Volkswagen's emissions scandal will cost the Berlin-based company up to $18 billion. Also, Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell stops by the AirTalk studios to update us on the latest goings-on at the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department. Then, how does the Catholic Church stay relevant when so much of its history depends on faith in inexplicable events?
Caught! Impact of emission cheating on VW’s brand and future in US
Volkswagen has rigged over 480,000 diesel cars since 2009 to pass U.S. and California emissions tests, regulators revealed Friday.
The cheating scandal will cost the Berlin-based company up to $18 billion. In addition, Volkswagen will be financially responsible to fix the emissions systems in the impacted vehicles. Shares of the company have tumbled precipitously since Monday morning trading.
Would Volkswagen be able to recover from this violation in the US?
Guests:
Kevin Tynan, senior autos analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence
George Serafeim, Associate Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School
How Dr. Ben Carson’s comments on Muslims will impact his presidential campaign
His slow but steady recent rise in the polls has already generated a lot of buzz about pediatric neurosurgeon and Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson, but some comments he made over the weekend are gathering a lot of attention, and maybe not for all the right reasons.
On Sunday, Dr. Carson was a guest on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press,’ and was asked by host Chuck Todd whether he thought a president’s faith should matter to voters.
Carson said it depends on what the faith is, and that if it was “consistent with the values and principles of America, then of course it should matter.” Todd then asked Dr. Carson if he believed Islam was consistent with the Constitution, and Dr. Carson responded by saying no, adding “I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation. I absolutely would not agree with that.”
Dr. Carson did say he would consider voting for a Muslim for Congress, depending on who the person was and what his or her policies were.
The question comes on the heels of a Donald Trump weekend campaign stop in New Hampshire, during which a supporter was quoted as saying to Trump “We got a problem in this country. It’s called Muslims. We know our current president is one, you know he’s not even an American.”
Many have called out Trump for neglecting to correct the supporter, and he has largely stayed away from the press since. The response to Dr. Carson’s comments has been swift as well, especially among Muslim-American groups. The Council on American-Islamic Relations said that Dr. Carson is ‘unfit to lead’ and the two Muslim members of Congress have condemned his remarks publicly as well.
Do you think a candidate’s faith is relevant? How does a presidential candidate’s religious affiliation affect the way you view him/her? How will Dr. Carson’s campaign be impacted by his remarks, if at all?
Guests:
Raynard Jackson, GOP political strategist and CEO of Raynard Jackson & Associates, a political consulting firm in DC
Salam Al-Marayati, Executive Director and co-founder, Muslim Public Affairs Council
LA County Sheriff Jim McDonnell talks body cams, human trafficking, sentiment toward law enforcement, more
Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell stopped by the AirTalk studios Monday for his quarterly visit and to update us on the latest goings-on at the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department.
The population of the L.A. County jail system has changed from 20 years ago, McDonnell said.
"When you look at the mentally ill population, that is growing, and pretty dramatically. Our most acute mentally ill population has grown by 20 percent since the first of the year, and we're at a near crisis stage in trying to meet their needs."
McDonnell added that the percentage of those in jail who are addicts is much higher as well.
When it comes to body cams, McDonnell said that they did a six-month pilot program to see what would work best for the department's needs.
"The part that is not being addressed, certainly nationally — everybody wants body cameras on deputies and officers for the accountability piece, and I'm supportive of that, because it gives us a greater context to see what the full story was when we go to evaluate an incident. The downside is just the tremendous cost," McDonnell said.
One of the reasons: Storing all that video.
"The camera itself is the cheapest piece of the whole equation. When you're uploading eight, 10 or 12 hours of video onto a server, that server space gets expensive, but again that's only a part of the cost," McDonnell said. "The bigger piece is the personnel cost. When somebody is arrested, they get a traffic citation, they are involved in a use of force, so they bring litigation against the department, they want that tape, they want that video to be able to use for their case, so we go through discovery motions to provide that. The staff necessary who would be trained and certified that they have the ability to be able to pull the appropriate length of video and then to be able to go in and pixelate where appropriate uninvolved, innocent parties, to be able to present that then for court or if we're going to make it public, that piece there alone is a tremendous added expense ... and that's not being talked about anywhere nationally."
McDonnell talked with AirTalk about the transnational gang activity summit in L.A.
"It's developing a network, building relationships, identifying what the problems are around the world really, and this is a problem that is becoming much more difficult to deal with. The gangs are becoming that much more sophisticated," McDonnell said. "They are not only now involved in what we traditionally look at as gang crime, turf battles over narcotic sales, but rather identity theft and cyber-crime and sex trafficking. Things that really weren't on the radar of those involved in policing in the past, but now very much have to be a critical part of us moving forward."
For that summit, 70 law enforcement officials and prosecutors from seven different countries gathered to talk about how to share information and combat violent groups.
Larry got the sheriff's thoughts on national sentiment toward law enforcement in the wake of the killings of law enforcement officers in Texas, Illinois and Kentucky. Listen to the audio for more on that.
The sheriff also talked about L.A. County taking a look at harsher penalties for child sex traffickers in the hopes of curbing a commercial sex industry that forces young girls into prostitution.
Also on the docket: moving forward with plans to build a new Men’s Central Jail.
Guests:
Jim McDonnell, Sheriff of Los Angeles County
This story has been updated.
On eve of Pope Francis' stateside visit, Vatican insider examines the church’s quest to remain relevant
Miracles aren't what they used to be. The modern world demands explanations, urging the Catholic Church to evolve its criteria to legitimize supernatural occurrences.
With over 1 billion Catholics worldwide, how does the church stay relevant when so much of its history depends on faith in inexplicable events?
In his book, “ The Vatican Prophecies: Investigating Supernatural Signs, Apparitions, and Miracles in the Modern Age,” John Thavis explores the church’s ongoing battle to justify its beliefs in the mystical world of Catholicism, and the public’s intellectual “thirst for something more tangible.”
As former Rome bureau chief of the Catholic News Service, Thavis gives readers an inside look at one of the most powerful and clandestine religious institutions just in time for Pope Francis' visit to the U.S.
How do you think the church's stance on supernatural occurrences has evolved? What are your thoughts on belief vs. intellectual spirituality?
Guest:
John Thavis, author of “The Vatican Prophecies: Investigating Supernatural Signs, Apparitions, and Miracles in the Modern Age” (Viking, 2015) and former Rome bureau chief of the Catholic News Service. Thavis will be covering the Pope’s visit to the United States, which begins tomorrow
Jerry Brown 2016? Politicos wonder if California’s head honcho will jump into the race
Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders… and Jerry Brown? Ever since the start of election season, pundits and the public have both been asking whether California’s governor will throw his hat into the ring.
Brown’s in his fourth term as governor and has run for president three times before. While he’s hemmed and hawed at a 2016 run, proponents of a Brown candidacy point out he’s never said ‘no’ straight up.
A recent CNN interview with Wolf Blitzer perked up the ears of wonks across the state when Brown said that the race could see “a lot of big surprises.” So after decades in the political machine, would a fourth time be the charm for a Jerry Brown presidency? Or is it too late for state leader without much of a national track record?
Guests:
Lara M. Brown, Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Political Management at George Washington University
Ange-Marie Hancock, Associate Professor of Political Science at USC