University of Toronto
Assistant professor of Sociology at the University of Toronto and author of Citizen-Protectors: The Everyday Politics of Guns in an Age of Decline
PROFILE
Jennifer Carlson
Guest
FROM Jennifer Carlson
To the Point
What's the Real Cost of Gun Violence in America? Debate over gun ownership and the Second Amendment never ends, but seldom discussed are the unintended consequences of 300 million privately owned guns. The NRA and other gun advocates have discouraged research into the cost of gun violence, but some numbers are available: $229 billion taxpayer dollars for law enforcement, medical bills and beyond — $700 for every man, woman and child. Is that the whole story behind one of America’s most polarizing controversies? In 2012, the massacre at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado killed 12 people and left 58 injured. The trial of James Holmes is scheduled to start on Monday. After the incident, Mother Jones magazine wanted to know how much care survivors and victims’ families would need. How far would the costs ripple into the broader community? Those questions started years of research.
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To the Point
Ex-FBI Director Comey tells his side of the story Today, former FBI Director James Comey came close to calling the President who fired him a liar. The White House denied the claim and called it insulting, but Republican Senators did not challenge Comey’s truthfulness. Many questions remain: did the President try to obstruct a federal investigation? Later, we’ll go behind the “velvet rope” for a look at 5-Star health care for the richest Americans.
To the Point
Who's to blame for the opioid crisis? Some of the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco are now going after Big Pharma. It’s all about the deadly epidemic of opioid use. Are the drug companies to blame? What about the users? Later, on today’s Talking Point: making sense of Britain’s upset election.
To the Point
Trump's 'America First' goes missing abroad In the Middle East, President Trump is changing some policies of the Obama Administration—and reversing his own campaign attacks on Islam as a religion that "hates us." We hear about his visit to Saudi Arabia and what's at stake for the rest of his foreign excursion.
To the Point
The Trump agenda: where's the beef? President Trump says big things are happening. After celebrating a House bill on health care, he doesn’t yet have Senate agreement. With James Comey’s public testimony scheduled tomorrow, the President today tweeted his selection of a new FBI Director. Is the Chief Executive all style and no substance? Later, terror attacks in Iran and conflicting claims about who’s behind them.