North Korea’s Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, Changes to Veteran Health Care, Summer Fiction Picks

Coming up on today’s show: 

• Experts have indicated that a ballistic missile launched by North Korea late Monday was the country’s first successful test of a weapon capable of reaching the United States. David Wright, co-director of the Global Security Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists and an expert on the technical side of nuclear weapons, explains just how big of a threat this weapon poses. 

• At a hearing last week before the Senate Intelligence Committee, a panel of experts testified about Russian interference in democratic elections and urged the U.S. to work closer with its allies in Europe to stop future threats. Nicholas Burns, a former ambassador to NATO, was part of the hearing and joins The Takeaway to share his concerns.

• Starting July 5, the Department of Veterans Affairs will offer emergency mental health services to veterans without honorable discharges. Kristofer Goldsmith, an Iraq War veteran, returns to The Takeaway to explain why, for many veterans, the new rule changes don’t go far enough. 

• Hawaii has the highest rate of homelessness in the U.S. Many who find themselves on the street turn to informal encampments, but the state is cracking down on these communities. Hawaii-based journalist Liz Barney has been reporting on homelessness and takes us inside one of these camps.

• A federal court ruled that the Trump administration improperly suspended an Obama-era rule on methane emissions. This could be the first of many legal challenges for the current EPA. Lisa Friedman, a climate reporter at The New York Times, joins The Takeaway to discuss how this ruling could affect the White House’s environmental policy going forward.

• A landfill in Wayne County, Georgia, was set be a dumping ground for thousands of tons of toxic coal ash waste. But after a long campaign led by the community and local newspaper, Wayne County may stay coal ash-free. Georgina Gustin, a reporter for InsideClimate News, and Dink NeSmith, owner of The Press-Sentinel, have the details.

• Need a summer reading recommendation? Ron Charles, of the Washington Post’s Book World, joins The Takeaway to share his 2017 summer fiction picks.

This episode is hosted by Todd Zwillich.