human Services as well as California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to join us for our discussion. As of the airing of this segment, we have not received a response to our inquiry.
12:00 p.m. UPDATE: We received a response from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services directing us to their press release here.
Guests:
Catherine Short, vice president for legal affairs with Life Legal Defense Foundation, a public interest law firm representing pro-life advocates
Fatima Goss Graves, president and CEO of the National Women’s Law Center
The Way FICO Calculates Credit Scores Is Changing. Here’s What That Means For You.
FICO provides one of the most used credit scores used by lenders, and it recently announced that it’ll be changing its scoring algorithm.
While FICO isn’t totally transparent about what goes into its credit-calculating secret sauce, we know that the new method will mean even lower scores for consumers with increasing amounts of debt and a shaky history of payments. For high-scoring consumers with a good track record of loan management, scores will likely get higher.
Why the change? What will be its effects? We take a closer look.
Guest:
Megan Leonhardt, senior money reporter with CNBC’s ‘Make It,’ a section geared at young professionals; she tweets
Senate Impeachment Trial: House Presents Arguments For Obstruction Of Congress Charge
Democrats argued that President Donald Trump sought a phony investigation of a political rival and pursued a discredited conspiracy theory about Ukraine.
Pressing their case for a second day, Democrats said there was no evidence that former Vice President Joe Biden did anything improper in dealings with Ukraine. Rebutting a central Trump claim, Democrats said the president sought a political investigation of Biden by Ukraine to sway the 2020 election in his favor.
Similarly, Democrats said Trump and his allies, including his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, pushed a bogus, Kremlin-pushed conspiracy theory that Ukraine, not Russia, meddled in the 2016 U.S. election.
NPR’s Ron Elving joins AirTalk to recap Thursday’s trial, and look forward to Friday’s and Saturday’s proceedings.
With files from the Associated Press
Guest:
Ron Elving, senior editor and correspondent on the Washington Desk for NPR News; he tweets at