the university of oklahoma was wrong in this case. that doesn't mean i don't think that the use of epithets like that could be punished. they could be punished if they are on a face-to-face encounter and using it as a direct personal insult, in a dormitory, for example. but this was not that. these words were not being hurled at an individual as an epithet. whether it was meant to be funny or not to be funny, that's not my problem. it seems to me this was within their rights. jeff: i think i would like everyone's use on the university of oklahoma case. now i think geoff and i are in agreement. if we alter it with students on campus with black students. let's say they are not yelling it at black students, but they are in a fraternity ritual. i think they should be punished. i don't -- i'm not sure expulsion should be the right punishment. they are not making an argument. they are not advancing research. they are not educating people. they are not resizing roe v. wade. is an action that demoralizes other students for no reason whatsoever

bring in a guess joshua landis is the director at the center of middle east studies at the university of oklahoma nice to have you on just. what ramifications do you think this turkish offensive against the kurds could topple well let's remember is an extremely unstable region well it's really a indication to the united states that they're going to have a tough sledding here is going to be difficult for them to arm the kurds and to develop northern syria as an autonomous region in the face of turkish opposition and turkey is doing this in no small part because it's infuriated the united states it doesn't believe the united states that's been sensitive to turkish. really concerns and they're sticking a their problem the united states saying you can't get away with ignoring us. what do you think about the u.s. actions in terms of the syrian kurds who they once proclaimed as the partners and allies now it seems in the face of this offensive the victim really being left to their own devices. well our freedom is a small enclave that is separated by so quite a bit of arab territory from the main statem

in a guess just with on this is the director of the center for middle east studies at the university of oklahoma nice of you old joshua what ramifications do you think the confines of the kids could have let's remember the extreme really unstable region. well it's really a indication to the united states that they're going to have a tough sledding ahead it's going to be difficult for them to arm the kurds and to develop northern syria as an autonomous region in the face of turkish opposition and turkey is doing this in no small part because just infuriated at the united states it doesn't believe the united states has been censored enough to turkish.

from reza italy by skype is joshua landis directs the center for middle east studies at the university of oklahoma very warm welcome to all three of you let me start off with you joshua landis what do you make of this outright support now for the kurds in syria and the u.s. backing this thirty thousand strong force well it's clearly a new departure for the united states the u.s. went into syria saying that it was a very narrow policy to defeat isis today isis is largely defeated yes there needs to be more policing but the united states has developed a policy which goes far beyond defeating isis today it is trying to roll back iran weaken our side help its allies israel and saudi arabia and did not i our side capability to rebuilt keep it weak and divided and this means supporting the kurds in the north and a larger on clay. this is infuriating turkey an error to want it is driving turkey towards russia and i believe it's a dangerous policy for the united states because it'll be very difficult and it will isolate the united states from iran turkey and eventually even iraq met i'm going to turn what

he is the director of the centre for middle east studies at the university of oklahoma and author ofent. hejoins me now he joins me now from hejoins me now from italy. what do you make of what is going on in the idlib area? well, idlib is in the north along the turkish border. the russians and americans negotiated three big areas of deconfliction zones, as they called it, where they would agree to stop fighting while the battle with isis was being waged. but the territorial battle against crisis has come to an end now, says syria has begun moving its units back towards the three major areas, one of which is idlib and is still held by rebels. in syria, the assad government has every intention to ta ke assad government has every intention to take back these regions. so we are going to see a lot of fighting, ifear, in the next are going to see a lot of fighting, i fear, in the next weeks. thank you for stopping those phones for us! that is one of the areas. eastern ghouta is another. 0bviously, that is one of the areas. eastern ghouta is another. obviously, this does go against the gene

as always very good to hear farce on the situation in syria joshua landis from the university of oklahoma joining us there via skype on the news great now you've just heard about the various peace initiatives for syria over the past few years but worth taking a pause also to take a look back at how it all began in february it'll be exactly seven years since the start of the war in syria and there's an excellent documentary on al-jazeera dot com looking at the very beginning of the uprising it's called the boy who started the syrian civil war and it tells a story of why yes the man who was just fourteen years old when he sprayed anti-government graffiti on a school wall in their eyes in february twenty levon it was that minor acts that sparked a full blown civil war it's a fascinating film to watch if you can it's on al-jazeera. and some very good comments on these talks in sochi and also the situation in syria from our viewers here on the news great the far on facebook who says the u.n. failed to maintain peace in the world they either stand on their feet or dissolve the u.n. thank you fo

this year, the rose bowl was between the university of georgia, my home state, and the university of oklahoma. one of the greatest football games i think anybody will admit has ever been played in that game before, and i'm proud of both those great universities. i'm equally proud of the university of alabama and clemson university, the other two teams who played for the right to outlay in atlanta, georgia, on monday night of next week on january 8 to decide the collegiate national championship in america. my bulldogs, georgia, is going to be one of those two teams. they defeated oklahoma 54-48 in a great football game in california. alabama made a decisive victory over clemson in new orleans, louisiana, in the sugar bowl. and the two will meet this coming monday night in the mercedes-benz bowl in atlanta, georgia. i don't know who is going to win. i know who i'm pulling for. i know who i am for. i know who i will brag about tonight, but i am equally bragging about all our collegiate athletics that take place in this country, and the great men and women who make it work, the coaches, the athle

this and speak to joshua landis is the director of the center for middle east studies at the university of oklahoma but he is joining us via skype from a so that's an elite thanks for speaking to us so if you just listen to what the u.s. secretary of state had said recently on this issue of the thirty thousand strong border force he said that it had been mis portrayed what does that exactly mean and do you understand what the u.s. is it is doing with this border force. we don't know what it really means and he has an articulate what he means is that a police force not an order horses east so we don't know whether this is just a rebranding are whether this is something substantially climb down by the united states to give less arms to the kurds up northern syria. the united states in this announcement is saying that it's going to stay there and it's going to support kurdish nationalism united states says we're not supporting kurdish nationalism but what else can it be they're giving arms to kurds to establish an army for an independent unclaimed in northern syria is that we know that i'm an aim here

shouted back with us on the newsgroup associate professor of middle eastern politics at the university of oklahoma joining us via skype today some of you heard what some in and was just saying there he wants neutrality from the military and from everyone basically what chance of him getting that. i think it's unlikely his candidacy of course a surprising and he was popular some time ago and i think he would look to be a popular safe alternative to the current leader but i do think it's very unlikely based on everything we've seen in the last three or four years in terms of political space civil society freedoms and so on repression that this will be a fair and free election well when you look at the numbers from the last election and i just reiterate at them before ninety seven percent of the vote was what president sisi got and i suspect people probably looked at that thing then with a raised eyebrow is it likely then do you think that we would see something like that again i don't think so i think that of course in the previous election the in sabbahi was their supposed alternative and he really

research on weather at the university of oklahoma. yeah, that's great. raised the alert time from 5 to 10 to 20 minutes. that's life and death in a place like oklahoma. i said that was an earmark, he said, those were great projects. bingo, that's the point. 95% of these things, any member who dealt with them can get up and deafen, not of getting extra money but making sure that a particular local problem got solved and the idea that there's no -- that all the decisions made in the bureaucracy or any administration of either party are somehow nonpolitical an somehow there's no preference expressed, i have been around government to know that's not true. whoever is making decision brings some set of values, some set of criteria, sometimes it's objectively, honestly sometimes it's not. in the case, seems they are much more transparent. i supported the reforms they instituted. they were wise reform and try to regain confidence in the system and i think hopefully i was -- but even -- i actually agree with my friends who got rid of earmarks for private entities

i mentioned to my friend, the publisher about research on weather at the university of oklahoma. he said, yeah, that's great. he raised the alert time from five to 15 to 20 minutes. that's life and death in a place like oklahoma. that was an earmark. he said, those were all great projects. bingo. that's the point. 95% of these things, anybody, any member who dealt with them, could get up and defend. it was mostly a matter of not getting extra money but making sure a particular local problem got involved. t the idea that all the decisions made in the bureaucracy or any administration of either party are somehow nonpolitical and somehow there is no preference expressed, i have been around government long enough to know that is not true. whoever is making decisions brings some set of values and criteria. sometimes it is objective and sometimes it is not. at least in this case, it seems to me these things are much more transparent. i applaud my democratic friends. i supported the reforms they instituted. i think they were wise reforms. i think they were meant to try and regain confid

university of georgia will play for a national championship. they punched their ticket in one of the greatest rose bowl games ever, battling oklahoma and baker mayfields battling the flu but looking like drew brees 2.0. the highest scoring rose bowl ever. sooners were up by 17 in the first half, but georgia kept attacking. they used the wild dog formation. nick chubb, game-tying touchdown with a minute to go. in overtime for the first time in rose bowl history. uga's lorenzo carter blocks the field goal attempt and that means that on the next drive, with any points, uga is going to win and sure enough senior running back, 27 yards to the house and into ath leans and uga football lore. they advance to the title game with a 54-48 comeback win. in the sugar bowl, alabama's punishing defensive performance helps them get revenge against the defending champs clemson. 300 plus pound defender payne. playing a big man's dream game. not only did he get the interception, coach designed an offensive play for him, a pass, which he catches, taps the toes, stays inbounds and my goodness, the tide were jaw-droppingly r ferocious and vicious on defense. unpredictable

week against the winner of the rose bowl, the university of georgia and what a game it was in the first overtime game in rose bowl history. georgia beat oklahoma double overtime. the 27 yard touchdown run in the second overtime, propelled the bulldogs to next monday night's championship game in atlanta. >>> legendary sports caster tells us about her over coming sex journalism. protection that's why only pampers swaddlers is the #1 choice of hospitals to wrap your baby in blanket-like softness and premium protection mom: "oh hi baby" so all they feel is love wishing you love, sleep and play. pampers a whole new concept in skin say heldefense.e-tox! new absolutely ageless®... ...pre-tox day mask from aveeno®. its' powerful anti-oxidant formula... ...fights pollution and keeps skin looking younger, longer. aveeno®. actually, the biggest dinos only ate plants! mu-um dinosaurs only eat meat! and country crock is made with plants. country crock has always been made with the goodness of plants. it has real, simple ingredients... and the same country fresh taste you love. welcome to crock country. you were borne to travel... borne to rock... borne to

undeserving based on the ror and oklahoma state claims 1941 when they lost two games and finished 25. ucf has good a crime as any 2459 is ever i'm awarding university ofny perkins memorial. national championship trophy. danny white the athletic director at ucf come claim your 2r06 he you can have it at your parade in disneyworld we don't recognize it because ucf beat the team that beat both sfwlem that's true. >> this lovely trophy. >> this is old. >> it's dusty though. >> it's a little dusty because nobody ever dleepd before. >> it's been sitting in the basement for years. >> just like tony perkins it's all dusty. >> he could not resist. >> however you said it's memorial. i'm not dead. >> it's going to break, oh, [ laughter ]. >> don't worry we don't know what it's >> oh, >> this is why you're leaving. >> when you can't be trust add around anything. >> tony perkins ruins everything. >> ah, >> oh, my gosh. >> congratulations ucf. >> all right. >> coming up next at 11. >> a mother is claiming the d.c. police officers knocked over a young boy during protest on inauguration day and now she's suing coming up from her next. >> two disturbing murder mysteri

of climate evidence would fall in on his head if he tried. witnesses from virtually every leading state university in the country, from alaska to oklahoma to georgia to maine, expert scientists from idaho or tennessee, our national security agencies and our military, america's government watchdog agencies like the g.a.o. and the g.s.a., and even the trump administration's own recent climate report all -- all would pile on the conclusive evidence of climate change. and on the or side would be what? pathetic kathleen waite who gave one of the worst confirmation hearings. the secretly fossil fuel-funded willie soon, some coal company lobbyist? or perhaps the heartland institute with its proud history of comparing climate scientists to the unibomber. mr. president, it would be a route. it would be a route, and even pruitt knows t and the the reason it would be a route is because of the rule of law. the rule of law requirements of the administrative procedures act, the rule of law specter of judicial review, and the rule of law sanctions that courts impose for false evidence. certainly bob murray and his surrounding crowd of bad acting fossil fuel bill

universal vaccine. it may be a while before we get that. >> more than half a dozen school districts in oklahoma and one in texas have shut down for at least a day because of the outbreak. in california the loma linda medical center has set up a triage tent outside to cope with the additional burdens. >> emergency room usually sees 222 patients a day. we have been seeing 280, over 300 last week. if we get too many patients, we are moving less sick patients here. >> jessica meantime buried 12-year-old michael today. >> i am a mom. i'm supposed to protect my kids and i couldn't. >> nationwide according to the latest figures, 759 people have died because of the flu. the season runs through march. >> bret: jonathan, thank you. the parents of 13 siblings who were allegedly held in captivity and their families southern california home are being charged tonight with committing years of torture and abuse that left their children malnourished, undersized, and with cognitive impairments. this comes after the escape of one of those children led police to the home last weekend. the father is being charged with a sex crime. we are keeping an eye on the house action or

university medical center. >> we set up a tent outside to find a place to find patients and treat them. >> reporter: federal health officials stress the severity of the flu. >> reporter: in oklahoma it's forced half a dozen school districts to shut down for at least a day. the virus alone has caused more than 20 deaths and more than 1,000 hospitalizations across the state. across the border in texas, 589 students called out sick wednesday at the sheldon school in dallas. nearly half of the school's 920 students are using smart thermometers to record their temperature online. >> the parents can post anonymously what their child is feeli feeling, if they have a sore throat, headache. >> if the families know that their child has symptoms of other children that have the flu, they're more than likely to keep them home. >> reporter: kim says one of those companies that makes the thermometer, they found that missouri is the sickest state of the country, about 5.2 reported sick. that's more than 40,000 people coming down with the flu virus and it's already killed 33 people in the state. norah? >> boy, those numbers really put it in perspective. thaevg you so much. >>> a 20-year-old south

oklahoma. you are on the air. >> guest: thank you for taking my call. in october, november, i hadr: se students in my u.s. history classes that attended a talk at the university oftolls .-full-stotulsa --how many couns to nuclear weapons, and how dangerous is our world today particularly with the dialogue that we hear constantly on twitter on the news, and i would like to hearr our guest. >> guest: i think the danger of nuclear weapons, as gray as it was when i was a boy when we literally just have these drills and think about fallout shelters and was a general national paranoia about this, it receded at the end of the cold war. there is no question that we live in a word where the nature of the accident leading to a nuclear exchange between the u.s. and north korea are thinking about the idea of having these thoughts aboutic nuclear war exchanged by an american president and leader i find deeply disturbing and the danger of the war between india and pakistan. one thing we hear again and again from the national security advisors is about. one thing we were told because ofes mistakes they have a couple of minutes to decide whether to launch the retaliation. the p

oklahoma, you are on the air. >> caller: in october and november i had some students in my us history classes attend a talk at the history of the universityof tulsa of survivors of the atomic bombs in hiroshima and nagasaki and it heightens the paranoia my students have as to how many have access to nuclear weapons and how dangerous is the world today with the dialogue we hear constantly on twitter and on the news and i would like to hear the guest's answer to that. >> guest: the danger of nuclear weapons is as great as it was when i was a boy, when we had air raid drills and fallout shelters and national paranoia about nuclear war. that receded at the end of the cold war but no question we live in a world where the danger of accidents leading to a nuclear exchange whether it is between the us and north korea which we are all thinking about now the idea of the boasts and taunts about nuclear war, i find deeply disturbing. the danger of a war between india and pakistan, name your other set of nuclear armed countries, too large. when we hear again and again, former national security advisor is about moments when they were told because of mi

oklahoma lady was trying to say. everything should be settled by the state, local, federal, parents, and they should look into all of that. at any universitythe book should stop with the president of the university. they should be held accountable. the parents should be held accountable as to what they knew. keep it in the legal system. if congress starts getting involved, it will get too crazy or two out of control. the ncaa will not do anything. host: we see this happening again, do you think that is -- caller: there is no question in my mind it will happen again. it happens in fraternities, happens at every major college in america. it is egregious with that i did with the gymnasts, and what brought it to light is it was the national gymnasts team. this happens everywhere. congress getting involved is not the answer. the ncaa is not the answer. i think setting new guidelines for universities is the answer. host: all right. myra is calling in from chicago. what you think the role of congress is, if any? caller: i think it is really up to the parents. i have a daughter. aytime she has to go to checkup, either gynecological or other, i am

oklahoma, you are on the air. >> caller: thank you for taking my call. in october november i had students from, a us history class who tend to talk at the university of tulsa as to survivors of the atomic bombs, hiroshima and nagasaki and it heightened the paranoia my students had as to how many countries have access to nuclear weapons and how dangerous is our world today, particularly with the dialogue that we hear constantly on twitter or on the news and i'd like to hear our guests answer to that. >> host: thank you david. >> guest: i think the danger of nuclear weapons as great as it was when i was a boy when i would literally have air raid drills at fallout shelters and there was general national paranoia about the war. that receded at the end of the cold war. there is no question we live in a world where the danger of accidents leading to a nuclear exchange whether it's between the us and north korea which we are all thinking about now. we have these talks about nuclear war exchanged by the american president, i find it deeply disturbing. in the danger of a warbetween and india and pakistan . name your other set of nuclear arms terms. it's just dredgi