Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher is putting forth a measure to prevent employers from firing workers for having an abortion or giving birth out of wedlock - we debate the measure; the latest on yesterday's Senate Intel Committee hearing; Larry and film critics review the week's latest movies; and more.
National security roundup: More trouble for Nunes, highlights from Senate Intel Committee hearing and whether General Flynn should get immunity for testimony
House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes continues to be in the spotlight after the New York Times reported Thursday that two White House officials shared intelligence reports with the California Congressman, who then shared them with President Trump, showing that Mr. Trump and some people close to his campaign were inadvertently part of foreign surveillance by U.S. spy agencies.
Thursday’s Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Russia’s potential meddling in the U.S.’s 2016 presidential election also made news when it was revealed that both House Speaker Paul Ryan and Florida Senator Marco Rubio’s presidential campaign were both targeted by Russian cyber attackers during the 2016 campaign.
Finally, former National Security Adviser General Michael Flynn says he’ll answer questions from Congressional investigators on the Russia probe, but only in exchange for immunity from prosecution. Flynn resigned from his post in the Trump administration last month after not being entirely truthful with Vice President Mike Pence and other White House officials about how much contact he’d had with Russian officials. The investigators are holding off on making any deal with Flynn until they are farther along in their investigation.
Guest:
Phil Ewing, national security editor at NPR. He tweets
New California bill raises questions about employees' reproductive rights
Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher (D- San Diego) is putting forth a measure that would prevent employers from firing workers for having an abortion or giving birth out of wedlock.
A teacher at a San Diego Christian college was let go back in 2012 for becoming pregnant while unmarried. The religious education institution said she violated employee code of conduct, which explicitly prohibits premarital sex. Gonzalez Fletcher said the measure, which would protect personal decisions and reproductive rights, is not an attack any specific organization, but an antidote to the “inherent sexism” that’s embedded in the codes of conduct.
Host Larry Mantle sits down with Gretchen Borshelt, Vice President for Reproductive Rights and Health at the National Women’s Law Center, and Matthew McReynolds, Staff Attorney at Pacific Justice Institute, on the balance between reproductive rights and religious freedom at the workplace.
Guests:
Gretchen Borchelt, the Vice President for Reproductive Rights and Health at the National Women’s Law Center
Matthew McReynolds, Staff Attorney at Pacific Justice Institute, a legal defense organization specializing in the defense of religious freedom, parental rights and other civil liberties
How the US should approach ISIS’ human shield strategy in Raqqa
As local ground forces supported by U.S. led airstrikes close in on two of the Islamic State’s urban holds, Raqqa in Syria and Mosul in Iraq, there’s growing concern over how the U.S. will approach ISIS’s strategy of using human shields.
Civilian casualties have been a recent topic of controversy in the battle for Mosul, with Amnesty International saying the coalition didn’t take enough precautions in recent strikes, while others claim the moral responsibility for the deaths lies with ISIS.
We look ahead to the coming battle in Raqqa, where a win for the coalition would mean the destruction of ISIS’s main base in northern Syria. Currently, an estimated 300,000 residents are trapped there, used as human shields by the Islamic State. All men in the city have been forced to wear jihadi clothing, so it’s difficult to differentiate between civilians and militants.
What should the U.S. strategy be in approaching ISIS’s use of human shields in Raqqa? Has our strategy changed under the new administration? What is the best approach, considering the humanitarian and military factors at stake?
Guests:
Sarah Margon, Washington director at Human Rights Watch
Nicholas Heras, Bacevich Fellow at the Center for a New American Security and expert on ISIS strategy and tactics
FilmWeek: ‘Ghost in the Shell,’ ‘The Boss Baby’ and more
Larry Mantle and KPCC film critics Peter Rainer, Amy Nicholson and Charles Solomon review this weekend’s new movie releases including:
- "Ghost in the Shell" in wide release
- "The Boss Baby" in wide release
- "The Zookeeper's Wife" at ArcLight Hollywood, Laemmle's NoHo, AMC Burbank Town Center and other select theaters
- "I Called Him Morgan" at Laemmle's Monica Film Center and Laemmle's Playhouse
- "Here Alone" at Laemmle's Royal Theatre
- "The Blackcoat's Daughter" at Sundance Sunset Cinema
- "The Discovery" on Netflix
- "The Prison" at CGV Cinemas and AMC Fullerton
Critics' Hits
Peter: "I Called Him Morgan"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxLByThNvWU
Amy: "The Zookeeper's Wife"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJNFeHHGGN4
Mixed Feelings
Peter: "The Zookeeper's Wife"
Misses!
Peter: "The Blackcoat's Daughter"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRc_-iK3RVE
Charles: "The Boss Baby" & "Ghost in the Shell"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ud8j5GaqH3c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4VmJcZR0Yg
Guests:
Peter Rainer, film critic for KPCC and the Christian Science Monitor
Amy Nicholson, film critic for KPCC and chief film critic for MTV News; she tweets
Charles Solomon, film critic for KPCC, Animation Scoop and Animation Magazine