- Social:
Los Angeles Times
Health and medicine reporter for the Los Angeles Times, based in Washington, DC
PROFILE
Melissa Healy
Guest
FROM Melissa Healy
To the Point
Can Making Guns "Smarter" Save Lives? From South Carolina this week, America got another reminder: the US has more guns — and more gun violence — than any other developed country. Mass shootings in the United States are on the increase—from one every 200 days two years ago to one every 64 days now. This week's massacre of nine people in Charleston will boost those statistics. Yet, while mass shootings are dramatic, they only account for a small percentage of gun deaths and injuries -- in a country with more than 300 million guns in civilian hands. Gun control is politically impossible, but so-called "smart gun" technology may offer a way to make weapons safer. Advocates say they can only be fired by their owners, not by thieves, children or family members bent on suicide. But efforts to get them to market are being met with threats, boycotts and warnings that "smart guns" will mean government limits on gun rights.
Recommended
To the Point
Venezuela spirals into economic and political chaos Venezuela, a country whose potential for prosperity is unmatched, finds itself on the verge of civil war. What sustains the repressive government? With time running out, guest host León Krauze looks at what the international community can do to pull the country from the edge of collapse.
To the Point
Is the threat from Russia missing from the Russia meddling probe? There's much being made about the Trump administration's possible ties with Russia. But the bottom line is Russia's effort to influence American democracy. Do the President and his aides care enough to take action before voters go back to the polls?
Left, Right & Center
The week that wouldn't quit Will next week get even weirder? (Special one-hour episode)
To the Point
Will the Senate write a healthcare bill in secret? While Democrats and Republicans argue White House relations with Russia, another question is being decided behind closed doors: who gets help buying health insurance and who doesn't? We hear how the pros and cons are being shrouded in secrecy.