Sec. of State Hillary Clinton claimed responsibility for security issues at the U.S. Consulate in Libya, we'll discuss how that will affect the presidential debate tonight. Plus, citizens of Baldwin Hills and surrounding areas are concerned about a new fracking study and 50 years since the Cuban Missile Crisis, a new book looks at its impact on the U.S. and abroad.
Hillary Clinton takes responsibility for Libya consulate security issues
After U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens was killed in Benghazi last month, Libya has been in the headlines a lot recently.
Last night, in Lima, Peru, secretary of state Hillary Clinton tried to deflect some of the criticism directed at President Obama by taking responsibility for the attacks.
The issue is sure to figure prominently in tonight's presidential debate in New York, but to cut through the political spin and for a preview of what's the come, we're joined by Fred Burton.
Las Vegas overrun with political advertising
Candidates are expected to spend over $3 billion this election cycle just by buying ad time. They're buying spots in Ohio, Florida and Iowa, and they're running almost non-stop.
The state with the most ads currently running is Las Vegas, Nevada.
Some 75,000 political ads have run in the Vegas market this year, and in a city that likes to pull out all the stops, that's a record.
Here to explain why so many ads, and how his fellow citizens are dealing with them, John Ralston. He's a long-time Nevada political observer and publisher of the Ralston Report.
Mexico, Turkey among list of countries that benefitted from global recession
The economic crisis that began in 2008 here in the U.S. spread far beyond far beyond our borders. It triggered a world-wide downturn that's still causing turmoil, especially in Europe.
But there are some countries that may have actually benefited from the global recession. Foreign Policy magazine has been looking into some of the ones that ended up in the winner's column: South Korea, Turkey, Canada, Mexico, Poland, Indonesia and Sweden.
Josh Keating, associate editor at the magazine, joins the show to discuss why certain countries did better than others.
Amateur astronomers detect, scientists confirm new planet with four suns
Scientists have discovered a new planet with, not one, not two, but four suns.
It's the first planet that scientists have found with this many suns, and it was first detected by a couple amateur astronomers using the website Planethunters.org.
We have one of them with us now, Kian Jek, a stay-at-home dad from Belmont, California. Welcome.
New book looks at the aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis
Today marks the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Cuban Missile Crisis, a time when the world edged perilously close to nuclear war.
The Russians had secretly placed nuclear tipped missiles in Cuba that could have reached the U.S. in minutes. When American spy planes discovered this, President John F. Kennedy ordered a naval blockade of the island and threatened military action.
For 13 days, the world feared nuclear Armaggedon. And then it was over...Or was it?
Writer David Coleman joins the show to discuss his new book, "The Fourteenth Day: JFK and the Aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis."
Cuban government eases travel restrictions for citizens
It's been 50 years since the Cuban missile crisis and the communist regime remains in complete control.
In 1961, the government made it almost impossible for Cubans to leave their country, but starting in January, most Cubans will be able to travel abroad and return to the island freely.
The government announced this morning that it was lifting all exit requirements, the biggest change in Cuba's immigration policies since Fidel Castro came to power.
Cubans will not need an exit visa or a permission to travel letter, but they'll still need a travel visa for most countries.
This new policy will likely not apply to doctors, and some analysts fear they will extend it to other professionals whom the government does not want to leave. Cubans can be out of the country for 24 months, instead of the current 11 months, without losing rights and property, they can also seek an extension.
Jorge Duany is director of the Cuban Research Institute and teaches anthropology at Florida International University.
Results of fracking study concern Baldwin Hills-area residents
There's a controversy brewing here in Southern California, in neighborhoods around the Inglewood Oil Field.
A new report has come out on a controversial oil extraction method called fracking. The study was supposed to address concerns about whether the technique is safe.
But people from neighboring areas including Culver Crest, Baldwin Hills, Ladera Heights, and View Park say the study raises more questions than it answers.
RELATED: Read the study.
KPCC's Molly Peterson heard from them last night as they sparred with the company working the oil field, Plains Exploration & Production Company (PXP). She joined Take Two this morning to offer some insight on the issue and the future of the oil field.
On what the study found:
"They hired consultants, of course, but the oversaw every last part of it. They looked at: water use, chemical use, seismic impacts, air impacts, groundwater impacts, methane impacts, noise, you name it. The consultant said that in an early meeting with community members he actually asked them for their input and took their suggestions and incorporated them into his report. PXP's governmental affairs guy John Martini says the result was research that's just unprecedented...
This is the first study where the actual environmental impacts from a hydraulic fracturing completions operation were evaluated before, during, and after. Never been done before, in California, certainly. And the study is pretty clear that there was no recorded observations of impacts in that regard, said Martini.
It was a one-year study and the work was reviewed by external experts before release. That's controversial too, I'll explain more about that in a second."
On why Plains Exploration paid for this study:
"They had to. There was a settlement with the community and the county about a lawsuit. That lawsuit came on the heels of a county-driven effort to create a community standards district, a kind of set of rules locally to make sure that the community had some say in monitoring and communication and disclosure about what's happening. They didn't really have a choice, not that the community liked that anyway. They were very angry that it was paid for. They felt that it was corrupt because it was paid for by PXP."
On what else the neighbors near the oil field didn't like about the report:
"Uh, everything. Start with the fact that it measured no impacts: longstanding suspicion that exploration has caused hillsides to slump, and gasses like sulfuric oxide to leak into the community. They weren't confirmed and people questioned the methodology, and they really don't like the fact that the peer reviewers included a guy who is a consultant to the oil and gas industry, a guy named John Martin. He's mixed up in a controversy in New York State as well. That's a fact that's been seized upon and complained about not just by community members, but by an array of environmental groups, from the Natural Resources Defense Council to Food & Water Watch."
On what the neighbors want instead:
"They want new independent peer reviewers, for one thing. Culver Crest activist Suzanne De Benedittis named three people and listed their biographical information to PXP who she thought would be better than the guys who did the reviewing in the first place. PXP's Martini told the crowd last night that the study fulfilled the company's settlement obligations as it is, but DeBenedittis, the activist, said that will mean more pressure on Los Angeles County and the supervisor for the area, Mark Ridley-Thomas...
"I don't have any expectations of PXP to hire these three independent experts. But I do know the community will force the county, if Supervisor Ridley-Thomas is true to his word that this is the beginning of the conversation, I expect his to follow up and bring local experts in." said DeBenedittis.
Ridley Thomas has said that this study getting released isn't the last step, but that doesn't make what happens next at all clear."
On the larger significance of this study and the controversy surrounding it:
"Well, for one thing, the Monterey and Santos Shale formations in California take up about 1700-square miles of land, so we're talking about as much as possibly 65 percent of the futureShale oil, this particular kind of oil in the united states. So we might be sitting on a bunch of stuff that gets fracked in the future, especially as we're worried about oil reserves. That said we also have other stuff going on with other regulators South Coast Air Quality Management District is about to start figuring out what rules regulators would like to make on tracking. That will likely have a focus on monitoring requirements, possibly due to the fact that the AQMD has people from around Inglewood and other urban drilling sites calling to report smells a lot. Also this morning, several environmental groups have filed suit against the state's oversight body for oil extraction, it's called DOGGR. They're saying that state authorities haven't met their obligations under California's Environmental Quality Act. I talked to the Center for Biological Diversity's Kassie Siegel about the case earlier:
"It's just ridiculous to do one industry study and then say, hey, there's no risk from this activity. We know that very serious problems are occurring, They're occurring in other parts of the country. We have documented water contamination, we have people complaining about health impacts. And it's really important that we try to prevent these problems from happening in California."
That case just got filed in Alameda County court this morning, so there'll be plenty to follow not just in Baldwin Hills and Inglewood but also coming up around California and the south part of the state as more regulators get into the act on fracking rules."
On whether opposition to the tracking plan could derail oil extraction:
"PXP has permission to operate, they've been granted permission to operate by the state, they're operating within the boundaries within the community standards district. Obviously there have been a lot of community meetings and a lot of community concerns about it, but in the absence of more information that its unsafe it seems like there's no reason that they're going to be able to stop this plan. They've been extracting oil at this site for a really, really long time. I think more than 60 years, so it's going to keep going."
PBS documentary looks at race relations in US since Obama's election
"OBAMA — Racial barrier falls in decisive victory" was the New York Times headline four years ago after Barack Obama won the election. But just how much have racial relations changed since 2008?
That's one of the questions explored in a documentary on PBS called "RACE 2012."
Watch Race 2012 - Preview on PBS. See more from Race 2012.
Director Phillip Rodriguez joins the show to talk about the film.
California cities ask voters to approve tax on soft drinks
From New York City to California, local officials are pushing ideas to get consumers to cut down on soft drinks. Health experts say sugary drinks like Coke and Pepsi contribute to obesity and diabetes.
Now two California cities, Richmond and El Monte, are asking voters to approve taxes on those drinks. If voters say yes, they could be the first in the nation to tax sodas, energy drinks and other sugary beverages.
But experts disagree on whether getting people to change their behavior is more complicated than adding pennies to the price of a soda.
The California Report's Mina Kim has more.
Jason Lytle: Dept. of Disappearance
In the early 90s, Jason Lytle made a name for himself in the indie music scene as the front man for a Central Valley band called Grandaddy. They enjoyed a fair amount of critical success - David Bowie was a big fan and one of their songs was picked up for use in a Honda commercial.
But in 2006, Lytle decided he was done with the band, and done with California, so he moved to Bozeman, Montana.
That's where he produced the new solo album Dept. of Disappearance, which comes out today.
Alex Cohen recently spoke with Jason about how living in Bozeman has impacted his personal life and the sound on his new album.
And if you'd like to see Jason in concert, he'll be performing in Los Angeles at Bootleg Bar and Largo, next week.
Web-only audio: Jason talks about how his strange jobs he held growing up impacted his music making.