1:06pm: The latest polls show former House Speaker Newt Gingrich now leading the GOP pack in key states like Iowa, even as Gingrich's campaign struggles to ramp up its operations in early voting states. Democratic strategists are divided over what kind of challenge Gingrich poses to President Obama. On the Republican side, Gingrich's critics have been holding their tongues, but this weekend, Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn reiterated his statement that he cannot support Newt Gingrich because he finds Gingrich "lacking" in leadership. We'll find out what could be next.1:12pm: Flathead County, Montana, on the western edge of Glacier National Park, is one of the most rugged and beautiful places in the country. It attracts thousands of visitors every year. Lately ultra right-wing extremists have been moving in—including April Gaede of the white supremacist group, Pioneer Little Europe, and Chuck Baldwin of the Constitution Party. They say the region's strong libertarian streak and weak gun control laws make it the perfect place for like-minded people to join them and establish a whites only, anti-government enclave. We'll hear from David Holthouse, who specializes in reporting on right-wing extremist movements for the on-line publication Media Matters.1:35pm: Members of a Louisville theatre company are staging a production of Romeo and Juliet, cast entirely with inmates in Luther Luckett Correctional Complex. WFPL's Graham Shelby speaks with members of the troupe.1:40pm: Seventy years ago this week, the surprise Japanese attack on the US Navy's Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, forced President Franklin Roosevelt to declare war on Japan. But all these years later the question is still asked, why did Japan do it? Jeffrey Record says the war was inevitable, because of Japanese ambition, and their dependence on the US for oil and other goods. Record's book is "A War It Was Always Going To Lose: Why Japan Attacked America in 1941." Record says, "Japan felt entitled to an empire in East Asia and it pointed to the United States and Britain as models." He joins us to explain.
Laura is LPM's Director of Podcasts & Special Projects.
Email Laura at lellis@lpm.org.