California Attorney General Xavier Becerra is running for reelection, where he will face Steven Bailey in the general election for the state attorney general seat. We also interview Secretary of State candidate Mark Meuser; debate Proposition 4; and more.
What’s the forensics protocol for tracing explosive packages sent to Joe Biden, De Niro, CNN and others?
The FBI is confirming packages addressed to former Vice President Joe Biden and actor Robert De Niro are similar in appearance to those used to send bombs to prominent Democrats.
A law enforcement official said two packages addressed to Biden were intercepted at Delaware mail facilities in New Castle and Wilmington.
Pipe bombs addressed to Hillary Clinton, former President Barack Obama, former CIA director John Brennan and former Attorney General Eric Holder have also been intercepted in recent days.
We check in on the latest, plus how will the FBI go about investigating the source of these packages?
With files from the Associated Press
KPCC reached out to the FBI and was told that the investigation is ongoing, and that anyone with information should contact 1-800-CALL-FBI.
Guests:
Zolan Kanno-Youngs, New York-based law enforcement reporter for the Wall Street Journal, who has been covering the wave of explosive packages; he tweets
Tom Thurman, professor at Eastern Kentucky University where he teaches fire, arson and explosion investigation; he is a former Army Bomb Disposal Technician and Supervisory Special Agent with the FBI, where he spent 20 years doing forensic examination of explosive devices
AirTalk elections interviews: Republican Secretary of State candidate Mark Meuser
California is a blue state, but that hasn’t stopped GOP candidate Mark Meuser from challenging incumbent Alex Padilla for California Secretary of State in the November general election.
Meuser is a constitutional and election law attorney who came in at almost 31 percent of the vote in the June primary, earning him the second place spot to run against Padilla later this year and a number of endorsements from Republican politicians and groups.
How would Meuser change things up in Sacramento compared to the incumbent, and what platform is he running on? He joins Larry Mantle to talk about why he would be the most qualified candidate for the job. Call us at 866-893-5722 with your questions or comment below.
Ready for Election Day? Get up to speed on what you need to know with our Voter Game Plan at elections.laist.com. Read up on the candidates and ballot measures, find out about registration deadlines or ask us your questions.
Guest:
Mark Meuser, constitutional and election law attorney and Republican candidate for California Secretary of State; he tweets
Triple Play: LA watches the Dodgers with bated breath
After losing Game 2 against the Red Sox yesterday, the Dodgers are gearing up for Game 3 tomorrow.
We could know who takes the cake as early as Saturday, or the battle could stretch all the way until Halloween night (spooky!).
We gather our resident Dodgers experts A Martinez and Nick Roman with Larry Mantle to recap the first two games of the series and anticipate what’s on the docket for tomorrow.
Have you been watching the games? Call us at 866-893-5722.
Guests:
A Martínez, host of Take Two on KPCC; he tweets
Nick Roman, host of All Things Considered on KPCC; he tweets
AirTalk elections interview: incumbent Xavier Becerra for state attorney general
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra is running for reelection, where he will face Steven Bailey in the general election for the state attorney general seat.
Becerra, who was appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown to fill the seat vacated by Kamala Harris, who was elected to the U.S. Senate, has led the state’s opposition on all things Donald Trump.
Bailey, a Republican, is a retired El Dorado County Superior Court judge, who started his career as a legislative assistant and later became deputy legislative director for the state’s Department of Social Services. The two candidates disagree on a wide array of issues. Most notably, the retired judge has criticized Becerra for seeking to end the state's existing money bail system, which the attorney general said hits the poor harder.
Meanwhile, the National Rifle Association that has endorsed Bailey sued Becerra four times. Bailey has numerously said that while Becerra was busy fighting Washington, “crime has increased, homelessness has reached record levels, and drug abuse has taken more lives.”
Becerra has filed more than 30 lawsuits against the Trump administration. The lawsuits involved health care, reproductive rights, education, the transgender military ban, immigration and the 2020 Census. More than half of the lawsuits filed have dealt with protecting the environment. The Attorney General also pledged to go after street gangs and sex-trafficking rings.
Today, Larry sits down with Atty. Gen. Becerra to discuss his campaign ahead of election day. Call us at 866-893-5722 with your questions or comment below.
To listen to our interview with Steven Bailey, click here.
Ready for Election Day? Get up to speed on what you need to know with our Voter Game Plan at elections.laist.com. Read up on the candidates and ballot measures, find out about registration deadlines or ask us your questions.
Guest:
Xavier Becerra, California Attorney General running for reelection; he tweets
AirTalk debates 2018 ballot initiatives: Prop 4 — the children’s hospital bonds initiative
Four bond measures are on California’s Nov. 6 ballot this year, one of which is Proposition 4. It would secure $1.5 billion in funding for the construction, expansion and renovation of 13 children’s hospitals statewide.
This is the third bond measure for children’s hospitals that state voters have faced since 2004, and would also require hospitals to meet new seismic standards by 2030. Backing the “Yes on 4” campaign is the California Children’s Hospital Association. Supporters say that hospitals inadequately receive most of their funding from Medi-Cal and need additional streams of revenue.
While there is no official opposition campaign to Prop 4, “no” voters point to the enormous costs, with bonds generally requiring double the amount of money for taxpayers after interest. Proposition 4 would take an estimated 35 years to pay off with $80 million annually.
We hear from both sides. Call us at 866-893-5722 with your questions or comment below.
Ready for Election Day? Get up to speed on what you need to know with our Voter Game Plan at elections.laist.com. Read up on the candidates and ballot measures, find out about registration deadlines or ask us your questions.
Guests:
Ann-Louise Kuhns, chair of the California Children’s Hospital Association, which is sponsoring the official “Yes on 4” campaign
David Wolfe, legislative director for Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, which does not have an official position on Prop 4
To tip or not to tip: Does the public nature of iPad tipping affect your generosity?
We all know you’re supposed to tip at a sit-down restaurant, but what’s the protocol for when you order a drip coffee and the barista swivels an iPad towards you with the tipping options: 15%, 20%, 25% or “No Tip”?
For some of us, it’s a moment of intense awkwardness — the prying eyes of the customers behind us, peering over our shoulder, the judgment wafting from your server, even if they politely look up at the ceiling as you’re deciding on the appropriate tip amount.
Why can’t Square have a tip option that says ‘it’s nothing personal, but I just can’t give you 20% for handing me a pre-made sandwich’
— Daniel Nigro (@TheDanielNigro)
In her recent piece for the Wall Street Journal, “You Want 20% for Handing Me a Muffin? The Awkward Etiquette of iPad Tipping,” Jennifer Levitz looks at how Square Inc., which makes this swivel payment system with its default tip options, has created a new conundrum in the world of tipping etiquette.
As a customer, how do you navigate the world of iPad tipping? Does the public nature of the interaction make you tip differently than you would otherwise? And if you’re a server or the owner of a business who uses the Square payment system, what are your tipping expectations?
Call us at 866-893-5722.
Guest:
Liz Weston, personal finance columnist; she writes for NerdWallet and is a certified financial planner; she tweets