Wednesday's weekly series, In the News, is where the hosts looks at the most important ongoing developments of the week and puts them into perspective. Today they talk with Jacquie and Walter about the government shutdown, voter fraud in North Carolina, the protests in France, and the politics of the farm bill.
Wednesday's regular segment, Beyond Nuclear, is about nuclear issues, including weapons, energy, waste, and the future of nuclear technology in the United States. Kevin Kamps, the Radioactive Waste Watchdog at the organization Beyond Nuclear, and Sputnik news analyst and producer Nicole Roussell, join the show.
President Trump's former attorney Michael Cohen was sentenced this afternoon to 36 months in a federal prison. He had earlier pleaded guilty to a number of felonies, what the judge called a smorgasbord of fraud. He apparently only partially cooperated with the Mueller investigation, and prosecutors told the judge that Cohen had been truthful. Brian and John speak with Daniel Lazare, a journalist and author of three books-"The Frozen Republic," "The Velvet Coup," and "America's Undeclared War."
Meng Wanzhou was arrested on December 1 at the request of the United States because her company allegedly is doing business with Iran, which is subject to US sanctions. But she has now been released on bail by order of a judge in Canada. Jude Woodward, the author of the new book "The US vs China: Asia's new Cold War?" joins the show.
Lawmakers from Britain's Conservative Party called for a no confidence vote today in a bid to oust Prime Minister Theresa May because of the Brexit deal she negotiated with the European Union. However, as of the time of this recording, 2:00 p.m. Eastern time, a majority Tory Party members have said they would support May. That's enough for her to win. But the future of her government is still in doubt. Sputnik News analyst Walter Smolarek joins Brian and John.
Turkish President Erdogan said today that his country would begin a new military offensive within day in northern Syria to "clear the area of Kurdish rebels on both sides of the Euphrates River." Erdogan added that Turkey would specifically not target Americans in the area, but the move will almost certainly raise tensions with the United States. Ambassador Peter Ford, the former British Ambassador to Syria, joins the show.
Israeli soldiers entered Ramallah yesterday, with low-level clashes breaking out only yards from the home of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. The soldiers seized security footage from buildings in the area and they raided the offices of WAFA, the Palestinian news agency. Meanwhile, a Palestinian child was killed in an earlier shooting and a pregnant woman was gravely wounded. Brian and John speak with Jonathan Kuttab, an international human rights lawyer, and Dan Cohen, a journalist and a documentary filmmaker, most recently of the film "Killing Gaza."
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