What’s Next for Health Care, Putin Answers Back on Sanctions, LeVar Burton Reads Out Loud

Coming up on today’s show: 

• After seven years of increasingly heated rhetoric, will Senate Republicans admit defeat and begin to work with Democrats on a new health care bill? Some politicians have already begun discussing compromise, but most in the Senate GOP don’t seem ready to give up on repeal and replace just yet. Joanne Kenen, executive editor for health care at Politico, breaks down what to expect next on health care.

• The White House announced last week that President Trump plans to sign Congress’ newly drafted sanctions against Russia into law. In response, Russian President Vladimir Putin is requiring the U.S. to cut hundreds of personnel from their Russian embassy staff. Is this just the start of escalating tensions between Russia and the U.S.? Rajan Menon, Anne and Bernard Spitzer Professor at the Powell School at The City College of New York, weighs in. 

• An Associated Press investigation across all 50 states has found that the Supreme Court’s ban on mandatory life without parole for juvenile homicide offenders has resulted in an uneven patchwork of responses as officials wrestle with complicated cases. Sharon Cohen, national writer for the Associated Press, brings The Takeaway the story of one Detroit resident who went into the criminal justice system as a juvenile and is scheduled to be paroled in September.   

• On Sunday, Venezuela voted in favor of a new legislative body that will be rewriting the country’s constitution. Widely seen as part of President Nicolas Maduro’s plan to strengthen his party’s power, the election has sparked months of protest and political opposition from from those who fear country is heading for a dictatorship. Anatoly Kurmanaev, reporter for The Wall Street Journal joins The Takeaway from Caracas, Venezuela with the latest.

• Yesterday was World Day against Trafficking in Persons. According to the International Labor Organization, nearly 21 million people are victims of forced labor worldwide. Michael Brosowski, founder and president of Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation, an organization in Vietnam that has rescued hundreds of trafficked children, joins The Takeaway to discuss the global fight against human trafficking. 

• Last week, The Center for Media and Democracy, alongside the Bioscience Resource Project, published thousands pages of rediscovered chemical industry and regulatory agency documents that date back to the 1920s. The collection of reports, testimonies and legal documents suggest that corporate ties have historically influenced scientific labs testing to reveal potentially harmful chemicals. Jonathan Latham, PhD, executive director of the Bioscience Research Project, discusses the paper’s revelations. 

• Actor LeVar Burton is best known for his work on “Roots,” “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” and the popular PBS children’s show “Reading Rainbow.” He sat down with The Takeaway to discuss the launch of his new podcast, “LeVar Burton Reads,” which taps into the audience and appeal of “Reading Rainbow.”

  This episode is hosted by Todd Zwillich.