Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard is meeting with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday, as Mexico and the US try to reach an agreement over immigration and tariffs. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and his government negotiators are trying to delicately negotiate their way out of looming US tariffs. But many fear that talks with the Trump administration could break down, leading to a backlash here and long-term damage to the bilateral relationship.
We have a bipartisan group of senators, led by Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, and Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a Trump ally and once a staunch defender of Riyadh, trying to force nearly two dozen votes rebuking the Trump administration's decision to declare a national emergency to circumvent Congress and sell billions of dollars of munitions to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. What does this say to you?
The US announced major new restrictions on US citizens traveling to Cuba late Tuesday, blocking the most common way Americans are able to visit the island — through organized tour groups that license US citizens to travel automatically — and banning US cruise ships from stopping in the country. American tourism is not explicitly permitted in Cuba. However, Americans could travel to Cuba if their visits were covered under specific categories, which included organized group travel, known as group people-to-people travel, until Tuesday. Commercial flights from the US will continue to be permitted, as they "broadly support family travel and other lawful forms of travel," according to a spokesperson. Is President Donald Trump taking us through "Groundhog Day?"
After ignoring shouts of "build the wall" from a Republican congressman and defeating amendments designed to kill the legislation, the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives passed the "Dream and Promise Act" on Tuesday, with the goal of providing a pathway to citizenship for millions of young undocumented immigrants who are facing the threat of deportation under the Trump administration. The bill, H.R. 6, passed by a vote of 237 to 187, with just seven Republicans voting in its favor. How significant is this?
Cosmetics retailer Sephora will temporarily close all stores for diversity training after singer SZA tweets about racial profiling. Sephora says it will close all of its stores for an hour on Wednesday so employees across the country can undergo diversity training. The move comes after singer SZA said she was profiled at a Sephora in Calabasas, California. Does diversity training really work, and is this the solution to this systemic problem?
GUESTS:
Dr. Jack Rasmus — Professor of economics at Saint Mary's College of California and author of "Central Bankers at the End of Their Ropes: Monetary Policy and the Coming Depression."
Mac Hamilton — Executive manager at STAND: The Student-led Movement to End Mass Atrocities.
Joe Lombardo — Co-coordinator, United National Antiwar Coalition.
Oscar Chacon — Co‐founder and executive director of Alianza Americas, dedicated to improving the quality of life of Latino immigrant communities in the US, as well as of peoples throughout the Americas.
Maru Mora-Villalpando — Nationally known immigrant-rights activist, co-founder of the Latinx organization Mijente and community organizer with Northwest Detention Center Resistance.
Torin Ellis — SiriusXM host of Career Mix, human capital strategist focused on the art of recruiting diverse talent using various creative methods and author of "Rip the Resume: Job Search & Interview Power Prep."
Dr. Shantella Sherman — Historical researcher, technical writer, author of "In Search of Purity: Popular Eugenics & Racial Uplift Among New Negroes 1915-1935" and publisher of Acumen Magazine.
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