Week In The News: Super Tuesday, Romney Hits Trump, Scott Kelly Returns Home (Tom Ashbrook, On Point)

Something like full-on mayhem in the GOP this week. Uncivil war on the debate stage. Big Republican Mitt Romney tearing into Donald Trump on the billionaire’s record and character. And Trump takes Super Tuesday. And Clinton does the same. We’ve got Supreme Court tensions, up. Chris Rock going big on race at the Oscars. And astronaut Scott Kelly, back on Earth. This hour On Point, our weekly news roundtable goes behind the headlines. — Tom Ashbrook
Interview:
http://onpoint.wbur.org/2016/03/04/romney-scott-kelly-gop-super-tuesday

Friday News Roundup – Domestic (Diane Rehm Show 2016-03-04)

Former G.O.P. presidential nominee Mitt Romney leads the charge of establishment Republicans against Donald Trump. In a speech yesterday, Romney sharply criticized the G.O.P. frontrunner and called for the party to rally around one of his rivals. The Justice Department grants immunity to a staffer who set up Hillary Clinton’s private email server. Republican senators meet with President Obama but don’t give ground on a hearing for his potential Supreme Court nominee. And the U.S. economy grew by 242,000 jobs in February, keeping the unemployment rate steady at 4.9 percent. A panel of journalists joins guest host Tom Gjelten for analysis of the week’s top national news stories.
Interview:
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2016-03-04/friday-news-roundup-domestic

Friday News Roundup – International (Diane Rehm Show, 2016-03-04)

The U.N. says a ceasefire in Syria is largely holding, but there are some reports of violations. A top E.U. official warns economic migrants against coming to Europe. The U.N. Security Council adopts new sanctions on North Korea over its nuclear weapons program. Moderates and reform candidates make significant gains in Iran’s national elections. And gulf Arab states declare Lebanon’s Hezbollah a terrorist group, a move signaling escalating tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran. A panel of journalists joins guest host Tom Gjelten for analysis of the week’s top international news stories.
Interview:
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2016-03-04/friday-news-roundup-international

Is Donald Trump the Charismatic Leader the KKK & Neo-Nazis Have Been Waiting For?

http://democracynow.org - After initially refusing to condemn an endorsement from former KKK leader David Duke, Donald Trump has faced a series of questions about why his campaign has been so embraced by Neo-Nazis and Klansmen. We speak to Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University in San Bernardino. Levin talks about encountering Trump supporters at a recent rally held by a chapter of the Klan in Anaheim known as the Loyal White Knights, or LWK.
Interview:
https://youtu.be/iRsGiFKcpuk

Real Time with Bill Maher: Overtime – March 4, 2016 (HBO)

Bill Maher and his guests – Raheel Raza, Rep. Donna Edwards, Ari Shapiro, Matt Lewis and Sarah Silverman – answer viewer questions after the show.
Interview:
https://youtu.be/FdW5OkizEto

Trump Owns Bill O'Reilly Post Debate

In this Majority Report clip, another tragicomic situation unfolds as Donald Trump, head bully of the world, appears to neatly bring up the most hurtful things possible that he could rub in Bill O'Reilly's face after the Republican debate. O'Reilly may or may not be drunk and doesn't seem to notice, but ... can we honestly feel bad for Bill O'Reilly?? What is happening to reality?
Interview:
https://youtu.be/asAxn1zbH0U

Real Time with Bill Maher: New Rule – The Empathy Gap (HBO)

In his editorial New Rule, Bill Maher calls out Republicans for refusing to get on the humane side of an issue unless they have been personally affected by it. Original air date: March 4, 2016.
Interview:
https://youtu.be/BVwFmdipfZg

Neocons Are Freaking out Over Trump and It's Hilarious

The guys who got us into three unwinnable wars are back and poutier than ever...
http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/neocons-are-freaking-out-over-trump-and-its-hilarious

Quote of the Day: "No, sir, I am not going to answer that"

Fascinating! What exactly is it that Blackburn is so loath to answer—and so unable to defend? Well, it turns out that she wants to issue a subpoena to get the names of individual medical researchers who use fetal tissue, and Rep. Jerrold Nadler wants to know why. Steve Benen picks up the story...
http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/03/quote-day-no-sir-i-am-not-going-answer

Donald Trump Loves the Great Wall of China. Too Bad It Was a Complete Disaster.

The Donald's second-favorite wall was "a symbol of futility, waste, cruelty, bad policy."
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/03/great-wall-china-donald-trump

From Threatening the House Speaker to Ejecting Black Students From Rallies, Trump Previews His Hate-Filled Vision for the Presidency

The essence of Donald Trump’s motivation — and alas, his appeal — is the annihilation of the democratic process...
http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/threatening-house-speaker-ejecting-black-students-rallies-trump-previews-his-hate

To Take Down Trump, Clinton Has a Secret Weapon That Cruz and Rubio Missed Out On

Clinton is doing what pretty much every Republican in the country failed to do — she’s taking Trump seriously...
http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/take-down-trump-clinton-has-secret-weapon-cruz-and-rubio-missed-out

Donald Trump's absurd claim that he knows nothing about former KKK leader David Duke

"I don't know anything about David Duke."
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/mar/02/donald-trump/trumps-absurd-claim-he-knows-nothing-about-former-/

Sanders: Welfare reform more than doubled 'extreme poverty'

"Since (welfare reform) was signed into law, the number of families living in extreme poverty has more than doubled."
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/mar/02/bernie-s/sanders-welfare-reform-more-doubled-extreme-povert/

Ted Cruz wrongly says Harry Reid likes Donald Trump best in GOP field

Then he added, "There's a reason (Senate Democratic Leader) Harry Reid, when asked about the Republican field, said the Republican he likes the best is Donald Trump, and he said, because I can work with him. He'll cut deals. We've had too many deals in Washington."
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/mar/02/ted-cruz/ted-cruz-wrongly-says-senate-democratic-leader-har/

R.I.P. religious right, and other Super Tuesday takeaways

(CNN)Was it a coming-out party for atheists or a funeral dirge for the religious right?
http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/02/politics/religion-super-tuesday/index.html

Unintended pregnancy rate in U.S. is high, but falling

A big part of the reason for the decline, at least so far, is the "pretty significant increase in women using long-acting contraceptive methods like the (intrauterine device) in recent periods," Finer said. These methods, such as the levonorgestrel and copper IUD and birth control implants, are associated with failure rates of less than 1%, while the failure rates of birth control pills and condoms are about 9% and 18%, respectively...
http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/02/health/unintended-pregnancy-rate/

Texas creationist won big in Super Tuesday’s race for Board of Education

"Obama has a soft spot for homosexuals because of the years he spent as a male prostitute in his twenties. That is how he paid for his drugs. He has admitted he was addicted to drugs when he was young, and he is sympathetic with homosexuals; but he hasn’t come out of the closet about his own homosexual/bisexual background."

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/danthropology/2016/03/texas-creationist-won-big-in-super-tuesdays-race-for-board-of-education/

McCain's Senate Challenger's Anti-Trump Ad

It's not difficult to pull together clips of Donald Trump that make the Republican Party look bad, and that's exactly what Democratic Senate candidates will be doing across the country this year...
https://youtu.be/u4RH7qqBMew

Welcome to Michigan: Don't Drink the Water

GOP, Democrats set to spar in Detroit and Flint.

It's hard to win a popularity contest when you're unpopular, but here the politicos come.

Michigan plays host this week to both the Democratic and Republican presidential roadshows.

What will the candidates find in the Great Lakes State? Failing schools. Crumbling roads. Poisoned water. And a people who have lost faith in their public officials.

They'll find America.

Some candidates will promise big government. Some will promise small government. But can they deliver an effective government?
https://youtu.be/6vyBq8W37w0