But did the party put guns on the back burner when democrats were calling the shots on capitol hill . We cut through the claims and come up with just the facts, next on reality check. Sam brock and good evening, and thank you for joining us. Im sam brock. It has been a very turbulent last few weeks, from more Mass Shootings to political scandal and theater ahead of the elections. Lets get right to it. And were gonna start right now about 5,000 miles away in the united kingdom. Voters there made a historic decision to leave the european union. Now, the movements leader says, theres no going back now. But that claim could be bogus if the shakeup in parliament isnt over. Nigel well, i have to say, youre not laughing now, are you . Sam brexit talks quickly turned into bashing in brussels. Nigel you, as a political project, are in denial. Sam as former Independence Party leader nigel farage basked in his movements victory. But farewell kisses aside, this is not a done deal. Because the reality is junes brexit referendum is not legally binding, with many believing a parliamentary vote is required to break ties with the eu. Emboldened, more than 4 Million People called for a second redo referendum, which might make sense after google trends showed, what is the eu . As one of the most popular uk searches after the vote. Thomas wright yeah, unfortunately, theres no rule against stupidity in an election or in a referendum. And so it would be very hard to rerun it because you dont know whats in peoples minds, google searches notwithstanding. Sam we called up Thomas Wright at the dc think tank, brookings institution, to get to the bottom of this back and forth. David cameron okay, we have a fundamental responsibility to sam with David Cameron resigning, and Boris Johnson bowing out of contention, theresa may is your new british prime minister. Theresa may i am honored and humbled to sam may promises to see brexit through. But how long will she be in power . Parliament is in the first year of a 5year term, and its entirely possible lawmakers might wipe the slate clean, hold another general election this fall, and those results would effectively serve as a second referendum, or brexit vote. Thomas and there will need to be the Political Leadership really to reverse it. But at the moment, and especially with the domestic politics of the uk and the rest of europe being so negative, one has to say that brexit is more likely than not. Sam translation careful what you wish for. Sam the wild card in all of this could actually be scotland. While the uk as a whole voted 52 to 48 to leave the european union, scotland voted overwhelmingly to stay. Britains desire to keep its relationship with scotland could play a huge role in dictating the terms of a possible brexit. We move now to a weighty issue back home, how to prevent Mass Shootings. One policy gaining traction is bringing back a federal assault weapons ban, which would almost certainly stop americans from buying ar15style rifles, like the kind used in the orlando massacre. Does the constitution allow for this sort of measure . And just as importantly, would it work . John lewis not next month, not next year, but now. Sam words meant to command the attention of congress, but which failed to force even a vote on a package of bills aimed at keeping guns out of dangerous hands. As lawmakers fight and flail over this issue, regular people wanna know more about these, ar15style rifles. Some 5 to 10 million of them are in us households. They were the weapon of choice in at least 14 mass murders, including aurora, sandy hook, roseburg, oregon, san bernardino, santa monica, and most recently, orlando. Sam and when we talk about ar15s, people might think that theres one broad definition for that. But really were talking about dozens upon dozens of different kinds of weapons that all fall under that umbrella. Jon stokes you can use the ar15 platform to create anything from a pistol to a longrange, highpowered sniper rifle. Sam jon stokes is a selfdescribed, liberal, who wrote this article for leftleaning vox. Com called, why millions of americansincluding meown the ar15. Stokes says, the ar15 was originally designed as a weapon of war, but so were all firearms. Its not necessarily more lethal than a handgun. It all depends, he says, on how the weapon is configured. Jon and because its a modular, opensource platform, where any piece of it can be changed, from the caliber to the length, to the stock, its hard to ban, and its hard to actually really describe what it is. Sam many states have had a hard time describing an ar15. Seven currently have some sort of ban on them, including california. And if you look at the list of weapons covered, there are hundreds of names, and no two lists are the same. Pinpointing one weapon as the problem becomes a very difficult task. Deep gulasekaram theres lots of other guns that have this sort of capacity or capability, even handguns, for example. Sam and according to santa clara law professor, deep gulasekaram, an outright ban on handguns is the only restriction the Supreme Court has found unconstitutional in the 2008 dc versus heller case. Everything else is fair game. Deep there is speculation that whats happened is that since 2008, since the heller ruling, were just all watching these Mass Shootings over and over again. The Supreme Court also sees these Mass Shootings. And i think that partly informs their distaste for taking another gun case. Sam and while we are talking about the Supreme Court, it made a statement a few weeks ago. Challenges to assault weapons bans in new york and connecticut came up for review, and the court declined those cases. And that left the assault weapons bans in place. Right now we are just getting started, as the debate over gun reform is far from over. Up next on reality check. Juliet leftwich for the last 20 years or so, nothing has happened at the federal level. Theres a lot of political cowardice, and the nra has a stranglehold over congress. Sam recent efforts to pass gun reform laws have been blocked by republican leadership. But before democrats point any fingers, what did they do when the party last controlled congress . Plus, we had a wet winter this year in california. But did el nino deliver on hopes of at least denting our drought . Rwith eight times mores fragrance control,zes. The new air wick® Scented Oil Warmer lets you dial up or down. For the perfect amount of fragrance. No matter the size of the room. Air wick®. Home is in the air™. Rallies, sit ins, and calls for action, democrats have pulled out all the stops recently, trying to force a vote on gun reform. But 6 years ago, democrats called the shots, controlling the flow of legislation. Which begs the question, what, if anything, did the party do about gun reform . Nancy pelosi this legislation can be summed up in one word jobs. Sam congress shelled out close to a trillion dollars on the stimulus package, passed financial reform with doddfrank. Pelosi the bill is passed. Sam and of course, paved the way for the Affordable Care act. Those laws represent the hallmarks of the 111th congress. Noticeably absent is any significant legislation on guns. Larry gerston lets put it this way. The government was less intrusive, a little bit less concerned, a little bit less involved with some of the other laws that are already on the books. Sam these are the gun laws passed by the 111th congress firearms can be carried in national parks. Firearms can be carried on amtrak trains. The Law EnforcementSafety Improvement act, which helps retired, qualifying Police Officers carry concealed weapons. Juliet unfortunately, for the last 20 years or so, nothing has happened at the federal level. Theres a lot of political cowardice, and the nra has a stranglehold over congress. Sam Julie Leftwich is legal director for the law center to prevent gun violence. She helped write the last major piece of federal gun reform legislation, a 1994 federal assault weapons ban. It came after her colleagues were massacred at 101 california. Leftwich says, the tragedy at newtown, connecticut, similarly shook the nation to its core. Juliet theres just a different feeling in the country now about this issue. And hopefully, the politicians will hear that. And even if its, even for their, only for their selfinterests that they will act accordingly. Male no fly, no gun. No fly, no gun. Sam the reality is lawmakers are protesting right now for tighter gun laws like, no fly, no buy. But those reforms were already proposed in 111th congress by democrats and republicans. We searched congress. Gov and found that republican congressman mike castle and democratic senator Frank Lautenberg both sponsored legislation to close the gun show loophole. New york congressman peter king, also a republican, backed a bill denying firearms and explosives to dangerous terrorists. None of these proposals even made it out of committee. And that falls directly at the hands of the ruling party. Larry at the end of the day, in the us senate, it is the majority leader. It is the majority leader, period. Sam and the house too, right . Larry it is the speaker, period. Sam and that would be harry reid and nancy pelosi, respectively. Now, theres no guarantee that either leader could have actually moved the bills through their chamber. The 60vote supermajority in the senate only lasted a few months, and it was an extremely fragile supermajority. But its also true that they chose to use their Political Capital on other issues. Staying right now on capitol hill and the promise of closure in the ongoing email investigation of hillary clinton. Recently, fbi director james comey said, the agency does not recommend criminal charges, after he blasted clinton for, quote, extremely careless behavior. This was the reaction from some members of congress. Jason chaffetz were mystified and confused by the fact pattern that you laid out and the conclusions that you reached. Will hurd well, thats not a crime . Thats outrageous. Director comey i dont think that our investigation established that she was actually particularly sophisticated with respect to classified information. Ron desantis isnt she an original classification authority, though . Director comey yes, sir. Yes, sir. Ron good grief. Sam so there are two thresholds for a criminal prosecution in this case gross negligence, and intent to commit a crime. Comeys conclusion was that there was not enough evidence to charge clinton with either. Director comey i know no reasonable prosecutor to bring this case. I know a lot of my former friends are out there sayin they would. I wonder where they were the last 40 years, cause id like to see the cases they brought on gross negligence. Nobody would. Nobody did. Sam again, that is comeys conclusion. But how did he get there . We spoke to Robert Weissberg for clarity, the codirector of stanfords criminal justice center. He said, simply put, that, comeys lawyers probably had a significant and sophisticated legal reasoning, but comey failed to explain any of it. No gross negligence . Weissberg says, maybe not, if it turns out that the classified emails were bureaucratic in nature and didnt actually jeopardize national security. How bout, no criminal intent . He says, its possible that clinton knew she was breaking state Department Protocol without knowing that she was breaking the law. Again, this is all speculation. The point is, comey didnt loop us in on the process. And this investigation may not be over. Theres a 5year statute of limitation for prosecuting this crime, and clinton left the state department in 2012. It is entirely possible that under a trump presidency, the fbi would return to this case, and that a new attorney general could bring charges. Up next on reality check, charging into the olympics, now only a few weeks away. And some question the testing of olympic athletes. Victor conte put it this way. For 4 years i was tap dancing on the forehead of the usada, and wada, and everybody else, and no one got a positive test, okay . Sam on the road to rio, we fact check whether the system in place to prevent athletes from cheating is set up to fail. Also ahead Chris Farley El nino is spanish for the nino. Sam it was a farce, and then it became a force for coping with californias drought. But did the godzilla el nino do the trick after all in helping to replenish our water supply . [music] now, less than a month to go, and some people are concerned about doping athletes. The olympians are tested months before the games, and then again repeatedly by the International Olympic committee on the ground at brazil. Still, one man notorious for once helping athletes cheat the system, says, these revamped efforts are all bark and no bite. Victor and ive said this before. The Olympic Games is a fraud. Sam harsh words coming from a man you might recognize. Victor conte, once synonymous with barry bonds and doping in the bay area, founded balco. Thats a Sports Nutrition company linked to highprofile steroids cases involving bonds and a slew of olympic athletes. Now, after spending time behind bars, conte has a new company and a new crusade, cracking down on an antidoping system he says is, engineered for abuse. Victor put it this way. For 4 years i was tap dancing on the forehead of the usada, and wada, and everybody else, and no one got a positive test, okay . Ben nichols we are the global watchdog for drug testing in sports. Weve been around for about 17 years now. Sam wada spokesperson ben nichols says, the organization has changed a lot in that time, building broader, tougher standards for the agencies and federations that test athletes. Ben so its one thing to have good procedures in place. Its quite another for everyone to really focus on doing them well. And thats where were at, is we need people to really up their game worldwide. Sam were trying to hold the world accountable. Has wada achieved that goal, do you think, ahead of the 2016 olympics . Victor absolutely not. And when you say, theyre trying, i dont believe that to be true at all. And ill give you a specific example. Sam contes talking about reports that jamaicas Antidoping Agency wasnt testing its athletes for months before the 2012 summer games in london. After those reports emerged, wada investigated. And director general david howman told the associated press, quote, there was a period of. Maybe 5 to 6 months during the beginning part of 2012 where there was no effective operation. No testing. Six months out, conte says, thats a crucial time in an athletes training. Victor they build a strength and power and speed base that carries over at the Olympic Games. Sam now, consider the following facts. Wada allows countries in sports federations around the world to police themselves on offseason testing. And wada recently changed its policies, allowing athletes to miss 2 tests every 12 months without a violation. That might help explain a very low number of athletes testing positive at the games. The most recent data comes from london 2012, where 5,051 athletes underwent testing, and 9 of them tested positive for banned substances, or fewer than 1 . Thats right in line with wadas historical data. Ben but of course, weve seen research externally which would suggest that doping is much more prevalent than that. Victor these athletes simply do what they have to do in order to be competitive. And i dont wanna say, everyones doing it, cause i dont believe that, but i think its the overwhelming majority. Sam the us Antidoping Agency publishes a list of all sanctioned athletes on its website, including those sanctioned for missing tests. But what about the athletes who miss tests and arent punished or even flagged . We were told that information is not in the public record. In the meantime, california was hoping to break some records with this years el nino. Up next on reality check, the highly publicized weather pattern that put our reservoirs and Water Supplies back in business. But concerns are mounting that we could be looking at another drought situation next year. Well explain after the break. He gets a ready for you alert the second his room is ready. So he knows exactly when he can settle in and think big. And when josh thinks big you know what he gives . Ill give you everything ive got and then some. He gives a hundred and ten percent im confident this 10 can boost your market share. Look at that pie chart boom youve never seen a number like that you feel me lois . Im feeling you. Yeah you do lets do this watch out he just had a whole thimble full of coffee. Woot woot the ready for you alert, only at laquinta. Com. La. Quinta yeah when word began to leak that an el nino winter would rock the west coast, and predictions emerged that the storms could pull california out of an historic drought. We wanted to know if these statements could be a little farcical, kinda like this. Will ferrell in a dramatic development, the Weather Channel has captured the following satellite images of the mysterious phenomenon known as el nino. Chris i am el nino. All the tropical storms must bow before el nino. Yo soy el nino. For those of you who dont habla espanol, el nino is spanish for the nino. Sam trying to put all jokes aside for a second, could there be a kernel of truth to these el nino claims . Well, the winter rains have come and gone, and the state recently pulled back on water restrictions. So you might think, el nino was the medicine that we needed. A closer look shows that calls to conserve are not over. Sam not just a drop in the bay area bucket, this el nino rain season has many people talking about a surge in water, and a stopgap to a decadeslong drought. Did it deliver . To a degree. Dr. Jay lund i think we have to be prepared for it being dry. Sam dr. Jay lund is one of the top water resource experts in the country. He says, this rain season in Northern California turned out decidedly average. Jay the el nino was touted as bringing us a lot more water than it actually brought this year. If you look at it statistically, el ninos are not necessarily correlated with a lot of water in Northern California, but they usually are correlated with more water in Southern California. Sam interestingly, this rain season was the exact opposite. Northern california fared much better. Check out the drought map here. The darker colors indicate more serious conditions. And large portions of Southern California and Central California are in extreme or exceptional drought. This works out better for california as a whole since most of the major reservoirs are in Northern California. Shasta and oroville, for example, are spilling water, since theyre only designed to capture about a typical seasons rainfall. GroundWater Supplies will take longer to rebuild, but the replenished reservoirs will help. Jay well, they kind of go together. The main way we recharge aquifers in the Central Valley is with irrigating crops with surface water. Sam and there will be more surface water to go around this year. Governor jerry brown the drought is serious, and we have to take serious measure to respond. Sam but even though governor jerry brown removed the 25 water reduction mandate, we found many local Water Districts are not changing their calls for conservation or their rules. The San FranciscoPublic Utilities commission says, customers will still be asked for a voluntary 10 cut. And restaurants in the city will still serve water by request only. The Santa Clara ValleyWater District hasnt budged yet either. The district mandates a 30 reduction for now. But the board will meet again in 2 weeks to discuss. And the east bay municipal utilities district, or mud, has made some changes. Its 1. 4 million customers no longer need to meet a 20 conservation target, or pay fines for overuse. Sam one update here. This story originally aired a couple of weeks before the Santa Clara ValleyWater District met in june. The agency did decide to lower the water use reduction target from 30 down to 20, but the agency says that, residents should still continue their efforts to conserve in the midst of this drought. That is going to conclude this special edition of reality check. You can view all of these stories and others like it by visiting our website, nbcbayarea. Com realitycheck. If you have an idea that you would like me to fact check, just go ahead and email me your tips to samuel. Brock nbcuni. Com. Also, dont forget to check out nbc bay area news at 6 oclock to see our regular reality check segments. And you can start your Morning Bright and early, and i do mean early, with me, laura, kari, and mike on today in the bay, every weekday, monday through friday, starting at 4 30 and going until 7 oclock. Plus, well be back next week on nbc bay area news at 6. Thank you for watching, and have a great night. Im sara gore, and this is open house. This week, its all about resortstyle living. Well explore unparalleled coastal living in santa monica and a beachfront home in maui. Plus, we are stopping by an impressive villa in st. Maarten. But first, we are taking you to the jewel of the atlantic, bermuda. It is tradition in bermuda to welcome our guest with open arms. There is so much i want to show you. Come and follow me. [theme music] welcome to open house. Today we are starting things off in bermuda, an island set apart by its location, mystique, beauty, and way of life. I recently visited bermuda, and i instantly fell in love with just about everything there