Congress debates military action against Syria. What do you think Congress should decide? Then, how do insurers decide which new treatments are worth top dollar? Next, the LAPD is cracking down on Crenshaw cruising. Do they need to do that, or is cruising just harmless fun? Then, we'll talk about a roundup of business deals including CBS reaching an agreement with Time Warner. Next, texting while driving is a huge problem, but should the sender of a text be held liable for distracting a driver? Lastly, Allstate released its annual America's Best Drivers report. Which cities do you think have the worst drivers?
Congress debates military strikes against Syria
President Obama’s call for military action against Syria gained significant momentum today (TUES). House Speaker John Boehner and House Leader Nancy Pelosi announced their support, saying they’re convinced that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons on his own people and that the United States should respond. But ambivalence remains in both parties and passing the resolution might be an uphill battle. Obama authorized the use of military force to punish Syria last week, but is seeking authorization from Congress, “…to send a message to the world that we are ready to move as one nation.”
French President Hollande said Tuesday that he’s waiting for a U.S. decision, insisting that France will not act alone against Assad’s regime. In the U.K., Prime Minister David Cameron was leading the charge for action, but unexpectedly lost a vital parliamentary vote meant to pave the way for British involvement. Meanwhile, the United Nations reports that more than 2 million refugees have flooded neighboring countries creating a humanitarian crisis. U.N. Commission described Syria as “the great tragedy of this century.” The United Nations will debate Syrian intervention when the General Assembly opens on September 17.
Both Russia and China have veto power in the U.N. Security Council and will likely block any American efforts to secure international support for a strike. How is Congress likely to vote? Will President Obama authorize action, even if Congress doesn’t? How will France and the U.K. respond? Why do Russia, Syria and Iran standby the Syrian regime?
Guests:
Ed O'Keefe, Congressional Reporter, The Washington Post
Josh Keating, Staff Writer specializing in foreign affairs, "Slate"
Should insurers be forced to pay for expensive new cancer treatments?
Blue Shield of California has come under fire for refusing to pay for an expensive and controversial new radiation treatment for prostate cancer. Scripps Hospital in San Diego spent $230 million on a new proton beam therapy center set to open this fall.
Loma Linda University Medical Center was the first hospital-based proton treatment center in the nation. It's invested millions in the technology and claims that it’s safer and healthier than traditional radiation treatments. Blue Shield claims there is no justification for spending $30,000 using the new machine when research shows that traditional radiation methods deliver similar results.
Insurers are under constant pressure to hold down costs but at the same time, patients and doctors are demanding they pay for pricey and often-controversial treatments. How do insurers decide which new treatments are worth spending top dollar? Will hospitals be willing to invest in potentially life saving new treatments if insurers won't cover them?
Guests:
Dr. Marcus Thygeson, Chief Health Officer, Blue Shield of California
Daniel Fontoura, senior vice president at Loma Linda University Medical Center
Dr. Steven Pearson, President of the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
LAPD crackdown on Crenshaw cruising?
The lowrider scene was a no-show in the Crenshaw District over the weekend. Drivers are spooked by LAPD's increased enforcement of traffic laws that began the previous weekend. Cruising along Crenshaw Boulevard is an historic LA pastime. LAPD "crackdowns" on related mishaps has a long tradition, too. Police say it's not all harmless fun. Some drivers bring race cars to spin out wheels and speed into donuts and fishtails. Car clubs that represent classic lowriders say their cars are too valuable to risk dangerous driving stunts. They also complain about a lack of dedicated space for a community with deep roots in California car culture, and cite San Diego's Chicano Park as a model for embracing the scene.
Why is LAPD stepping up enforcement this time around? Should a crackdown be more targeted at bad actors, rather than a sweeping shutdown that drives everyone away? How do businesses and residents in the district feel about cruising Sundays? Where could car clubs congregate on Sundays, if not Crenshaw?
Guests:
Martin Martinez, LAPD Senior Lead Officer - 77th Division
Andre Pierson, Vice President, National Low Riders Association; Long-time member of the Individuals Car Club
Crenshaw Cruise from this summer:
Verizon becomes wholly American-owned; Microsoft buys Nokia unit, CBS and Time Warner: Together again
After a month of stalemate and brinkmanship, CBS and Time Warner have announced that they have finally reached a new broadcasting rights deal. Service in Los Angeles and other impacted markets resumed yesterday. The two companies are staying mum on the monetary terms of the new agreement.
In other big tech biz news, UK’s Vodafone is selling its 45% stake in Verizon to the American company. The sale is worth $130 billion, one of the most pricey acquisition deals yet. The acquisition makes Verizon, the biggest wireless carrier in the U.S., purely American-owned. In another major transatlantic mobile industry deal, Nokia has agreed to sell its main handset unit for $7.2 billion to Microsoft.
Guests:
Joe Flint, media reporter for the Los Angeles Times
Charles Golvin, a mobile phone industry analyst at Forrester Research
Can the sender of a text be blamed for distracting a driver?
If a driver gets in an accident reading a text, he or she is certainly at fault, but what role does the sender of that text play in the accident? According to a New Jersey court, the texter can be liable as well. The ruling stems from a 2009 case, in which a young man was texting with a female friend when he accidentally crossed a double yellow line and sideswiped a motorcycle with a couple on it, both of whom lost their left legs. The couple sued both the young man and the woman who sent him a text moments before the accident.
The driver settled, and a the New Jersey court ruled that the woman was not liable in this instance, but in his ruling, judge Victor Ashrafi wrote: “When the sender knows that the text will reach the driver while operating a vehicle, the sender has a relationship to the public who use the roadways similar to that of a passenger physically present in the vehicle.” His argument is that if a texter willingly sends a text to someone driving, knowing that the driver will read the text while flying down the road, the texter, too, could be liable. It’s as if, he postulates, that person is in the car with the driver, willfully distracting them.
Distracted driving is obviously a huge problem, and one that will only be exacerbated by technology’s rapidly increasing role in our lives, but is it fair to fault the sender of a text?
Guest:
Emily Bazelon, senior editor for online magazine Slate, and a senior research fellow at Yale Law School
Are LA's drivers the worst? Tell us your behind-the-wheel horror stories
The city with the worst drivers, according to Allstate’s America’s Best Drivers report, is Washington D.C. It’s the sixth time the nation’s capital has topped the survey, which finds that drivers there are twice as likely to get into traffic accidents than those in the rest of the country.
Los Angeles is ranked 181 on the list, among the worst. As to other California cities: Bakersfield, 56; Palmdale, 60; Lancaster, 61; Riverside, 110; Pomona, 114; Huntington Beach, 117; Long Beach, 133, and Pasadena, 165.
What do you think is the worst city for drivers in the country? How does driving in the U.S. compared to driving in another country? In your opinion, what is the absolute worst to be a driver… or a pedestrian?
From the Phones:
Peter in Silver Lake
"I drive an average of 150-200 miles a day, and I drive all over the county. I've noticed in general I can say that suburbia drivers tend to be more courteous, less speeding, they tend to be more on the game and not as distracted. When it comes to street driving in the city, the westside — and I think it's almost a sadistic mentality that people get when they drive, because they're so frustrated. You wouldn't believe the things I see people doing. driving. As far as distractions, people still don't get it about texting...I see it every day, all the time."
John in Ontario
"I drive about 3,000-4,000 miles a month, anywhere from San Diego to Bakersfield. I'll tell you the Inland Empire, Rancho, Ontario, all these areas are wonderful places to drive. San Gabriel Valley — Arcadia, Alhambra, Temple City — man, the drivers are just rough in that area. They're timid, they're slow, they're very afraid to drive, that's been my experience. Across the country one of the worst places I've been is Houston. Very uncourteous drivers.
"Across the world, one of the worst countries I've driven in, unfortunately it's my home country, Egypt. It's a very bad and very dangerous place to drive in Cairo...There's very few traffic law adherences and the amount of drivers in the street in Cairo, if you think Los Angeles is packed, the amount of drivers in the street in Cairo is absolutely just terrible. With the curfew at night everyone's been describing it as a wasteland because it looks so empty."
Brett in Victorville
"I grew up in New York City and by far they are the rudest drivers bar none. I've driven all 48 states as a truck driver. When I moved out to California and I was blowing my horn, I came to the realization that nobody else was. Now I'm out here driving in Coachella Valley. Out here it's very courteous, but very slow."
Marley in San Diego
"I just recently got back from a trip, I was in Europe and Africa. I was driving in Morocco, Spain and Italy...Coming from California, we drive pretty well. Coming back to California was a breath of fresh air after dealing with the Mad Max driving skills you get in Morocco, for example. Over there it's if you can get the nose of your vehicle in and let people know that you're coming then that's the rule of the road.
Joseph in Palos Verdes
"I've driven all over the United States several times, Canada, Mexico, across the world. By far the worst is Egypt, Cairo specifically, Paris is incredible I think Los Angeles is probably THE worst place to drive. I actually rented a car to drive in downtown New York just to see if I can compete and that's entry level compared to Los Angeles. Cairo is the worst. They don't have any lanes and it's just one big street. You just go, there's not even a direction. There's pedestrians with cattle and cars in a downtown city, I've never seen anything like it. It is a full contact sport there."
Bill in Burbank
"I used to think Manila was bad, because nobody obeys the traffic signs, there aren't even stripes in the roads hat indicate staying in lanes. They don't have speed bumps, they dig ditches to slow you down. I think the craziest driving has got to be Mumbai. No streets are marked, if you're driving you can't tell where you are, but you have trucks, lorries, buses, elephants, cows, dogs, horses, tuk tuks, it is absolutely nuts."
Luke in Venice
"Just a comment to make, I've spent a lot of time in India, and I'm from the UK, but now live here in California. What I find really interesting is that in India, yes its chaotic and there are animals on the road, but there's a lot more spatial awareness. I've seen traffic that is insane, but no one bumps into one another, everyone is aware of their surroundings. In California, conversely, I feel like people here are in their own little world...Compared to India and Eastern Asia, there's a lot more safety in a sense because there's more spatial awareness."