Soledad im soledad obrien. Welcome to matter of fact. A new bipartisan report to Congress Warns the u. S. Is facing dire National Security congress commissioned the Syria Study Group to build a military and diplomatic strategy to deal with growing instability in syria. The report states that after nine years of conflict, syria is now a safe haven for terror organizations like isis and is threatening to destabilize neighboring countries, including iraq. The report comes two years after iraqi forces, with help from the u. S. Military, defeated isis during one of the most intense battles in modern warfare, the liberation of mosul. Could Lessons Learned from mosul hedalpef pittard commanded the Coalition Response in iraq in 2014, andd s bryant, was part of the special ops teams on the ground. They give a candid account of the war in their new book, hunting the caliphate americas war on isis and the dawn of the strike cell. Gentlemen, its nice to have you with me. Dana oh thank you for having us. You bet. Soledad so this book begins very dramatically like a page turner where youre describing a guy named abu ali. And theres this dramatic plan to try to kill him. You dont want to have any Collateral Damage of course which makes it tricky. And basically in the fall of 2014 you have a checkpoint thats blown up and its a way to get him to kind of head there and theres a targeted strike that takes him out. I mean its extremely dramatic. How many of the isis leaders had a story like this guy abu ali . Dana a lot in fact in fact , its not an accident that within the first eight months of the conflict starting in 2014, within the first eight months, 40 of the 50 top isis leaders were killed. Would you sare dana thousands tens of , have been killed. And i think thats been documented. Wes yeah, and thats something that goes against some of the narrative that people have in their minds of that first year or even that first two years was just us flailing along. We were we had some serious obstacles that we highlight in the book, of course, but we were taking out isis really well. Soledad small strike cells which is sort of the subtitle of the book. Whats a strike cell . Wes strike cell is really an extension of what we would do on the ground as jtac. Joint terminal tech controllers. Often, youre called forward air controller, where were on the ground with our usually army unit, marine unit, marines have their own jtacs as well. Special operations unit, and Close Air Support called in those airstrikes. Ground intelligenc i soledad how much of a role did . Dana it was huge. Certainly the beginning becausee ground. So that was a dilemma because people like wes bryant, who are used to being on the ground as a joint Tactical Air Controller bringing in aircraft, we werent allowed to do that. So we had to come up with an innovative way to how do we still do that. So we had so many manned and unmanned aerial intelligence systems, predator drones. We were able to recreate that through a strike cell, and it had never been done on that scale before. Soledad had strike cells been done consistently before in warfare . I think you briefed the chief of staff the air force on it. Wes yes, we did 2014 and spring of 2015. They wanted to understand what the air force special tactics community which i was a part of did on the ground in in iraq and baghdad. They knew about the strike cells that have been started up but even strangely enough the senior chain of command in the military and the politicians back home were still a bit i would say in the dark on exactly how things went down because it was just a whirlwind. In iraq for those first few months. Dana it was this fall a small footprint, too, at least american forces. There that was there was another chapter in the book. When senator mccain visited he said, why arent you asking for more troops . I think you knew about 50,000 troops. Hey id no this is working. Dana well as a geog been defeated as a state. However, isis as a terror gappinup in ungoverned spaces, failed states like libya, somalia, portions of afghanistan. And if or not careful, theyre going to come back up in syria and even portions of iraq if were not careful. Soledad the book is so good and it really is a page turner and a great explainer if you want to understand whats happening with isis and what has happened since 2014. Its called hunting the caliphate. General pittard and also west, bryant, nice to have you on. Thank you. Next on matter of fact. Leading the way. I tell you what i like, i like your generation pushing my generation. The new york city teen inspiring World Leaders by her commitment to fight Climate Change. Dplus, ision to advise her majesty to Prorogue Parliament was unlawful. Can the british Prime Minister turn a Brexit Defeat can the british Prime Minister turn a Brexit Defeat into a victory . Super emma just about sleeps in her cape. But when we realized she was battling sensitive skin, we switched to tide pods free gentle. Its gentle on her skin, and dermatologist recommended. Tide free and gentle. We switched to tide pods free gentle. Safe for skin with psoriasis, and eczema. Dprevagen is the number onemild memopharmacistrecommendedng . Memory support brand. You can find it in the vitamin aisle in stores everywhere. Prevagen. Healthier brain. Better life. Upbeat musieverything was so fresh in the beginning. [sniff] dramatic music but that plug quickly faded. Upbeat music luckily theres febreze plug. It cleans away odors and freshens for 1200 hours. [deep inhale] breathe happy with febreze plug. When you have nausea, heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea. Try new pepto liquicaps for fast relief and ultracoating. Nausea, heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea. Get powerful relief with new pepto bismol liquicaps. Soledad its thpa cry heard around the world from 16yearold Climate Change activist, Greta Thunberg. The teenager from sweden, now nominated for the nobel peace prize, scolded World Leaders at the u. N. Climate summit in new york, accusing them of not doing enough to save the planet. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction. And all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you soledad soon after that speech, greta along with 15 other children filed a complaint to the u. N. They claim five world powers, argentina, brazil, france, germany, and turkey, are violating human rights by not taking action to stop Climate Change. One of the teenagers joining thunberg in that complaint is alexandria villasenor. Shes a teenaged new yorker, on a mission to get World Leaders to act now. Since middecember, alexandria villasenor said she has skipped school, braved the cold, the rain and the odd stares of passersby and sat on a bench outside the United Nations where she protests government inaction on Climate Change. For nearly a year, friday mornings have begun the same way, preparing fresh protest posters in the cozy apartment villasenor shares with her mother, kristin hogue, a Columbia University climate studies graduate student. With posters in hand theyre off to the subway heading south, then another subway across town, cutting through Grand Central station, and then making a beeline for first avenue and 46th street where alexandria meets her activist friends at her protest bench in front of on this morning, alexandria may not fully appreciate the celebrity shes become or power she wields, including attention from Washington State governor and former democratic president ial candidate, jay inslee. ⌞ i tell you what i like, i puy generation. I saw Greta Thunberg speak. And World Leaders had failed to come to an agreement to reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions. Inslee i gotta do a sign. What sign you going to do . Im exercising my First American amendment rights, inspired by these leaders. I will be stopping my protest when World Leaders meet my demands and reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions globally by 50 by 2030. She gets really down on herself, she feels the weight of the entire world is on her shoulders, that this is her responsibility to make this drastic change. Soledad in may, villasenor was part of a diein in times square to the effects of Global Warming on the planet. Recently, people around the world protested during the Climate Change strike. More than 300,000 people joined greta and alexandria in new york city for protests there, and marchers were held across the united states. In the next few years, i hope i dont have to be a climate activist because we will have reversed the climate crisis. I dont think about how im sacrificing some of my childhood to protest to be involved in climate activism because students cannot wait until we are in positions of power to make change. Soledad in may, villasenor received the youth climate Leadership Award from the Earth Day Network for her weekly protests and for starting a nonprofit to educate students about the climate crisis. When we come back meet the , wildlife photographer creating a visual ark in his fight to save animals on the brink of extinction. And deal or no deal. Frankly, i think we need to get on with brexit. Whats the next brexit move Prime Minister Boris Johnson can make . [white rabbit by jefferson airplane] one pill makes you larger and one pill makes you smaller and the ones that mother gives you dont do anything at all remember what the dormouse said welcome aboard. Feed your head soledad i know you know the story of noahs ark. From the book of genesis, it goes like this the earth is about to be engulfed by a flood. Noah saves all the animals by ushering them onto his ark two by two every living thing one male and one female. Photographer, joel sartore, could be called a modern day noah. But instead of a boat, he has his camera. For the past decade, he has traveled the world, photographing the most endangered animals on the planet. The photos are included in National Geographics upcoming special issue on extinction, and in the book, the photo ark vanishing the worlds most vulnerable animals. Joel sartore joins me via skype from lincoln, nebraska. Hotos that youvening me captured, 10,000 different endangered animals. Was the goal, joel, to keep a version like an archive or was the goal to sort of push people to care before its too late . Joel there you go. Its both actually. It is the Worlds Largest archive of biodiversity. We photograph rare or common animals at this point because we dont know whats going to go away on this in the next 25, 50, 100 years. But it really more than just being a giant obituary, its meant to inspire people to care and to lessen the extinction crisis thats coming up. Soledad what makes the public care . What is the thing that helped somebody to really care about an animl that maybe they never even have a chance to see in a zoo or in their community. Joel right. Well, we will love it if we never even met it. So the photo ark is a giant dating service i guess between biodiversity and the public. Were mammals ourselves, were primates. We love i contact. So we want to get a good look at them in proper lighting on black and white backgrounds theres no distractions, we can see that theres great intelligence and power in all of them and i believe they have a basic right to exist. Soledad i want to walk through a couple. I know youve said theyre your favorite but i think probably you have 10,000 favorites. The first is the baby pangolin. Tell me about that. Joel right. So in its an effort to get every captive species on the planet. This pangolin was pretty significant in that its an animal that is really getting closer and closer to extinction every year. Theyre easy to hunt. They hunt them with dogs at night. Theyre easy to just pick up and put up in a gunny sack and this is a mom carrying her baby around on her tail at a captive breeding facility in florida. That is an animal that is heavily used in chinese medicine for meat and for scales and if we dont stop and Pay Attention were level to lose it. Soledad the mandrill is looking at itself in your lens and has his hands over his mouth. Joel thats right. This was at a bushmeat market in equatorial guinea. The animal is chained to an old rusty car and liable to be made in stew that night. And so we brought black velvet along and made him immortal. Hes probably seeing himself for the very first time in the reflection of my lens filter. So thats what youre seeing there. Soledad such a beautiful, beautiful photo. You are now well into your second decade of this project with heading to 10,000 animals photographed. When do you think youll be done . When does the project end . Joel well, there are between 12,000 and 15,000 species in human care globally. Were nearing 10,000 after 13 years. So another 10 years. We have to go farther to get fewer but to get those last 2000 from home another 10, 15 years, i think. And then thatll be about it. I hope. Soledad the book is beautiful. Its called the photo ark vanishing the worlds most vulnerable animals. Go to natgeo. Com and take that save together pledge. Thank you, joel. Appreciate it. Joel thank you. Coming up next, bewildered by brexit . Youre not alone. Our guide to understanding the Political Drama gripping the united kingdom. Plus, the unintended consequences of Nancy Pelosis impeachment announcement. Soledad now to a weekly feature we like to call were paying attention even if youre too busy. We rarely venture into te program but we thought the latest twists and turns of brexit in the u. K. Might be worthy of an explainer. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the conservative party, who has been in power for just over nine weeks, was handed a big defeat while he was in the u. S. For the u. N. General assembly. The president of the Supreme Court, lady hale rescinded johnsons decision to suspend or Prorogue Parliament. Johnson asked the queen who is the head of state to suspend parliament for five weeks. Johnson said it was to prepare for a new session but critics said it was to block any opposition to brexit. The deadline for the u. K. To withdraw from the European Union is october 31. Lady hale said the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that johnson acted unlawfully. He is now facing calls to resign, which he is steadfastly refusing. Its all part of a roller coaster of political chaos since the country voted to l teu in ak in june of 2016. The u. K. , which remember scotland, wales, and Northern Ireland joined the European Union back in the 1970s. They agreed to abide by a set of common rules and regulations set out by the European Commission in brussels. Many who support brexit say those rules strip the u. K. Of its sovereign power. Those who support remaining in the e. U. Say the benefits of membership including access to a Common Market and the Free Movement of people is too of course, thats just the tip of iceberg when it comes to the obstacles facing any brexit plan. Theres also the irish backstop which threatens to reignite the sectarian violence in Northern Ireland, and the nearly 50 billion divorce bill, the british are expected to pay if they want to leave. So whats next . Well, there are a number of ways this could play out in the coming weeks. A likely scenario, according to many, now that parliament is back in session. The opposition could call for a no confidence vote. If johnsons government didnt survive, it could lead to a general election. That doesnt mean it would necessarily resolve anything, because according to polls, when it comes to brexit, the british voters are as divided as their politicians. Which words sent and. Thats your basic threepoint turn. [ scoffs ] if you say so. Im sorry . What teach here isnt telling you is that snapshot rewards safe drivers with discounts on car insurance. What . Or maybe he didnt know. [ chuckles ] im done with this class. Youre not even enrolled in this class. I know. Im supposed to be in ceramics. Do you know room 303. Oh. Thank you. Yeah. Good luck, everybody. Dprevagen is the number onemild memopharmacistrecommendedng . Memory support brand. You can find it in the vitamin aisle in stores everywhere. Prevagen. Healthier brain. Better life. Sfx upbeat music a lot of clothes you normally take to the cleaners arent dirty dirty. They just need a quick refresh. Try new febreze clothing quick dry mist. It eliminates odors and refreshes lightlyworn clothing. Breathe happy febreze. La la la la la. Soledad and finally, House Speaker Nancy Pelosis announcement that congress would begin a formal impeachment inquiry into President Trump has a lot of people reaching for the dictionary or their laptop. Searches for the word impeach soared 3600 on merriamwebsters website the day Speaker Pelosi made the announcement. People wanted to know exactly what impeach means. Here, let me save you from looking it up. Impeach means to charge with a crime or misdemeanor. It comes from the latin impedicare, meaning catch or entangle. And whil also used by lawyers to cast doubt on a persons credibility. For example, you can impeach a witness. Only two president s have ever been impeached by the house, Andrew Johnson and bill clinton. Neither was convicted by the senate. Richard nixon, youll remember, resigned from office before the house could impeach him. Also this week, merriamwebster highlighted two other words on twitter after the release of President Trumps call with those words, transcript and memorandum. Look em up. Thats it for this edition of matter of fact. Well see you next week. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] robert handa hello, and welcome to Asian Pacific america. Im robert handa, your host for our show here on nbc bay area and cozi tv. It is the 150th anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad, certainly one of the most significant achievements that shaped america. And hopefully, finally the Chinese Workers who help make it happen are being recognized. Ie chineseamericans contributions are overlooked. We will discuss the history of chinese fisherman in monterey and why they deserve more recognition. Then we go to the san joses history park to walk through the chinatowns that once thrived and ultimately disappeared from that city. We show you how that legacy is being preserved. And finally, we continue with our tradition of showcasing