"On Wednesday, President Donald Trump openly admitted he would — if reelected in 2020 — consider cutting back funding for key social programs including Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare," Common Dreams reported. This comes on the heels of the Trump administration announcing its plan to tighten eligibility requirements for disability benefits, especially for older Americans, and announcing the plan to slash food stamp benefits for 668,000 people. How does this portend for the future?
A new coronavirus appeared in China in December, and Reuters reported Thursday: "Global health authorities fear the transmission rate will accelerate as hundreds of millions of Chinese travel at home and abroad during the week-long Lunar New Year holiday." China has confirmed 473 cases as of January 21, according to the ruling Communist Party’s People’s Daily newspaper. "Some experts say the virus may not be as deadly as other coronaviruses such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which killed nearly 800 people during a 2002-2003 outbreak also originating from China," Reuters noted. What do we know about the new virus spreading in China and beyond?
"Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday proposed holding a summit between the leaders of Russia, China, the United States, France and Britain in 2020 to discuss the conflict in Libya and other global problems," Reuters reported. "Putin, who was speaking during a trip to Israel, said Moscow was ready for a 'serious conversation' with the permanent members of the UN Security Council, that there was much to discuss and that the summit could happen anywhere in the world." What are we to make of this?
"The London hearing to decide whether WikiLeaks’ founder Julian Assange can be extradited to the United States to face charges including spying will be split in two, with the second half delayed until May, a judge ruled on Thursday," Reuters reported. "Assange, 48, faces 18 counts in the United States including conspiring to hack government computers and violating an espionage law. He could spend decades in prison if convicted."
GUESTS:
Joia Jefferson Nuri — Political strategist and CEO of In The Public Eye Communications.
Margaret Flowers — Co-editor of Popular Resistance.
Mark Sleboda — International affairs and security analyst.
Daniel Lazare — Journalist and author of three books: "The Frozen Republic," "The Velvet Coup" and "America's Undeclared War."
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