Some schools are considering adding a notation on a student’s transcript for having been punished or dismissed for sexual misconduct. ; Credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images

As awareness of campus sexual assault increases, some schools are considering adding a notation on a student’s transcript for having been punished or dismissed for sexual misconduct.

Those in support of the measure argue that academic institutions cannot take precautionary measures to ensure the safety of other students.

Some, like the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admission Officers, a trade association of higher education professionals, supports the option for colleges to add a notation, but says it’s complicated knowing just how much information to include in the notation. that as an option for colleges and universities to consider.

The organization says that about 15 percent of schools engage in the practice now, and expects more to do so in the future. Some remain skeptical, citing unreliability as major concern. Laws mandating transcript notation have passed in Virginia and New York, but failed in Maryland and California. The District of Columbia is currently considering such a measure.

Should transcripts be reserved for academic notations or should universities start adding other notations for the safety of others? How beneficial could the mark actually be? How permanent should the notation be and how much information should be included? Should high school transcripts reveal information about sexual misconduct, too?

Guests:

Mark Hathaway,  private defense attorney in Los Angeles who has represented students and others accused of sexual misconduct

Michele Landis Dauber, helped revise Stanford’s policy on sexual assault and is a nationally-respected advocate for improving college and university policies on sexual assault. She is also a professor of Law and Sociology at Stanford University.

This photo taken on April 8, in Paris, shows gluten-free bread displayed during the "Le salon des allergies alimentaires et des produit sans" ; Credit: ELLIOTT VERDIER/AFP/Getty Images

Going gluten-free is all the rage these days, but whether this diet de jour is beneficial for those who don’t suffer from gluten insensitivity or Celiac disease has been in dispute.

A new report published earlier this month in the Journal of Pediatrics is the latest study to weigh in on the debate. And its verdict: being on a gluten-free diet doesn’t necessarily benefit those who are not Celiac. What’s more, it could even damage the health of those who can eat gluten.

“The Gluten-Free Diet: Recognizing Fact, Fiction, and Fad” by Norelle Reilly

Guest:

Norelle Reilly, MD, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the Columbia University Medical Center, and an author of the paper, “The Gluten-Free Diet: Recognizing Fact, Fiction, and Fad” that was published in this month’s Journal of Pediatrics

The U.S.’s biggest social media and internet companies have agreed to enforce a code of conduct for so-called hate speech in Europe.
; Credit: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images

The U.S.’s biggest social media and internet companies have agreed to enforce a code of conduct for so-called hate speech in Europe.

Though even so-called hate speech is protected in the US, that's not the case in much of Europe. Now, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Microsoft have agreed to quickly remove what European countries say is illegal hate speech.

The companies have also agreed to promote “counter-narratives” to hate speech that's posted. What does that mean? And how do companies that champion free speech square that claim with this deal?

Guests: 

Amar Toor, Paris based reporter for The Verge, an online publication covering technology, science, art, and culture.

Estelle Masse, EU policy analyst at Access Now, an international advocacy group dedicated to an open and free Internet.

Where does the line exist between enforcing the law and entrapment when it comes to gay sex sting operations? ; Credit: John Moore/Getty Images

50-year-old Rory Moroney says he knew the reputation of the men’s room at Recreation Park in Long Beach as a spot for gay men to cruise, or look for someone who wants to have semi-public sex, but that he’d never gone in looking for the experience. So when a man began nodding and smiling at him as he washed his hands, he took a chance and approached the man. Turns out he was an undercover cop, and Moroney was arrested for exposing himself.

Last month, the charges against Moroney were dropped after a Superior Court judge lambasted the Long Beach Police Department’s practice, calling it discriminatory due to the fact that the department only used male officers in the stings and the department had only arrested male suspects. LBPD said they weren’t expecting the decision but that they’d take a closer look in future case of lewd conduct. They added that they only do those kind of decoy operations as a response to complaints from the public and that it is a last-resort kind of tactic.

Undercover sting operations are obviously an immensely useful tool for law enforcement officers when it comes to community policing, but where does the line exist between enforcing the law and entrapment?

Guests:

Porter Gilberg, executive director of The LGBTQ Center in Long Beach

Commander Paul Lebaron, Commander with the Long Beach Police Department overseeing detectives division

Visitors look at a gorilla at the Los Angeles Zoo in Los Angeles, California August 12, 2011. ; Credit: ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images

Cincinnati Zoo staffers shot a gorilla after a 4 year old boy made his way into the animal's enclosure.

Attendees filmed the 400-pound Gorilla as he dragged the boy around the space. Zoo officials say that the shooting was necessary to protect the child from the gorilla, named Harambe.

Still, the action drew ire from animal-rights activists. Many said that the loss of the gorilla's life was unnecessary and that the parents should be prosecuted for not paying proper attention to their kid as he entered the Harambe's space.

Local prosecutors have said that they are investigating the case to determine if the parents or the zoo are at fault.

Guests:

Joyce Kaplan, Expert in Zookeeping; Faculty Dept. Chair of the Biology and Management of Zoo Animals program at Portland Community College

Jody Armor, Roy P. Crocker Professor of Law at the University of Southern California’s Gould School of Law.

People use their cellphones to communicate with friends and family.; Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

In a 12-3 decision, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia voted (Tuesday, May 31) that law enforcement can obtain an individual’s cell phone location data without a warrant.  

Judge Diana Motz writing for the majority wrote that gathering cell phone location data without a warrant does not violate the Constitution’s 4th Amendment because cell phone users voluntarily share that information with their cell phone providers.

The decision-- a blow to privacy advocates-- is a reversal of a previous 2015  ruling by the court. The ruling aligns with three other regional appeals courts in allowing law enforcement in Maryland, North and South Carolina to obtain cell phone records by merely showing that the records are relevant to an ongoing investigation. The decision was based on the legal theory known as the Third Party doctrine, which states that there are no privacy protections for Americans when they volunteer information to third parties such as cell phone companies, banks, and social media profile information.

Opponents of the ruling dispute the argument that cell phone location data is voluntary and that that long term information about a caller’s movements requires greater protection.

The ACLU told the Wall Street Journal that they are ready to take the issue to the Supreme Court, however, with four regional appeals courts in agreement, the likelihood that the justices will take up the case seems unlikely.

Guests:

Rebecca Lonergan, professor at USC’s Gould School of Law, and former federal prosecutor with the United States Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles for over 20 years

Andrew Crocker, staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a non-profit digital rights group; the EFF wrote an amicus brief to the 4th circuit court’s previous 3 judge panel in 2015 stating that citizens have an expectation of privacy in historical cell site records. View the press release here

Festival-goers use their cellphones and cameras to record their experiences at the concert.; Credit: FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images

During a recent stop in Verona, Italy for her world tour, the Grammy award winner stopped in the middle of her performance to tell an audience member to stop filming her with her video camera.

Adele told the fan to enjoy the singer “in real life” because there were plenty of others who would have loved to see her perform in person.

Do you have a story of your concert experience being ruined by someone holding up their cellphones in your line of view? Or do you defend the right to take video of  your favorite musician? Give us a call.

Guest:

Dave Brooks, founder and editor of Amplify, which covers all aspects of the music business

Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez at a U.S. Senate debate at KPBS in San Diego, May 10, 2016. ; Credit: Milan Kovacevic/KPBS

AirTalk’s U.S. Senate race coverage continues with the top candidates vying to fill Barbara Boxer’s seat.

With the June 7 primary looming, Larry Mantle has welcomed Republican candidates Ron Unz, Duf Sundheim and most recently, Tom Del Beccaro to share their vision for California. Loretta Sanchez and Kamala Harris, both Democrats, are frontrunners in the last weeks before the Senate election. Today, we speak to Sanchez, who remains second to Harris in the race.

Sanchez may be most notable as a Congresswoman from Orange County. At last month’s final U.S. Senate debate, she promoted her roots as part of a “working-class, bilingual Southern California family.”

Throughout her campaign, Sanchez has emphasized the need for immigration reform and raising the minimum wage, correlating her experience as the daughter of Mexican immigrants to the plight of those who are undocumented and seeking work and educational opportunities in the U.S.

Sanchez has also served on the Armed Services and Homeland Security Committees and has touted herself as the only candidate with national security experience. Her other platforms include support of the Affordable Care Act and raising the maximum award for the Federal Pell Grant Program for college students.

Sanchez’s struggles during the Senate race have included separating herself from Kamala Harris. Both candidates are for raising the minimum wage, access to education for undocumented immigrants and reproductive rights for women. Larry Mantle speaks with Sanchez today on what makes her plans for California unique and how she intends to implement her policies, should she win the Senatorial seat.

Guest:

Loretta Sanchez, U.S. Senate candidate and Congresswoman representing California’s 46th District, which includes Santa Ana, Anaheim and parts of Garden Grove and Orange in Orange County

circa 1950: University of Maryland American Football team trainer using deep shock therapy to stimulate an injured player's tissue and muscles. ; Credit: Orlando/Getty Images

Are you a nail biter? Maybe you’re trying to quit smoking and normal cessation techniques aren’t working?

A new wearable wants to help you kick those bad habits using Pavlovian conditioning to make the person associate the bad habit with a negative action. The device, called Pavlok, is worn around the wrist like a watch.

Any time a user wants to engage in the bad habit, a tap of the device administers a shock, and you can even choose how strong it is. The product’s website claims you can see results in as little as five days and shows videos of people who claim to have broken nail biting, smoking, and junk food-eating habits by using the device.

Pavlok is not the first wearable of its kind, as other companies have created technology that can be worn to help condition patients out of bad habits or to reach goals. However, many of the other products simply vibrate as a reminder, where Pavlok actually shocks you with the intent of making you associate your bad habit with a negative feeling.

The jury is still out in the medical community on exactly how useful this technology will be, but there are doctors and psychiatrists who are interested in supplementing their patients’ treatment with a device like Pavlok, and even some who have used it and claim success.

Would you ever consider using a wearable like Pavlok?

Guest:

Michelle Freedland, psychiatric nurse practitioner at Union Square Practice

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump waves to his supporters after Primary day at his election night watch party at the Executive Court Banquet facility in Manchester, New Hampshire. ; Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Testimonies from the former managers of Trump University have been released and they have been scathing.

The word from former workers of the for-profit school say that it relied on high-pressure sales tactics, employed unqualified instructors, made deceptive claims and exploited vulnerable students willing to pay tens of thousands for Trump’s insights.

But how fair is it to criticize the school recruited people to enroll? After all, many for profit educational facilities use the "hard sell" to convince prospective students that they would be good for them. Are the Trump University tactics all that different?

Guests:

Eli Stokols, POLITICO reporter; he tweets from @EliStokols

Ben Miller, Senior Director, Postsecondary Education at the Center for American Progress

Neal McCluskey, Associate Director of CATO Institute Center for Education Freedom

People make their way across the platform following the arrival of city, county officials and passengers on the first train in 53 years to arrive at Santa Monica station in Santa Monica, California on May 20, 2016.; Credit: FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images

In an effort to increase representation for certain areas on the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) Board of Directors, State Senator Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia) has proposed a bill that would add eight seats to the board.

“Adding two more public members will ensure that Metro fairly represents the entire County of Los Angeles. Doing this will improve Metro’s ability to develop a regional transit plan that meets the needs of all county residents,” Mendoza said. The bill would require the two additional members be residents of L.A. County and not live in the same city as any other Metro Board member when they are appointed.

Some who are wary of the impact of this bill say it has the potential to sink Metro’s long term plans for expanding public transit access. In an L.A. Times op-ed, former Metro Board members Zev Yaroslavsky and Richard Katz say Senator Mendoza is mainly upset that a project in his district isn’t a top priority for Metro and that if passed, the bill would not only detrimentally dilute L.A. County’s influence on the board but also slow Metro’s recent progress to a halt.

Guests:

Tony Mendoza, California Democratic Senator for Artesia; Author of SB 1472 that would increase the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) Board of Directors from 14 to 16 members

Zev Yaroslavsky, former Los Angeles County Supervisor, and is now affiliated with the UCLA’s history department, and the Luskin School of Public Affairs; he tweets from @ZevYaroslavsky

Los Angeles County Supervisor District 4 candidates Steve Napolitano, left, Janice Hahn and Ralph Pacheco spoke on KPCC's Air Talk on Thursday, June 2, 2016.; Credit: Maya Sugarman/KPCC

The most important vote those in L.A. County will cast this June is arguably NOT one for president, but for the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

Two longtime Republican members step down from the Board this year, a result of term limits passed in 2002 limiting supervisors to three terms of four years.

Board member Mike Antonovich has served since 1980 and his fellow conservative Don Knabe since 1996. The Board’s influence cannot be overstated. It is felt throughout Southern California.

They manage a $28 billion budget, run the nation’s largest jail and foster care systems and the second-largest public health system in the country. And while the five-member board is officially non-partisan, Antonovich and Knabe’s departure could open the door to a continued shift leftward of the powerful panel’s politics. That would be the first liberal “supermajority” on the board in modern history, although another Republican will likely fill Antonovich’s seat.

Knabe’s deputy and former Manhattan Beach Mayor, Steve Napolitano, governing board member of the Whittier Union High School District, Ralph Pacheco and Congresswoman Janice Hahn are all vying for the contested position.

Join "AirTalk" host, Larry Mantle for a lively debate with these top fundraising candidates. Hear about their plans for the vacated seat and for some of the seemingly intractable issues that face Los Angeles County.

Candidates:

Janice Hahn, U.S. Representative from California's 44th congressional district, which is centered in South Los Angeles and Los Angeles Harbor region

Ralph Pacheco, Governing board member of Whittier Union High School District

Steve Napolitano, former Manhattan Beach Mayor, 1992 to 2005, and deputy to Don Knabe

People inside remain sheltered in place on Wednesday, June 1, 2016 following a murder-suicide on the University of California, Los Angeles campus.; Credit: Maya Sugarman/KPCC

The Los Angeles Police Department identified the gunman in yesterday’s tragic murder-suicide at UCLA as former doctoral student, Mainak Sarkar.

Sarkar took the life of his former advisor, engineering professor William Klug before taking his own life.

According to LAPD, Sarkar had accused Klug of stealing his computer code. In an interview with KPCC, LAPD Captain Andy Neiman said a “kill list” was found at the gunman’s residence along with the names of Klug and another UCLA professor. Neiman also said the list contained the name of an unidentified woman who was found dead by gunshot wound in her home in the gunman’s home state of Minnesota.  

The university announced that most classes at the campus of over 40 thousand students will resume today.

As members of the Bruin community begin the process of coping with the death of a professor and the frightening events of the two hour campus-wide lockdown that followed the shooting, Airtalk invites UCLA students, professors, campus staff, parents, and friends to call in and talk about how they have been personally impacted by yesterday’s events.

Are you a student or professor returning to class today to finish up finals? How did yesterday’s shooting impact how you feel about campus safety? How will yesterday’s tragedy change how you go about your daily interactions with other students and professors? What are you doing to bring comfort to those still shaken and grieving? And what can be done to prevent tragedies like this from happening again? Call us at 866-893-5722 to share your thoughts.

Guest:

Adam Winkler, professor of law at UCLA and author of the book, "Gunfight: The Battle Over the Right to Bear Arms in America" (W.W. Norton & Company, 2013)

New web-based programs teach grade-school students the Christian faith using facts like history and archaeology. ; Credit: AFP/AFP/Getty Images

Capistrano Valley Christian Schools have created a new web based program that teaches grade-school students the Christian faith using facts like history and archaeology.

This way, school officials say, the kids can be better prepared to defend their faith and debate those who have studied subjects such as Neo-Darwinism as they get older.

Kim Van Vlear, Director of Bible Curriculum development at  Capistrano Valley Christian School and head of this new program, hopes that this will help make the Bible more "real" and less "fantastic" in kids eyes and help mitigate them falling out of touch with the faith as they get older.

But some say that the Bible can't be "proven" true; that it may be better to teach kids open critical thinking like philosophy. These critics highlight some of the risks that come with following Christian Apologetics including confirmation bias and the idea that your faith exists only to win arguments.

Guests:

Kim Van Vlear, Director of Bible Curriculum development at  Capistrano Valley Christian School and head of this new web based program

Tommy Givens, Assistant professor of New Testament Studies at the School of Theology at Fuller Theological Seminary

John Podesta speaks at the National Clean Energy Summit 7.0 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center on September 4, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. ; Credit: David Becker/Getty Images for National Clean

Yesterday in San Diego, Hillary Clinton spoke to a raucously supportive crowd about her foreign policy approach in contrast to Donald Trump.

Among the litany of no-holds-barred sound bites, Clinton said, "He is not just unprepared; he is temperamentally unfit. We cannot let him roll the dice with America.... There's no risk of people losing their lives if you blow up a golf course deal, but it doesn't work like that in world affairs."

In mocking Trump's Twitter habits, Clinton anticipated the celebrity businessman's response. After her heavily touted speech, Trump tweeted: "Bad performance by Crooked Hillary Clinton! Reading poorly from the telepromter (sic)! She doesn't even look presidential!"

With just days to go until California's June 7 primary and its 475 Democratic pledged delegates up for grabs, Clinton is and her Democratic opponent Senator Bernie Sanders have dozens of stump appearances up and down the golden state.

With Sanders consistent rise in California polling, has Clinton's message pivoted against Trump too soon? And with Speaker Paul Ryan endorsement of Trump yesterday in an attempt to unite Republicans well before November, will the Democrats have enough time to reunite?

Guest:

John Podesta, Chairman of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 Campaign for Democratic Nomination for President

Anti-Trump protesters demonstrate outside the convention center where Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump held an election rally in San Jose, California on June 2, 2016.
; Credit: MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images

Donald Trump supporters leaving the GOP presidential candidate’s rally in San Jose last night were met with angry protesters throwing eggs and punches.

According to the Los Angeles Times, one officer was assaulted and at least 4 people were taken in police custody.

San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, a Hillary Clinton supporter, told the Associated Press that Donald Trump needs to take responsibility for the violent behavior at his campaigns. But should anti-trump protester be excused for their irresponsible actions? Is Donald Trump to blame for violence initiated by people opposed to him?

Guest:

Julia Prodis Sulek, enterprise reporter for the San Jose Mercury News. She tweets @juliasulek

Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors shoots a three pointer over Kyrie Irving #2 of the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the 2016 NBA Finals at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California.; Credit: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, and by extension the Golden State Warriors, are the kings of the three-point shot.

That's led them to a lot of success and a shot at back-to-back championships. But now people say they might be too good at the three and that it's time to move the line further back.

Unprecedented? Not quite. When the Chicago Bulls won their second three-peat ('94-'97), the line was shortened to 22 feet from 25 feet.

Rule changes are a constant in sports, including the recent "Utley Rule" in baseball, moving the post-touchdown extra point kick back further in football, and so on.

Do you think the three-pointer line should be moved? When is it right to institute a rule change in sports? Is this just part of the efforts to give every pro team as even a chance at success as possible? Or is it just punishing successful teams to do this sort of thing?

Guests:

Patrick Hruby, contributing editor at Vice Sports

Nick Dimengo, associate editor for BroBible, a sports humor and entertainment site, and a feature writer for Bleacher Report.

Pedestrians cross the intersection of 3rd Avenue and 14th Street, one of Manhattan's most dangerous crosswalks for pedestrians in New York City. ; Credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue is not only one of the most famous intersections in Los Angeles, it’s also one of the most dangerous when it comes to pedestrian injuries.

But this reputation may soon be out of date since the Los Angeles Department of Transportation installed a scramble crosswalk last November. Scramble crosswalks also known as the Barnes Dance-- named after Henry Barnes, a legendary American traffic engineer and commissioner who was a strong advocate of the scramble intersection-- are diagonal crosswalks in which all vehicular traffic is completely stopped so that pedestrians can cross an intersection from every direction simultaneously.

According to an analysis of LADOT data by tech blog Gizmodo, there were 19 crashes, which caused 13 injuries at Hollywood and Highland in the first eleven months of 2015. Five and a half months after the scramble was installed, only one non-injury car vs. car collision occurred.

Both Pasadena and Beverly Hills have declared the success over the few scramble sidewalks in their neighborhoods.

Does this mean that scramble sidewalks should be the norm at every intersection?  What impact does the Barnes Dance have on traffic? And what would it take for the city to install more scramble sidewalks where pedestrians are most vulnerable?

Guest:

James Moore, Director of USC’s Transportation Engineering Program

California’s primary elections are upon us after months of speculation and waiting.

; Credit: FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images

California’s primary elections are upon us after months of speculation and waiting.

While there’s not too much speculating left to be done about the outcome of tomorrow’s primaries, the results will likely dictate the tone each of the campaigns take into the party conventions this summer, as California and the other states voting on Tuesday are the last major contests before the candidates set their sights on Cleveland and Philadelphia, respectively.

On the Democratic side, polls show Hillary Clinton with a slight edge over Bernie Sanders, who campaigned in Los Angeles over the weekend. Sanders has shown no signs that he’s winding his campaign down, despite being mathematically out of the race. Hillary Clinton ended last week on a high note as she got kudos for her pointed foreign policy speech in which she repeatedly questioned Donald Trump’s temperament and qualifications for the presidency.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump found his way into the headlines for another set of bombastic comments, this time regarding the Mexican-American judge presiding over the lawsuit against his now-defunct real estate school, Trump University. Trump drew sharp criticism from the GOP establishment after he questioned whether Judge Gonzalo Curiel could be impartial in ruling on the case due to past comments Trump has made about plans to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico.

Do you have questions about voting? Visit KPCC's Human Voter Guide here.

Guests:

Ange-Marie Hancock, associate professor of political science and gender studies at the University of Southern California

Zach Courser, Research Director of the Dreier Roundtable and visiting Assistant Professor of Government at Claremont McKenna College; he tweets @zcourser

Frank Stoltze, KPCC correspondent

Abby Sewell, reporter for the Los Angeles Times covering the LA County supervisor races

Voters wait in line to cast their ballots at a polling station in San Diego, California.; Credit: Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images

The right to vote is reserved for adults who are U.S. citizens or meet their state’s residency requirements, but even still, only seven out of 10 eligible voters are registered to vote.

A new Los Angeles-based project, Vote Allies, is working to increasing voter participation by  motivating eligible voters who typically wouldn’t cast a vote to “share” their vote with someone who is not eligible. By symbolically sharing a vote with a partner, Brett Shears, founder of Vote Allies, wants all members of society to feel like their voice matters. The program currently has 60 registered participants, 14 of whom include ex-felons and undocumented people.

Others, like Ira Mehlman, media director at The Federation for American Immigration Reform, are skeptical that the program will make much of a difference in the way voters will cast their votes, “People sharing their votes probably would have voted that way anyway.”

What do you think? Would you be willing to share your vote with someone who is eager, but ineligible? How might this program influence current and future elections?

Guests:

Brett Shears, founder, Vote Allies and Independent Election Administrator for the Neighborhood Councils, Region 6, which includes Downtown Los Angeles, Pico Union, Olympic Park, MacArthur Park, Wilshire Center-Koretown, Historic Culture and Westlake North and South

Lonella “Joy” Enix, Chair of the Southwest Los Angeles Neighborhood Development Council and an eligible voter participating in Vote Allies

Ira Mehlman, Media director, The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)