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Supreme Court revisits Texas affirmative action case

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Leon Wheeler holds a sign that reads "We Support U.T. Austion" during a rally in front of the U.S. Supreme Court Supreme, on October 10, 2012 in Washington, DC. ; Credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Today the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on a challenge to admissions programs at the University of Texas originally created to promote racial diversity on college campuses.

The case Fisher v. University of Texas  is based on two plaintiffs Abigail Noel Fisher and Rachel Multer Michalewicz who applied to the University of Texas at Austin in 2008 and were denied admission.

The two women, both white, filed suit, alleging that the University had discriminated against them based on their race, violating  the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

The case looks at whether the Fifth Circuit’s re-endorsement of the University of Texas at Austin’s use of racial preferences in undergraduate admissions can be sustained under the Court’s Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

The case was first reviewed by the Supreme Court in 2013 but later sent back to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. What do you think should race play a role in college admissions?

Guests:

Robert Barnes, Supreme Court reporter for the Washington Post, who followed today’s oral arguments

Timothy Johnson, Professor of Political Science and Law at the University of Minnesota, and co-author of “Oral Arguments and Coalition Formation on the U.S. Supreme Court: A Deliberate Dialogue” (University Michigan Press, 2012)


LA City considers cheaper parking fines, meters

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San Francisco's Parking Ticket Fees To Become Nation's Most Expensive

A Municipal Transportation Agency parking control officer writes a parking ticket for an illegally parked car.; Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

City Councilmember Mike Bonin introduced seven recommendations to help solve some of L.A.’s parking problems.

The proposals include updating L.A.’s five year parking plan, creating electronic inventory of all of the city’s parking assets, ensuring fair fines for first time parking offenders, expanding L.A.’s express park, improving commercial delivery systems, funding for parking improvements, as well as using technology to reduce street sweeping tickets.

The recommendations stem from mayor Garcetti’s recently released report on proposals for parking reform in Los Angeles.

The city has been criticized for improperly using parking fines to solve budget problems and generate revenue rather than improve parking. How will the city meet revenue targets if they reduce parking fines?  The motions will be heard by the City’s Transportation Committee.  What is your parking experience in Los Angeles? What do you think needs to be done to solve L.A.’s parking situation?

Guest:

Mike Bonin, Councilmember for district 11 which encompasses Brentwood, Del Rey, Mar Vista, Pacific Palisades, Playa del Rey, Playa Vista, Venice, West LA, and Westchester

The positive impact of vinyl records and physical books

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With a Michael Jackson album displayed on the counter, employee Daniel Auster spins records inside A-1 Records on June 26, 2009 in New York, New York.; Credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Remember going to record stores and poring through vinyl albums? Or maybe you’re of an age where a record store is now a rare, independently-owned grand experiment?

Whatever the case, you could physically pick up the album, look at its art and maybe read some liner notes. You might give a sideways glance to the browser next to you, seeing if what they were looking at was cool.

Then there are physical books. Volumes that take up space on a bookshelf showing their value just by the mere fact you wish to display them or have them within easy reach to read them again -- like visiting with an old friend.

For all kids, physical books in the home provide significant academic advantages.  But, for disadvantaged kids, research shows that when there are few books in the home, more books make a big difference. Comparatively, when a home is filled with books, a few more don’t have as much impact.

Were you raised in a home surrounded by books and vinyl? If so, what kind of impression have they had on you? As an adult, do you still buy physical books and LPs? If you were raised in a home with few books, what kind of influence have books had on you?

Guests:

Teddy Wayne, author of the recent New York Times article, “Our (Bare) Shelves, Our Selves

Mariah Evans, professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Nevada and lead author of the study, "Scholarly Culture and Academic Performance in 42 Nations"

Food industry, branding experts unroll Chipotle’s recent burrito of trouble

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A sign saying "we hope to be opening soon" is pictured outside a new Chipotle Mexican Grill location.; Credit: JASON REDMOND/AFP/Getty Images

It’s been a rough couple of months for Chipotle.

The popular chain restaurant slinging burritos made with fresh, locally grown ingredients has seen sales slump and stock prices dive in the wake of an E. coli outbreak that has seen caused several stores to temporarily close.

The company, which was trading for $760 a share at its highest in 2015, is down to about $553 a share. So far 52 people in nine states have been sickened because of the outbreak, and Chipotle has yet to put its finger on what caused it.

The issue at hand stems partially from the business model that has won Chipotle the praise of burrito-lovers nationwide. Chipotle sources fresh vegetables and antibiotic-free beef and chicken from local suppliers and cooks those ingredients in a traditional manner instead of using automation like many chain restaurants.

What customers potentially gain in freshness and farm-to-table quality, they could potentially lose in terms of safety, as many of the automated procedures that restaurants who make food en-masse normally use are not only for speeding up productivity, but also for keeping food safe from contamination.

Chipotle has tightened its supplier standards since the E. coli outbreak began, but some experts say the damage has already been done, and what remains to be seen is how well Chipotle does damage control and attempts to restore customers’ trust.

Do you still eat at Chipotle? Has the E. coli outbreak changed your opinion of Chipotle or its business model? In today’s world, can a company can produce food in mass quantities while continuing to source ingredients from local farmers and suppliers?

Guests:

Craig Giammona, restaurant and food reporter at Bloomberg Business

Chris Muller, Professor of the Practice at the Boston University School of Hospitality administration and an expert on restaurant and brand management

New Poet Laureate announced

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Dana Gioia

Dana Gioia at the California Arts Council's 2014 Poetry Out Loud State Finals in Sacramento.; Credit: Jay R. Hart

California’s newest poet laureate is native Californian Dana Gioia.  

Gioia is a professor of poetry and public culture at the University of Southern California and the former chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts.  

Gioia’s list of accomplishments span from winning the 2002 American Book Award for his collection Interrogations at Noon to helping compile the anthology California Poetry: From the Gold Rush to the Present.

During  his time with the NEA he created the Poetry Out Loud recitation contest for high school students and launched a writing project with returning veterans to document their wartime experiences. Gioia succeeds Juan Felipe Herrera, who is now the U.S. poet laureate.

Guest:

Dana Gioia, California’s Poet Laureate and Professor of Poetry and Public Culture, USC

What does it mean to be 'adulting'?

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Markets Stabilise After Turbulence Last Week

An employee views trading screens at the offices of Panmure Gordon and Co.; Credit: Carl Court/Getty Images

In a recent piece for Jezebel, Madeleine Davies lamented the continued use of the word "Adulting" in social media.

For those not in the know, the phrase comes from those in their early to mid 20's who are just getting their first taste of serious personal responsibility. Whenever they file their taxes, pay the bills or go grocery shopping, they usually make a post about how they're "adulting".

Davies says that the phrase is misguided and that those who frequently use it are just asking for recognition for doing what being a grown-up requires.

We want to hear from you: Do you use the word "adulting"? Is hating the word "adulting"  just an effort to lash out at unapproved whimsy? Do you think that it's just intended to be a self-aware joke or is it a cry for attention?

Guest:

Kristen Lepore, KPCC’s social media editor

Football team’s pre-game prayer raises questions on the role of religion in the Armed Forces

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Colorado State v Air Force

The Air Force Falcons sing the Alma Mater after defeating the Colorado State Rams.; Credit: Justin Edmonds/Getty Images

Before a November game, players from the Air Force Academy’s football team were seen gathered on the field and formed a prayer circle.

It’s something the Falcons have done many times before. But their pre-game ritual has now sparked a debate on the role of religion in the military.

After complaint from a watchdog group, the academy has launched an investigation into the practice. The Military Religious Freedom Foundation charges that these public prayers give the impression that the academy and the Air Force are endorsing a particular religion.

The Air Force Academy’s football team has run into similar problems before. The Falcons were censured after then-head coach Fisher DeBerry hung a banner in the team’s locker room that read: “I am a Christian first and last. … I am a member of Team Jesus Christ.”

But are pre-game prayer circles the same as proselytizing?

Arlington National Cemetery Emblems

Guest:

Pauletta Otis, Ph.D., former resident instructor with the United States Marine Corps Command and Staff College at Quantico, VA who is now teaching with the Marines' extended studies program at Miramar and Pendleton

America's youth on 'boots on the ground' to combat ISIS

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A Kurdish Peshmerga soldier mans an observation post on the frontline with ISIS November 5, 2015 near Telskuf in northern Iraq. ; Credit: John Moore

A new national poll of America's 18- to 29-year-olds by the Harvard's Institute of Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government finds that a solid majority of support sending Ground Troops to fight ISIS.

This polling occurred before the Nov. 13 Paris terrorist attacks said that America's youth was mostly split over U.S. ground troops against the so-called Islamic State with 48% for and 48% against.

However, after the attacks, IOP polling fielded the question again. Those results show that 60% of young Americans are in favor of "boots on the ground".

How do you feel about sending ground troops to combat ISIS? Is a recent large-scale incident what it takes to galvanize today's youth?

Guests:

John Della Volpe,  Director of polling at the Institute of Politics at Harvard. John leads the survey of public opinion every semester.

Bernard D. Rostker, senior fellow at the Rand Corporation. Former undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness for the US Department of Defense.


AT30: Tragedy and community in San Bernardino

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AT30: Tragedy and community in San Bernardino.; Credit: Bill Youngblood/SCPR

On Wednesday, December 2, 14 people were killed during a holiday party in San Bernardino in one of the most devastating mass shootings in the last 20 years.

The FBI is now investigating the attack as an act of terrorism and looking into affiliations of the two assailants behind the shooting: Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik. Both were killed during a deadly shootout following the attack.

During a special statewide live broadcast hosted by Larry Mantle and KQED’s Scott Shafer, listeners called in to discuss issues related to the incidents. Those included gun laws, religious extremism and radicalization, Islamophobia, local and national governments' response and building safety and design.

As new details emerge on the circumstances of and motivation behind the attack, San Bernardino is left with many of its own questions.

For the final AT30 event, Larry Mantle and AirTalk will travel to University of Redlands to convene a conversation* around some of these questions with the San Bernardino community and to discuss how to cope and heal after this recent tragedy.

In light of last Wednesday’s attack, we shifted away from a previously planned program on the future of the Inland Empire’s economy.

Guests:

Larry Mantle, Moderator and host of AirTalk. He tweets from @LarryMantle

Jarrod Berguan, Police Chief of San Bernardino

Larry Humphreys, Executive Director of Behavioral Autism Therapies which worked frequently with the Inland Regional Center 

Amjad M. Khan, National Director of Public Affairs for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community based in Chino, a leader at the San Bernardino County-based Baitul Hameed Mosque. He tweets from @waxeloquent

Brian Levin, Director of the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism at CSU San Bernardino and professor of Criminal Justice. He tweets from @ProfLevin

Cassie MacDuff, Staff Columnist at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside. She tweets from @CassieMacDuff

Sandy Tice, Pastor at the First Presbyterian Church of San Bernardino

John Walsh, University Chaplain and Faculty Member, Department of Religious Studies, University of Redlands

Here are some highlights from last night’s Final AT30 event at the University of Redlands:

Amjad M. Khan, National Director of Public Affairs for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Chino, says religious freedom for Muslims is unique to the United States, and how wearing the hijab fearlessly is part of that.

“Our country, the United States, we are more free to practice our faith as American Muslims than anywhere else in the world. I believe that. I believe when the president says that. So we can’t abandon our right to wear religious garb that identifies us as Muslim. It’s a quintessential part of who we are. We will not cower in our homes or in the supermarkets and take off our head scarf because we are partners in this common war against a perverse view of our faith.”

 

San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Berguan says law enforcement are taking extra precautions to protect the city's local Muslim community.

"We obviously reached out to our local mosque immediately the day of the incident. We reached out to the leaders of that mosque, we asked them about if there’s any protections or patrols that they may need, and we put that in place. And we think that they had some phone calls and some things that made them uncomfortable. Internally, we watched the city really come together. I think it took a lot of people by surprise, the amount of international and national attention that came to the city and that outpouring of support. And it’s also been nice to see the city come together as a result of that."

 

Larry Humphreys is executive director of Behavioral Autism Therapies, which works with the Inland Regional Center. He says despite the tragedy, there are ways the community has united even more strongly in the wake of the shooting.

“It’s a traumatic experience, but it’s one of these experiences where we were able to see two things manifest: We were able to see great police force. We were able to see the resilience inside of the [Inland] Regional Center of one of the service coordinators recording the event and actually letting the world see that. It actually just allows us to really come together as a community as well.”

 

We used to listen to politicians and laugh at comedians...now what?

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Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump references fellow candidate Jeb Bush at a Pearl Harbor Day Rally at the U.S.S. Yorktown December 7, 2015, in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. ; Credit: Sean Rayford/Getty Images

Presidential elections offer prime material for comedians and satirists who try to sprinkle a little truth-based humor among the sea of political seriousness.

Whether it’s an outlandish statement, a political gaffe made during a stump speech, or an awkward interaction with a reporter or show host, candidates on both sides of the aisle have always been regularly skewered on late night talk shows and political satire programs.

This year, however, there is a marked decrease in the amount of attention comedy and satire programs are paying to the 2016 election.

John Oliver, Host of HBO’s ‘Last Week Tonight,’ has said he has no interest in covering the 2016 election until 2016. In the past, Comedy Central’s ‘The Daily Show’ and ‘The Colbert Report’ have been the beacons of satirical reporting when it comes to presidential elections, but that coverage has decreased with the respective departures of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, who built much of their careers off of subtly lambasting presidential candidates when they did or said something truly ridiculous.

Stewart has moved on to filmmaking while Colbert is still hosting television, but even he isn’t able to cover elections the way he could when ‘The Colbert Report’ gave him the platform to be the character Stephen Colbert instead of the actual person Stephen Colbert that he has to be on ‘The Late Show.’ And with some of the characters in the 2016 election, some might wonder if there’s even a need for comedic reporting on politics when the candidates themselves start to seem like comedians.

When did we start laughing at politicians and start listening to comedians when it comes to politics? Is that even a fair assessment of where political comedy is right now? What roles do humor and satire play in covering a presidential election? In covering politics in general?

Guest:

Kliph Nesteroff, comedy historian and author of “The Comedians: Drunks, Thieves, Scoundrels and the History of American Comedy” (Grove Press, 2015).  

After Trump, Carson threatens third-party run. Just how feasible is it?

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Republican Presidential hopeful Ben Carson speaks during the 2016 Republican Jewish Coalition Presidential Candidates Forum in Washington, DC, December 3, 2015. ; Credit: SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images

GOP presidential candidate Ben Carson has threatened to leave the Republican Party after the Washington Post reported that party leaders are entertaining the possibility of a “brokered convention.”

Carson lashed out at the party, and said he would run as an independent candidate if there are signs that the presidential nominating process is being tempered with. Carson has been slipping in the polls after a strong, early showing.

Carson is not the first candidate to threaten to jump ship. GOP frontrunner Donald Trump has done so a couple times before, most recently this week, after he was roundly criticized for his proposal to ban Muslims from entering the U.S.

How feasible is an independent run today? What are the economics of a third-party run?

Guests:

Glenn Thrush, chief political correspondent for Politico.

Dan Schnur, director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at USC and adjunct faculty at USC Annenberg School

Lawsuit seeks to overturn Venice Beach curfew

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A new lawsuit has reignited an age-old debate over who should have access to Venice Beach.
; Credit: majunznk via Flickr

A new lawsuit has reignited an age-old debate over who should have access to Venice Beach.

A midnight-to-5 a.m curfew was implemented along the 11-mile coastline in 1989 to curb the threat of gang violence in the area.

With crime in decline, the Coastal Commission started to challenge the ban, but with little success. In recent years, the spread of the tech sector has run up against the growth of the homeless population in Venice, recasting the curfew as a battleline between the haves and the have-nots in the beach city.

Proponents say that the curfew help make Venice safe, but opponents say it is a de facto way to push the homeless population out of the area.

The latest lawsuit was filed this week by activists who wants the court to stop enforcing the ban.

Guests:

Steve Clare, Executive Director, Venice Community Housing Corporation, nonprofit housing and community development organization serving low-income residents in the Westside of Los Angeles.

Mark Ryavec, President of the Venice Stakeholders’ Association, an organization dedicated to civic improvement in Venice Beach.

The pros and cons of nontraditional resumés in the digital era

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A job seeker fills out an application during a career fair at the Southeast Community Facility Commission on May 21, 2014 in San Francisco, California. ; Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Gone are the days when applying to jobs meant filling out extensive paperwork and uploading a resume.

Southern California job-seekers can now blast out their CVs to hundreds of employers with the press of one button.

JobSnap is a smartphone app marketed to young adults from 18 to 22 years old looking for an entry-level position in the restaurant, retail and hospitality industry.

The app is modeled after the popular Tinder app and allows hiring managers to use the same “swipe” motion to sift through applicants – for a premium. The initial 25 swipes are free, with plans costing either $50 for 25 swipes or $99 for unlimited swipes.

Should this new app be credited for its innovative or should we be critical of potential drawbacks? What are some nontraditional platforms you’ve used to apply to jobs? Does this new app make it easier to hire applicants based on personality or does it make it easier to discriminate?

Guest:

Liz Ryan, CEO and Founder of Human Workplace, based in Boulder, Colorado. Liz is a former head of human resources at a Fortune 500 company

Should Woodrow Wilson’s legacy be re-examined?

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Woodrow Wilson

President Woodrow Wilson (1856 - 1924) with the First Lady, Edith Wilson (1872 - 1961) riding in a carriage in New York. President Wilson was the 28th President of the United States of America.; Credit: Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Recent student protests at Princeton University have brought to the fore a debate many historians have had over the decade: the legacy of Woodrow Wilson and how the 28th President of the US should be remembered.

In November, students at Princeton protested on campus demanding a more inclusive climate at the Ivy League for minority students. Among other things, protesters demanded that the name Woodrow Wilson be removed from the university. After a 32-hour sit-in, the president of the school promised to consider those demands.

Wilson is considered an icon of modern liberalism for many, but how should his views on race be factored into remembering him? Should his name be removed from Princeton and other institutions?

Guests:

Eric S. Yellin, associate professor of history and American studies at the University of Richmond and the author of “Racism in the Nation’s Service: Government Workers and the Color Line in Woodrow Wilson's America” (University of North Carolina Press, 2013)

David Greenberg, Associate Professor of History at Rutgers University. He is the author of the forthcoming book, “The Republic of Spin” (W.W. Norton & Company, 2016), looking at the rise of the White House spin machine

What’s next after nations approve climate agreement at COP21 in Paris

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France Climate Countdown

French President Francois Hollande, right, French Foreign Minister and president of the COP21 Laurent Fabius, second, right, United Nations climate chief Christiana Figueres and United Nations Secretary General Ban ki-Moon applaud after the final conference at the COP21.; Credit: Francois Mori/AP

Despite being pushed into overtime and nearly being tripped up by the meaning of a singular ‘shall’ instead of ‘should,’ the negotiations among 195 countries for a sweeping plan to combat climate change came to an end at the UN climate conference of parties. 

The agreement that emerged will create a bottom-up system that allows countries to set their own goals for reducing carbon emissions and how it plans to achieve those goals. They’ll have to increase those goals over time, and submit a new plan every five years, starting in 2018.

The agreement isn’t etched in stone yet; it will still have to be approved by 55 countries that plan to implement it, and those 55 countries must collectively be responsible for 55% of all greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.

While many are celebrating the agreement as a landmark event in the global fight against climate change, others are skeptical about how much the agreement will actually change and whether certain countries will be able and/or willing to live up to their end of the bargain. Others worry that the lack of a mechanism to punish countries who don’t meet the goals they set for themselves will undermine the transparency and accountability at the heart of this agreement.

Still, supporters say that the way the agreement is structured requires countries to take inventory of and report their sources of carbon emissions, and hope that will help hold countries accountable.

Adoption of the Paris Agreement

Guests:

Rhea Suh, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council

Frank V. Maisano, a Senior Principal at the international energy lobbying firm Bracewell & Guiliani in the firm’s government relations and strategic communications practice


The Planetary Society cofounder on space exploration’s next frontier

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Human Spaceflight: From Mars to the Stars

"Human Spaceflight: From Mars to the Stars" by Louis Friedman.; Credit: The University of Arizona Press

More than ever, Mars exploration seems to be within our reach.

Entrepreneurs from Amazon’s Jeff Bezo to Tesla’s Elon Musk have put their money in making human travel to the Red Planet a reality.

In his book “Human Spaceflight: From Mars to the Stars,” Louis Friedman, renowned astronautics engineer and co-founder of The Planetary Society, discusses his hope that humanity is expanded to Mars, which should be the last planet that people ever set foot on. Once it’s accepted that Mars is the only viable place for humans to personally explore, Earth’s space program can become an exciting and relevant venture once again.

What’s more, with Mars being the final destination for humanity, people can continue to explore the universe through supporting technologies. Friedman’s vision for the future of space travel includes nanotechnology, robotics, artificial intelligence and more. In this way, he says, humanity can continue to expand throughout the solar system, even if it never goes beyond Mars.

What are the current obstacles in the way of human space travel? What should humanity’s motivation be for exploring space? How long is it going to take for us to truly settle on Mars?

Guest:

Louis Friedman, author of “Human Spaceflight: From Mars to the Stars” (University of Arizona Press, 2015). He is the co-founder of The Planetary Society, a nonprofit organization that promotes the exploration of space

Surprise! FAA requires hobbyists to register drones

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Drone Enthusiasts Meet In Berlin

A mini quadcopter drone meant for FPV racing flies in a hall during a gathering of drone enthusiasts.; Credit: Sean Gallup/Getty Images

The Federal Aviation Administration announced today that drone hobbyists across the country will need to register their unmanned aircrafts if they weigh over 9 ounces.

Owner of an unmanned drone would need to provide a name, a physical address, and an email address with the FAA.

Those who fail to join the registry could be fined.

Is a national drone registry the best way to ensure everyone’s safety and privacy?

Guests:

Brian Wynne, CEO of the association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, a drones trade group with 7,500 members from government, industry and academia. He is a member of the task force that made recommendations on the registry to the FAA.

Rich Hanson, government and regulatory affairs representative at Academy of Model Aeronautics, a group representing 185,000 hobbyists nationwide and participated in the task force

'Fleek,' 'yaas' and a crying emoji: How dictionaries are staying relevant in a time of Internet slang

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Oxford Dictionaries announced the tears-of-joy emoji as its “Word of the Year” last month.; Credit: Caleb Jones/AP

Oxford Dictionaries announced the tears-of-joy emoji as its “Word of the Year” last month, which left many pondering what constitutes as a word, and why a piece of internet slang would be powerful enough to get such notoriety.

But emoji’s aren’t the only internet slang that’s popped up in dictionaries, “wtf” and “nsfw” have also made the cut for Merriam-Webster, along with “fleek” in Dictionary.com. Vocabulary enthusiasts may cringe at the idea, but the English language is constantly changing, so doesn’t it make sense that dictionaries would adapt accordingly?

With the accessibility of Google and UrbanDictionary.com, the likes of Oxford and Merriam-Webster have had to keep up, which means including internet slang.

What do you think of Oxford naming an emoji as its “word” of the year? Should dictionaries keep adding new slang to their repertoire or does including them make a mockery of the English language?

Guest:

Caitlin Dewey, digital culture critic for the Washington Post and author of the article, "Why dictionaries have started sanctioning even the dumbest Internet slang"

Can the K-1 visa program be relied on to vet terrorists?

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Passports To Be Required Next Week For Travel Outside U.S

Anthony Ramos, a Customs and Border Protection officer, checks Chris Layman, Katy Layman, 21 months old, and Natalie Layman in at the passport control area ; Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Last week the FBI revealed that Tashfeen Malik, the woman who is a suspect in the recent mass shooting in San Bernardino, was radicalized before she ever filled out her K-1 Visa to come to the U.S. This was evidenced by some social media posts that she had made describing her support for Jihadism.

This has sparked a demand from lawmakers and about how she was not detained by a screening process that is said to be rigorous. Reports are coming in that Malik was interviewed at the U.S. embassy in Pakistan and was vetted by five different government agencies. In addition to this her name and picture checked against a terror watch list and her fingerprints were run against two databases.

Is the K-1 Visa program strong enough? Should more have been done or is this just an example of how difficult it is to vet every single person who may intend to come to the U.S. with terrorist intentions?

Guests:

Jessica Vaughan, Director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies

Alma Rosa Nieto,  Legal analyst based in Los Angeles and member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association  

 

Ted Cruz’s rising poll numbers and what to expect from 2015’s final GOP debate

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Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) speaks at the Heritage Foundation December 10, 2015 in Washington, DC.; Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images

It’s time to break out your presidential debate bingo cards or invent some rules for a drinking game (if you don’t feel like inventing your own, author/journalist Matt Taibbi crowdsources a list of rules on his Twitter feed for each debate). The final GOP debate of 2015 is upon us.

Las Vegas is the location and the setup will be similar to the other debates we’ve seen thus far. The undercard debate at 6p ET will feature Mike Huckabee, Rick Santorum, Lindsey Graham, and George Pataki, who are all bringing up the rear in terms of poll numbers. The main debate will kick off at 8:30p ET with frontrunner Donald Trump situated in the middle of the stage, flanked by Dr. Ben Carson and Sen. Ted Cruz. Also in the main debate, Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, Carly Fiorina, Chris Christie, John Kasich, and Rand Paul.

One interesting storyline coming into this debate is Ted Cruz’s rapid ascent to near the top of the polls in Iowa, just seven weeks out from the caucuses. A Des Moines Register-Bloomberg Politics poll that came out Saturday has Cruz ahead of Trump by 10 points among likely caucus-goers. Cruz is the Tea Party favorite and, in the minds of many GOP voters, the closest thing running to a true conservative.  

What are you expecting to see from the Republican candidates at Tuesday’s debate? Is there anything they can prove to voters at this point that they haven’t proven in previous debates? To what can we attribute Ted Cruz’s recent rise in the polls? Is this a trend we should expect to continue to see throughout primary season?

Guests:

Eli Stokols, national politics reporter for POLITICO covering GOP 2016 field

Reed Galen, Republican political strategist and owner of Jedburghs, LLC., a public affairs and campaign consultancy firm in Orange County

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