Month: September 2019

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Opening Arguments - OA314: The Supreme Court and Trump’s Asylum Rules

Today's episode breaks down a 7-2 decision by the Supreme Court to stay the decision of the District Court enjoining the Trump Administration's new asylum rules from going into effect. What happened and why? Listen and find out! It's bad news -- but to balance that out, we spend a lot of time high atop Yodel Mountain, where we discuss the ongoing march towards impeachment and the latest in the Michael Flynn saga.

We begin, however, with a brief Andrew Was Wrong(TM) segment about two casual (but wrong) comments Andrew made in previous shows. As it turns out, Devin Nunes isn't the beneficiary of gerrymandering -- we knew that, honest! -- he's... wait, why do people vote for Devin Nunes again? We're not sure.

Then it's time for the main segment, which breaks down the tragic significance of the court's recent order on asylum. It's only a single paragraph long, but... it speaks volumes. Find out what's going to happen next with expedited removal proceedings and undocumented immigrants. It's a tough segment, but you need to know.

Next, it's time for our weekly visit to Yodel Mountain! Find out why the most conservative Democrat in Congress thinks impeachment is "inevitable!" And while we're there... what's the deal with Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn and his crackpot lawyer? We'll tell you!

After all that, it's time for #T3BE. Can Thomas snap a career-worst six-question losing streak? If so, he'll have to do it on a dreaded real property question involving the sale of land. Keep your fingers crossed!

Also, COME TO OUR LA LIVE SHOW!!!! Here is the link!!

Appearances

None! If you’d like to have either of us as a guest on your show, drop us an email at openarguments@gmail.com.

Show Notes & Links

  1. We last discussed the asylum rule changes in Episode 301.
  2. You can check out the district court's well-reasoned injunction here, and the Supreme Court's one-paragraph decision to stay that order here.
  3. And, if you're not depressed enough, read this NBC News article involving Trump's decision to deny temporary protected status to Bahamians displaced by hurricane Dorian.
  4. Here's the Washington Post article about impeachment and Rep. Brindisi, and here's the evidence that (a) Brindisi's district is the second-reddest among 2018 Democratic winners and (b) that Brindisi is arguably the most conservative Democrat in Congress.
  5. On Flynn: here's Schiff's letter, and here's Flynn's plea deal. And if Flynn keeps this up, he's in danger of losing the government's initial sentencing recommendation.

-Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/law

-Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs

-Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/, and don’t forget the OA Facebook Community!

-For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed!  @oawiki

-And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com!

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The Gist - Leave It to Lovett

On The Gist, what should we care about? 

In the interview, Jon Lovett is here to talk with Mike about Joe Biden, debate in liberal roundtables, the Overton window, and the live Lovett or Leave It show at Radio City Music Hall on September 13, 2019.

In the Spiel, Joe Biden is fading.

Want to see a special episode of The Gist live in New York? Get your tickets here!

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Bay Curious - Oh, SFO: Why So Delayed? (And What’s With the “O”?)

It might seem like everyone thinks their local airport is the worst of them all: the longest security lines, the worst food, the most delays.

But we in the Bay Area have good reason to complain. According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, in 2018 SFO was the third-most-delayed major airport in the U.S. in terms of arrivals, with about 26 percent of arriving flights delayed. And that’s not unique to last year. Since 2010, SFO has consistently ranked in the top four of the most delayed airports, some years dipping as low as 69 percent of flights arriving on-time.

Also, what’s the deal with the ‘O’ in SFO?

Read the full web story on airport codes here: Why the ‘O’ in San Francisco’s Airport Code, SFO?

Read the full web story on delays here: Why SFO Is Notorious For Delays

Reported by Maggie Galloway and Jessica Placzek

Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Jessica Placzek, Maggie Galloway, Robert Speight, Katie McMurran, Paul Lancour and Ryan Levi. Additional support from Julie Caine, Suzie Racho, Ethan Lindsey, Pat Yollin and David Weir.

Theme music by Pat Mesiti-Miller.

Ask us a question or sign up for our newsletter at BayCurious.org

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Science In Action - Embryoids from stem cells

Scientists know very little about the first few days of the life of a human embryo, once it's been implanted in the womb. Yet this is when the majority of pregnancies fail. Professor Magdalena Zernika-Goetz at Cambridge University is a leader in the field of making 'model embryos' in both mice and humans. Model embryos until now have been grown in the lab from donated fertilised eggs, but these are hard to come by and governed by strict laws and ethical guidelines. Now researchers in the University of Michigan have used human pluripotent stem cell lines (originally isolated from embryos, but kept and nurtured as clumps of dividing cells in petri-dishes for many years) to make a model embryo that has shown signs of development and organisation in the crucial 7-10 day window. Magdalena and Roland Pease discuss how helpful these will be to understanding crucial early stage pregnancies and as a tool to test drugs, treatments and disease processes. The ethical side of growing human embryos from stem cells is addressed by Stanford University ethicist Professor Hank Greely.

Astronomers have detected water vapour in the atmosphere of a planet called K2-18b orbiting within the habitable zone of a distant star. The lead scientist, Professor Giovanna Tinetti of University College London, talks to Roland about the discovery and what she hopes to explore when a satellite telescope called ARIEL is launched by ESA in around a decade.

And an amateur astronomer has discovered a comet that appears to have arrived from outside our Solar System. This observation follows on from that of Oumuamua which looked like it was an asteroid that had escaped from an exoplanetary system. Roland asks professional astronomers Alan Fitzsimmons of Queens University Belfast and Simon Porter from South West Research Institute in Colorado what they make of the latest interstellar visitor.

(Picture: A set of five embryo-like structures in a microfluidic device developed in the lab of Jianping Fu. The top row consists of “immunostaining” images in which key proteins are tagged with dyes to label different cell types, whereas the bottom row shows standard photos taken through a microscope. Parts of the bottom images were blurred to more clearly show a correlation between the rows. Image credit: Fu Lab, Michigan Engineering)

Presenter: Roland Pease Producer: Deborah Cohen

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Reset with Sasha-Ann Simons - The Battle Over TIF Money For Lincoln Yards

Driving for a rideshare company like Uber or Lyft may be your ticket to some extra money. But if you owe fines or fees to the city, you may be blocked from doing the job. WBEZ’s Elliot Ramos explains what’s happening, and who’s affected most.

Plus activists argue in court that developer Sterling Bay has no right to use public money from TIFs to build their mega-development known as Lincoln Yards. Find out what the judge said yesterday.

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The Intelligence from The Economist - Trust issues: Huawei’s radical plan

The tech giant finds itself enmeshed in a broad battle between China and America. But Huawei’s boss has an idea that might extricate it: selling off its 5G crown jewels. The battle isn’t only in technology; the documentary “American Factory” examines what happens when a Chinese company comes to Ohio. And, the surprising ease of shutting down an airport using drones.
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The Best One Yet - California re-classifies Uber drivers, Wendy’s breakfast wars loss, and Monster Beverage’s Coke problem

Wendy’s is trying to jump into the fast food breakfast wars, but shares fell 10% because it’s too late — again. A Snacker asked us to jump into Monster Beverage, so we found out what it’s up to. And California’s new gig worker law hits right at Lyft and Uber, so they hit right back. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.