http://www.npr.org/2013/04/01/175938451/the-politics-of-the-guest-worker-program

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U.S. Chamber of Commerce and AFL-CIO Reach Deal on Immigration Reform

In a major breakthrough for the prospect of comprehensive immigration reform the AFL-CIO and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce reached an agreement regarding the nation’s guest worker program.  The deal brings together labor unions and big business, two groups that clashed during the last immigration reform effort in 2007.  

NPR’s Talk of the Nation discussed the agreement and the problems with the broken immigration system.  This segment runs approximately 17 minutes.   

The Chamber of Commerce’s position on immigration reform is available here, while the AFL-CIO’s position is available here. 

NY Corruption and the Revolving Door

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NY Corruption and the Revolving Door

Last night, Rachel Maddow started her show by discussing New York State’s outrageous public corruption scandal.  The scandal involves New York State Senator Malcolm Smith, New York City Council Member Daniel Halloran, and four others in an six count complain, which alleges bribery, extortion, and fraud charges.  

State Senator Malcolm A. Smith, a former Democrat, allegedly paid off party bosses in order to get on the ballot  in the New York City mayoral race as a Republican. 

 Aside from this blatant corruption, Maddow discussed subtler, routinecorruption–the revolving door between Washington and the private sector.  As an example, Maddow noted former Securities and Exchange Commission  (SEC) chief Mary Schapir.  Schapir, who was tasked with being  Washington’s top bank regulator, recently took a job with a consulting firm which advises banks about compliance with SEC regulations.   

The video (17:55) includes a brief introduction to the rest of the episode, and the relevant part of the story begins just under two minutes in.  

For the FBI press release regarding New York State corruption scandal, click here.

Syracuse Truce on CNN

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Syracuse Truce on CNN

Last night, the Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer featured a story on Syracuse Truce (3:30 minutes), an innovative collaboration between law enforcement, social service agencies and the community.  Syracuse Truce is designed to reduce gun crime and gang violence. The message of Syracuse Truce is simple: if you or someone in your gang engages in gun violence, the entire gang will be held responsible.

Syracuse Truce is based on a careful analysis of what is causing violence in Syracuse. The violence in Syracuse is driven by a very small population of people – less than 1% of the population – involved in drug crews, gangs, and other street groups. Syracuse Truce directly focuses on the individuals engaged in this behavior.  As such, it represents the most cost-efficientive way of dealing with gun violence.

Hero or Arsonist: Wrongful Conviction?

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Hero or Arsonist: Wrongful Conviction?

Last night, 60 Minutes told the story of Louis Taylor.  In 1970, Taylor was charged with setting the historic fire that led to the destruction of the Tuscon, Arizona landmark, the Pioneer Hotel.  The fire killed twenty-eight people including some who jumped to their deaths in order to avoid being burned alive.  That night, Taylor helped fireman by knocking on doors and alerting hotel guests of the fire.  The next morning, the sixteen-year-old Taylor was charged with twenty-eight counts of murder.  Although the evidence against Taylor was very weak, he was convicted on all counts.  

Subsequent investigation demonstrated that Taylor was likely “railroaded.”  Using new advancements in fire science, scientists who have reassessed the evidence of the Pioneer Hotel fire have determined that the fire was not the product of arson.   Also, the original fire investigator, a key witness at the trial, recently made some racially questionable statements that would appear to indicate that his investigation was tainted.  

The segment runs 13:04 minutes.