RadCasts

After sectarian clashes in southern Syria, Israel launches airstrikes on Syrian government targets, saying it needs to protect the Druze ethnic minority. We attempt to explain a complicated situation with defence expert Dr Robert Geist Pinfold, and hear from an eyewitness in the city of Sweida and an advisor to the Syrian foreign minister.

Also in the programme: continuing controversy in the United States over the legacy of convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein; the plight of hundreds of thousands of Afghans who have been abruptly deported from Iran; and a plan to breathe new life into the Victorian glasshouses at London's Kew Gardens.

(Photo: Damaged vehicles outside the Syrian Ministry of Defence building following an Israeli airstrike in Damascus; Credit: MOHAMMED AL RIFAI/EPA/Shutterstock)

California Gov. Gavin Newsom seems to be more interested in podcasting, siding with protesters, and pointing fingers at the Trump administration than actually fixing the problems in his state.

Newsom’s record long record of failure is evident in the was California is spiraling out of control: a crumbling infrastructure, surging poverty, and broken immigration enforcement.

Victor Davis Hanson has a message for Gavin Newsom on why his priorities are not only out of touch—but dangerous—on today’s episode of “Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words.”

“He’s now inserted himself into the ICE deportations crisis in California and siding with the protesters that are trying to obstruct ICE. And he has a very incoherent position. … I guess the supposition is that Gavin thought it was quite moral for 12 million people to break the law, but it’s quite amoral for somebody to try to rectify the situation and enforce the law.

“ You look at a state that is in complete free fall, it is a catastrophe, and rather than addressing transportation, energy, poverty, housing, gasoline, what are you doing? You’re campaigning for president. And you’re in Twitter wars with the president of the United States. And you’re defending the catastrophic governance in Los Angeles. And you’re trying to impede the enforcement of a law that if it was enforced, you would be the biggest beneficiary.”

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(0:00) Gavin Newsom's Presidential Aspirations

(1:38) Newsom's Controversial Actions and Statements

(3:08) California's Ongoing Crises

(3:49) Infrastructure and Energy Issues

(5:18) Economic and Social Challenges

(7:44) Conclusion

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P.M. Edition for July 16. In comments from the White House today, President Trump denied that he was trying to oust Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, though he raised the prospect that Powell could be removed for cause. Plus, big banks like Goldman Sachs have reported bumper earnings for the second quarter. But as Journal reporter AnnaMaria Andriotis tells us, the factors that made the quarter so strong may not continue into the next few months. And Oracle, the software company founded nearly 50 years ago, is striking big deals for artificial intelligence that’s boosting its stock price. WSJ Heard on the Street columnist Dan Gallagher joins to discuss what it would take for Oracle to become one of the biggest names in AI. Alex Ossola hosts.

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After talks with NATO allies, President Donald Trump gave Russia 50 days to broker peace with Ukraine. If they can’t make it happen, he says he’ll impose tariffs on Russian goods to ratchet up economic pressure. The move underscores Trump’s growing anger with Russian President Vladimir Putin. WSJ’s Lara Seligman unpacks the latest and explores the evolving relationship between Trump and Putin. Jessica Mendoza hosts. 

Further Listening:

-Inside the Hunt for Putin’s Sleeper Agents 

-How Ukraine Built a Weapon to Control the Black Sea 

-Ukraine Makes a Deal With Wall Street 

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