PROFILE
FROM Robert Weissman
Mar-a-Lago diplomacy and free publicity Secret Service agents tidy-up President Trump's limousines as they wait for him at Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida Photo by Jonathan Ernst/Reuters President Trump's summit meeting with China's President Xi Jinping starts today at Mar-a-Lago — Mr. Trump's ultra-luxurious club for members only, now being called "the Winter White House." It's a daily subject of extensive news coverage — and free publicity. That raises ethics questions and tarnishes the conduct of American diplomacy according to Robert Weissman. He's president of Public Citizen , the nonprofit government watchdog founded by Ralph Nader.
Putting on the Brakes: Are Government Regulators Doing Their Job? Safe food, safe drugs, safe cars, safe airplanes -- honest deals and bank loans. The federal government doesn't rely on people doing the right thing to make sure your world is safe; they regulate that world. Congress is trying to pass new financial regulations, and Wall Street is pushing back. Now, with Toyota in the news, and regulators checking out what the company knew when about a faulty gas pedal, the whole question of regulatory effectiveness is in the spotlight again. Are regulatory agencies doing their job? Have industries gained more influence with regulators in recent years? Is the problem not enough regulation or too much?
Putting on the Brakes: Are Government Regulators Doing Their Job? Safe food, safe drugs, safe cars, safe airplanes -- honest deals and bank loans. The federal government doesn't rely on people doing the right thing to make sure your world is safe; they regulate that world. Congress is trying to pass new financial regulations, and Wall Street is pushing back. Now, with Toyota in the news, and regulators checking out what the company knew when about a faulty gas pedal, the whole question of regulatory effectiveness is in the spotlight again. Are regulatory agencies doing their job? Have industries gained more influence with regulators in recent years? Is the problem not enough regulation or too much?
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Trump plays scolder-in-chief with NATO allies At the opening of NATO’s dramatic new headquarters in Brussels today, President Trump acknowledged that Article 5 — promising that “an attack on one nation is an attack on all” -- has only been invoked one time: in the aftermath of September 11. But the President failed to provide what 27 other Alliance members have been waiting for: a re-commitment by America’s new leader to Article 5. Instead, they got a scolding.
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.
How was the trip? President Trump's travels got less fun as he went from the Middle East to Europe.
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.