AirTalk debates whether pregnancy centers should be required to tell patrons about abortion, contraception and prenatal care as SCOTUS arguments challenging a state law start today. We also dive into Uber’s self-driving car program after one of its driverless vehicles killed a pedestrian yesterday; do you vacation alone?; and more.
Los Alamitos wants out of California’s sanctuary state movement – what are the legal repercussions?
On Monday, the Los Alamitos City Council voted 4-1 to exempt their city from the Senate Bill 54 law that bars local law enforcement from working with ICE agents.
In a mostly blue state, the city is unique in opposing California’s sanctuary state efforts, although various California Sheriff’s Associations have also spoken out against SB 54.
Some legal scholars have said this ordinance might instigate a lawsuit. The ACLU has said it will litigate if the measure moves forward.
Why did Los Alamitos vote to exempt itself from sanctuary state laws? Is the city facing potential legal backlash?
Guests:
Troy D. Edgar, Mayor of Los Alamitos, who voted for the ordinance
Sameer Ahmed, a staff attorney at the ACLU of Southern California; he is one of five authors of a letter sent to the City Council of Los Alamitos opposing the decision
Claude Arnold, a retired special agent who was in charge of U.S. ICE investigations at their L.A. office; he is a consultant at Frontier Solutions, a crisis management firm based in L.A.
In Supreme Court case, anti-abortion pregnancy centers challenge California notice law
California’s faith-based pregnancy centers are challenging a state law in the Supreme Court that requires them to tell patrons about abortion, contraception and prenatal care available at no or low cost from the state.
As reported by the Los Angeles Times, the centers would also have to give clients a Medi-Cal information phone number and disclose if the center is not licensed. This has spurred a debate over free speech and religious rights and government consumer regulations. There are about 200 pregnancy centers in California, and the outcome of the case could change abortion laws in other states.
Supporters of the current law say women should be given information about all their options and that these centers misrepresent themselves to coerce women not to have abortions. But anti-abortion advocates say the law discriminatory, and uses government overreach to stifle their efforts. The arguments will be heard Tuesday.
We reached out to Attorney General Xavier Becerra’s office and received a response that there were no representatives available for comment at the time of this interview.
Guests:
Matthew McReynolds, senior staff attorney at Pacific Justice Institute, a Sacramento-based legal defense organization specializing in religious rights; the institute has filed a suit challenging the legislation being heard today
Amy Everitt, state director for NARAL Pro-Choice California, a non-profit advocacy group that sponsored the original Reproductive FACT Act (AB 775) signed into law in 2015, which required California pregnancy centers to provide information regarding low-cost and free abortion services
Ready players 1-100: How modern video games are debunking the ‘myth of the lonely gamer’
Picture the average video gamer today.
Who do you see? Is it a put-together professional with a family and outside interests who games for fun? Or is it a middle-aged man glued to a computer screen sucking Cheeto dust from his fingers in a dark corner of a basement?
In the past, the latter has been the stereotypical image of the average gamer – introverted, quiet, eschewing outside contact with real people in lieu of virtual stories and characters. But in today’s online world, gaming has taken on a much more social identity. Early were the single-player, story-driven games you’d play yourself (think Zelda or Super Mario Brothers)... or if they did have multiplayer modes, you’d need a friend in the room with you.
Today, thanks to the rise of the internet combined with the popularity of well-known massively multiplayer online (MMO) games like World of Warcraft, Minecraft, Rocket League and League of Legends – and more recently , Fortnite and Playerunknown's Battlegrounds, both battle-royale style games in which up to 100 players are dropped onto a map with limited weapons and resources, last player standing wins – gaming relationships can be created and built across countries or even continents. Competitors turn into clans (gamer-speak for a group of people who you likely don’t know personally but regularly game with online) and clan members turn into real friends. This focus by many developers to make games that create communities has helped pave the way for gamers to literally and figuratively come out of their caves, and for gaming itself to be regarded as a social activity instead of an escapist hobby for the antisocial. It also doesn’t hurt that organized e-sports have seen a meteoric rise in popularity with the development of professional leagues and even college teams for gamers, or that watching others game via live stream is now insanely popular on platforms like YouTube and Twitch.
How do you see gaming as a social activity? What are your experiences creating and building relationships through games? If you’ve been a gamer for a while, what’s your take on the “myth of the lonely gamer” and how it has changed over the years?
Guest:
Nicholas Taylor, assistant professor of digital media at North Carolina State University, where he studies the role of digital gaming and play in everyday life and teaches a course on gaming and social networks
Uber pulls self-driving cars off roads following pedestrian’s death
Uber is temporarily pulling its fleet of self-driving cars off the roads after one of their cars hit and killed a pedestrian in Tempe, Arizona, according to police.
The accident occurred late Sunday night, and is believed to be the first such fatality from an autonomous vehicle. The self-driving car included a human operator to assist at the wheel, and is part of a program that is being tested in Tempe, San Francisco, Pittsburgh and Toronto.
The 49-year-old victim was struck while walking her bicycle on the street outside of a crosswalk. She later died of her injuries, according to authorities.
A spokeswoman for Uber says the company is investigating the incident and cooperating with authorities. We examine what the implications are for California, which gave the green light last month to test fully driverless cars on public roads.
The California Department of Motor Vehicles sent us a statement saying:
“The California DMV takes the safe operation of our autonomous vehicle permit holders very seriously. The California DMV has many requirements in place for testing permit holders and requires collision reports and annual disengagement reports. We are aware of the Uber crash in Arizona and are in the process of getting more information.”
Guests:
Tim Higgins, reporter for The Wall Street Journal covering technology and autos; he covered the story
Ashley Z. Hand, co-founder of CityFi, a company that focuses on the integration of technology in the urban environment; formerly served as the transportation technology strategist for the City of Los Angeles Department of Transportation, and developed public policy for shared mobility, automated vehicles and other technologies; she tweets
Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog, a California-based nonprofit organization that has raised concerns about the safety of driverless vehicles
AirTalk asks: Whether, how and why you vacation alone
Vacations can be an opportunity to spend time away from daily routine with people you love most – but, perhaps less commonly, they can also be a chance to spend some rare time with just yourself.
For some, a solo trip might sound uncomfortable or engender judgement from family and friends. But for others, traveling alone is optimal, or even a necessity due to a lack of a traveling partner. Regardless of why you do it, going on a trip by yourself ensures a totally different kind of traveling experience. It can be a chance to engage more deeply with a new place and the people who live there, or a time to look inwards, to re-calibrate and redefine yourself.
Larry Mantle, who just took his first solo trip last week, driving down to Arizona to watch the Dodgers Spring Training, shares his experience.
And we want to hear from you. If you travel alone, why do you do it? What’s your most interesting solo trip experience? What do you gain from traveling alone that’s different from traveling with a companion?
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