Caleb Maupin, journalist and political analyst, joins us to discuss Iran's decision to be open to talks with the incoming Biden administration, even after veteran physicist Moshen Fakhrizadeh, a major player in Iran's nuclear research and defense activities, was assassinated in an ambush outside of Tehran on November 27. "Underscoring the support for diplomacy, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said while 'Iran and the US will continue to have fundamental differences,' the tension between Tehran and Washington needn't continue after Trump is out of office," Bloomberg reported this week.
Dr. Jack Rasmus, professor of economics and politics at St. Mary's College of California, returns to discuss this week's top economic stories, including the $908 billion stimulus package proposed in the US Senate and slow sales on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. He will also talk about a Washington Post report on the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) which revealed that more than half of the emergency funds intended for small businesses went to larger businesses instead.
Garland Nixon, co-host of The Critical Hour, joins us from Caracas, Venezuela. He will discuss the various measures that the Venezuelan government is using to contain the COVID-19 crisis, as well as sanctions and other news from the region.
Ray Baker, political analyst and host of the podcast Public Agenda; and Gary Flowers, radio talk show host and public policy analyst, return to discuss the bipartisan stimulus package talks, who will lead the US Defense Department, and Republicans fearing US President Donald Trump's criticism of Georgia officials over the handling of the presidential elections could cause a rift in the party and hurt their chances in the state's Senate runoff elections. They also discuss the Trump administration is scheduling several executions in the days leading up to the presidential inauguration
Jim Kavanagh, writer at The Polemicist and CounterPunch; and Daniel Lazare, investigative journalist and author of "The Velvet Coup," return to tackle the subjects of the proposed bipartisan stimulus package, the search for the next Pentagon chief by US President-elect Joe Biden and a group of House Republicans on Thursday who were accused of pulling an "outrageous" maneuver by Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) and fellow Democratic lawmakers when they attempted to pass a motion to adjourn the chamber while the pandemic rages. Common Dreams reported on the matter: "'People are going hungry and they're treating this like a game,' Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) tweeted in response to the motion, which Republicans used to complain about House rules allowing proxy voting to prevent the spread of COVID-19 on Capitol Hill. 'Leaders don't abandon people in their time of greatest need.'"
We'd love to get your feedback at radio@sputniknews.com
