Closer Look: Georgia Professor Selected to Conduct Research in Nigeria; Synthetic Marijuana; And More

Thursday on “Closer Look with Rose Scott”:

• 0:00: Rose Scott gives a news brief about how U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy is planning to retire, and that Georgia could have viable candidates as nominations for his replacement. Justices Keith Blackwell and Britt Grant, who currently serve on the Georgia Supreme Court, might be among the White House list of candidates for the U.S. Supreme Court. It’s possible President Donald Trump will make his nomination within the following weeks.
• 1:37: Albany State University Biology Professor Dr. Olabisi Ojo was recently awarded a fellowship by the Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Program to advance research in microbial genomics. This research is part of a host of other projects, which include controlling malaria, strengthening peace and conflict studies, and training and mentoring graduate students in criminal justice. Dr. Ojo joins us via Skype from Nigeria to talk about his work.
• 18:40: Synthetic marijuana or synthetic cannabinoids are manmade, and had been considered a viable alternative to marijuana. But it has now been linked to an epidemic of deaths, with cases where even rat poison had been added to the substance. We learn more from Dr. Tegan Boehmer, acting lead of the Healthy Community Design Initiative at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• 36:43: Recently, the Seattle City Council voted to repeal a recently passed employee tax on large companies in the city, which includes Amazon. The tax would have charged companies who gross at least $20 million a year $275 per employee. We speak with Seattle Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda about what happened in the vote, what this means for the city of Seattle moving forward, and what lessons there are for cities vying to become home to Amazon’s second headquarters.

Closer Look is produced by Candace Wheeler, Emilia Brock and Trevor Young.