Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning is still sitting in a federal jail in Alexandria, Virginia for refusing to respond to a subpoena to testify before a grand jury, apparently against Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange. Manning invoked her rights under the first, fourth, fifth, and sixth amendments in her refusal to testify. How long can the injustice of her incarceration go on?
Donald Trump finally relented and grounded Boeing 737 MAX 8 jets today, following earlier moves by the European Union and countries around the world in the aftermath of the second crash of one of the new jets in the past five months. Why was the U.S. so slow to act? Mary Schiavo, the former Inspector General at the Department of Transportation, an aviation attorney, and an aviation professor joins the show.
The British Parliament voted today against leaving the European Union without some sort of a deal on the Irish border and import tariffs. A vote will be held tomorrow on whether to ask for an extension to try to negotiate the country's exit, but that must be approved by all 26 EU member states. Prime Minister Theresa May's options for getting through the crisis are dwindling quickly. Meanwhile, Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn is calling for a new national election. Brian and John speak with Steve Hedley, the senior assistant general secretary of the UK's Rail, Maritime, and Transport Workers Union.
A federal judge in Washington sentenced former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort to an additional three-and-a-half years in prison on two tax and corruption charges. The sentence comes just days after Manafort was sentenced to 47 months in prison by a federal judge in the Eastern District of Virginia. Talk in the mainstream media has now turned to the possibility of a presidential pardon for Manafort. Jim Kavanagh, the editor of thepolemicist.net, joins the show.
Outrage is spreading across the country in the wake of dozens of indictments announced by the FBI in a college entrance cheating scandal involving wealthy parents and celebrities. What does this scheme tell us about the state of higher education in America? Rick Ayers, a professor of education at the University of San Francisco, the author of "An Empty Seat in Class: Teaching and Learning after the Death of a Student," and co-author of the book "You Can't Fire the Bad Ones: And 18 Other Myths about Teachers, Teachers Unions, and Public Education," joins Brian and John.
Wednesday's weekly series, In the News, is where the hosts look at the most important ongoing developments of the week and put them into perspective. Today they discuss the scandal that celebrities and the wealthy are scamming their way into elite colleges in new ways and analyze the deep-rooted inequalities built into the higher education system. Jacqueline Luqman, the co-editor-in-chief of Luqman Nation, which hosts a livestream every Thursday night at 9:00 p.m. on Facebook, and Sputnik news analyst Walter Smolarek, join the show.
Wednesday's regular segment, Beyond Nuclear, is about nuclear issues, including weapons, energy, waste, and the future of nuclear technology in the United States. Today, the hosts focus on the 8th anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear meltdown disaster. Kevin Kamps, the Radioactive Waste Watchdog at the organization Beyond Nuclear, and Sputnik news analyst and producer Nicole Roussell, join the show.
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