Will John Kasich make like Ted Cruz and suspend his campaign?; US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew joins Larry Mantle in studio to discuss the US territory's financial crisis; and with TSA budget cuts, you'll want to arrive to the airport even earlier to avoid missing your flight.
California Republicans kiss votes goodbye, closet Trump-ers speak and Sanders holds out
We knew yesterday's Indiana primary was important but we didn't know it would wrap up the Republican Presidential race.
Donald Trump garnered more votes than Ted Cruz and John Kasich combined. To the surprise of many, Cruz chose last night to suspend his campaign, effectively eliminating the voice of California Republicans in deciding whether Trump would reach the threshold for a first ballot nomination at the convention.
There'll be no open convention in Cleveland. On the other side, Bernie Sanders beat Hillary Clinton by five percentage points and vowed his campaign was not over, prolonging the race on the Democratic side. What he does is further establish the superior passion of his supporters and that he intends to be a big voice at the convention.
Where will Republican donors put their money now? If you are a Republican who won’t support Trump, who will you vote for now? If you are a so-called “closet-Trump supporter,” do you now feel like you’ll be more open about your preference?
Guests:
Zachary Courser, research director of the Dreier Roundtable and visiting Assistant Professor of Government at Claremont McKenna College
Dan Schnur, director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at USC and adjunct faculty at USC Annenberg School
Pilar Marrero, senior political reporter at La Opinion and other ImpreMedia Newspapers; she tweets from
Luis DeSipio, Director, Center for the Study of Democracy, UC-Irvine
Steven Shepard, campaigns and elections editor at POLITICO; he tweets
Interview with Treasury Secretary Jack Lew on Puerto Rico's financial crisis
On Sunday Puerto Rico missed its deadline to make a $422 million (m) bond payment for its Government Development Bank.
That increases pressure on Congress to intervene and stabilize the island's finances.
Looming is a July first deadline for a $2 billion (b) bond payment. Over $805 million (m) of that are general obligation bonds. It's a big deal if the U.S. territory defaults. Congress is expected to take up Puerto Rico legislation when it reconvenes next Tuesday.
On AirTalk today, Treasury Secretary Jacob "Jack" Lew talked about finding a fix, the political will, and the consequences facing Puerto Ricans.
Guest:
Jacob Lew, United States Secretary of the Treasury
Former TSA director weighs in on privatizing airport security
If you’re planning to fly this summer, you’ll want to budget hours, not minutes, for getting through TSA.
Budget cuts in the government’s airport security agency have meant staffing shortages at major airports across the U.S., and lines at TSA checkpoints are getting longer and longer. Some are even suggesting that the TSA be eliminated and that airports be made to contract their own security and set their own policies.
What would airport security look like without TSA? Is privatizing airport security a viable option in a post-9/11 world? Would Congress buy in?
Guests:
Benjamin Powell, senior fellow at the Independent Institute, an Oakland, California-based think tank and the director of the Free Market Institute at Texas Tech University; he recently wrote an op-ed for the New York Post called “The only solution to TSA’s problems: Get rid of it”
Kip Hawley, former director of the Transportation Security Administration and co-author of the book “Permanent Emergency: Inside the TSA and the Fight for the Future of American Security” (St. Martin’s Griffin, 2013); he tweets
City of LA floats proposal to tackle mansionization epidemic
Across Los Angeles, homes are being torn down and replaced with bigger houses, called "McMansions" by some. Now the city is considering a plan designed to keep the number of supersized homes in certain areas in check.
To prevent some new homes from blocking views and changing the look of neighborhoods too dramatically, the L.A. Department of City Planning has proposed changes to a 2008 citywide "mansionization" law.
The amended law would scale back or eliminate certain building bonuses and exemptions that could lead to overly large homes. For example, homeowners could no longer get a bigger space allowance for including energy-efficient features. And certain patios and porches larger than 150 square feet would count toward the size of the house, the current limit is 250 square feet.
Guests:
Tom Rothmann, principal city planner for the City of Los Angeles
Tony Braswell, president of Valley Village Neighborhood Council
Shelley Wagers, board member of the Beverly Wilshire Home Association and a longtime anti-mansionization advocate