Matter of Fact with Soledad O'Brien

APRIL 20, 2019 (3x30)

Uitzenddatum: Apr 20, 2019

This week on Matter of Fact with Soledad O’Brien, when it comes to vaccination, when does public safety override individual rights? That’s what elected officials, judges, religious leaders, and doctors are asking right now as a measles outbreak is hitting New York. And it’s not just New York, measles outbreaks have also been reported in New Jersey, Michigan, Washington, California. Can the government force everyone to get vaccinated? Soledad talks with Dr. Oxiris Barbot, the health commissioner for New York, to find out how the city is working to stop the spread of highly contagious virus. Plus, the lack of affordable housing is a problem for many Americans but for adults with disabilities it’s on the verge of becoming a disaster. There are nearly 1-million intellectually or developmentally disabled people living with a caregiver 60 years of age or older. As those caregivers age, many worry their adult children risk being institutionalized or becoming homeless. The warning comes as a massive wave of children with autism, about a half a million, will reach adulthood within the next decade. Correspondent Jessica Gomez tells us, in many parts of the country (including Wisconsin and Vriginia) parents are now taking matters into their own hands. Monday is Earth Day. Since 1970, Earth Day has been a celebration of achievements in protecting the environment and a call to action. Soledad talks to Denis Hayes, one of the founders of the Earth Day movement to find out what have been the biggest environmental policy successes in the past fifty years, and what are the two biggest threats facing the planet right now. Plus, for the first time, drivers in Mississippi can order a special license plate with a flag design that doesn’t include the Confederate emblem. Mississippi is that last state with a Confederate symbol on its official flag. This new flag was designed by the granddaughter of the state’s former U.S. Senator, John Stennis, who was a staunch segregationist du