In California, home of the nation’s strictest firearms regulations, the parts of an illegal assault rifle are perfectly legal to own. Only putting them together is a crime, as one gun owner showed us in our San Francisco studios.
Tag: filmed
France’s New Laws Allow Almost Endless Surveillance
While the United States tries to back away from mass surveillance, at least publicly, France is moving in the opposite direction. As of July, the country has some of the most permissive surveillance laws in the Western world, allowing the state to collect citizens’ communications, break into homes, and watch anyone even remotely associated with a terror inquiry.
Big Corporations Prepare for Climate Change, Why Won’t the GOP?
The GOP candidates for president consistently deny the need to prepare for climate change, and yet corporations around the world are not just acknowledging, but preparing for its effect on their business.
Scientist Speculates About “Alien Megastructure” in New Paper
New findings suggest that something enormous and irregularly shaped is orbiting a distant star — causing one scientist to speculate that it might be an “alien megastructure.” We spoke with researchers into alien life to ask about the possibility.
LA Tries to Prepare for the Big One
More than 15,000 structures in Los Angeles could be deadly to their inhabitants in an earthquake. And because they’re almost all affordable housing, a quake would in effect wipe out the opportunities for thousands of low-income people in the city. Now a city ordinance will force landlords to make the necessary improvements. But protecting the water supply? That’s another story.
The Common Traits that May Link Rampage Shooters
Why do mass-shootings keep happening in the United States? One criminologist working on a 171-nation survey of rampage massacres says he may have found the answer.
Solar Power Used to Drill Oil, Not Replace It
A new project in Oman will be one of the largest solar fields in the world. But its purpose is to get more oil out of the ground.
Why the FAA Shut Down an Uber for Planes
It seems sensible: private pilots with flight time on their hands offering passage to willing passengers on the Internet. And consider that while there are only 500 commercial airports in the country, there are 5000 regional airports — 10 times more available destinations. Nonetheless, the FAA has shut down Flytenow, a company offering flight-sharing services. Here’s why.
Water on Mars, and What It Means
NASA’s announcement that liquid water is flowing across the surface of Mars changes everything we know about the red planet — and the possibility that life exists there.
A Climb Into the World’s Largest Trees
The ancient trees are losing limbs and needles like scientists have never seen before. Jacob Ward follows researchers into the canopy to assess the double threat of climate change and drought on the world’s largest organisms.
Jacob Ward 