Tonight at 7pm: Young Illegal Immigrants, Afghanistan "Timeline Obsession," and more...
It's already shaping up to be an incredibly busy Tuesday night broadcast. We'll try to pack in as much as possible during tonight's two-hour radio extravaganza. Some of the things I know we'll get into:
At 7:05: The plight of young illegal immigrants who are allowed to go to school in Texas but can't get jobs here because no one wants to/is allowed to hire them. We'll check in with Professor Robert Gonzales at the University of Washington.
This story by Jessica Meyers in the Dallas Morning News got a ton of reaction, and I'm struck by the fact that even some border security hardliners are sympathetic. For example, my friend Chris Salcedo said:
"These young people are the kind of immigrants we want, those dedicated 100% to being Americans. Any reform on Illegal-Immigration must consider these illegals that are victims of their parents choice to violate U.S. laws."
At 7:20: CBS News Correspondent August Skamenca will check in from South Padre Island, where emergency managers and residents are preparing for the arrival of Tropical Storm (Soon-To-Be Hurricane) Alex.
At 7:35: I thought we were all pretty sure the Cold War was over, but now Russia says relations are in jeopardy because of the arrests of accused Russian spies on the East Coast. We'll talk with a former US spy, Fred Burton at Stratfor.
At 8:05: Is there an obsession with the "timetable" for Afghanistan? President Obama has said that there is and the guy taking over the command, Gen. David Petraeus is testifying on Capitol Hill. Petraeus is the guy now that President Obama dumped Gen. Stanley McChrystal over disparaging remarks made in Rolling Stone. We'll connect with Josh Rogin at Foreign Policy Magazine to talk about what the timeline really means.
It's also critical to point out that CIA Director Leon Panetta told ABC News that he believes the number of Al Quaeda operatives working in Afghanistan is less than 100. Keep in mind we're spending $6.7 billion a month on US operations in Afghanistan to tamp down less than 100 guys at this point. Everyone agrees the bulk of Al Quaeda in that region are in the tribal areas of Pakistan.
At 8:35: Sonja West has some advice at Slate.com for Supreme Court Nominee Elena Kagan. Kagan has backpedaled hard on her previous statements that court nominees should be more forthcoming about their legal views, but she is hinting that she'd support campaign finance restrictions.
Oh, and at some point before 9pm I should have an update on what I plan to do about my cell phone situation.
