Republicans are threatening FBI agent Peter Strzok with contempt for refusing to answer questions at his hearing before the House Judiciary and Oversight committees. We also discuss the reopening of the 1955 lynching case of Emmett Till; debate LA County's new property tax to fund the capture of stormwater; and more.
FBI’s Peter Strzok gets blasted during House hearing, the latest on NATO and more
Another day, another fracas on the Hill.
Republicans are threatening FBI agent Peter Strzok with contempt for refusing to answer questions at his hearing before the House Judiciary and Oversight committees. Strzok oversaw the beginning stages of the Russia investigation and is accused of allowing political bias to influence his handling of the probe.
Today’s hearing may go down as the rowdiest House hearing ever with a contentious back and forth between Strzok and GOP members. We also roundup other political news and get the latest on President Donald Trump’s NATO announcements, what to watch for during his trip to the United Kingdom and more.
Guests:
Billy House, congressional correspondent for Bloomberg News who has been following the story; he tweets
Alex Wayne, White House editor for Bloomberg; he tweets
As DOJ reopens 1955 lynching case of Emmett Till, we examine its historical significance
The federal government has reopened its investigation into the slaying of Emmett Till, the black teenager whose brutal killing in Mississippi shocked the world and helped inspire the civil rights movement more than 60 years ago.
The Justice Department told Congress in a report in March that it is reinvestigating Till’s slaying in Money, Mississippi, in 1955 after receiving “new information.” The case was closed in 2007 with authorities saying the suspects were dead; a state grand jury didn’t file any new charges.
The federal report, sent annually to lawmakers under a law that bears Till’s name, does not indicate what the new information might be.
But it was issued in late March after the publication last year of “The Blood of Emmett Till,” a book that says a key figure in the case acknowledged lying about events preceding the slaying of the 14-year-old youth from Chicago.
The book, by Timothy B. Tyson, quotes a white woman, Carolyn Donham, as acknowledging during a 2008 interview that she wasn’t truthful when she testified that Till grabbed her, whistled and made sexual advances at a store in 1955.
We discuss the latest, plus the historical significance of the reopening of this investigation in this moment.
With files from the Associated Press.
Guests:
Devery Anderson, author of the book, “Emmett Till: The Murder That Shocked the World and Propelled the Civil Rights Movement” (University of Mississippi Press, 2015); he tweets
David Houck, founder of the Emmett Till archives at Florida State University; professor of communications at the school
Darryl Mace, author of the book, "Remembrance of Emmett Till: Regional Stories and Media Responses to the Black Freedom Struggle" (University Press of Kentucky, 2014); professor of history at Cabrini University in Pennyslvania
‘Tis the season for a Dodgers comeback — with our ‘triple play’ hosts!
We’re halfway through 2018 Major League Baseball, which means the time is ripe for a Dodgers check in with KPCC’s resident baseball experts Larry Mantle, A Martínez and Nick Roman.
Despite experiencing what many have claimed to be a notorious World Series hangover and a rough stint of disabled key players, the (blue) Los Angeles team has finally managed to stage a comeback. They’ve come from sitting at 16-26 in May to being tied for first place with a 47-39 record before heading into their series with the Los Angeles Angels this past weekend. The Angels took two out of the three games in the freeway series.
So what’s changed? And can Dodger fans stay hopeful for long? Our triple play blue buffs are back with a toothy roundup of this season’s highs and lows.
Guests:
A Martínez, host of KPCC’s Take Two; he tweets
Nick Roman, host of KPCC’s All Things Considered; he tweets
The final kick: Croatia versus France, what to expect and how we got here
The World Cup comes to an end on Sunday with France and Croatia competing for first place.
After defeating England yesterday, Croatia will be heading to its first World Cup final. The last time the country made it to the final four was in 1998 when France hosted and won the World Cup. That was also the last and only time France took home the prize.
This year’s World Cup has been filled with surprises. Croatia was not expected to make it this far, Brazil is no longer the victorious national team it once was, and the tournament has narrowed down to a European competition.
So what can we expect as the finalists head to Russia? We discuss with Mike Woitalla of SoccerAmerica.com and Kevin Baxter from the L.A. Times.
Guests:
Kevin Baxter, sports writer who soccer for the Los Angeles Times; he tweets
Mike Woitalla, executive editor of SoccerAmerica.com; he tweets
LA County considers new property tax to fund the capture of stormwater, we debate the impact
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is set to vote next week on whether to place a new property tax on the November ballot that would pay for capturing and cleaning up stormwater.
Under the proposed parcel tax, property owners would be charged 2.5 cents per square foot of “impermeable” surface. To determine the tax liability of each landlord, the county has used satellite imagery to examine each parcel and calculate the impermeable surface area. Areas that would be subject to the proposed tax include driveways, parking lots, concrete patios and any surface that fails to allow rainwater to infiltrate into the ground.
County officials estimate that the tax would raise $300 million a year to pay for drought awareness, workforce training, job assistance for the homeless and more clean-up. Most of the money would be used to construct projects to capture stormwater and filter it into underground aquifers where it would increase the amount and quality of California’s domestic water supply.
Proponents of the measure say that the parcel tax would enable the region to better survive droughts and reduce pollution. Critics on the other hand are concerned that the new tax would burden homeowners and will not do much to the environment.
Meanwhile, businesses would face the heftiest taxes. Among those who would be impacted by the new property tax are retail stores, office buildings, manufacturing facilities and apartment buildings. We debate the measure.
Guests:
Sharon McNary, KPCC’s infrastructure correspondent; she tweets
Lauren Ahkiam, director of water projects at the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE), a Los Angeles-based nonprofit advocacy group that endorses the stormwater measure; former senior research and policy analyst on LAANE’s waste and recycling campaigns
Leonard Gilroy, director of government reform at Reason Foundation, a non-profit think tank advancing free markets; he tweets
What if we didn’t start working full time until age 40?
Education, career growth, raising kids – these are all pursuits that we attempt to crunch into a few frenzied decades before we retire at age 66 and then die.
Except...we don’t die. Lifespans continue to get longer and healthier, so why don’t we redistribute life’s obligations over a longer stretch of time? That’s the recommendation of Laura Carstensen, the founding director of the Stanford Center on Longevity. Her work focuses on how people can live longer and better lives, and how institutions can accommodate a growing influx of older people. Carstensen proposes longer apprenticeships and part time work for people raising families. Then, longer careers that launch into full time work around age 40 with retirement at age 80.
How do you see this playing out practically? What societal changes would you like to see to accommodate longer lifespans and an aging population?
Guest:
Laura Carstensen, founding director of the Stanford Center on Longevity and professor of psychology and public policy at Stanford