AirTalk

As of this week, music producer and YouTube star Rick Beato has 2.34 million subscribers who watch his deep dives into musical theory, often using examples from pop music. 

His videos are meant to be educational and analytical, but they are from time to time demonetized for copyright infringement. Most recently, Beato had a dispute with music publisher Warner Chappell Music, over a live streamed video called “Why Today's Music Is So BORING. The Regression of Musical Innovation,” in which he played a chord progression on his guitar of Led Zeppelin’s “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You” as an example of a complex chord progression. According to a follow-up YouTube video, Beato said that Warner Chappell Music made a copyright infringement claim, he appealed citing fair use and was rejected.

Then this morning, Beato got word that the claim was released.

We hold up a legal lens to the situation. What are the rules when it comes to copyright infringement and fair use in the world of music and educational YouTube videos?

Guests:

Kelly Shapiro, founder and managing partner at the Law Offices of Kelly D. Shapiro, based in Santa Monica, Los Angeles 

Don Franzen, adjunct professor of business and music law at UCLA and visiting professor at Berklee School of Music; music and entertainment attorney based in Beverly Hills; he tweets @donfranzen

At least a tenth of the world’s mature giant sequoia trees were destroyed by a single California wildfire that tore through the southern Sierra Nevada last year, according to a draft report prepared by scientists with the National Park Service.

The Visalia Times-Delta newspaper obtained a copy of the report that describes catastrophic destruction from the Castle Fire, which charred 273 square miles (707 square km) of timber in Sequoia National Park.

Researchers used satellite imagery and modeling from previous fires to determine that between 7,500 and 10,000 of the towering species perished in the fire. That equates to 10% to 14% of the world’s mature giant sequoia population, the newspaper said.

“I cannot overemphasize how mind-blowing this is for all of us. These trees have lived for thousands of years. They’ve survived dozens of wildfires already,” said Christy Brigham, chief of resources management and science at Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.

The consequences of losing large numbers of giant sequoias could be felt for decades, forest managers said. Redwood and sequoia forests are among the world’s most efficient at removing and storing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The groves also provide critical habitat for native wildlife and help protect the watershed that supplies farms and communities on the San Joaquin Valley floor.

Brigham, the study’s lead author, cautioned that the numbers are preliminary and the research paper has yet to be peer reviewed. Beginning next week, teams of scientists will hike to the groves that experienced the most fire damage for the first time since the ashes settled.

“I have a vain hope that once we get out on the ground the situation won’t be as bad, but that’s hope — that’s not science,” she said.

Today on AirTalk, we’re learning more about the report and what it could mean for the future of California’s iconic forests. Give us a call at 866-893-5722.

With files from the Associated Press

Guest:

Christy Brigham, chief of resources management and science at Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks and lead author of the new report

In our continuing series looking at the latest medical research and news on COVID-19, Larry Mantle speaks with Dr. Kimberly Shriner, infectious disease specialist at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena.

Today’s topics include:

Should newborns have visitors? What are the considerations?

Millions of J&J vaccines are set to expire soon

Scientists discover how COVID-19 wreaks havoc on human lungs 

Napa County records first COVID death in fully vaccinated person

Fauci says U.S. must vaccinate more Americans as Delta variant looms

Guest:

Kimberly Shriner, M.D., infectious disease specialist at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena

Today on AirTalk, we discuss the latest COVID-19 news. Also on the show, we discuss the Supreme Court's decision prohibiting those with Temporary Protected Status who came to the country illegally from attaining green cards; take a look at what the conditions of the U.S. shelters for migrant children are like; and more.

A unanimous Supreme Court ruled Monday that thousands of people living in the U.S. for humanitarian reasons are ineligible to apply to become permanent residents.

Justice Elena Kagan wrote for the court that federal immigration law prohibits people who entered the country illegally and now have Temporary Protected Status from seeking “green cards” to remain in the country permanently.  The designation applies to people who come from countries ravaged by war or disaster. It protects them from deportation and allows them to work legally. There are 400,000 people from 12 countries with TPS status.

The outcome in a case involving a couple from El Salvador who have been in the U.S. since the early 1990s turned on whether people who entered the country illegally and were given humanitarian protections were ever “admitted” into the United States under immigration law. Kagan wrote that they were not. “The TPS program gives foreign nationals nonimmigrant status, but it does not admit them. So the conferral of TPS does not make an unlawful entrant...eligible" for a green card, she wrote.

The House of Representatives already has passed legislation that would make it possible for TPS recipients to become permanent residents, Kagan noted. The bill faces uncertain prospects in the Senate. The case pitted the Biden administration against immigrant groups that argued many people who came to the U.S. for humanitarian reasons have lived in the country for many years, given birth to American citizens and put down roots in the U.S.

In 2001, the U.S. gave Salvadoran migrants legal protection to remain in the U.S. after a series of earthquakes in their home country. People from 11 other countries are similarly protected. They are: Haiti, Honduras, Myanmar, Nepal, Nicaragua, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen. Monday's decision does not affect immigrants with TPS who initially entered the U.S. legally and then, say, overstayed their visa, Kagan noted. Because those people were legally admitted to the country and later were given humanitarian protections, they can seek to become permanent residents.

With files from the Associated Press

Guests:

Kimberly Robinson, U.S. Supreme Court reporter for Bloomberg Law and co-host of Bloomberg Law’s podcast “Cases and Controversies”; she tweets @KimberlyRobinsn

Pratheepan Gulasekaram, professor of law at Santa Clara Law, where he specializes in constitutional and immigration law

Last month, the Associated Press reported that the Biden administration is holding tens of thousands of asylum-seeking children in an opaque network of some 200 facilities that spans two dozen states and includes five shelters with more than 1,000 children packed inside.

Confidential data obtained by the AP shows the number of migrant children in government custody more than doubled in the past two months, and this week the federal government was housing around 21,000 kids, from toddlers to teens. A facility at Fort Bliss, a U.S. Army post in El Paso, Texas, had more than 4,500 children as of Monday. Attorneys, advocates and mental health experts say that while some shelters are safe and provide adequate care, others are endangering children’s health and safety.

“It’s almost like ‘Groundhog Day,’” said Southern Poverty Law Center attorney Luz Lopez, referring to the 1993 film in which events appear to be continually repeating. “Here we are back to a point almost where we started, where the government is using taxpayer money to build large holding facilities ... for children instead of using that money to find ways to more quickly reunite children with their sponsors.”

A U.S. Department of Health and Human Services spokesman, Mark Weber, said the department’s staff and contractors are working hard to keep children in their custody safe and healthy.

Today on AirTalk, we’re learning more about what is happening to children in federal facilities. Questions? Give us a call at 866-893-5722.

 

With files from the Associated Press

Guests:

Eileen Sullivan, Homeland Security reporter for the New York Times who has been following this; she tweets @esullivannyt

Lindsay Toczylowski, executive director of the Immigrant Defenders Law Center in Southern California, which represents people who would otherwise face immigration judges alone, including unaccompanied minors; she tweets @L_Toczylowski

While most of you probably know KPCC by the voices you hear on air every day, our station requires the contributions of so many talented, unique individuals whose names aren’t said at the end of a news story or even in the production credits at the end of the week. These are the people who truly make KPCC -- who keep our broadcast equipment running, who put on our pledge drives and help secure sponsorships and major donations, who put together the pre-recorded spots you hear between shows, who make sure that our facilities at the Mohn Broadcast Center are operating smoothly.

This week on AirTalk, we’re highlighting some of these amazing people who work at KPCC who might not be as familiar with but whose tireless efforts are critical to what you hear on the air every day. Today, we’re featuring a couple of folks from our broadcast and media operations department, whose expertise ensures that all the technical aspects of our radio broadcast are running as they should be and at the highest level.

Guests:

Bianca Ramirez, KPCC broadcast production manager

Aaron McGrath, KPCC media and broadcast technology manager

In our continuing series looking at the latest medical research and news on COVID-19, Larry Mantle speaks with Dr. Kimberly Shriner, infectious disease specialist at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena.

Today’s topics include:

Vaccination rates fall off, imperiling Biden’s July Fourth goal 

“What my COVID-19 vaccine saga taught me about the U.S. healthcare system” 

California COVID-19 state of emergency to exceed June 15 

COVID-19 vaccines from Novavax and Medicago could debut soon

LA County to shutter its 4 large-scale COVID-19 vaccination super sites 

Guest:

Kimberly Shriner, M.D., infectious disease specialist at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena

Today on AirTalk, we break down the latest COVID-19 news. Also on the show, we discuss why the RMS Queen Mary is in danger of capsizing; review the latest movie releases with our KPCC film critics; and more.

After years of mismanagement and neglect, the historic RMS Queen Mary is in danger of sinking. 

A longtime tourist attraction, The Queen Mary is now in a state of immediate repair. According to an inspection report from city-hired Elliott Bay Design Group; the ocean liner's drastic problems include a hull that has structural issues, an emergency generator in need of repair and a leaky piping issue. The firm estimated that the ship would need $23 million in urgent repairs. However, some experts have noted that the ship’s issues have been going on for more than 20 years, according to numerous reports by former Queen Mary inspector Edward Pribonic.

The ship has been through numerous voyages in its 85-year span - first as an express service, then a troopship during World War II and eventually a passenger service ocean liner until its permanent dock at Long Beach in 1967. 

The City of Long Beach owns the ship, but it leases it out to different operators who are in charge of maintaining the Queen Mary. However, its current operator Eagle Hospitality Trust just filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January. 

Today on AirTalk, we detail the long history of the RMS Queen Mary’s neglect and learn what the future holds for the ship.

We reached out to Urban Commons, the former operator of the ship,  for an interview but they were unable to respond to us prior to the segment. If a response is given, this page will be updated.

Guests:

Kelly Puente, reporter for the Long Beach Post who has been covering this story; she tweets @KellyPuenteLB

John Keisler, director of economic development for the city of Long Beach; he tweets @jpkeisler

Edward Pribonic, professional engineer who has more than 30 years of experience in the amusement park industry; served as an inspector for the Queen Mary from 1996-2020