President Obama has secured enough votes to protect the Iran nuclear deal. Also, Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis is now refusing to issue marriage licenses entirely, to avoid having to issue one to a gay or lesbian couple. Then, without solitary confinement, how will California prisons control gang members?
Obama secures votes to protect Iran nuclear deal
President Obama has secured enough votes to protect the Iran nuclear deal after Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski announced her support of the agreement this morning, making her the 34th senator to pledge support for the deal.
Majorities in the House and Senate are expected to vote on the Iran deal later this month. However, Mikulski’s pledge means Obama now has enough votes to sustain a veto attempt by Congress. What is Congress role moving forward?
The deal has not only split members of congress, it has also caused a divide among American Jews, most recently with New York Representative Jerrold Nadler expressing his support of the agreement with Iran.
Since making his announcement, Nadler has been personally attacked regarding his loyalty to Israel, causing the Anti-Defamation League to come out last week publicly condemning Jewish voices of hate. Does choosing a side instantly make you anti-Israel or pro-Israel? And how is the deal dividing members of the same political party?
Guests:
Josh Lockman, International Law Professor and expert on U.S. Foreign Policy at the USC Gould School of Law
Sam Yebri, president of Thirty Years After, a nonprofit Iranian-American political advocacy group based in Los Angeles. He is an Iranian American Jew
Rob Eshman, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of the Jewish Journal
New JAMA study taps two new genetic tests to diagnose autism
Autism is traditionally diagnosed using behavioral tests. In recent years, researchers have been working on other ways to diagnose autism, based on the discovery of a number of genes that scientists say are related to the disorder.
Now, a group of researchers have identified two genetic tests they think show the most potential in detecting genetic mutations linked to autism. Their findings are published in the latest issue of JAMA.
Guests:
Dr. Bridget Ann Fernandez, MD, Professor and CHair, Discipline of Genetics at Memorial University in Canada. She is a co-author of the JAMA study
Dr. Judith H. Miles, MD, Professor Emeritus specializing in autism and genetics at the School of Medicine at the University of Missouri Health System. She has authored the companion editorial to the autism diagnosis published in the latest issue of JAMA
Rob Ring, PhD, Chief Science Officer, Autism Speaks, an autism science and advocacy organization. The organization has a new project called The Mssng Program
Google ditches serif for new logo. So what’s in a font?
The tech and search engine giant unveiled a new logo yesterday, the first time in 16 years.
While the new logo isn’t a huge departure from the old one, it does do away with the serif typeface.
Guest host Patt Morrison speaks with a couple design and typography experts on the new logo and what the font change signifies.
Guest:
Daniel Britton, a graphic designer in London. He is the designer behind the Dyslexia font, a typeface that replicates the visual effects of the disorder
Brian Hoff, Founder and Creative Director of Brian Hoff Design, Inc., a design firm based in Philadelphia
Photo courtesy of Integratedchange.net.
What are the legal ramifications for Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis?
Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis is now refusing to issue marriage licenses entirely, to avoid having to issue one to a gay or lesbian couple.
Davis argues that issuing marriage licenses to gay couples goes against her religious beliefs, however multiple courts have ruled that she is not free to impose her religious beliefs at work.
What are the legal consequences if Davis continues to defy the courts?
Guest:
Jannel Ross, Washington Post reporter
Without solitary confinement, how will CA prisons control gang members?
California announced this week that it will vastly reduce the use of solitary confinement in its prisons as the result of a settlement between the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and a group of inmates in Security Housing Units, or SHUs.
The inmates objected to the use of SHUs to control prison gang activity. Under the settlement, nearly 2,000 inmates will be moved from solitary confinement back into the general population and inmates now will only be sent to SHUs if they commit certain offenses while in custody--such as murder, extortion or assault--not just for gang affiliation. About 4,600 prisoners will remain in isolation for shorter terms.
Research over the last 30 years has attested to the psychological harm solitary confinement can inflict on prisoners. An op-ed in today's’ Los Angeles Times suggests solitary confinement can amount to torture. But prison guards have argued through the former policy’s 30 year life that solitary confinement was a necessary tool for controlling gang violence within California’s prisons.
So by what mechanisms will prison guards now control known gang members? Who will still be placed in the SHU moving forward? And is California’s move a bellwether for solitary confinement elsewhere in the country?
Summary of Ashker v. Governor of California Settlement Terms
TODD ASHKER, et al. v. GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, et al.
Guests:
Carol Strickman, co-counsel on this week’s settlement and staff attorney at Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
Terry Thornton, Deputy Press Secretary for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
Wes McBride, Executive Director of the California Gang Investigators Association
Emmy 2015 Unstructured Reality: ‘Million Dollar Listing New York’
Pricey penthouses, luxurious lofts, and tantalizing townhomes? All in a day’s work for the real estate agents on Bravo’s "Million Dollar Listing New York."
The series is up for an Emmy this year in the ‘Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program’ category.
Fredrick Eklund, Ryan Serhant, and Luis D. Ortiz are all high-rolling real estate agents who represent clients looking to sell multi-million dollar properties in the Big Apple. The show follows their daily work, from interactions with clients to open houses and beyond.
Story lines range from dealing with unusual or eccentric sellers to struggling to find the right buyer for a property, and gives viewers an inside look into the world of high-priced real estate in New York.
Wrapping up our series profiling this year’s nominees for ‘Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program,’ Million Dollar Listing New York’s executive producer Randy Barbato joins AirTalk to talk about producing the show and what it’s like to sell expensive real estate in New York.
Guest:
Randy Barbato, executive producer of Bravo’s Emmy-nominated unstructured reality series, “Million Dollar Listing New York”