Sessions Faces the Senate, America’s Drone War, A Hollywood Pioneer

Coming up on today’s show:

• On Tuesday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions appeared before the Senate to testify about his role in the investigation into Russian interference in the election. Sessions was on the defensive, denying that he recused himself because of any wrongdoing. Roy L. Austin, former deputy assistant attorney general in the civil rights division of the Department of Justice from 2010 to 2014, analyzes his testimony. 

• Between 2002 and 2017, the U.S. government has acknowledged approximately 150 drone strikes in Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia. But those numbers don’t tell the whole story. Alex Moorehead, director of the counterterrorism, armed conflict and human rights project at Columbia Law School’s Human Rights Institute, explains.

• After being held in a North Korean prison for 17 months, University of Virginia Student Otto Warmbier was released on Tuesday. Warmbier’s health appears to have deteriorated drastically, and he is said to be in a coma. But Warmbier’s release is a grim reminder that there are three other Americans are currently being held by the state. Phil Robertson, deputy director of the Asia Division at Human Rights Watch, weighs in. 

• Congressman Steve Scalise, the Republican majority whip in the U.S. House of Representatives, was shot along with others at a baseball field in Alexandria, Virginia on Wednesday. Takeaway Washington Correspondent Todd Zwillich has the details on this developing story. 

• If there is one woman who understands the gender dynamics in Hollywood, it’s Marcia Nasatir. Nasitir, who is now 91, was the first female vice president of production in Hollywood. Her life story is told in the new documentary, “A Classy Broad,” directed by Anne Goursaud.

• Gingger Shankar is a singer, virtuoso violinist, composer, model and songwriter, and was born into one of the world’s most acclaimed and influential musical families — her great uncle is Ravi Shankhar. Shankar has now unveiled her latest work, “Nari,” a multimedia family project. She discusses her work today on The Takeaway.