Admiral Mike Mullen, Passenger Rights, Women’s Hockey Scores Gold

Coming up on today’s show:

• The White House’s positioning against Russia has been varied in the days since the Syrian sarin gas attack and President Trump’s subsequent response. The Takeaway explores the dynamic between Syria, Russia, and the United States, and the future of American involvement in the Syrian Civil War, with Admiral Mike Mullen, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama.

• Outrage continues to mount over a viral video of a United Airlines customer being dragged off an overbooked flight. What kind of rights do passengers have at every step of the flying process — from the airport, to the security line, to the tarmac, and in the air? Joseph LoRusso, an aviation attorney and licensed pilot with LoRusso & LoRusso, answers. 

• One third of high school juniors in Ohio are in danger of not graduating on time. New graduation requirements are more demanding than the old Ohio graduation tests, and educators are calling for a change in requirements. Matt Jablonski, an American history teacher at Ohio’s Elyria High School, has the details. 

• In February, famine was declared in two counties in South Sudan. Now, as fighting and ethnic killings increase, five more counties are also about to descend into crisis. How is the world’s youngest country already facing such devastation? Jeffrey Gettleman, East Africa bureau chief for our partners at The New York Times, weighs in. 

• A new book focuses on an overlooked part of the migrant crisis: The smugglers and traffickers who earn billions of dollars. Peter Tinti, author of “Migrant, Refugee, Smuggler, Savior,” and his-coauthor spent years researching and reporting in the field to better understand how smuggling and trafficking networks have evolved and adapted, and he shares his findings today on The Takeaway.

• After putting their careers on the line by threatening a boycott of the World Championships over unequal pay and a lack of support, the U.S. Women’s National Hockey Team took home gold in the championship game with an overtime win against Canada on Friday. Three members of the U.S. Women’s National Hockey team — Kendall Coyne, Amanda Kessel, and Meghan Duggan — discuss their victories on and off the ice.