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Bloomberg
State and local government reporter for Bloomberg, based in Columbus, Ohio; former politics reporter for the Columbus Dispatch
PROFILE
Mark Niquette
Guest
FROM Mark Niquette
To the Point
Are Government Workers Facing a Broken Promise? Public workers may not be getting the retirement pay they've traditionally been guaranteed by contracts, laws and state constitutions. Last week, a federal bankruptcy ruling declared that Detroit's pension plans for city workers could be modified , just like any other debts owed by the city. That has other cities threatening to declare insolvency, in part to cut pension payments. But some Democrats, as well as Republicans, are already saying that state and local governments can't afford to make contributions any more. What's in store for firefighters, police officers, trash collectors and teachers who've accepted modest pay knowing their old age would be taken care of?
To the Point
Obama in Ohio to Rally the Base, Defend His Economic Policies President Obama's handling of the economy is falling to new lows. Today he took time out from a fundraising trip to visit a leafy, middle-class neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio. Joe and Rhonda Weithman 's backyard was as intimate a setting as possible with reporters and TV cameras looking on. The President reiterated the administration's success in growing the economy and labor market, but admitted that "that progress hasn't been fast enough." Mark Niquette reports on politics for the Columbus Dispatch .
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To the Point
Human Rights in the era of Donald Trump President Trump’s UN Ambassador, Nikki Haley, said today the US might pull out of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council. Serious violators of human rights are members of the Council itself–and a US resignation could make things worse. Later on today’s show, now that he’s into his second term, comedian turned US Senator Al Franken is telling jokes again.
To the Point
What happens when America retreats from the world? Is President Trump taking his "America First" agenda to extremes, withdrawing the country from the international stage on trade and climate change, distancing America from its traditional allies across the Atlantic and even threatening to physically isolate the country through the building of a wall along its southern border? León Krauze guest hosts.
To the Point
Trump's new look at civil rights and global warming President Trump is reportedly ready to pull the US out of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. We look at the possible consequences. On the second half of the program, we hear about cuts in Obama-Era civil rights programs called for by the Trump Administration's first budget plan.
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.