President Trump yesterday named federal appeals court judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court seat being vacated by retiring justice Anthony Kennedy. Kavanaugh has solid conservative credentials, and Democrats in the Senate say they will be united in their opposition to his appointment. The keys to his elevation will be Democratic senators running for reelection in states that Trump won and Republican senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine. What does this pick mean for those who have used the court as a tool for reform?
False Profits-A Weekly Look at Wall Street and Corporate Capitalism with Daniel Sankey is L&C's regular Tuesday segment. Daniel helps us unpack financial news and explain core economic trends, developments, and institutions in an accessible way for the broad public. Today they examine the primary causes of gross income inequality inside the United States. Daniel Sankey, a financial policy analyst, joins the show.
The Trump Administration announced last night that it would be unable to comply with a court order directing it to reunify all migrant children who were separated from their families at the border. A Justice Department spokesman said the Administration may be able to unify 54 of the 102 children by today. Also, a court ruled against a Trump policy of long-term detention for immigrants. Brian and John speak with David Bennion, he is an immigration lawyer and Executive Director of the Free Migration Project.
President Trump arrives in Brussels today to attend the annual NATO Summit. But instead of unity, European leaders expect Trump to berate them for not spending enough money on defense. And those European allies are afraid that Trump will threaten to withdraw US troops from Europe if they don't spend more. Dr. Jan Oberg, director of the Transnational Foundation for Peace and Future Research, joins the show.
US Ambassador to Germany Rick Grenell yesterday urged urged Berlin to block Iran's request to withdraw $350 million in cash from Germany and send it to Iran before sanctions take effect. Grenell came under fire a month ago after he said that he was seeking to boost anti-establishment parties around Europe. Many German politicians called for him to be expelled from the country. Medea Benjamin, an anti-war and anti-torture activist who is the co-founder of Code Pink, and whose most recent book is "Inside Iran: The Real History and Politics of the Islamic Republic of Iran," joins Brian and John.
President Trump today pardoned two ranchers from southeastern Oregon who were sentenced to serve prison time on two separate occasions for setting brush fires to clear public lands. The return to prison of father and son Dwight and Steve Hammond sparked the 41-day occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in early 2016 in which a protestor was killed and an FBI agent was charged with lying about that shooting. Sputnik news analyst Walter Smolarek joins the show.
Mark Zuckerberg is one of the wealthiest people on earth, with a net worth of an estimated $74.2 billion. But he and his company have come under increasing fire for gross violations of user privacy. Should he resign as head of Facebook? Brian and John speak with Dr. Robert Epstein, the Senior Research Psychologist at the American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology.
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