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Vice News
Investigative reporter for Vice News
PROFILE
Jason Leopold
Guest
FROM Jason Leopold
To the Point
15 Guantánamo detainees released President Obama promised to close the detention facility at Guantánamo Bay, and the population is dwindling down. Last night the Pentagon announced the largest release so far: 12 Yeminis and three Afghans were transferred to the United Arab Emirates. Jason Leopold, investigative reporter for Vice News , has more on the detainees and the release decision.
Scheer Intelligence
Jason Leopold and the Power of FOIA Robert Scheer sits down with journalist Jason Leopold to discuss how he has used the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) again and again to obtain previously undisclosed government documents.
To the Point
Guantánamo Bay: The Unmet Promise Since 2002, the "detention center" at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba has held almost 800 prisoners. When he got to the White House in 2009, President Obama said closing Guantánamo was his first order of business. Last week, five men of Yemeni descent were released, but 122 inmates are still there. The prison population is down to 122 -- with President Obama still trying to shut it down. John McCain -- the former POW -- once advocated closing the prison, but now he's joined other Republican Senators to oppose more releases any time soon. Meantime, a book by an inmate has generated claims that Guantánamo was a "laboratory for torture" of people held without charges. Will the President's first order of business be accomplished before he leaves office?
To the Point
Black Sites and Dark Days for the CIA In the first years after 911, the CIA allowed the torture of detainees and lied to the Bush Administration and Congress about the intelligence it produced. That's according to a massive 6,000-page report of the CIA's so-called “enhanced interrogation program” released today by the Senate Intelligence Committee, chaired by California Democrat, Dianne Feinstein. Congress is divided over the content and the impact of today's release. While some Republicans claim torture of prisoners “saved American lives,” others warn today's report will produce a backlash overseas.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Ferguson Police Email Investigation A grand jury in Ferguson, Missouri, has not announced yet whether the officer who shot Michael Brown will be criminally charged. The city is braced for demonstrations if officer Darren Wilson doesn’t stand trial. Meanwhile, reporters have been filing Freedom of Information requests to see emails between police and city officials in the days following the shooting. But Ferguson police have only produced seven emails. We hear from one reporter who says that’s suspiciously low.
Recommended
The 805
One year later, Ojai reflects on the Thomas Fire in a new book A year after the Thomas Fire began, a new book out of Ojai tells stories of the community’s destruction and regrowth. Cuddle groups are popping up all over the place, including Santa Barbara. And, according to a newly released report, sea level rise could cover nearly two-thirds of Santa Barbara city beaches by 2100.
KCRW Features
One Year Later: Rebuilding from the Thomas Fire This week marks one year since the Thomas Fire descended on the city of Ventura. It burned more than 500 homes within city limits. Since then, roughly half of those properties have received the green-light to start construction, but only a handful have actually broken ground. We visit one neighborhood where some of the first homes are getting rebuilt.