Conservative author and pundit Ann Coulter delivers remarks to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Marriott Wardman Park February 10, 2012 in Washington, DC. ; Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

A lawsuit against UC Berkeley has been filed this week as response to Ann Coulter’s speaking engagement cancellation.

The suit, brought by the Berkeley College Republicans and the Young America’s Foundation claim the university was unconstitutional in its actions. Coulter, who was re-invited to speak at a later date, declined as she believed there would be less students on campus that day.

The conservative author and commentator said she would speak at the originally scheduled time. Was UC Berkeley’s move unconstitutional?

AirTalk reached out to the University of California, Berkeley, for comment but no one was available.

Guests:

Harmeet Dhillon, civil rights and business litigation attorney, representing the Berkeley student group suing the university

Scott Lewis, J.D., partner with The National Center for Higher Education Risk Management Group, a law and consulting firm that offers systems-levels solutions for safer schools and campuses; he is also co-founder and advisory board member of the Association for Title IX Administrators (ATIXA) and the National Behavioral Intervention Team Association (NaBITA)

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Assault rifles are displayed during the 2013 NRA Annual Meeting and Exhibits at the George R. Brown Convention Center on May 4, 2013 in Houston, Texas. ; Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Arguing that California’s Assault Weapons Control Act infringes on the Second Amendment, the state’s NRA affiliate filed a lawsuit on Monday challenging the ban’s constitutionality.

Attorneys for the NRA say they’re planning to file a number of lawsuits against gun control laws in California, including one that could come down as soon as next week challenging the ban on ammo magazines that hold more than 10 bullets.

The move is seen by many as having a two-fold purpose: the challenge itself to the California law as well as a play at the long game. With newly-installed Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch bringing a conservative majority back to the High Court, it would seem the NRA is taking its chances that one or more of these lawsuits would make it to the Supreme Court level, where they feel they’d have a better chance of succeeding than in the lower-level California courts.

What are the chances of success for this lawsuit? If one or more of the lawsuits against California’s gun control laws were to make it to the Supreme Court, what would the outcome be?

Guests:

Chuck Michel, CEO and senior partner at the Long Beach-based law firm Michel & Associates

Amanda Wilcox, legislative advocate of the California Chapters of the Brady Campaign To Prevent Gun Violence

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

All-electric aircraft designed by Kitty Hawk.; Credit: Screenshot as seen on YouTube

It’s not a bird or a plane. It’s an open, one-seat, 220- pound contraption that flies over water and doesn’t require a pilot’s license; ostensibly, it’s a flying car.

Demoed in a video released Monday, this “all-electric aircraft” is designed by Kitty Hawk, a company backed by Google co-founder Larry Page, and according to the company, will be available to consumers by the end of 2017.

And Kitty Hawk isn’t the only flying car developer on the market. Over a dozen different companies, including Airbus and Uber, are currently in the process of developing flying vehicles. How close are we to actually (some might say, finally) having flying cars? What are your concerns and reservations? And what technology of the future did you, as a kid, think we’d have by now?

Guest:

John Markoff, journalist and book author; he wrote the New York Times article “No Longer a Dream: Silicon Valley Takes on the Flying Car;” he tweets @markoff

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Former Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano speaks during a panel discussion on advancing women in politics at the National Democratic Institute Luncheon in Washington, DC.; Credit: JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images

According to a state audit released Tuesday, the University of California system has raised tuition while keeping a secret $175 million on reserve, spent millions on benefits that aren’t typically received by public employees and doctored surveys on campus spending.

Those are just a few of the findings of CA State Auditor Elaine Howle’s 177-page audit.

The UC Office of the President took issue with many of the audit’s conclusions. In a letter to the auditor, UC President Janet Napolitano said the charges of secret funds”unfairly mischaracterizes UCOP’s budget processes.” The audit’s recommendation to hand budget authority over the Office of the President to the Legislature was said to be unconstitutional by two members of the UC Board of Regents.

We dive into the findings of the audit, as well as the pushback.

Guests:

Melody Gutierrez, political reporter at the San Francisco Chronicle; she’s been following this story; she tweets @Melody Gutierrez

This segment is being updated.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

A homeless man walks down the street as a new day begins in the Wall Street area in the downtown Skid Row area of Los Angeles, California.; Credit: David McNew/Getty Images

Urban theorist Richard Florida’s 2002 book, “The Rise of the Creative Class” has been both prescient and prescriptive for many city centers in America.

Florida’s book predicted that a class of young, educated millennials who are employed in mostly creative fields would flood deserted urban cores looking for inexpensive housing, thereby changing the fortunes of these neighborhoods.

Florida’s predictions have been mostly correct. But these urban revitalizations - exemplified by Los Angeles’s Downtown - have brought their shares of ills, like gentrification and displacement. The business professor tackles these issues head on in his new book, “The New Urban Crisis.”

Guest:

Richard Florida, a professor of business at the University of Toronto in Canada; he is the author of many books, including his latest, “The New Urban Crisis” (Basic Books, 2017)

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

A welcome flag is flanked by the flags of the U.S. and Mexico on top of a building May 16, 2006 in the Los Angeles-area city of Maywood, California.; Credit: David McNew/Getty Images

A federal judge on Tuesday blocked a Trump administration order to withhold funding from communities that limit cooperation with U.S. immigration authorities, saying the president has no authority to attach new conditions to federal spending.

Read the full story here.

Guest:

Sudhin Thanawala, legal affairs reporter at The Associated Press covering federal and state courts; he reported on yesterday’s ruling and tweets @SudhinT

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump gives a speech outlining his vision for tax reform at his skyscraper on Fifth Avenue on September 28, 2015 in New York City.; Credit: Andrew Burton/Getty Images

President Trump is set to unveil what his Treasury Secretary calls the biggest tax cut in US history.

It won't be a formal bill, but what the White House calls principles for its overhaul. The business tax rate would drop to 15-percent, versus the current 35-percent corporate rate. With such a steep revenue drop, how would Congress pay for it?

Guests:

Chris Edwards, an economist and director of tax policy at the Cato Institute; he is also editor of DownsizingGovernment.org, a Cato project that focuses on federal spending

Harry Stein, director of fiscal policy at the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning  educational, public policy research, and advocacy organization; he has been following the debate on President Trump’s tax plan

Kyle Pomerleau, economist and director of federal projects at the Tax Foundation, where he oversees the center’s research

Pete Peterson, dean of the School of Public Policy and senior fellow at The Davenport Institute at Pepperdine University

Caroline Heldman, associate professor of politics at Occidental College and co-author of "Rethinking Madam President: Are We Ready for a Woman in the White House?" (Lynne Rienner Pub, 2007)

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

U.S. President Donald Trump signs an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House January 30, 2017 in Washington, DC. ; Credit: Pool/Getty Images

As the Trump presidency approaches its 100th day, NPR News is launching the initiative, “A Nation Engaged,” to help foster conversation on the topic of “Power & the Presidency.”

Today on AirTalk, we’ll look at the use of executive orders, particularly in the Trump and Obama administrations.

Guests:

Julian Zelizer, presidential historian and a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University; he is the author of many books, including, “The Fierce Urgency of Now: Lyndon Johnson, Congress, and the Battle for the Great Society” (Penguin, 2015)

Tevi Troy, president of the American Health Policy Institute and author of the book, "Shall We Wake the President? Two Centuries of Disaster Management from the Oval Office" (Lyons Press, 2016)

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck (L) and retiring Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca march in the 29th annual Kingdom Day Parade on January 20, 2014 in Los Angeles, California.; Credit: David McNew/Getty Images

On Tuesday, the Los Angeles City Council approved the language for Charter Amendment C, a controversial measure that will appear on the May 16 ballot for LA County voters and will alter how police officers who’ve engaged in misconduct are disciplined.

Currently, an officer to be fired by Chief Beck is reviewed by an LAPD Board of Rights panel, which is made of three members: two command-level officers and one civilian. They either approve the firing or ease the penalty. Measure C, introduced by City Council President Herb Wesson, would allow the officer being disciplined to have their case reviewed by an all-civilian panel instead.

Los Angeles Police Protective League officials have backed the measure, saying it will encourage civilian participation in police departments and create panels impartial to department influence or favoritism.

But the measure has drawn criticism from groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union, the Community Coalition and the Los Angeles branch of Black Lives Matter. Among their concerns is that the current qualifications required to be chosen for the panel are too restrictive and that analysis has shown that civilian board members are more lenient than sworn officers.

Will Measure C keep officers accountable for misconduct, or will it actually lead to leniency?   

Guests:

Craig Lally, president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League; the league is publicly supporting Measure C

John “Jay” Handal, hearing examiner since 2007 for the Los Angeles Police Department Commision;  treasurer of the West Los Angeles Neighborhood Council

Peter Bibring, senior staff attorney and director of police practices for the ACLU of Southern California

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Sabine Durden (C) of Mineral Spring, Arkansas, whose son Dominic Durden was killed in a traffic accident with an undocumented immigrant, holds hands with other victims' family members during a news conference April 26, 2017 in Washington, DC.; Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images

The Trump Administration and anti-illegal immigration groups claim the government has long downplayed crimes committed by those here illegally.

This week, the federal government launched an office devoted to victims of crimes committed by non-citizens. It's acronym is VOICE. AirTalk looks at the stated mission of the office and how it might affect the debate over illegal immigration.

Guests:

Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at Center for Immigration Studies

Chris Newman, legal director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON)

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Party revellers enjoy the atmosphere on the London Underground during a Facebook cocktail party on the Circle Line on May 31, 2008 in central London, England. ; Credit: Ann Tornkvist/Getty Images

How, if at all, do parents talk about their past alcohol and drug use with curious children? What's the best way to find that balance of being honest with them while not encouraging risky behavior?

This segment is being updated.

Guest:

Julie Cederbaum, associate professor of social work at USC; she specializes in clinical social work with children and families

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

University of California, Berkeley students protest on campus as part of an "open university" strike in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street movement November 15, 2011 in Berkeley, California.; Credit: Max Whittaker/Getty Images

Campus and city police in Berkeley are on high alert today after conservative author and commentator Anne Coulter cancelled a planned speech at UC Berkeley following weeks of back-and-forth between campus officials and student groups about free speech vs. hate speech on campus.

The UC Berkeley Police Department said they are expecting extremists to arrive on campus today and are preparing for the possibility of violence, for which they said they would have a low tolerance. Coulter, who was originally scheduled to give an address on immigration policy tonight, announced she was cancelling the event yesterday after the student groups sponsoring her backed down. UC Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas Dirks wrote an op-ed in the New York Times on Wednesday laying out the school’s position.

How are police preparing for the possibility of extremists and violence on campus? What is the reaction from students, faculty, and residents of the city of Berkeley?

We reached out to the UC Berkeley Police Department and the City of Berkeley police, but neither responded to our request for comment in time for air. We also contacted the Daily Cal, UC Berkeley’s student newspapers, who said they are not giving interviews at this time.

Guest:

Tim Williams, retired LAPD senior detective supervisor (Robbery-Homicide Division), 1974-2003; owner of T.T. Williams Jr. investigations

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

A demonstrator protests the verdict in the trial of four Los Angeles police officers accused of beating motorist Rodney King outside the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) headquarters Los Angeles, 29 April 1992.; Credit: MIKE NELSON/AFP/Getty Images

Larry took to the air in a special edition of AirTalk the night after the LA Riots.

Here’s his interview with Michael Zinzun, a noted anti-police brutality activist who organized the protest against the Rodney King ruling the night the verdict was read.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

A California Highway patrolman directs raffic around a shopping center engulfed in flames in Los Angeles, 30 April 1992.; Credit: CARLOS SCHIEBECK/AFP/Getty Images

AirTalk listeners: Call in with your memories of the LA Riots that took place 25 years ago.

How has Los Angeles changed since? Do you think what happened 25 years ago can happen again today?

Our number is 866-893-5722.

Guest:

Frank Stoltze, correspondent at KPCC who covers criminal justice and public safety; he reported on the LA riots 25 years ago for KLON / CALNET

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Screen Actors Guild (SAG) members and supporters hold a solidarity rally regarding contract negotiations outside the Screen Actors Guild National Headquarters on June 9, 2008.; Credit: David McNew/Getty Images

Deadline for negotiations between the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers is midnight Monday.

AirTalk checks in with Deadline’s Dominic Patten on talks and the likelihood of a strike.

Guest:

Dominic Patten, senior editor and Chief TV Critic at the news and entertainment site, Deadline, who’s been following the negotiations

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

An offshore oil drilling platform off the coast of Santa Barbara, Calif.; Credit: Chris Carlson/AP

President Trump signed an executive order last week which could give the green light to new oil and gas drilling in the Pacific, Arctic and Atlantic Oceans.

As reported by the Los Angeles Times, this would potentially include California offshore drilling, a topic that’s sparked opposition from state leaders including Gov. Jerry Brown, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom. In addition, the order could reverse an Obama Administration environmental plan to exclude any new drilling leases off the California and Alaska coast until 2022.

With an uphill political and legal battle ahead, how will Trump’s plan pan out, and what are the environmental risks?

Guests: 

Rock Zierman, chief executive officer of the California Independent Petroleum Association (CIPA), a nonprofit trade association representing about 500 independent crude oil and natural gas agencies companies operating in California; CIPA members represent approximately 70% of total oil production and 90% of  natural gas production in the state

David Helvarg, executive director of Blue Frontier, an ocean conservation and policy group; he is the author of the book, “The Golden Shore: California’s Love Affair with the Sea;” he tweets @Helvarg

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

A view of the logo during ESPN The Party on February 5, 2016 in San Francisco, California. ; Credit: Robin Marchant/Getty Images for ESPN

Sports journalism giant ESPN is gameplanning for its future this week after massive layoffs at ‘The Worldwide Leader’ last week saw the departure of several big-name on-air talents. The reason? Well, that depends who you ask.

Some point to the ever-changing landscape of cord-cutters. The wide variety of streaming services available means consumers are watching TV in a lot of different ways, many of which don’t involve sitting down on a couch in front of a flat screen. Others say ESPN’s focus has drifted away from reporting on sports and into the realm of sensationalism, seeking to politicize every story rather than just reporting on it as a sports story, and that its core viewers are turning away as a result.

How did ESPN’s business model lead to last week’s layoffs? How are the network and its parent company, Disney, positioning themselves for the future?

Guests:

A Martinez, host of KPCC’s ‘Take Two’; he tweets @AMartinezLA

James Andrew Miller, journalist and author of several books; he is co-author of ‘Those Guys Have All The Fun: Inside the World of ESPN’ (Back Bay Books, 2011); he tweets @JimMiller

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

US Vice President Mike Pence (R) applauds US President Donald Trump during an event for the Independent Community Bankers Association.; Credit: MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images

Legislators on Capitol Hill were able to reach a bipartisan agreement to avoid a full government shutdown and keep the lights on in D.C. until September.

Highlights from the bill include $12.5 billion in new military spending and another $1.5 billion for border security. Equally as notable is what’s not in the bill, namely funding for President Trump’s proposed border wall between the U.S. and Mexico. The President also made news over the weekend for pushing for a House vote this week on a revised plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act as well as his call to the controversial Filipino president, Rodrigo Duterte, inviting him to the White House.

Also, President Donald Trump marked his 100th day in office on Saturday, a presidential benchmark the significance of which has been debated ad-infinitum in recent weeks. He’s given interviews touting what he says are historic accomplishments for the start of an administration. But he also revealed the job is far tougher than he anticipated.

In Trump’s win column is the confirmation of Neil Gorsuch as his Supreme Court nominee. There’s also been a dramatic decline in illegal immigration since Trump’s win, even without a wall, beefed up Border Patrol, or huge increase in deportations. But other promised moves on immigration have been countered by federal judges. His travel moratorium and sanctuary cities defunding both shot down.The Affordable Care Act is still in place, with no Republican proposal reaching critical mass. The Administrative State he promised to slash, continues in DC.

What can we learn from the President’s first hundred days about what to expect for the remainder of his term?

Guests:

Charles Kesler, Dengler-Dykema Distinguished Professor of Government at Claremont McKenna College and editor of the Claremont Review of Books 

Matt Rodriguez, Democratic strategist and founder and chief executive officer of Rodriguez Strategies. He is also a former senior Obama advisor in 2008; he tweets @RodStrategies

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, January 24, 2017 in Washington, DC.; Credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Analyses abound on President Donald Trump’s performance in his first 100 days in office. But how has the media fared in these first three months?

Mainstream outlets like the New York Times and Washington Post were heavily criticized for their failure to grasp and report on the massive wave of support for Trump that brought him to the White House.

After the election, many mainstream media outfits have concentrated their efforts on holding the Trump administration accountable for ethical and other concerns, earning the ire of the President. In more than one occasion, President Trump has called the mainstream media “unfair” and “fake news” for their reporting targeting the Trump administration and the Trump business empire.

What’s your take on the media’s performance in these 100 days? Is the media being fair?

Guests:

Michael Memoli,  White House reporter at the LA Times who has covers the White House press briefings under both the Trump and Obama administrations; he tweets @mikememoli

David Folkenflik, media correspondent at NPR and the author of “Murdoch’s World: The Last of the Old Media Empires” (PublicAffairs, 2013); he tweets @davidfolkenflik

Jeffrey McCall, professor of communication at DePauw University in Indiana and former  journalist; he is the author of “Viewer Discretion Advised: Taking Control of Mass Media Influences” (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2007); he tweets @Prof_McCall

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Basic science leads to some clinical trials and possibly new cancer treatments.; Credit: /thelinke/iStockphoto

Buzzwords like “breakthrough” may give cancer patients unrealistic expectations of survival, sparking concern around false hope in the medical community.

As reported by Kaiser Health News, there are several factors which potentially contribute to a false sense of security for cancer patients. Media hype around new developments in cancer research, pharmaceutical company promises and hospital ads touting superior bedside manner can cause more harm than good for people in treatment and their families if things don’t turn out as they hoped.

So what happens when expectation doesn’t meet reality? And with so many new strides in cancer research, shouldn’t patients be hopeful?

Guests:

Otis Brawley, M.D., chief medical and scientific officer for the American Cancer Society and professor at the School of Medicine at Emory University in Atlanta

Stephen J. Forman, M.D., leader of the Hematologic Malignancies and Stem Cell Transplantation Institute at City of Hope; he specializes in leukemia, lymphoma and bone marrow transplantation

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.