USA soccer is still in the running for the World Cup; Credit: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

Team USA faces Belgium in the knockout round of the World Cup today [TUESDAY]. If it wins, it’ll mark a long-awaited return to the quarterfinals of the competition since 2002. The wait’s been even longer for the Belgians; the last time they reached the quarterfinals was in 1986.

For Team USA to prevail, they need to focus on attacking the net, particularly against a team that has carved out a reputation in Europe as a young and wildly talented.

This isn’t the first time the US has faced Belgium. The two teams played in friendlies—or preparation matches—in September 2011 and May 2013, in which the US was outplayed both times. That said, Team USA has been playing exceptional football in this tournament and as all the upsets have shown, anything is possible in the World Cup.

Guest:

Mike Woitalla, executive editor, Soccer America Magazine. He is joining us from Rio de Janeiro, where he is covering the World Cup

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - OCTOBER 10: California Attorney General Kamala Harris points to a map as she speaks during a news conference on October 10, 2013 in San Francisco, California. Harris announced the filing of a lawsuit against the for-profit Corinthian Colleges and its subsidiaries for alleged false advertising, securities fraud, intentional misrepresentations to students and the unlawful use of military insignias in advertisements. Santa Ana, California-based Corinthian Colleges operates 111 total campuses in North America with 24 Heald, Everest and WyoTech colleges in California that have an estimated 27,000 students. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images); Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Today is the deadline for beleaguered Orange County-based for-profit college Corinthian to reach a deal with the U.S. Department of Education on a plan to sell or close the school's 107 campuses and online programs.

Just a decade ago, Corinthian Colleges Inc. was a giant in the for-profit college world. The Santa Ana-based entity owns and operates schools such as Heald, Everest and WyoTech, with more than 81,000 students nationally. Like so many for-profit schools, its fortunes were tied to the billions of dollars in federal loans students take out to attend the school.

Federal scrutiny on for-profit colleges has tightened and Corinthian is under investigation by 20 states, including California, for questionable recruitment practices and inflated job placement rates. Around mid-June, the Department of Education announced that it will cut off financial aid to Corinthian, but last week, the department softened its stance, giving the school more time to wind down.

Guests: 

Steve Gunderson,  President and CEO of the Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities, a trade association for for profit colleges based in Washington DC  

Chris Kirkham, LA Times reporter who has been covering the story

Ben Miller, senior policy analyst at the Education Policy Program at the New America Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy think tank. He previously served as a senior policy advisor at the U.S. Department of Education

An Israeli woman hugs Iris Yifrah (from the back), mother of kidnapped Israeli teenager Eyal Yifrah During a rally under the slogan 'Bring Our Boys Home' on June 29, 2014 in Tel Aviv, Israel.Thousands of people gathered in Tel Aviv's Rabin Square on Sunday evening for a rally calling for the release of the three Israeli teens who were kidnapped more than two weeks ago.; Credit: Lior Mizrahi/Getty Images

The kidnap and murder of three Israeli teens in the Hebron region has shaken the Middle East. The bodies of the three boys were found yesterday, sparking outrage in Israel and across the globe. Israel blames the killings on Hamas, and has already increase airstrikes on Gaza overnight.

President Netanyahu said that “Hamas will pay” for its actions against Israel, although Hamas has so far denied it was behind the abductions and deaths. The conflict in the region comes after a tense political arrangement concerning the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and the unity government that joins Abbas’ Fatah with Hamas.

How will relations in the Middle East develop as regional leaders react to these killings? What, if anything, will U.S. involvement entail?

Guest:

Elliott Abrams, senior fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) in Washington, DC. He served as deputy assistant to the president and deputy national security adviser in the administration of President George W. Bush, where he supervised U.S. policy in the Middle East for the White House

President Lyndon Johnson and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. discuss the Voting Rights Act in 1965. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court hears arguments on whether a key part of the law is still needed nearly a half century after its passage.; Credit: Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Fifty years ago, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act, ending unequal voting registration requirements and racial segregation. This historic legislation outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or nationality and was a milestone victory in a long fight to end racial discrimination and segregation.

Today, even as the African American community and many others celebrate how far civil rights have come in the last half-century, civil rights leaders say there is still work to be done. What did the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 mean to Americans? What does it mean today? How has this landmark law affected the United States?

Guests:

Joe Hicks, Vice President of Community Advocates, Inc., a nonprofit organization that advocates innovative approaches to human relations and race relations in Los Angeles city and county; He is former Executive Director of the L.A. City Human Relations Commission (1997 - 2001) under Mayor Richard Riordan

Jamelle Bouie, staff writer in Washington D.C. for Slate, where he covers politics, policy and race

Real Madrid's Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo controls the ball with his head during his team's Spanish league football match against Levante at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, on February 19, 2011 in Madrid. AFP PHOTO/ DANI POZO (Photo credit should read DANI POZO/AFP/Getty Images); Credit: AFP/AFP/Getty Images

Families are watching the World Cup, and some of those stunning headers inspire young athletes to get their heads in the game as well. But, a campaign called Parents and Pros for Safer Soccer (PASS), are asking for an elimination of headers from youth soccer until kids are high school age. PASS consists of soccer stars, Brandi Chastain, Cindy Parlow Cone and Joy Fawcett, along with the Sports Legacy Institute and the Santa Clara Institute of Sports Law and Ethics. They’re concerned about the long-lasting impact of repeated hammering of the brain.

Advocates argue banning headers for the young will safeguard kids from brain trauma and will actually allow them to focus more on footwork, making them more nimble players. But others say more research is needed in order to prove headers are the real culprit for long-lasting brain damage born of concussions. Hockey and Lacrosse are instituting rules to protect young players.

Is it time for soccer to do the same? Should there be a one size fits all decision banning kids from doing headers? Or, do we need to wait for more scientific proof showing headers pose a real neurological threat to America’s youth?

Guests:

Dr. Robert Cantu, Co-Director Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy at Boston University School of Medicine, and Medical Director and concussion expert at Sports Legacy Institute (SLI) -- a non-profit organization wanting to ban headers in soccer until kids are high school age. He is also the author of Concussions and our Kids.

Dr. Michael Lipton, a neuroradiologist and neuroscientist at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center. He is currently working on a study on the effects of repetitive head injury in sports, including from heading in soccer.  

Two young girls watch a World Cup soccer match on a television from their holding area where hundreds of mostly Central American immigrant children are being processed and held at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Nogales Placement Center on June 18, 2014, in Nogales, Arizona. Brownsville, Texas, and Nogales, have been central to processing the more than 47,000 unaccompanied children who have entered the country illegally since Oct. 1. ; Credit: Pool/Getty Images

Three Homeland Security buses carrying about 140 mostly women and children detainees were rerouted to a customs and border facility in San Diego yesterday after about 100 to 150 American flag-waving protesters chanting "Go home" and "We want to be safe" blocked the group from reaching a processing center in Murrieta.

The undocumented immigrants had been flown to Southern California for processing to help alleviate a crunch on the border in Texas after thousands of Central American children and families crossed over the border. Murrieta Mayor Alan Long urged residents in his city to protest the arrival of the migrants and according to the mayor, Murrieta has defeated two previous attempts to send migrants to the facility.

Does the government need to rethink the plan? Should there be stronger enforcement to let these buses through?

Guests:

Ricardo Cano, reporter for the Desert Sun, author of the articles on the Murrieta protests

Angelica Salas, Director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA)

Kimberly Davidson, spokesperson for Murrieta City Council

; Credit: David McNew/Getty Images

Fireworks are as much a tradition on the 4th of July as barbecue and a nice picnic, but they are also the cause of a number of fires in the state.

Currently, only "safe and sane" fireworks are allowed to be sold in the state, and it's up to each individual city to decide on legalization. A number of cities--Alhambra, Montebello, San Gabriel, to name a few--allow "safe and sane" fireworks to be sold,  but just as many cities (Los Angeles, for example) forbid their sales.

The state's fire marshal is the person that determines which fireworks are considered safe and sane. Despite the seal of confidence, many cities say that even those fireworks can be dangerous. LA County Fire Chief Deputy Mark Bennett told Fox KTTV LA that 90% of fireworks injuries come from safe and sane.

But there’s an economic argument to be made for their sales: proceeds from safe and sane fireworks benefit a range of charitable organizations in the state. Native Sons of the Golden West, a San Bernardino charity, gets 10 percent of its annual operating budget from safe and sane fireworks sales.

Given that California is in the midst of the worst drought in many years, should the state entertain a wholesale ban of all fireworks?

POLL:

Guests: 

Daniel Berlant, spokesperson, Cal Fire

Jim Smith, financial secretary, San Bernardino chapter of Native Sons of the Golden West, a charitable organization dedicated to historic preservation in California with 8,300 members statewide

Citrus College campus; Credit: Simon Shek

Four colleges and universities in California, Ohio, Illinois and Iowa are being sued by students for what they claim is an infringement of their free speech rights.

The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education coordinated the filing of lawsuits to eliminate unconstitutional speech codes through targeted First Amendment lawsuits. Here in California, the student, Vincenzo Sinapi-Riddle, at Citrus College in Glendora, is saying his First Amendment rights are being violated by restricting his petitioning activities to a far too small “free speech” zone on campus. He claims he was having a discussion with another student about his campaign against spying by the National Security Agency.

The other lawsuits are taking on different issues including expression via blogs and messaging on t-shirts.

Should universities enforce “civil decorum” on campus? Should free speech on campus be relegated to only a certain part of campus? Should free speech encounter any kind of restrictions at all? Should universities allow themselves to be vulnerable to the complaints of “hate speech” or other kinds of offensive communication?

Guest:

Robert Shibley, Senior Vice President at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, a Philadelphia based group that promotes free speech and due process rights at colleges and universities.

Actress Melissa McCarth arrives at the Premiere of Warner Bros. Pictures' "Tammy" at TCL Chinese Theatre on June 30, 2014 in Hollywood, California. ; Credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Larry Mantle and KPCC film critics Claudia Puig and Henry Sheehan review this week’s releases, including Tammy, Earth To Echo, Deliver Us From Evil, the 50th anniversary release of A Hard Day's Night and more. TGI-Filmweek!

Then, documentarian Steve James talks with Larry about the new film and Roger Ebert's outsize influence on contemporary film criticism. His life and career is now the subject of the documentary, "Life Itself."

Whether you are an avid cinephile or a casual moviegoer, Roger Ebert is a name that needs no introduction. The former Chicago Sun-Times critic and television host passed away last April from cancer at the age of 70.

Tammy

Earth To Echo

Deliver Us From Evil

Guests:

Claudia Puig, film critic for KPCC and USA today

Henry Sheehan, film critic for KPCC and CriticsAGoGo.com

Steve James, director, "Life Itself"

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 7: Parents Richard and Elizabeth Jones attend a memorial for their daughter Sarah Jones, an assistant camerawoman who was killed by a train while shooting the Gregg Allman biopic film, Midnight Rider, on March 7, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images); Credit: David McNew/Getty Images

Georgia prosecutors have charged the filmmakers involved with Midnight Rider with involuntary manslaughter following the Feb. 20 death of camera assistant Sarah Jones.

Randall Miller, Jody Savin and Jay Sedrish are indicted on manslaughter and trespassing charges that could carry a potential 10-year or one-year prison sentence, respectively. Jones’ death shook Hollywood and the filmmaking industry, prompting criticism about set safety and risky behavior.

Jones was killed in a train accident that injured six other members of the film crew. Miller and Savin are owners of the production company producing the film, Unclaimed Freight Productions Inc., and Sedrish was the executive producer. The three filmmakers are also facing a wrongful death suit filed by Jones’ family in May.

Who bears the weight of responsibility in this tragic case? How can the Hollywood community adapt and increase awareness about safety issues to prevent future incidents?

Guests:

Jen Yamato, reporter for the entertainment news site Deadline; she and fellow reporter Anita Busch have been following the story 

Harland Braun, a criminal defense attorney in Los Angeles. He successfully defended filmmakers John Landis and George Folsey in the Twilight Zone manslaughter trial in the 1980s

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 20: Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on June 20, 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images); Credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

In 2010 a group of former Goldman Sachs employees filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against their former employer.

Now, they want to turn it into a class action case that would include employees of the company dating back to 2002 and potentially involve thousands of women. The suit alleges that female associates and vice presidents at Goldman Sachs experienced pay disparities, gender discrimination regarding promotions, and a hostile work environment.

How might the case affect corporate culture in the investment banking industry and beyond? Could a major class action suit change the way businesses approach gender in the workplace in a wide-ranging way? 

Guests:

Alexandra Lahav, Joel Barlow Professor of Law at the University of Connecticut School of Law, expert on civil procedure and complex litigation

Michael Selmi, Samuel Tyler Research Professor of Law at George Washington University, expert in employment law, employment discrimination, contracts, and civil rights

Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images; Credit: Andreas Rentz/Getty Images

Soft, crumbly earth, an unmarked trail, and a 75-foot sheer mountain are the risks hikers take on to get to the second waterfall at Eaton Canyon Natural Area. In the past four years, five people have died attempting the climb, and many others have been injured. Now, the US Forest Service is moving forward with a plan to shut-down access to that second waterfall by August 1. Those that are caught attempting the climb despite the closure could face six months in prison and a fine of $5,000. But questions remain about how such a closure would be enforced and carried out.

Have you hiked up to the second fall? Do you think it should be closed?

Guests:

John McKinney, “The Trailmaster” and author of multiple hiking books covering all of California

Dan Paige, Deputy Sheriff of the Altadena Mountain Search and Rescue Team, where he leads the all-volunteer search and rescue teams

El Rancho High School counselor Delia Madera in her office. The high school has become the first in the state to require ethnic studies as a requirement for graduation. ; Credit: Vanessa Romo/KPCC

The El Rancho Unified School District has voted to require ethnic studies courses as a requirement for graduation, becoming the first school district in the state to do so. The requirement goes into effect in the 2015-16 school year.

The change won't affect the total number of credits a student needs to complete before graduation. The ethnic studies requirement will replace a geography requirement.    

The move came as California lawmakers consider a bill seeking to authorize a State Commission to study the implementation of ethnic studies in public high schools. AB 1750, introduced by Assemblyman Luis Alejo (D-Watsonville) in February, is awaiting senate approval.

Guests:

Jose Lara, Vice President of the El Rancho Board of Education who co-sponsored the proposal

David Lehrer, President of Community Advocates, Inc.,  nonprofit organization that advocates innovative approaches to human relations and race relations in Los Angeles city and county

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti speaks at the 81st annual U.S. Conference of Mayors at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center on June 21, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Yesterday, Garcetti announced that Los Angeles will no longer hold inmates longer than their jail time despite detention requests.; Credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

The City of LA will no longer hold inmates longer than their jail time despite detention requests from the the US Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) department - unless the police get a warrant or a judge vets and approves the request.

An ICE hold is not a mandate the police department has to obey, rather it is a request that, thus far, LAPD has honored. This choice has to do with a variety of reasons, including the cost impact of holding inmates beyond their prison time, as well as possible liability for damages accrued.

Critics say helping ICE do their job is a good thing. They also wonder why not hold inmates longer to err on the side of public safety? Should local police be using their resources to help out ICE - a federal department? Or should ICE, whose main concern is immigration issues, lean on their own knowledge? Is public safety in harms way if inmates, despited immigration status, are released when their time is up?

Guests:

Angelica Salas, Executive Director at Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles

Jessica Vaughan, Director of Policy Studies at Center for Immigration Studies

The iconic "Blown-away man," photograph, used in an advertising campaign by Hitachi Maxwell, a speaker manufacturer, in 1978.

The way we listen to music is always changing -- from records to tapes to CD's to MP3's, music is something people devote time to, it’s at the forefront and in the background of our lives.

For serious listeners, records are something especially important, and although many audiophiles have been critical of a prevalent “background music” mentality, they may have something to celebrate. Vinyl record sales are up 725 percent since 2008, LP sales grew by 32 percent in 2013 to 6.1 million albums sold (digital sales were stagnant, CD sales declined).

Young listeners are driving record sales, even though vinyl is much more expensive than CDs and digital downloads. Some attribute the vinyl comeback to sound quality (fuller and warmer), aesthetics (the beauty of record players and paying for the album art), and the immersive quality of listening to a full record. Jack White’s new album just sold more copies than any vinyl record since 1991 (40,000 in the first week), and record stores are flourishing.

Still, digital music rules the market – it’s much easier and cheaper to download songs one at a time, skip the experience of a whole album and opt for a mix of songs and artists: music is frequently background noise.

Is the resurgence of vinyl an indicator that consumers are ready for musical immersion? Do you sit down with an album and dedicate time to pure listening? Is it a bad thing for music to be background noise, or is that equally special? How do you like to listen to music?

Guest:

Mark Richardson, Editor-in-Chief of Pitchfork, his column Resonant Frequency has run on the site since 2001

Activists hold signs outside the Supreme Court March 25, 2014 in Washington, DC. ; Credit: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

The Hobby Lobby decision has become the cultural flashpoint of the moment. As the ruling continues to divide the nation, Democrats in Congress had drafted a bill they plan to bring to the Senate floor as early as next week that would override the Supreme Court decision. Essentially, the bill would require for-profit businesses to provide and pay for contraceptive coverage under the Affordable Care Act, reports the New York Times. The chance that it’ll survive a House vote is slim.

The impact of the Supreme Court decision has been dissected and analyzed endlessly, but less certain is how the decision will play out politically. There's already talk that the Democrats want to use the Hobby Lobby decision to get women voters out to vote--the demographic most angered by the ruling.

Is it enough of a rallying point? Or would the decision become too much of a distant memory by the November midterm elections?

Guests:

Jonathan Wilcox, Republican Strategist; former speech writer for Governor Pete Wilson

Matt Rodriguez, Democratic strategist; former senior Obama advisor in 2008, who now runs the Los Angeles office for the Dewey Square Group

A wax likeness of Austrian founder of the psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud sits in Berlin's Madame Tussaud's wax museum.; Credit: CLEMENS BILAN/AFP/Getty Images

At Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, therapists are giving mental health patients access to therapy notes and charts, something patients commonly have access to in other fields. The doctors behind the project say that opening mental health records up to patients allows for a more participatory, active, and collaborative therapy practice.

Critics argue that giving patients access to notes from therapy sessions could be upsetting or chilling to the way doctors communicate. While some patients are eager to use the notes from therapy as feedback and involve themselves in the process, others are skeptical about how they might use the notes, and have stayed away.

Could opening up mental health records to patients be potentially damaging or upsetting, or is it part of a more transparent and collaborative therapy practice? What’s the best way for therapists and patients to communicate? Would you want to see what your therapist wrote about you?

Guests:

Dr. Tom Delbanco, Richard and Florence Koplow - James Tullis Professor of General Medicine and Primary Care at Harvard Medical School Division, physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, co-director of OpenNotes

Dr. Brian Clinton, psychiatrist and assistant professor at Columbia University

Dr. Olveen Carrasquillo, Chief of General Internal Medicine University of Miami, wears a stethoscope as he conducts a checkup on Juan Gonzalez at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine. ; Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Have you ever gone to the doctor or hospital for a routine test or procedure, and later received a shockingly high bill?

Price Check, a collaboration with KQED and Clearhealthcosts.com, a health costs transparency company that has been gathering cost data on a variety of medical tests, procedures and services from around the country.

See more about Price Check in Rebecca Plevin's blog post, and join the conversation about health cost transparency on the Price Check page. 

Guest:

Rebecca Plevin, KPCC Health Reporter

Logo of the National Security Agency. The NSA has allegedly been surveilling various Muslim-Americans.; Credit: PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images

NSA records leaked by Edward Snowden show that the NSA and FBI monitored the emails of several  prominent Muslim-Americans living in the United States.

Among the individuals who were monitored include Faisal Gill, a Republican operative who served in the Department of Homeland Security under President George W. Bush’s administration, Hooshang Amirahmadi, professor of international relations at Rutgers University, Agha Saeed, former political science Cal State University professor, and Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the largest Muslim civil rights organization in the U.S.

The surveillance was completed under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, where a judge must be convinced that there is indeed probable cause and the targets are engaged in espionage, sabotage or terrorism.

The records also show racial slurs were used in the memo templates of the organization, using phrases such as “Mohammed Raghead” as placeholders in place of where the monitored individual’s name would go.

What should be the standard procedure in monitoring American civilians? What should constitute as probable cause? Do you feel that the NSA was justified in its actions?

Guests:

Glenn Greenwald, editor, The Intercept; He broke today’s story about the NSA’s alleged activities. He is also a constitutional lawyer and his most recent book is No Place to Hide

Edina Lekovic, director of policy and programming with the Muslim Public Affairs Council

Colonel Cedric Leighton, former deputy director of training for the NSA, chairman of Cedric Leighton Associates, a strategic risk and leadership management consultancy

A gardener walks past a row of sprinklers watering plants and foliage in front of an apartment complex in South Pasadena, California on January 21, 2014. ; Credit: FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images

Wasting water while washing your car or watering your lawn could soon cost Californians up to $500 a day for violations under “get-tough” water restrictions being proposed today by state regulators.

The State Water Resources Control Board is scheduled to consider enforcing emergency regulations as early as next week.

We’ll talk about what the infractions will look like and what urban areas they’ll be focusing on. We’ll also debate whether this is the best way to curb urban use. In a state where agricultural by and large uses the most water, can curbing urban water use still make a difference?

Guests:

Molly Peterson, KPCC Environmental Correspondent

Ed Osann, Senior Policy Analyst with the Natural Resources Defense Council Water Program; he focuses on the efficient use of urban water