Race and Identity Politics in Trump’s 2020 Bid
This week, President Trump continued to try to crack down on immigration at the border by announcing a new asylum policy that stands to leave thousands of refugees in limbo. He also escalated his racist attacks on four Democratic members of Congress, all women of color, whom he had earlier told to “go back” to their countries despite three of them being born in the U.S. In response to that rhetoric, the House voted Tuesday along party lines to condemn the president’s remarks as racist. The controversy has also revealed an increasing reliance on the use of race, immigration and questions over national loyalty by President Trump ahead of the 2020 presidential contest.

Guests:

Melanie Mason, political reporter, L.A. Times
Tim Miller, GOP consultant and senior contributor, The Bulwark

Police Use of Force
The Department of Justice this week declined to pursue federal charges against a police officer involved in the death of Eric Garner, an African American man who died during an attempted arrest by police on Staten Island in 2014. Bystander video of the fatal police encounter galvanized the Black Lives Matter movement and its ongoing efforts to highlight the use of excessive force by law enforcement. In California, lawmakers are nearing passage of a bill that could create some of the strictest standards in the nation governing the use of deadly force, as new reports of police misconduct continue to come to light through a new law that took effect Jan. 1. SB 1421 requires law enforcement agencies to release some records of misconduct by officers in response to requests that have been filed by media organizations and victims’ families.

Guests:

Alex Emslie, criminal justice editor, KQED News
Sukey Lewis, criminal justice reporter, KQED News

Chevron Oil Spill

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Last Friday, KQED News revealed that San Ramon-based energy giant Chevron had spilled nearly 800,000 gallons of water and crude oil into a dry creekbed in the Central Valley. Leaks have started and stopped since May from a well site roughly 35 miles west of Bakersfield, including one that appeared just this week. State regulators ordered the company last Friday to “take all steps” to stop the flows and said Chevron hasn’t done enough to prevent future leaks. The California Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources in May issued a violation to Chevron for the spill and ordered it to halt some of its oil extraction work in the affected area. State inspectors say the leak is now contained and claim it poses no threat to waterways or wildlife.

Guest:

Ted Goldberg, morning news editor, KQED

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Update: Oscar Grant and the California Attorney General

Race and Identity Politics in Trump’s 2020 Bid, Police Accountability, Chevron Oil Spill

California Politics, Wildfire 911, Cisco’s Michelle Dennedy

Wildfire 911 Investigation