Planned Parenthood is under fire after the release of two videos that bring to light its practices surrounding fetal tissue donations. Also, consumer advocates are asking California Attorney General Kamala Harris to look into record-high oil industry profits this year. Then, San Francisco now has nine public walls covered with a repellent paint that makes pee, spray back on the person's shoes and pants.
Planned Parenthood controversy continues as second video released and investigations mount
Planned Parenthood is under sustained fire after the release of two videos in as many weeks that bring to light their practices surrounding fetal tissue donations.
The Planned Parenthood program came into being after a 1993 bill that legalized research on fetal tissue. The following is a statement from Eric Ferrero, Vice President of Communications for Planned Parenthood:
“In health care, patients sometimes want to donate tissue to scientific research that can help lead to medical breakthroughs, such as treatments and cures for serious diseases. Women at Planned Parenthood who have abortions are no different. At several of our health centers, we help patients who want to donate tissue for scientific research, and we do this just like every other high-quality health care provider does -- with full, appropriate consent from patients and under the highest ethical and legal standards. There is no financial benefit for tissue donation for either the patient or for Planned Parenthood. In some instances, actual costs, such as the cost to transport tissue to leading research centers, are reimbursed, which is standard across the medical field.
“A well funded group established for the purpose of damaging Planned Parenthood’s mission and services has promoted a heavily edited, secretly recorded videotape that falsely portrays Planned Parenthood’s participation in tissue donation programs that support lifesaving scientific research. Similar false accusations have been put forth by opponents of abortion services for decades. These groups have been widely discredited and their claims fall apart on closer examination, just as they do in this case.”
The non-profit’s president, Cecile Richards, appeared last Sunday on ABC News’ “This Week,” and defended the organization by saying it has “broken no laws.” Several federal investigations have begun to ascertain whether that argument is true, and California state Attorney General Kamala Harris has opened her own investigation.
As 10 or more videos are expected to come out in the following weeks and months, how will Planned Parenthood weather the criticism of its fetal tissue donation program and policies? To what extent does the controversy entail an issue of messaging instead of content? And more to the point, is their program legal?
Guests:
John Eastman, Professor of Law and Community Service at Chapman University
David Magnus, Director, Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics and professor of pediatric medicines and biomedical ethics at Stanford School of Medicine
Consumer advocates call on Calif. Attorney General to investigate oil industry
Consumer advocates are asking California Attorney General Kamala Harris to look into record-high oil industry profits this year.
Consumer Watchdog, based in Santa Monica, wants Harris' antitrust division to investigate whether California oil refineries are keeping inventory low intentionally. New data compiled by the California Energy Commision shows price spikes at the pump translated to a profitable return of $1.17 per gallon in May 2015 - compared to an average of 46 cents per gallon since 1999. Oil industry representatives say refinery outages have created recent gas shortages and the accompanying price spikes.
Would greater transparency in the oil business change prices and profits?
Guest:
Cody Rosenfield, Consumer Advocate, Consumer Watchdog
Tom Kloza, editor and publisher and chief oil analyst for the Oil Price Information Service
Windows 10 preview: New browser, tablet mode and the return of the Start menu
This Wednesday, the next generation in PC navigation hits the market.
It’s the day Microsoft rolls out its newest operating system, Windows 10, which is the first update to the OS since Windows 8 (it’s still unclear what happened to Windows 9). Windows 8 hit the market to mixed reviews, and while it was a visual upgrade from previous versions, Microsoft’s idea of making it a touch-first, PC-second operating system didn’t sit well with many users and unnecessarily burdened computers that weren’t touch-compatible.
What can users expect from Windows 10? Here are a couple of the biggest new features:
- Start menu returns - Users everywhere are rejoicing with this one. One of the biggest complaints about Windows 8 was the navigation tool that took up the entire screen with live tiles of all your apps. Users will now be able to reduce the full menu into a smaller Start menu reminiscent of what Windows 7 had.
- New Internet browser - Internet Explorer has been the Microsoft standard for almost as long as the company has been making operating systems. However, recent years have seen the numbers of IE users decline, due to security concerns and third-party browsers like Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome providing faster, more secure web browsers for free. Microsoft Edge will also allow users to take notes, highlight, and doodle directly on web pages.
- Tablet mode - Unlike its predecessor, Windows 10 will allow users to toggle between a tablet and PC mode. This will likely be a welcome fix for Windows 8 users, many of whom were frustrated by how the OS was designed for tablets and touch-screen computers, leaving those without touch functionality with reduced performance.
- Cortana - This feature looks like it could be a huge help for some and an obnoxious burden for others. Cortana is Microsoft’s version of Apple’s Siri,
For Microsoft, Windows 10 represents not only the latest version of its operating system, but also a shot to right the ship in keeping with the times. Microsoft has struggled to keep pace with companies like Apple and Samsung in the mobile era, and its ventures into the tablet and cell phone market haven’t been hugely successful.
What can users expect from Windows 10? Who should upgrade and who shouldn’t? How are the new features working so far? What will the impact on Microsoft be if Windows 10 is wildly successful? If it bombs?
Guest:
Eric Ravenscraft, writer for Lifehacker. He’s been using the Windows 10 preview since it rolled out. He tweets
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Pee-ware! SF walls shoot back nasty surprise for public urinators
Wall urinators, beware! San Francisco now has nine public walls covered with a repellent paint that makes pee, spray back on the person's shoes and pants.
More will be painted next month. There is a warning on the wall, asking people to find a restroom, but no specific mention of pee retaliation is specified. Surprises are in store. This pilot program in San Francisco was inspired by a similar program in Hamburg, Germany.
Would a program like this work in Los Angeles? Which walls or areas of LA are the most defiled? Should the would-be wall urinators be fair warned? Or does the surprise tactic make a better and more long-lasting impression?
Guest:
Rachel Gordon, Director of Communications and Policy at San Francisco Public Works
Undo send: Email-gate continues to haunt Clinton campaign, with potential Justice probe in sight
As the State Department prepares to release a third batch of emails sent and received by Hillary Clinton while she was Secretary of State, the Justice Department is considering opening an inquiry to look at whether classified information was leaked from the use of Clinton’s personal email server.
News of the potential probe broke last week in the New York Times, which erroneously reported that two inspectors general had asked the Justice Department to look into opening a criminal investigation. The paper later corrected its initial reporting, saying that the potential probe is not criminal in nature.
Clinton maintains that she never processed classified information through her own personal email server.
If the Justice Department decides to open a probe, what would they look for? What would the investigation look like? How would the latest in this brewing scandal impact the Clinton campaign?
Guests:
Nathan A. Sales, associate professor of law at the Syracuse University College of Law. He is a former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Development at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, focused on on intelligence and information sharing
David Mark, co-author of “Dog Whistles, Walk-Backs, and Washington Handshakes (ForeEdge, 2014), and co-author of a weekly political language column for the Christian Science Monitor
How will the nuclear deal impact U.S. and Iran relations?
The Obama administration sent the Iran Nuclear Deal to Congress last week, Congress now has 60-days to review all the elements of the deal. Many concerns and questions surround the deal.
If approved, what happens if the next president scraps the nuclear deal? Will the nuclear agreement keep Iran from building a nuclear weapon? Is the agreement enforceable?
And are there any unintended consequences? Last week Secretary of State John Kerry defended the Iran deal, saying that it “Is a choice between a diplomatic solution and war.” Critics of the plan question whether war is truly inevitable if Congress does not approve the deal. Will the deal change relations between the U.S. and Iran, or will it have very little effect?
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action
Guests:
Robert Kaufman, a political scientist and professor of public policy at Pepperdine University specializing in American foreign policy, national security, international relations, and various aspects of American politic
Josh Lockman, International Law Professor and expert on U.S. Foreign Policy at the USC Gould School of Law
With Boston out, should LA make another Olympic bid?
The City of Boston announced that it’s ended its bid to host the 2024 Olympics.
Shortly after the surprise announcement, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti re-stated his wish to resume talks with the U.S. Olympic Committee on the possibility of bringing the 2024 Games to Southern California.
Boston was the U.S. Olympic Committee’s first choice and today’s announcement has thrown the bid process into flux.
Angelenos, do you want to see Los Angeles hosting the 2024 Games? The last time the city played host to the Olympics was in 1984.
With AP Files
Guest:
David Wallechinsky, president of the International Society of Olympic Historians and author of The Complete Book of the Olympics (Aurum Press)