How Google Shapes the Opioid Crisis in America

Coming up on today’s show:

• On Thursday, a bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation that would force political ads sold on platforms like Facebook to be regulated the same way as ads sold on television and radio. For details on the bill, The Takeaway turns to Ann Ravel, former chair of the Federal Election Commission and a professor at U.C. Berkeley School of Law. 

• About 61 percent of addicts and their family members use the internet to find help. And a new report reveals that Google could be playing a massive role in shaping the response to the opioid crisis in America. David Dayen, who explores all this in his latest piece for The Intercept, explains. 

• Lawyers for the Trump Administration are attempting to block a pregnant 17 year old immigrant in federal custody from having an abortion. A state judge gave approval for the procedure, but federal officials refuse to allow her to have the procedure done. Tina Vasquez, immigration reporter for Rewire News, looks at the issues at play. 

• Yesterday. Defense Secretary James Mattis said the Pentagon still does not have the details of the attack in Niger that took place two weeks ago and killed four U.S. soldiers, and wounded two others. Dan Lamothe, national security reporter for The Washington Post, weighs in. 

• Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has called for a snap election which will be held on Sunday, a little more than a year before his term was to expire. For a look at what’s at stake, The Takeaway turns to Tobias Harris,  an analyst at political risk advisory firm Teneo Intelligence and an economy, trade, and business fellow at Sasakawa USA.

• Every Friday, Rafer Guzman, film critic for Newsday and The Takeaway, drops by to review the new releases hitting the box office. This week Rafer reviews “Goodbye Christopher Robin,” “The Snowman,” and “Only the Brave.”

• A massive truck explosion killed more than 300 people in Mogadishu last weekend. Since, there’s been no deluge of media coverage or viral hashtag to stand in solidarity with the people of that country. Why the lack of empathy? Alexis Okeowo, a staff writer for The New Yorker and author of “A Moonless, Starless Sky: Ordinary Women and Men Fighting Extremism in Africa,” answers. 

This episode is hosted by Todd Zwillich.