Today on AirTalk, we take a look at three separate lawsuits leveled against casinos in Las Vegas. Also on the show, we discuss SCOTUS' decision on a Montana religious schools case; learn more about air travel in the pandemic; and more.
COVID-19: LA County Shutters Beaches For July 4th Weekend On Same Day It Sets New Record For Most Cases In One Day
In our continuing series looking at the latest medical research and news on COVID-19, Larry speaks with Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, infectious disease specialist and professor of medicine at the UCSF Medical Center.
Topics today include:
FDA to issue guidance on vaccine approval
What is “pooled testing” and is it a more efficient way to test for the virus
Riverside County’s ICU beds at 99% full
What are “superspreaders”
This 4th of July: All beaches closed in LA County
OC joins state CV-19 watchlist
Guest:
Peter Chin-Hong, M.D., infectious disease specialist and professor of medicine at the UCSF Medical Center; he tweets
Robert Garcia, mayor of Long Beach; he tweets @LongBeachMayor
Landon Phillips, lieutenant with the Hermosa Beach police department
Richard Montgomery, mayor of the City of Manhattan Beach
What Supreme Court’s Montana Decision Says About Its Thinking On Church And State
The Supreme Court on Tuesday made it easier for religious schools to obtain public funds, upholding a Montana scholarship program that allows state tax credits for private schooling.
The court’s 5-4 ruling, with conservatives in the majority, came in a dispute over a Montana scholarship program for private K-12 education that also makes donors eligible for up to $150 in state tax credits.
The Legislature created the tax credit in 2015 for contributions made to certain scholarship programs for private education. The state’s highest court had struck down the tax credit as a violation of the Montana constitution's ban on state aid to religious schools. The scholarships can be used at both secular and religious schools, but almost all the recipients attend religious schools.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the opinion that said the state ruling violates the religious freedom of parents who want the scholarships to help pay for their children's private education. “A state need not subsidize private education. But once a state decides to do so, it cannot disqualify some private schools solely because they are religious,” Roberts wrote.
AirTalk looks at the decision and what it signals about the High Court’s thinking on the separation of church and state.
With files from the Associated Press
Guest:
Kimberly Robinson, U.S. Supreme Court reporter for Bloomberg Law and co-host of Bloomberg Law’s podcast “Cases and Controversies”; she tweets
Remembering Legendary Funnyman Carl Reiner
Carl Reiner, the ingenious and versatile writer, actor and director who broke through as a “second banana” to Sid Caesar and rose to comedy’s front ranks as creator of “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and straight man to Mel Brooks’ “2000 Year Old Man,” has died. He was 98.
Reiner’s assistant Judy Nagy said he died Monday night of natural causes his home in Beverly Hills, California.
He was one of show business’ best liked men, the tall, bald Reiner was a welcome face on the small and silver screens, in Caesar’s 1950s troupe, as the snarling, toupee-wearing Alan Brady of “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and in such films as “The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming” and “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.”
But many remember Reiner for “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” one of the most popular television series of all time and a model of ensemble playing, physical comedy and timeless, good-natured wit. It starred Van Dyke as a television comedy writer working for a demanding, eccentric boss (Reiner) and living with his wife (Mary Tyler Moore in her first major TV role) and young son in suburban New Rochelle, New York.
With files from the Associated Press
Guest:
Jason Mittell, professor and chair of film & media culture at Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont
Viva, Las Vegas? Hospitality Unions Sue Vegas Casinos For Putting Workers In Danger Amid Pandemic
Three unions have filed a lawsuit against three casino enterprises in Las Vegas and Reno, Nevada over what they claim as dangerous working conditions.
Culinary Workers Local 226 and Bartenders Union Local 165 against Harrah's Las Vegas and the Bellagio and Signature Condominiums represent some 60,000 hospitality workers in the two Vegas cities and allege that the companies have failed to protect workers against COVID-19.
As Nevada prepared to start reopening parts of its economy last month, a team of medical experts recommended to Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak that he require people wear masks in public to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. The governor promoted masks but resisted making them a requirement. With reported coronavirus cases rising the past four weeks, Sisolak finally relented last week.
Casino resorts in Vegas closed mid-March due to the novel coronavirus. By April, unemployment in the state reached over 28%, topping figures in any state even during the Great Depression.
AirTalk checks in on Vegas’s reopening.
With files from the Associated Press
Guest:
Joe Schoenmann, news director and host of State of Nevada, the daily talk show on KNPR, our sister affiliate in Las Vegas, Nev.; he tweets
(Not Quite) Ready For Takeoff: Airlines Consider Mask, Booking Policies As They Settle In For Slower Summer During COVID-19
It’s the time of year when air travel would normally be heating up -- June weddings and honeymoons that follow, family vacations, cruises, etc.
But amid the global COVID-19 pandemic, many consumers are opting not to tightly pack themselves into a giant metal tube with wings hurtling across the sky at 500 mph unless they absolutely have to, which means those family vacations and summer plans are being postponed or cancelled.
The news isn’t all dire for the air travel industry. Data from the Transportation Security Administration show that this past weekend saw more than 2.4 million travelers pass through a TSA checkpoint between Thursday and Sunday, which U.S. News & World Report says is new high during the coronavirus pandemic. Some domestic flights are returning, according to the Wall Street Journal, especially those to states that have reopened attractions or that offer a range of outdoor activities, but the policies as far as mask-wearing and whether airlines are booking flights to full capacity are a patchwork across the industry. Most of the major airlines including Delta, American Airlines, Southwest and United have implemented some sort of mask rule, but there is no federal policy mandating masks on domestic or international flights. American also just announced it would be booking flights to full capacity starting July 1, diverging from many other airlines who were opting to leave middle seats open in an effort to create more space between passengers. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said last week that LAX would be kicking off a two month trial program with thermal temperature screening at the Tom Bradley International Terminal.
Today on AirTalk, we’ll check in on the state of air travel, talk about how different carriers are approaching air travel during COVID-19 when it comes to flight bookings, cleaning policies and passenger safety requirements to prevent the spread of the virus.
Guests:
Leslie Josephs, airline reporter for CNBC; she tweets
Charlie Leocha, president and co-founder of the consumer travel group Travelers United
In Sickness And In Health: How Has COVID-19 Impacted Wedding Season?
The reality of the coronavirus pandemic quickly set in for many couples planning to say “I do” this year.
The virus shows little sympathy, even for those in love and ready to walk down the aisle. Couples planning large weddings and receptions saw their hard work of finalizing the guest list, booking the caterer and more seemingly tossed out the window.
As the virus derails wedding plans, many people have opted for smaller celebrations or even Zoom ceremonies. Many have postponed and delayed plans altogether until their guests can safely join together. Some are moving forward with their big day though, scaled down or not. That puts invited guests in a tough spot of deciding whether to potentially travel and attend or turn down the invitation and miss out. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the size of an event or gathering should be determined based on state and local regulations. But larger, in-person gatherings where it’s difficult for attendees to space out or an event that requires travel are still considered high-risk.
Today on AirTalk, we want to hear how the coronavirus pandemic is impacting your wedding or a loved one’s wedding. How has this impacted you? Did you have to postpone your big day? Do you have to miss out on a good friend’s reception? Are you still debating whether you should even attend a loved one’s celebration? Tell us all your wedding debacles by calling 866-893-5722.