FBI Director James Comey informed Congress that new classified Clinton emails have come to light, prompting a reopening of criminal investigation involving the Democratic presidential nominee; leaders of the armed protest at the Oregon national wildlife refuge were acquitted of federal charges – we analyze the verdict; according to a new WWF report, more than two thirds of the earth’s wildlife could be extinct by the end of 2020 – how much stock can we take in this prediction?; plus, Larry and KPCC film critics review ‘Inferno’ and other new releases. TGI-FilmWeek!
FBI investigates additional emails as part of Hillary Clinton private server probe
The FBI informed Congress Friday it is investigating whether additional emails that have emerged in its probe of Hillary Clinton's private server may contain classified information.
The FBI said in July its investigation was finished. The disclosure raises the possibility of the FBI going back to the criminal investigation involving the Democratic presidential nominee just days before the election, although it is not clear if that will happen. Clinton's campaign didn't immediately respond to request for comment.
In a letter sent to congressional leaders, FBI Director James Comey says that new emails have come to light recently that have prompted investigators to take another look at the sensitive government information that flowed through the private email server Clinton used while serving as secretary of state.
With AP files.
Guest:
Dave Weigel, reporter covering politics for the Washington Post; he tweets
In light of surprise Malheur Refuge verdict, a look at the history of jury nullification
To the shock of even the defendants, a Portland jury on Thursday acquitted all seven defendants involved in the occupation of Malheur national wildlife refuge in southeast Oregon earlier this year.
Despite the defendants’ guilty pleas and direction from the judge on the letter of the law, the jury found leaders Ammon and Ryan Bundy not guilty of the government’s charge: conspiracy to impede federal officers by force, threat or intimidation. Bundy’s other co-defendants — Jeff Banta, Shawna Cox, David Fry, Kenneth Medenbach and Neil Wampler — have been found not guilty as well.
Larry sits down with Ryan Hass, News Content Manager at Oregon Public Broadcasting, and Tung Yin, professor of law at Lewis & Clark Law School, to discuss the past and future of the Malheur Refuge case.
Professor Tung Yin explains the concept of jury nullification, which occurs when a jury returns a verdict of “Not Guilty” despite its belief that the defendant is guilty of the violation charged. Throughout history, jury nullification appears when the government has tried to enforce unpopular laws, examples include violation of fugitive slave laws and alcohol control laws.
Guests:
Ryan Hass, News Content Manager at Oregon Public Broadcasting and was in court for yesterday’s verdict
Tung Yin, professor of law at Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon
Yes, a recent WWF report says 67 percent of wildlife may go extinct — but don't panic yet
A recent report from the World Wildlife Fund has found that two-thirds of vertebrate animals could be extinct by 2020.
Habitat loss, climate change and pollution are just a few reasons cited by the report as major contributors. Unlike previous mass extinctions where asteroids and meteors were to blame, the WWF says humans are responsible for the current state of the environment.
But some researchers are skeptical about these numbers.
Larry Mantle sat down with Robin Freeman, research fellow and Head of Indicators and Assessments Unit at the Zoological Society of London and Stuart Pimm, professor of conservation ecology at Duke University, to break down the report and assess its implications.
Click on the blue playhead above to hear the full discussion, or read highlights below.
Interview Highlights
On the legitimacy of the statistic
Pimm: I think this survey is horribly misleading... It's basically designed to promote WWF's fundraising activities. And so they're interested in a large, single, alarming statistic. And the problem is much more complicated than that. There are places where species are doing quite well thanks to very energetic conservation efforts, there are places where we just don’t know [...] To come up with a single number leads people to think we have much better data than we do.
Freeman: This statistic is about how much populations of wild species have declined... It's not that these populations are going extinct - they're still here, they're just smaller [...] While the headline number of 58 percent has a lot of variability around it, I think the really important details come when you begin to break that number down.... How can we use this large data set to look at how things like habitat loss are impacting these species?... I still think this number can be a useful tool.
So what does this mean about the takeaways of the report?
Pimm: There's no question that Robin [Freeman]'s overall conclusion is right. That species are declining ...The problem is severe but if you come up with a number like this, it suggests we'll have no wildlife left in 25 years time and then people are going to come back and say, ‘look you're being alarmist.’
Is there a downside to this kind of statistic?
Pimm: We don’t want people to simply be discouraged and think there's nothing we can do [...] Once a species gets put on that endangered species list, it has a really good chance of surviving. Moreover, there are spectacular success stories. There's gray whales, off the California coast... The gray whale, like many other whales, was driven to the very edge of extinction - it's now coming back... That's a remarkable success story of what we can do in the ocean if we want to put our minds to it.
What can we do moving forward?
Pimm: There are so many things we can do, so many individual choices — do I eat fish? Yes, I go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium website and find out what fish I can eat.... Let's be encouraged when we should be, let's be worried when we should be and let's get better data when we don't know.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
Guests:
Robin Freeman, research fellow and Head of Indicators and Assessments Unit at the Zoological Society of London
Stuart Pimm, professor of conservation ecology at Duke University and president of Saving Species, a non profit organization working to prevent animal extinction and restoring nature
FilmWeek: ‘Inferno,’ ‘Into the Inferno,’ ‘The Eagle Huntress’ and more
Larry Mantle and KPCC film critics Wade Major and Amy Nicholson review this week’s new movie releases including Tom Hanks and Felicity Jones in the latest Dan Brown adaptation, “Inferno;” and not to be confused with that thriller is “Into the Inferno” from documentarian Werner Herzog’s exploration of active volcanoes; plus a critically acclaimed doc about a pioneering Kazakh girl, “The Eagle Huntress” and more.
TGI-FilmWeek!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoSmPkWmG4k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vfi5JS6HTH0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qR5l9XDaxK0
Wade's Hits
- "Into the Inferno"
- "The Eagle Huntress"
- "Fire at Sea"
- "The Uncondemned"
- "The Ruins of Lifta"
- "Tampopo"
- New Releases on Blu-Ray:
Amy's Hits
Mixed Reviews
- Wade: "Oasis: Supersonic"
This Week's Misses
- Wade & Amy: "Inferno," "Little Sister" & "The Unspoken"
Guests:
Wade Major, Film Critic for KPCC and host for IGN’s DigiGods.com
Amy Nicholson, Film Critic for KPCC and Chief Film Critic, MTV News; she tweets
30th Edition of American Film Institute’s Fest
The AFI Fest is celebrating its 30th Edition with a dazzling slate of movies.
Kicking off opening night on November 10th is the return of Warren Beatty in the director's chair with "Rules Don't Apply." Set in 1950s Hollywood, featuring an aspiring young actress, an ambitious young man, the infamous Howard Hughes, plus a role for that other Hollywood classic, Annette Bening, it will be the film's world premiere.
Continuing in the vein of razzle dazzle, AFI's other Centerpiece Galas include the highly anticipated "La La Land" with Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone; Natalie Portman as the iconic "Jackie" featuring an ensemble cast including Peter Sarsgaard, Greta Gerwig, Billy Crudup, John Hurt, and John Carroll Lynch; the latest from acclaimed director Mike Mills, "20th Century Women" starring Annette Bening; and so much more.
On AirTalk, AFI Fest director, Jacqueline Lyanga, runs down the other can't-miss screenings and red carpet galas taking place at the Dolby Theatre, the Egyptian, the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, and the TCL Chinese Theatres from November 10th through the 17th.
Guest:
Jacqueline Lyanga, American Film Institute Film Festival Director; she tweets