As questions about Biden's health persist, what's the latest from the White House?
President Joe Biden’s lackluster performance at the June 27 presidential debate has raised concerns about his age, health and ability to lead the federal government. Administration officials have blamed his confused and at times indecipherable answers at the debate with Republican Donald Trump on a head cold, jet lag and poor preparation at Camp David. But at 81, Biden has found his health to be a key issue for many voters going into November’s election. Dr. Kevin O’Connor, Biden’s physician, issued his first comment since the debate late Monday, which was the topic du jour of the White House press briefing on Monday. Today on AirTalk, we continue looking into the state of Biden’s health and campaign. Here to give the latest updates on Biden is Ron Elving, senior editor and correspondent on the Washington Desk for NPR News. Have questions or comments about Biden give us a call at 866-893-5722 or email atcomments@laist.com.
With files from the Associated Press
Another day, another Hollywood merger as Skydance Media buys Paramount Global
The entertainment giant Paramount will merge with Skydance, closing out a decades-long run by the Redstone family in Hollywood and injecting desperately needed cash into a legacy studio that has struggled to adapt to a shifting entertainment landscape. It also signals the rise of a new power player, David Ellison, the founder of Skydance and son of billionaire Larry Ellison, the founder of the software company Oracle. Shari Redstone’s National Amusements has owned more than three-quarters of Paramount’s Class A voting shares through the estate of her late father, Sumner Redstone. She had battled to maintain control of the company that owns CBS, which is behind blockbuster films such as “Top Gun” and “The Godfather.” Just weeks after turning down a similar agreement with Skydance, however, Redstone agreed to a deal on terms that had not changed much. The new combined company is valued at around $28 billion.
Joining us on AirTalk to talk about the deal and what it means for Paramount moving forward is Sean McNulty, writer of the Ankler's daily newsletter The WakeUp, and Tom Nunan, a lecturer for the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television and the founder of Bull’s Eye Entertainment, a mid-sized independent film and television production company.
With files from the Associated Press
Explaining the rise and fall of NYC’s congestion pricing project and the ripple effects
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul halted a plan to charge most motorists $15 to enter the core of Manhattan, upending the nation’s first “congestion pricing” system at the beginning of June, just weeks before it was set to launch. The announcement dealt a stunning blow to a program, years in the making, that was intended to raise billions of dollars for New York’s beleaguered subways and commuter rails while reducing emissions and gridlock on the city’s streets. The situation raises broader questions about the future of congestion pricing programs, including what could happen in Los Angeles. Today on AirTalk, we explain what happened in New York, the chaotic aftermath, the politics involved and what other cities can learn. Joining to discuss is Jimmy Vielkind, reporter for the Wall Street Journal who’s been covering New York for more than a decade, and Michael Manville, professor of urban planning at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs.
With files from the Associated Press
What exactly does the Supreme Court’s definition of immunity mean for US Presidents? Law experts make sense of recent court decision
It’s been over a week now since the Supreme Court decided on Donald Trump v. United States, finding that those to hold the country’s highest office have absolute immunity from prosecution in public matters that have relation to one’s presidential authority. In the time the case has been decided, much has been made on its potential ramifications as we enter a presidential election. With presidents being given more parameters on how their immunity works when conducting business, what does this actually mean for what can and can’t be done by those whom we elect? Today on AirTalk, we make sense of this with Vikram D. Amar, distinguished professor of law at UC Davis, and Michael McConnell, professor and director of the Constitutional Law Center at Stanford Law School and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution.
Our butterfly and insect populations are declining. A new study points reveals the likely culprit.
For decades, our insect and butterfly populations have been declining both in California and nationwide. A body of research points to a number of contributing factors, including climate change and habitat loss. While researchers have suspected that pesticides have also played a role in decreasing insect populations, it has been unclear just how harmful they are. Now, a new study focused on the Midwest and using data 1998 to 2014 has found that insecticides have devastating consequences for insects. This news arrives as monarch butterflies continue to be a threatened species here in California, with their numbers down 90% compared to the 1980s. Joining us today on AirTalk to discuss the new study and the state of butterflies in California is Leslie Ries, butterfly ecologist and associate professor of ecology at Georgetown University and co-author of the study and Scott Black, executive director of Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.
A new book ‘Our Kindred Creatures,’ explains how we became so empathetic towards animals
We haven’t always been as kind to animals as we are now. A new book “Our Kindred Creatures: How Americans Came to Feel the Way They Do About Animals” by authors Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy explain how not until the 19th century did the United States have an “awakening” around our treatment of animals. The book lays out how abolition and a wave of activism brought the wellbeing of suffering animals to the fore. But the progress is full of paradoxes as well. Joining us on AirTalk to discuss their new book is Bill Wasik, editorial director of The New York Times Magazine and Monica Murphy, veterinarian and a writer.
