Shortage of Flu Vaccine; Proposition 68: Non-Tribal Commercial Gambling Expansion; Proposition 70: Tribal Gaming Compacts; Preview of the Vice Presidential Debate; Nobel Prize in Physics Awarded to Caltech Professor; The Hollywood Box Office
Shortage of Flu Vaccine
On Tuesday, British regulators suspended the certification for a plant belonging to Chiron Corp., stopping the manufacture of flu vaccine for the year. This means that the US will receive about half of the influenza vaccine that it usually gets. Dr. Jonathan Fielding, Director of Public Health and Health Officer for Los Angeles County, joins Host Larry Mantle to discuss the implications of this vaccine shortfall.
Proposition 68: Non-Tribal Commercial Gambling Expansion
Larry Mantle talks with guests who debate Proposition 68. A yes on this proposition would allow slot machines at 16 California racetracks and card rooms, UNLESS all Indian tribes with existing tribal-state compacts to increase the state’s share of gambling revenue. Joining him is Greg Larsen, spokesman for “Yes on Prop. 68” and Cheryl Schmit, Director of “Stand Up for California,” and Campaign Representative for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s “No on 68” campaign.
Proposition 70: Tribal Gaming Compacts
Larry Mantle talks with guests who debate Proposition 70. A "yes" vote on proposition 70 would create a constitutional amendment requiring any tribe entering a new or amended compact with the state of California to pay 8.84% of their yearly revenues to the state. The new compacts would last 99 years. A "no" vote would let be current compacts and negotiations between tribes and the state of California. Joining Larry is Jamie Fisfis, Communications Consultant for “Yes on 70” campaign, and Cheryl Schmit, Director of “Stand Up for California.”
Preview of the Vice Presidential Debate
Vice President Dick Cheney will face his Democratic rival Senator John Edwards in a televised debate Tuesday night, moderated by Gwen Ifill, managing editor of “Washington Week” and senior correspondent for “The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.” VP debates typically have little impact on the race for the White House but the event takes on heightened importance for the Republicans after the President’s lack luster performance debating Senator John Kerry last week. Larry Mantle previews the debate with Washington Correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor, Linda Feldman.
Nobel Prize in Physics Awarded to Caltech Professor
Researcher David Politzer, a professor from Caltech, just won the 2004 Nobel Prize in physics. Politzer and two other American scientists studied a phenomenon called the “strong force,” an energy that holds the nuclei of atoms together. The “strong force” holds quarks together to form protons and neutrons, two of the basic elements of atoms. Dr. David Baltimore, biologist, Nobel Laureate, and President of Caltech, and Professor Mark Wise, McCone Professor of High Energy Physics at Caltech, join Host Larry Mantle to talk about the Nobel Prize awarded to their colleague, David Politzer.
The Hollywood Box Office
Larry Mantle talks with Variety editors Dade Hayes and Jonathan Bing about their new book Open Wide: How Hollywood Box Office Became a National Obsession (Miramax Books). Hayes and Bing explore the how a blockbuster is really made at the box office, in three days, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.