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July 23 - 27, 2007
Monday, July 23
Ask the Chief
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Another gang member on the LAPD's "most wanted" list was nabbed by Oklahoma City Police. A new National Security Estimate warns about Al Qaeda's increased reach and threat while counter-terrorism money for the city of Los Angeles gets cut by $8 million. Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton talks to guest host Frank Stoltze about these topics and more, including a terror assessment of the city's popular nightclubs, a surge in gang activity in the Valley and a reported 22% drop in homicides in Los Angeles.
From the Thoughtful to the Bizarre: Debate Questions from YouTube
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CNN is hosting something of a technical and political revolution tonight: the first presidential debate where questions will come directly from the constituents, via the online video website YouTube.com. CNN says the video questions will showcase the electorate as much as the eight Democrats vying for the 2008 nomination. Over 2,000 questions were submitted on YouTube, and they range from technical questions on complicated policy issues to a question from a cat about protecting pet food supplies. While the format should be more entertaining than a traditional debate, will the candidates' answers be any different?
Tuesday, July 24
Lawsuit Filed Against Veterans Affairs
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Thirty-eight percent of soldiers and 50 percent of National Guard members who return home from the Middle East have mental health issues, but only 2 percent of all Veterans Affairs hospitals nationwide have in-patient post-traumatic stress disorder programs. Situations such as this have created a backlog of over 600,000 claims, leading to a nationwide lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs on behalf of hundreds of thousands of veterans across the country. Is the lawsuit the solution to the VA's obviously flawed mathematical equation?
Evil HAL 9000 or Benevolent R2D2: The Future of A.I.
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Our most vivid images of artificially intelligent machines tends to come from science fiction movies, and they usually fall into two categories: evil robots run amok, bent on destroying mankind or wise androids assisting and saving humans. The reality of A.I. machines is a little more complex, but the advancements are coming in leaps and bounds with ever more intelligent and autonomous systems that are being designed for such tasks as caretakers for children and the elderly, independent transportation vehicles and war making. There are still many ethical and safety concerns that must be addressed. How long before we can all expect to have our own A.I. robot friend in our homes?
Touch the Sky: the Race to Build the World's Tallest Buildings
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Developers of a 1,680-foot skyscraper in Dubai said Saturday that it has become the world's tallest structure, surpassing Taiwan's Taipei 101, which was the tallest since 2004. There's a new boon in building skyscrapers, with many tall towers under construction, including two more soon-to-be-completed skyscrapers in Asia. There's also the Freedom Tower in New York that will one day rise to 1,776 feet. There's even talk of building the "Mile-high" tower, a project originally conceived of by Frank Lloyd Wright. It's hard to justify such enormous structures in pure economic terms, so what's driving this skyward building boom? John asks skyscraping experts and historians.
To learn more about the world's tallest building, visit the Skyscraper Museum's web site.
Wednesday, July 25
DiFi to Hi-C: You've Got My Vote
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Declaring that "Hillary Clinton is the woman" to shatter the gender barrier in the White House, California Senator Diane Feinstein endorsed her colleague's presidential bid today, adding another significant name to Clinton's list of West Coast political support. Do political endorsements have any meaningful resonance with the average voter?
Gonzales Infuriates the Senators - Again
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Attorney General Alberto Gonzales appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday, but his testimony on a number of issues was derided by both Democratic and Republican senators as evasive and perhaps deliberately untruthful. Republican Senator Arlen Specter went so far as to say, "Your credibility has been breached to the point of being actionable." What's next in the showdown between these two branches of government?
Commission Report on Veterans' Care
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After months of reports about inadequate veterans' care at Walter Reed Army Hospital and other Veterans Affairs facilities, today a presidential commission presented the Oval Office with a 29-page draft report that urges substantial changes to the current system. Are the proposals adequate for fixing the problems, and when might we see the change?
The Mexican Mafia
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From a small prison faction to a multinational crime organization, the Mexican Mafia is believed to control an estimated 40,000 members and is the first prison gang to extend its power beyond prison walls. For fifty years the group known as "La Eme" has strived to stay under the radar yet wields influence in Latino neighborhoods throughout Southern California. In one of the first books written on the subject, The Mexican Mafia (Encounter Books) reveals the birth and growth of one the most dangerous gangs in history.
Thursday, July 26
Port Strike Averted
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The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are entry points for millions of cargo containers headed to destinations throughout the United States. A major strike and port closing can have a huge impact on the economy...and a growing dispute between port clerks and their employers was threatening to do just that. Fortunately, the impasse was broken today. Guest-host Ted Chen talks to a labor representative about the agreement.
Wall Street Takes a Plunge
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Amid concerns about the troubled housing market and rising oil prices, Wall Street saw its second biggest drop of the year today. Disappointing home sales, the crisis in the sub-prime lending market and near record oil prices have created a lack of confidence in investors as stocks are expected to reach the worst one-day decline since February.
- David Johnson, Stock Broker and Analyst for Marketplace
BIG Telescope to Eye the Universe
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Scientists from around the world met at UC Irvine this week for a conference about the Thirty Meter Telescope, which is expected to be one of the most powerful science instruments ever built. The TMT is part of a joint effort by the University of California, Caltech and a group of Canadian universities, and will be used to probe the universe in hopes of revealing the origins of distant stars and galaxies. TMT's project director joins guest host Ted Chen to discuss this new window to the universe and its potential impact on the future of astronomy.
"No Vacation" Nation
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The French are guaranteed 31 paid days off each year, while Americans are guaranteed... none? The Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington recently released a report saying that the United States is the only advanced economy in the world that does not guarantee paid vacation time to its workers. While on average, full-time American workers receive 19 annual paid days off, 28 million workers nationwide get none at all. Guest host Ted Chen discusses the implications of the U.S.'s "no vacation nation" status and talks with those that hope to change it.
Friday, July 27
Gang Strategies
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Felix Garrid Safie, attorney general of El Salvador, discussed the results of his trip to Los Angeles today. He is been in the city to study international anti-gang strategies and formulate coordinated efforts with LAPD officers to combat gang activity in both countries. KPCC reporter Frank Stoltze was at the news conference this morning where Safie outlined the results of his visit.
- KPCC Reporter Frank Stoltze
The Decline of the Explorer
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Since its introduction in 1991, the Ford Explorer has been the best selling sport utility vehicle in the U.S., far outpacing its closest rivals, which were also American-built SUV's. The times, they are a changing: as of June 30th this year, Honda's CR-V overtook the Explorer to become America's most popular SUV, and the two vehicles are a study in contrasts: The Explorer is a big, gas-guzzling, truck-based SUV, while the CR-V has a fuel efficient four-cylinder engine, based on a car platform. What happened to the mighty Explorer, and does its demise mean the slow death of the SUV?
Comedy Congress
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When analyzing the latest news or watching the actions of our elected officials, it can be tough to choose whether to laugh or cry. Today, Patt Morrison makes the decision: with Comedy Congress, we're taking a humorous look back at the week in politics and current events, and a look ahead at the absurdities yet to come. So fight back the urge to either scream in frustration or bury your head in shame when reading the latest bumbled quote from President Bush or learning of Mayor Villaraigosa's latest love affair. The truth hurts far less when it's told by comedians.
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