Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell stops by AirTalk's studios for his regular check-in; an update on former CIA director John Brennan's testimony today; a partisan analysis of Trump's new budget plan; debating a new state bill that would implement sliding-scale traffic fines for low-income drivers; and more.
Quick hits on former CIA director Brennan’s testimony from NPR’s national security editor
Russia “brazenly interfered” in the the 2016 election. That’s the contention of former CIA Director John Brennan as he testifies before the House Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill today.
Brennan also told members of Congress in his testimony that he personally warned the head of Russia’s domestic intelligence service, the FSB, that any attempts by Russia to interfere with the U.S. election would backfire and be met with outrage by American voters.
His testimony is the first time Brennan has said publicly that he had concerns about ties between Russia and the Trump campaign during the 2016 election.
Guest:
Phil Ewing, national security editor for NPR; he tweets
The latest on the Manchester terrorist attack
British authorities have identified the suspect in the Manchester suicide bombing attack as 22-year-old Salman Abedi.
The attack happened at a concert venue Monday night, where pop star Ariana Grande was performing. The attack has so far claimed 22 lives, and is the deadliest terrorist attack in England since 2005.
ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Guest:
Robert Hall, BBC Correspondent who’s been following the story on the ground in Manchester; he tweets
Democrat, Republican analysis of the political process ahead for Trump’s proposed 2018 budget
Today, President Trump unveiled his $4.1 trillion budget for 2018, which calls for deep cuts to government safety net programs and relies on what some are calling an overly optimistic projection of 3 percent economic growth by 2021.
Food stamps, disability payments, scientific and medical research spending and disease prevention programs would all be taking hits under the budget, which calls for an overall $4.5 trillion cut in federal spending over the next decade. Medicaid would be taking the biggest cut, losing over $800 billion in funding.
The budget now lies in the hands of Congress – we look at the proposal and get partisan analysis of the coming political process.
Guests:
Brad Sherman, congressman (D-CA) from the 30th U.S. Congressional district, which includes the western San Fernando Valley of LA County and eastern Simi Hills of Ventura County; he is a senior member of the Financial Services Committee, as well as a tax law specialist and a CPA
Tevi Troy, president of the American Health Policy Institute and former deputy to President George W. Bush for domestic policy (2005 to 2007); he is also author of the book, "Shall We Wake the President? Two Centuries of Disaster Management from the Oval Office" (Lyons Press, 2016)
New CA bill may limit governments from contracting outside services
Introduced by Assemblymember Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer (D-Los Angeles), AB 1250 limits cities and counties under general state law from contracting out for certain services, including engineering, legal services and garbage collection.
Governments would have to meet specific requirements, for example showing that city workers will not be displaced, before hiring an outside contractor.
Critics of the bill say it would add more pensioned union members in lieu of contractors, thereby increasing costs for cities.
We debate the bill. Is it a limit on local cities’ decision making? Does the bill save money or create further spending?
Guests:
Bob Schoonover, president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 721, which represents city and county workers throughout Southern California; the CA State Council of SEIU is a co-sponsor of AB 1250
Dane Hutchings, legislative representative for the League of California Cities, which opposes the bill; Hutchings handles governance, transparency and labor relations policies
LA County Sheriff weighs in on recent DC trip, California’s sanctuary state bill, Baca conviction and more
Fresh off a trip to Washington D.C. where he met with federal law enforcement officials and testified before the House Judiciary Committee, Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell stops by AirTalk’s studios today for his regular check-in with Larry on some of the biggest issues in local law enforcement.
Following the conviction and sentencing of former L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca to three years in prison on federal obstruction of justice charges, we’ll get the Sheriff’s take on what’s different now in the L.A. Sheriff’s Department and how the jails are better off now. We’ll also ask the Sheriff about his opposition to SB 54, the so-called ‘sanctuary state bill’ that would prevent local law enforcement officials from sharing information with federal immigration officials about people in their custody who might be in the U.S. illegally.
Also on the agenda: a bill that would make it harder to punish police officers accused of lying, LASD reporting of a rise in property crimes in April of 2017 compared to 2016 and a cockfighting bust during which 7,000 birds were seized from one property.
Have questions for the Sheriff about local law enforcement? Join us at 866-893-5722 and ask the Sheriff yourself!
Guest:
Jim McDonnell, sheriff of Los Angeles County
What sliding-scale traffic fines could mean for low-income drivers
Getting a traffic ticket is a stressful event for everyone.
But for low-income drivers, the burden of paying those fines could mean jail time, job loss and family strain. It also means unpaid fines to the city. As reported by the New York Times, Senator Bob Hertzberg, D-San Fernando is proposing a new bill he hopes will change that. Senate Bill 185 would apply to people who make $30,000 or less annually, and would only cover vehicle code violations.
But is this really the most fair solution for traffic rule violators? Opponents of the bill argue that SB 185 diminishes responsibility of the driver. And there are also questions about how the law would be implemented.
*This segment has been updated with a correction. Our guest, Emily Owens, is not an opponent of SB 185.
Guests:
Mike Herald, director of policy advocacy at the Western Center on Law & Poverty, an organization of attorneys and legal scholars from UCLA, USC and Loyola law schools which works toward justice and system-wide change to secure housing, health care, racial justice and a strong safety net for low-income Californians
Emily Owens, associate professor in the Department of Criminology, Law and Society at UC Irvine; she is also a professor of economics