How will the Benghazi report impact Hillary Clinton's White House bid? Ecological factors that contribute to fire devastation, how to manage bias in the workplace.
Latest Benghazi report has 'no new evidence of wrong doing'
No new evidence of wrongdoing. That's the headline out of an 800-page report issued by the House Select Committee on Benghazi.
It examined the deadly 2012 attack on the US diplomatic compound in Libya. Four Americans died, including Ambassador Chris Stevens. Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State at the time, and she has been the focus of House Republicans' two-year investigation.
Now, as she makes her way through California this week , how will the Benghazi report impact Clinton's White House bid?
For more Take Two's Libby Denkmann was joined by Daniel Newhauser, House correspondent for the National Journal. He explained what this latest report consists of and whether or not it has any incriminating evidence for the Clinton campaign. Thad Kousser, a political science professor at UC San Diego, also joined the show. Kousser looked at why there's been such a polarizing response to this report from the media and politicians alike.
To hear the full conversation, click the blue player above.
Breaking down California's fire ecology
The Erskine Fire is being described as one of the most destructive in Kern County's history.
Two people, Brian and Gladys McKaig, died in the blaze, apparently from smoke inhalation. About 70 square miles have been blackened, and firefighting costs have reached more than $7 million.
The fire is now 45 percent contained, but what ecological conditions are contributing to California's fires? Brandon Collins is a research scientist with the U.S. Forest Service. He's also part of UC Berkeley's Fire Science Lab. He joined the show to explain.
What factors are contributing to this year's fire season?
"There's big concern for how things are lining up," Collins said. Though we did see a bit more rain this year compared to last year, there are ongoing effects of the drought to deal with. The millions of dead trees in California's forests, particularly in the Sierras, are also a factor.
The Erskine Fire is being fueled by brush, and not those dead trees. What's the difference?
Drought affects shrubs and trees differently. "What drought does in shrubs is it'll kill some limbs of the shrubs, so it'll be a little bit more dead material, but overall the shrub is stressed and has overall lower fuel moisture," he said. "So it means that shrubs can ignite more readily, given the current status of fuel moisture, and that's really driven by the drought. And that's a slightly different story on the forest side, which is exacerbated by this dead tree condition."
Where are dead trees the biggest fire threat?
Collins said an increase in dead trees is observed as you move south from Stanislaus River, and intensifies as you move into the southern Sierra National Forest. "What that does from a fire standpoint is that dead trees are basically already at a really dry level of fuel moisture, meaning that it will take very little for them to ignite. Whereas if you have a green tree, you have to basically drive off all the moisture in the needles before it can ignite. Now you have all these trees intermixed, sort of green and dead intermixed, so it basically brings up the hazard all over the forest."
What can be done now to lessen the risk of these fires?
Thinning the forests is the most obvious step, Collins said. "We know how to engineer these fuel treatments, if you will, but the problem is a lot of these issues related to wildlife, or other social issues. Sometimes people, frankly, just don't like seeing machinery in the woods cutting down any trees. But I think it's getting to a point now where we're going to have to start dealing with some of those issues for the sake of our forests into the future. We're losing big chunks of them in some of these fires, and it's going to take a long time to get them back."
Note: In an earlier version of this audio, we incorrectly stated there has been more than $7 million in damage from the Erskine Fire. That amount is the cost to fight the fire so far. We regret the error.
Disney films help a family reach their autistic son in 'Life, Animated'
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 out of every 68 children has autism spectrum disorder. The disorder can manifest itself in a wide variety of ways.
When Owen Suskind was just about three years old, he suddenly became mute. He didn't sleep or eat. He cried inconsolably.
But Owen did find solace in one realm: the animated films of Disney.
How movies like "Beauty and the Beast," "Aladdin" and "The Little Mermaid" helped Owen view and relate to the world is the subject of a book and now a new documentary titled "Life, Animated."
Take Two's Alex Cohen recently talked with Owen's father, journalist Ron Suskind, and filmmaker Roger Ross Williams about the documentary.
Interview highlights:
On how "The Little Mermaid" helped Owen regain his ability to speak
Ron Suskind: "We're up in the bedroom watching 'The Little Mermaid,' which we'd done at about 300 times at that point. And [Owen] had been murmuring gibberish for a few months before that, which we thought was a good thing, at least it's noise.
And he was saying 'Juicervose, juicervose, juicervose.' And [my wife] Cornelia thinks he wants more juice, but he doesn't... So here were are watching 'The Little Mermaid,' Ursula says, 'Just your voice!'
Owen rewinds, the second time, third time, fourth time Cornelia grabs me and says, 'It's not juice!' I said, 'What?' She says it's not 'juice' it's 'just.' And I grab Owen and say, 'Just your voice!' And he says 'Juicervose, juicervose, juicervose!' And it's the first time he's looked at me in a year... Cornelia starts to cry and says, you know, 'He's in there. He's still in there.'"
On Owen's next breakthrough moment at about 7-years-old, when his dad talked to him through the character Iago from the movie "Aladdin"
Ron Suskind: "It was an out-of-body experience, frankly. You know, it's like a window opens. We talked when he was two, in two-year-old speech, but he'd been lost to us for four years. And all of a sudden the window opens and he's right there in front of you. So you want to keep the window open and you'll do anything to do that. But also you're overwhelmed with emotion.
You know, all the things you couldn't say, like 'I love you,' and 'I'm your dad,' and 'It's going to be fine. Whatever this is, we're going to find our way out of the thicket, the forest, the darkness.' But then you're like if I do that, the window's going to shut, so clearly the voice is the key, stay in character. And I do stay in character... And then he responds to me in character as Jafar, the villain! And then it's like the fireworks go off, cause it dawns on me: we can converse in Disney dialogue."
On using original animation to tell the story from Owen's perspective
Roger Ross Williams: "Owen identifies with sidekicks in the Disney films and he starts to draw sidekicks and he creates a story of a little boy who gets lost in a land of sidekicks. And we brought that to life in full living color. And that point in the film you're ready to go even deeper into Owen's mind because the film is all from Owen's point-of-view. Owen is the storyteller. And when you see these films about people living with autism they're always from the outside looking in. And for me it was important to tell the story from the inside looking out."
"Life, Animated" opens July 1st in Los Angeles and New York.
Tuesday Reviewsday: Laura Mvula, DJ Shadow and Incognito
Every week we get the freshest music for whatever listening device you may use. On tap this week, new picks from Oliver Wang and Morgan Rhodes.
Oliver's picks:
- Laura Mvula and the new album The Dreaming Room
Angel
Mvula is back with her sophomore studio album after electrifying both Morgan and I with her 2013 debut, Sing to the Moon. I feel like this new album continues where she left off: atmospheric, ethereal songs, gilded by Mvula’s distinctive voice. All lovely, just lovely.
- DJ Shadow from The Mountain Will Fall
Mambo
It’s crazy to think that Shadow’s debut album, Endtroducing, came out 20 years ago but here we are. The Mountain Will Fall is his fifth studio album and the first in five years. It is, by far, the most sparse and electronic-dominant album he’s put out and if you trace those 20 years, I feel like every album Shadow’s made has been a gradually stretching away from where he began, with moody, sample-based quasi-instrumental tracks. This is a very cold album, sonically, with a lot of plays of mechanical rhythms and movements…could make for a great soundtrack to a really dystopian sci-fi film.
- Enlightenment from Greg Belson’s Divine Disco
Faith Is the Key
Greg Belson is a Los Angeles based DJ originally from the UK who has become one the world’s foremost collectors of gospel soul records. He recently put together this compilation focused on disco-influenced gospel songs from the mid-70s through mid-80s. I think it’s easy to forget that while disco may have seemed like the ultimate in secular decadence, its roots are really far more in a kind of spiritual dance music and it actually makes great sense that disco and gospel would have merged at points in this era. More over, it’s a good reminder that gospel has always absorbed the influences of pop genres around it, in every era.
Morgan's picks
- Incognito from In Search of Better Days
Better Days (feat. Vula Mulinga)
Incognito, one of the trailblazers of the acid jazz movement of the late eighties and early nineties is back with their special blend of soul, jazz and electronica and a talented cast of collaborators presenting a perfected sound that will thrill longtime fans and engage new ones.
- River Tiber from the album, Indigo
No Talk
Toronto's been representing for a few years with a slew of major talents including DREEZY, and BADBADNOTGOOD, and RIVER TIBER.. What they have in common besides being from THE SIX? A way of marrying beats, rap and vocals that's so seamless you're not sure where one genre begins and one ends.
What is the state of the black family in Southern California?
Four out of 10 African-Americans are doubtful the United States will ever achieve racial equality. That's one of the key findings in a new survey from the Pew Research Center.
Both black and white people were questioned for the project. The study revealed profound differences in opinion between the groups on subjects like Black Lives Matter and economic disparity. When asked why blacks have a harder time getting ahead, however, both parties pointed to two factors: family instability and the lack of good role models.
What is the state of the black family here in Southern California? And what can be done to overcome the hurdles that black youth face?
Take Two put that question to two guests:
- Tyree Boyd-Pates, professor of African-American studies at Cal State Dominguez Hills
- Jorja Leap, professor specializing in gangs and community violence at UCLA's Luskin School of Public Affairs
When you look at the income disparity and high rate of incarceration in places like Watts, Compton, Inglewood, how did things get to where they are today?
Tyree Boyd-Pates: I've looked at the war on drugs that was enacted by the Reagan administration in the 1980s, and how it completely plundered the black community and was able to ensnare African-American men at disproportionate rates, leaving them to be completely out of the lives of their wives, their children and their communities for the next 20 years. That plunder is relevant and evident every single day as you walk through those neighborhoods, because the over-policing is dominant, and those communities are lacking in that particular area.
How would you describe the state of the black family today?
Jorja Leap: I think it's in flux. I think they are beginning to take a hold of the idea that there are strengths there that they need to recognize, that they need to reinforce, that they really need to own and be proud of.
On the other hand, when we see the kind of economic and health inequities that we are still witnessing in black and brown communities, I also think there is deep concern about the future, uncertainty and a real lack of social and economic support.
A clip from a Nike commercial that aired back in 1993, featuring Charles Barkley, called "I Am Not a Role Model":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gqk4WPnrpM
Why do you feel Nike thought it was important to remind parents, "Hey, sports stars can't take your place?"
Jorja Leap: I think this is a brilliant ad in retrospect. I work with a lot of folks who bemoan the fact that children look at basketball stars and hip-hop and rap musicians as their role models. And I know parents who have been raised in these areas who say, "We need to have mainstream role models." I think there is such a core of truth to that advertisement. I think our role models have to be broader. They have to be approachable. They have to be accessible for any child, particularly children of color.
In the last eight years, seeing a black man in the White House with his wife and two daughters — do you think that has laid any groundwork down for the future?
Tyree Boyd-Pates: I would say yes, but for black and brown people, we tend to get caught up in the symbolism of President Obama's election, as well as the role that he plays with his family, and we, kind of, project ourselves onto him and him onto us.
We have to understand historically that black families have never been treated as a family should be treated in any circumstance — I'm talking about chattel slavery all the way to 2016. Every time an attempt for a black mother and a black father to kind of come together to coalesce their resources ... they were always dismantled... The irony is that the stereotypes are still attached when African-American mothers still can serve both roles, even when a leg is kicked from under them.
Press the blue play button above to hear the full conversation.
This story has been updated.
How Volkswagen's $15B payout will affect California
Volkswagen has agreed to pay out more than $15 billion in a settlement over emission cheats built into some of its VW and Audi diesel cars.
The settlement addresses civil claims from the U.S. Department of Justice, the state of California, the Federal Trade Commission and private plaintiffs.
California Attorney General Kamala Harris said the final settlement amount was intended to address both environmental mitigation and the impact on conscientious consumers, who she said were "duped" by Volkswagen.
"The issue here is not only about the environmental harm. It is also about false advertising," Harris said at a press conference. "Environmentally conscious consumers might otherwise have purchased low-emission vehicles or hybrids from other dealers, but they relied on the representations made by Volkswagen."
Volkswagen's so-called green diesel vehicles were actually spewing smog-producing nitrogen oxides into the air at 40 times the legal limit, Harris said.
The bulk of the settlement figure will go to reimbursing vehicle owners. Volkswagen said in a statement it had set aside $10.033 billion to buy back affected vehicles or terminate lease agreements.
An additional $2.7 billion will go to establish a fund for environmental remediation, and Volkswagen has agreed to invest $2 billion in initiatives to promote the use of zero emissions vehicles in the U.S.
Volkswagen also agreed to a separate $603 million settlement to resolve consumer protection claims in 44 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
About 475,000 vehicles with 2.0L diesel engines are eligible for buyback or lease termination. They include the following models:
- VW Beetle (2013–2015)
- VW Golf (2010–2015)
- VW Jetta (2009–2015)
- VW Passat (2012–2015)
- Audi A3 (2010–2013; 2015)
Authorities expect about 85 percent to 90 percent of those vehicles to be turned in or modified, which means some of the emissions-cheating vehicles will remain on the road, California Air Resources Board Chair Mary Nichols said at the press conference.
"That is where the $4.7 billion that the attorney general mentioned comes in, because again in a first for [the] Clean Air [Act], we are not only looking to mitigate the past harm that was done by the excess emissions but to build in a cushion to pay for projects that will mitigate any future ongoing excess emissions of NOX from these vehicles," Nichols said.
California is expected to get about a quarter of that $4.7 billion, according to Harris.
The state will receive about $380 million to support environmental programs and about $800 million in investments for zero emissions technologies, Harris said.
The Ride’s Sue Carpenter joined the show to discuss.
Interview highlights
On the $10.033 billion earmarked for consumers
Specifically, owners can sell back their vehicle and lessees can terminate their leases without penalty. Or, if the emissions system on their car can be fixed, they can choose to have their vehicle modified free of charge and keep it.
Regardless of whether they have their vehicles bought back or fixed, they will also receive a cash payment from VW. Payouts will range from $5,100 to $10,000 depending on the model year. Those monies are in addition to the cars’ buyback value.
VW is using the National Automobile Dealers Association Used Car Guide from September 2015 as its basis to determine a vehicle’s buyback value. Adjustments to that value can be made based on factory options and vehicle mileage.
On the additional $5 billion
VW has agreed to pay $2.7 billion over three years into an environmental trust to remediate excess nitrogen oxide emissions and to invest $2 billion over 10 years in zero emissions vehicle infrastructure, access and awareness initiatives in the U.S. California will be getting about a quarter of those monies.
Additionally, VW struck a deal with 44 U.S. states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico to resolve existing and potential state consumer protection claims about the diesel emissions issue — a settlement worth about $603 million.
If all of this sounds like a lot of money, it is, but even so, there are still unresolved issues.
On the unresolved issues
For owners and lessees of the affected 2-liter vehicles who want to keep their cars, we don’t know how many of the vehicles can be fixed or what the fix will be or when it will be available.
VW hasn’t yet announced its plan for the 3-liter V6 diesel engines from VW, Audi and Porsche that also used emissions-cheating software. There are 85,000 of those that emitted up to nine times the legally allowable limit. How VW will resolve the problem with those vehicles probably won’t be known for another couple months.
Today’s proposed settlement also doesn’t resolve lawsuits from VW’s dealers, investors, bondholders and individual consumers who sued outside of the San Francisco federal court lawsuit.
On California’s role in the settlement
California is getting about a quarter of the environmental remediation monies, so a little more than $1 billion. California had the largest percentage of affected cars — 71,000 of the nearly 500,000 2L vehicles were in use in California.
Today, the California Air Resources Board and Attorney General Kamala Harris announced that VW will spend $380 million for projects to reduce smog-producing pollution by incentivizing clean heavy-duty vehicles and equipment in disadvantaged communities. And it will spend another $800 million in investments to advance California’s zero-emissions vehicle programs.
On Volkswagen's response
VW issued a press release that was both contrite and defensive. CEO Mattias Mueller was quoted as saying “we take our commitment to make things right very seriously and believe these agreements are a significant step forward.”
At the end of the press release VW also said “the agreements announced today are not an admission of liability by VW… Regulations governing nitrogen oxide emissions omits for vehicles in the U.S. are much stricter than those in other parts of the world… This makes the development of technical solutions in the U.S. more challenging than in Europe and other parts of the world, where implementation of an approved program to modify TDI vehicles to fully comply with European emissions standards has already begun.”
On when the buybacks and payouts will take place
After the court grants final approval to the settlements agreements. The earliest that could happen is the fall of 2016. Owners of the affected cars do not need to contact VW, Audi or their dealers at this time. Individuals will receive notification of their rights and options following the next court hearing for preliminary approval of the consumer class-action settlement, which will be July 26. The public is allowed to comment on the proposal once it’s been filed with the court, which is happening today.
This post has been updated. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Apple CEO Tim Cook fundraises for Paul Ryan
Apple CEO Tim Cook hosts Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan for a fundraiser, this week.
He's doing this on his own and not in his capacity with Apple, but it's a little surprising for a few reasons.
Cook has already given some cash to Democratic leaders in Congress, already. Also a few weeks ago, Apple announced it won't provide support to the GOP convention as it has for past events.
Plus Cook, himself, is an out gay man, and Republicans aren't that well-known for backing policies that support LGBT people.
To find out what's in it for Cook to play both sides, Take Two talks with Tony Romm, senior technology reporter for Politico.
Facebook to teach employees about political biases
Facebook found itself at the center of a political firestorm a few months ago – it was accused of censoring conservative stories on its trending news section.
But COO Sheryl Sandberg revealed last week that the company will offer classes to employees on how to manage their political biases.
That's in addition to the classes it already has on race bias, age bias, gender bias and more.
To some people, however, their own views are the norm and everyone else is on the extreme side of the political spectrum.
Kimberly Kahn, professor of social psychology at Portland State University and expert in hidden biases, joins Take Two on how to gut-check political leanings that can affect the workplace.