We speak with fire professionals in all three regions to get the latest information on evacuations, structure loss and more. We also tackle national politics during our weekly round table; discuss how the CBS board is expected to handle allegations of sexual harassment against its CEO Les Moonves; and more.
The latest on the ground as Carr, Mendocino and Ferguson fires continue to scorch tens of thousands of acres
Three massive large fires are burning in Northern and Central CA.
The Carr Fire near Redding is a 150-square miles. Thousands have been evacuated there and in Mendocino and Lake Counties, as two fires have merged along highway 101. Firefighting resources are stretched thin.
A woman shared this photo on Facebook. A group of fire fighters who had been working by her house last night curled up and slept on the ground once it was safe... resting up for another round with the
— Shelbie Malin (@shelbiemalin)
A woman shared this photo on Facebook. A group of fire fighters who had been working by her house last night curled up and slept on the ground once it was safe... resting up for another round with the #CarrFire #trueheroes pic.twitter.com/mxEMksIakR
— Shelbie Malin (@shelbiemalin) July 28, 2018
Southwest of there, the town of Lakeport, east of highway 101, has been evacuated. Two fires in Mendocino County have merged to create a bigger threat there.
Meanwhile, near Yosemite, the Ferguson Fire burns on, now having scorched more than 50,000 acres and as of Monday morning was only 30 percent contained.
And then there’s the Mendocino Complex Fire that formed from the combination of the River Fire and Ranch Fire. It's just five percent contained as of Monday morning and has burned more than 35,000 acres northeast of Ukiah in Mendocino County.
We’ll get the latest updates from the ground on each of these fires.
Guests:
Gabe Lauderdale, Cal Fire public information officer with the Carr Fire
Marisa Kendall, reporter with the Bay Area News Group; she has been reporting in Redding since yesterday morning; she tweets
Jacob Welsh, public information officer for the Ferguson Fire with U.S. Forest Service
Trisha Austin, Cal Fire PIO for the Mendocino Complex
Kelly Huston, a deputy director with California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services; he helps coordinate California’s mutual aid from other states
Carroll Wills, communications director at California Professional Firefighters, the state union representing professional firefighters and departments throughout California
Mark Schwartz, environmental science professor at UC Davis where he studies fire ecology, climate change and response
Week in politics: President Trump plays shutdown politics over border wall, the latest on family reunification after last week’s deadline and more
AirTalk’s weekly political roundtable recaps the headlines you might have missed this weekend and looks ahead to what we’re watching this week.
President Trump threatens shutdown if no border wall funding
President Trump vs. NY Times publisher on impact of POTUS’ anti-media rhetoric
President Trump takes victory lap on Friday after strong economic growth numbers – how much credit does he deserve?
POTUS Sunday tweetstorm railing against Mueller
Family reunification latest (460 parents deported without kids)
Political dimensions of proposed $12B aid package for farmers to ease tariff strain
After White House says it’ll wait until 2019 to have President Putin visit, Kremlin offers visit to Trump
U.S.-E.U. trade cooperation
Guests:
Pete Peterson, dean of the School of Public Policy and senior fellow at The Davenport Institute at Pepperdine University; he tweets
Lisa Garcia Bedolla, professor of political science and education, and director of the Institute of Governmental Studies at UC Berkeley; she tweets
Sexual misconduct allegations against Les Moonves throw future of CBS into unknown
CBS is investigating personal misconduct claims after the company's chief executive, Les Moonves, was the subject of a New Yorker story detailing sexual misconduct allegations.
The media company said independent members of its board of directors are "investigating claims that violate the company's clear policies" regarding personal misconduct.
CBS Corp.'s stock fell 6 percent - its worst one-day loss in nearly seven years - as the reports of the misconduct allegations began to circulate around noon Friday, triggering investor concerns Moonves might be forced to step down. The CBS chief has been a towering figure in television for decades, credited with turning around a network that had been mired for years at the bottom ratings.
The New York-based company did not mention Moonves by name but said it issued a statement in response to the New Yorker article, which was published on the magazine's website late Friday. The article was written by Ronan Farrow, who wrote a Pulitzer Prize-winning story last year for the same magazine uncovering many of the allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein
The article says six women who had professional dealings with Moonves say he sexually harassed them between the 1980s and late 2000s. Four of the women described forcible touching or kissing during business meetings, it says, while two said that Moonves physically intimidated them or threatened to derail their careers.
CBS said that once the investigation by its independent board members is completed, the full corporate board will review the findings and "take appropriate action."
How would these allegations impact the CBS / Viacom merger? And the future of corporate governance at CBS?
With files from Associated Press.
Guests:
Joe Flint, LA-based media reporter with the Wall Street Journal who’s been covering the story; he tweets
Brian Steinberg, senior TV editor at Variety based in New York who’s been covering the story; he tweets
Tuna Amobi, analyst focusing on the media and entertainment industry with the investment research firm CFRA Research based in New York
Diving into the previously undisclosed TSA program that monitors unaware passengers
Federal air marshals are tracking U.S. citizens not suspected of a crime or on any terrorist watch list, according to The Boston Globe and confirmed by other news sources.
Under the program, called ‘Quiet Skies,’ thousands of unsuspecting American travelers have been surveilled by teams of armed, undercover air marshals both in airports and on flights. They track and document the passenger’s behaviors, like whether they use a computer, sleep on the flight or have a “cold penetrating stare.”
Some air marshals have said they feel like it’s a time-consuming and costly program that leads them to watch travelers who appear to pose no real threat – especially since the program specifically targets individuals who “are not under investigation by any agency and are not in the Terrorist Screening Data Base,” according to a March TSA bulletin referenced in The Boston Globe article.
How do you feel about the program? Call us at 866-893-5722.
Guests:
Kip Hawley, former director of the Transportation Security Administration (2005-2009) and co-author of the book “Permanent Emergency: Inside the TSA and the Fight for the Future of American Security” (St. Martin’s Griffin, 2013); he tweets
Jeramie D. Scott, national security counsel and director of the Domestic Surveillance Project at the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) in DC; he tweets
What are the most iconic SoCal landmarks...that you’ve never visited?
The Hollywood Sign. The Griffith Observatory. Dodger Stadium.
These are some of Southern California’s iconic landmarks that draw crowds of tourists and native Angelenos to their steps. And if you haven’t ever visited said iconic locations, you might be keeping that potentially embarrassing information on the down low. Well today, AirTalk wants to hear about it.
What huge tourist attraction or landmark have you never taken the time to check out in L.A. or SoCal, even (or perhaps especially) if it’s in your backyard? And why?
Call us at 866-893-5722.