AirTalk’s weekly political roundtable recaps the major headlines you might’ve missed in politics news over the weekend and looks ahead to the week to come. We also talk with listeners on if they're still following social distancing guidelines as businesses reopen; give an update on today's SCOTUS case; and more.
COVID-19: Researchers Report Virus Found In Semen, LA County Death Toll Surpasses 1,500
As of Sunday afternoon, L.A. County has at least more than 1,530 deaths and 31,600 confirmed cases of coronavirus.The United States is at well over a million cases and nearly 80,000 COVID-19 fatalities, according to the Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering site.
According to the L.A. Times, new projections expect some states to see the number of cases fall. Other states though, like California, are expected to see a rise in cases. The University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation projects the state could see more than 6,000 deaths by the end of August. Meanwhile, government leaders across the state are taking strides to reopen certain parts of the economy. South Korea on the other hand is backtracking its reopening plans and has requested bars and nightclubs temporarily close after health leaders tracked more than a dozen new cases to a single person. Today on AirTalk, we check in on the latest with the coronavirus pandemic and take a look at the vast array of symptoms impacting patients. Plus, the WSJ reports researchers in China say the virus has been found in semen. This begs the question of whether the virus can be sexually transmitted. Do you have medical questions for our infectious disease specialist? We want to hear them. Join the conversation by calling 866-893-5722.
With files from LAist
Guest:
Kimberly Shriner, M.D., infectious disease specialist at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena
With Mother’s Day Celebrations And Some Of Society Starting To Reopen, Are You Relaxing On Social Distancing?
Let’s face it: two months is a long time for anyone to be cooped up in their house with limitations on where you can go and who you can see. For many of us, this has been the reality in the era of COVID-19. And while some states have started to reopen in earnest, California Gov. Gavin Newsom is hoping to make slow strides in stages.
Some businesses and spaces, including hiking trails, golf courses, florists, car dealers and other retail shops, reopened on Friday in time for Mother’s Day on Sunday. Several municipalities in SoCal now have the state’s permission to reopen their beaches with limited conditions. With all this happening on top of the cabin fever many of us are experiencing, it’s easy to think it’s now okay to see friends, families and maybe even sex partners outside of the home, but are we getting ahead of ourselves? According to many expert physicians we’ve had on the program, yes. Physical distance guidelines have not yet been relaxed even though some parts of the economy are trying to get back on track.
Today on AirTalk, we want to know what you’re doing. What did you do for Mother’s Day, and what did you see others doing to celebrate? Are you taking slow steps, in similar fashion as the state, in relaxing your distancing standards? What factors are you considering to make your decisions? Are you seeing this more with other family members, friends or roommates? Tell us your experience by calling 866-893-5722.
Guest:
Kimberly Shriner, M.D., infectious disease specialist at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena
In Second Week Of Arguments By Phone, Supreme Court Hears Cases On Employment Discrimination, Trump’s Taxes And Faithless Electors
A case about the appropriate separation between church and state is taking center stage at the Supreme Court, which is hearing arguments by telephone for a second week because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The case involving two ex-Catholic school teachers and their former employers is one of two the court is tackling Monday, and will center around the so-called ministerial exception to federal employment discriminaton laws, which “ensures that control over religious functions lies with the church, not the state, to the great benefit of both,” the schools have told the court. The schools argue that both women count as ministers, in part because they taught religion among other subjects. Lawyers for Morrissey-Berru and Biel disagree. The other case that was heard on Monday is about whether a large swath of eastern Oklahoma, including most of Tulsa, remains Indian land that belongs to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. The issue is whether tribal members can be prosecuted in state court for crimes committed on Indian land, and has been heard before the court before.
The three days of arguments last week might be considered something of a warm-up, a test of how telephone arguments would work and of making audio of arguments live for the first time. The stakes are higher later this week when the cases include high-profile fights over President Donald Trump’s financial records and whether presidential electors have to cast their Electoral College ballots for the candidate who wins the popular vote in their state. Those cases will be heard Tuesday and Wednesday.
Today on AirTalk, we’ll talk with Supreme Court watchers about what came out of Monday’s arguments and break down the four cases that are still scheduled to be heard this week.
With files from the Associated Press
Guests:
Kimberly Robinson, U.S. Supreme Court reporter for Bloomberg Law and co-host of Bloomberg Law’s podcast “Cases and Controversies”; she tweets
Lawrence Hurley, reporter covering the Supreme Court for Reuters; he tweets
Week In Politics And The Denkmann Report: Case Dropped Against Flynn, Vote By Mail And More
AirTalk’s weekly political roundtable recaps the major headlines you might’ve missed in politics news over the weekend and looks ahead to the week to come. Here are the headlines that we’re following this week:
The DOJ dropped its case against former national security adviser Michael Flynn, thought Flynn had pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI
Trump asks SCOTUS to bar House from accessing Mueller documents
COVID-19
Talks stalled on next stimulus package
Poll says two-thirds of Americans are concerned about the country reopening too quickly
As aides are testing positive, the White House is becoming a potential hot zone - though the president and vice president are still not wearing masks
Federal watchdog finds White House may have been retaliating against whistleblower scientist when they fired him
2020
Trump’s base isn’t as affected by unemployment as women and POC
Older voters turning away from Trump because of his COVID-19 response
Biden’s campaign on hiring spree, but how will the campaign move forward amid COVID-19?
Speculations about VP pick continue
CA check in:
Guests:
Amanda Renteria, board member of Emerge America, a national organization that works to identify and train Democratic women who want to run for political office; she is the former national political director for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and has been a staffer for Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI); she tweets
Jack Pitney, professor of politics at Claremont McKenna College; he tweets
Libby Denkmann, KPCC politics reporter; she tweets