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The latest on the inspector general report on Comey and Clinton email probe

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James Comey testifies during a hearing before House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.

James Comey testifies during a hearing before House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.; Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images

AirTalk®

The Justice Department's watchdog faults former FBI Director James Comey for breaking with protocol in his handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation, but it says his decisions were not driven by political bias ahead of the 2016 election, according to two people familiar with the findings.

The report from the inspector general also criticizes Comey for not keeping his superiors at the Justice Department, including then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch, properly informed about his handling of the investigation, said the people, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the report was not yet public.

The report's findings are to be made public later Thursday. They represent the culmination of an 18-month review into one of the most consequential FBI investigations in recent history. Overall, the inspector general found problematic political discussions among FBI personnel but found none of the decisions in the Clinton email case were politically motivated.

With files from Associated Press.

Guest:

Billy House, congressional correspondent for Bloomberg News

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


Apple to close security loophole that lets law enforcement crack into locked iPhones

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A customer tries out a new iPhone at an Apple store in Chicago.

A customer tries out a new iPhone at an Apple store in Chicago.; Credit: Kiichiro Sato/AP

AirTalk®

Apple is closing a security gap that allowed outsiders to pry personal information from locked iPhones without a password, a change that will thwart law enforcement agencies that have been exploiting the vulnerability to collect evidence in criminal investigations. The loophole will be shut down in a forthcoming update to Apple's iOS software, which powers iPhones.

Once fixed, iPhones will no longer be vulnerable to intrusion via the Lightning port used both to transfer data and to charge iPhones. The port will still function after the update, but will shut off data an hour after a phone is locked if the correct password isn't entered. The current flaw has provided a point of entry for authorities across the U.S. since the FBI paid an unidentified third party in 2016 to unlock an iPhone used by a mass killer in the San Bernardino shooting a few months earlier. The FBI sought outside help after Apple rebuffed the agency's efforts to make the company create a security backdoor into iPhone technology. Apple's refusal to cooperate with the FBI at the time became a political hot potato pitting the rights of its customers against the broader interests of public safety.

Privacy advocates praised the company’s recent decision, while many law enforcement agencies condemned it. What do you think, do you support Apple’s decision to close the technological loophole that enables law enforcement agencies to hack into iPhones? Call us at 866-893-5722 and let us know.

With files from the Associated Press

We reached out to Apple for comment and they responded with this statement:

“At Apple, we put the customer at the center of everything we design. We’re constantly strengthening the security protections in every Apple product to help customers defend against hackers, identity thieves and intrusions into their personal data. We have the greatest respect for law enforcement, and we don’t design our security improvements to frustrate their efforts to do their jobs.”

Guests:

Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), an independent privacy rights group based in Washington, D.C.; adjunct professor of information privacy and open government at Georgetown Law; he tweets @MarcRotenberg

Cedric Leighton, founder and president of Cedric Leighton Associates, a risk and leadership management consultancy; he is also a retired colonel in the U.S. Air Force and the former Director for Training of the National Security Agency; he tweets @CedricLeighton

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

DC Round Up: inspector general’s report, US-China tariffs and more

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The Department of Justice on June 14, 2018 in Washington, DC.

The Department of Justice on June 14, 2018 in Washington, DC. ; Credit: Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images

AirTalk®

The Department of Justice Inspector General released a 500 pages long report on Thursday on the handling of the Clinton email investigation.

The review of the FBI’s conduct during the 2016 election campaign has found that Comey acted “improperly” in his investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails, though not from a place of political bias. The report supports the decision to not prosecute Clinton.

We look into how the release of the report is playing out behind the scenes in Washington and what comes next. Meanwhile, President Trump announced he will put 25 percent tariff on Chinese goods. A move that prompted a retaliation from China announcing equal tariffs on US imports.

We examine what effect will this have on US economy. We also look at the president’s statements Friday on opposing a GOP immigration bill that was crafted by House Speaker Paul Ryan -- a move that reportedly House GOP leaders did not expect as they said they had the president’s support in writing the legislation. Here is your political roundup.

Guests:

Kyle Cheney, congressional reporter for POLITICO, who has been reporting on the Justice Department’s report; he tweets @kyledcheney

Joe Sobczyk, congressional editor and reporter for Bloomberg News who has been following the story

Sean T. Walsh, Republican political analyst and partner at Wilson Walsh Consulting in San Francisco; he is a former adviser to California Governors Pete Wilson and Arnold Schwarzenegger and a former White House staffer for Presidents Reagan and H.W. Bush

Marj Halperin, democratic analyst and executive vice president and partner at Hawthorne Strategy Group, a communications and PR firm

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

Lawsuit against Harvard claims that Asian American applicants are consistently dinged on ‘personality’ scores

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Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.; Credit: Darren McCollester/Getty Images

AirTalk®

Information and document pertaining to Harvard admissions process were unsealed this morning as part of a lawsuit alleging the Ivy League school for discriminating against Asian American applicants.

The lawsuit was filed a few years ago by a group called Students for Fair Admissions, which claims that Asian American students, despite their strong academic performance, are routinely kept from being admitted to Harvard.

Earlier this year, the group sought to have some of the school’s admissions records introduced as evidence in the lawsuit. Harvard had fought the release.

The documents unsealed today, according to STudents for Fair Admissions, show that Harvard uses a “character” or “personality”-based system in its overall admissions process that discriminates against Asian Americans.

Guest:

Anemona Hartocollis, higher education reporter for the New York Times, who’s following this story; she tweets @anemonanyc

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

Week in politics: Trump’s ‘zero tolerance’ border policy sparks outrage, House might see immigration votes this week and more

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A protestor holds a sign at the 'Families Belong Together March' against the separation of children of immigrants from their families on June 14, 2018 in Los Angeles, California.

A protestor holds a sign at the 'Families Belong Together March' against the separation of children of immigrants from their families on June 14, 2018 in Los Angeles, California.; Credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images

AirTalk®

AirTalk's weekly political roundtable covers the headlines you might have missed over the weekend and previews what to watch for this week in national politics.

Topics include:

  • Trump’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy renews protests after the Department of Homeland Security said that some 2,000 children have been separated from their families at the US border

  • House Speaker Paul Ryan wants to call a vote on two immigration bills this week

  • IG report on FBI’s handling of Clinton email probe

  • The ongoing Russian probe: fromer Trump operative Roger Stone said he met with a Russian national in 2016

  • Paul Manafort goes to jail, awaits trial, as Giuliani suggests that a pardon could be in the future

  • The Trump administration slaps tariffs on $50 billion in imports from China

  • The Trump/Kim meeting in Singapore

  • South Carolina Republican Mark Sanford says he lost the primary race to challenger Katie Arrington because he wasn’t ‘Trump enough’

  • Ivanka Trump in town for two GOP fundraisers this week

With guest host Libby Denkmann.

Guests:

Matt Barreto, professor of political science and Chicano/a Studies at UCLA and co-founder of the research and polling firm Latino Decisions; he tweets @realMABarreto

Pete Peterson, dean of the School of Public Policy and senior fellow at The Davenport Institute at Pepperdine University; he tweets @Pete4CA

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

A look at LA County’s plans to create a transportation boarding school

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Students work on a project identifying countries in North, Central and South America during a history class taught in Spanish as part of the Dual Language Academy program Franklin High School in Los Angeles, California, on May 25, 2017. ; Credit: ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images

AirTalk®

Los Angeles County is looking at a plan to create a boarding school at a Vermont and Manchester avenues in South L.A.

As reported by the Los Angeles Times, the project wouldn’t mimic the preppy aesthetic we’re used to associating with boarding schools. Rather, it would be a combination of technical and vocational curriculums, free to the public. The county’s intention is to help fill jobs in a slew of massive transportation projects put forth in upcoming years. And the site of the school is a vacant lot where a swap meet was burned to the ground during the 1992 L.A. riots, which was acquired by the county in April.

The school could open as soon as 2020, and about 400 students from 9th to 12th grade would be able to attend. Yearly costs for the project would be about $10 million dollars, coming from the state, grants and donations. So how will this ambitious plan work? And what impact will it have on the surrounding community?

With guest host Libby Denkmann.

Guest:

Joanne Peterson, head of human resources at the L.A. County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (L.A. Metro)

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

The harder they fall: How a heralded, medical industry billionaire was revealed a fraud

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Forbes Under 30 Summit

Elizabeth Holmes, Founder & CEO of Theranos speaks at Forbes Under 30 Summit at Pennsylvania Convention Center on October 5, 2015 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ; Credit: Lisa Lake/Getty Images

AirTalk®

Federal prosecutors indicted Elizabeth Holmes on criminal fraud charges for allegedly defrauding investors, doctors and the public as the head of the once-heralded blood-testing startup Theranos.

Federal prosecutors also brought charges against the company's former second-in-command.

Holmes, who was once considered a wunderkind of Silicon Valley, and her former Chief Operating Officer Ramesh Balwani, are charged with two counts conspiracy to commit wire fraud and nine counts of wire fraud each, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California said late Friday. If convicted, they could face prison sentences that would keep them behind bars for the rest of their lives, and total fines of $2.75 million each.

Prosecutors allege that Holmes and Balwani deliberately misled investors, policymakers and the public about the accuracy of Theranos' blood-testing technologies going back to at least 2013. Holmes, 34, founded Theranos in Palo Alto, California, in 2003, pitching its technology as a cheaper way to run dozens of blood tests.

Holmes said Theranos had discovered a new way of doing blood testing, one able to do dozens of tests with just a prick of a finger and few droplets of blood. A notoriously secretive company, Theranos shared very little about its blood-testing machine, nicknamed Edison, with the public or medical community. Holmes said she was inspired to start the company in response to her fear of needles.

Guest host Libby Denkmann speaks with John Carreyrou, an investigative reporter for the Wall Street Journal who first reported on Theranos’ deceptions. His book, “Bad Blood” (Knopf, 2018) focuses specifically on the scandal.

With files from the Associated Press.

With guest host Libby Denkmann.

Guest:

John Carreyrou, author of the new book, “Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup” (Knopf, 2018); investigative reporter for the Wall Street Journal

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

Smile, Russia! Foreigners are coming

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Russian President Vladimir Putin smiles

Russian President Vladimir Putin smiles during a meeting with the staff of the daily newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda in Moscow on May 23, 2005.; Credit: ALEXANDER ZEMLIANICHENKO/AFP/Getty Images

AirTalk®

In the U.S., smiles are everywhere, accompanying your coffee order, your pizza delivery, even an “excuse me” from a stranger pushing past you on a train. Smiles are considered pleasant, polite and expected.

But that’s not true of all countries. In Russia, smiling is so much not the norm, that some service industry employees are taking courses in how to smile at tourists flooding Russia for the World Cup.

https://twitter.com/BBCWorld/status/1005478201659985920/video/1

Regardless of whether you find this American norm pleasant or disingenuous, it’s one of the many small cultural signifiers that immigrants have to contend with when they come to the U.S.

If you’re an immigrant or come from an immigrant family, we want to hear which norms you’ve had to adjust to  –  whether it’s hugging, smiling, blowing your nose in public or wearing shoes indoors.

What norms surprised you or your parents and family members? Which have you rejected? Embraced?

With guest host Libby Denkmann.

Guests:

Jenny Kaminer, associate professor of Russian at UC Davis

Lindsey Bier, assistant professor of Clinical Business Communication at USC

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


How AI is being used to help identify the next sports star

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Sean Durzi #5 was ranked in the top 40 by an AI-powered analytics system

Sean Durzi #5 was ranked in the top 40 by an AI-powered analytics system; Credit: Dennis Pajot/Getty Images

AirTalk®

Artificial intelligence is taking a significant role in the world of sports.

AI is using algorithms to analyze player performance statistics and identify talent for coaches and scouts. The argument is algorithms comb through data faster than humans. Now professional baseball, basketball and hockey are among the sports using AI in addition to coaching and scouting.

Teams are starting to use AI to analyze throwing speed and spin, how players move around the field, how effective they are, among other set of data. Proponents of this say this is a game changer.

So how does it work? We explain.

With guest host Libby Denkmann  

Guest:

Tom Taylor, editor at SportTechie; an online publication that focuses on the impact of technology on sports; former reporter for Sports Illustrated who covered science and technology, and has written about the use of artificial intelligence in evaluating players

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

World Health Organization classifies ‘gaming disorder’ as a mental health disorder

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Gaming fans play Super Smash Bros on Nintendo Switch at the 24th Electronic Expo, or E3 2018, in Los Angeles, California on June 13, 2018. ; Credit: FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images

Mary Knauf | AirTalk®

Playing hours of video games has now been deemed pathological, at least by the World Health Organization.

In its latest revision to a disease classification manual, the U.N. health agency said Monday that compulsively playing video games now qualifies as a mental health disorder. In classifying "gaming disorder" as an addiction, WHO hopes to spark funding and studies to better understand a behavior that is becoming all too common.

But some psychologists believe the new designation may be rooted more in alarmism than objective research. They argue that WHO did not base their decision on a wide enough range of academic study, and that the results of current research are still preliminary and have yet to be replicated.

If you are an obsessive gamer, do you feel it’s due to an addiction or to something else?

If you are an obsessive gamer, do you feel it’s due to an addiction or to something else? Have playing too many video games interfered with your daily life at all? Or is it just a hobby you greatly enjoy? Call us at 866-893-5722 and let us know.

With files from the Associated Press.

With guest host Libby Denkmann.  

Guests:

Hilarie Cash, mental health counselor and co-founder of reSTART, an inpatient treatment program for video game addiction in the Seattle area

Michelle Colder Carras, psychiatric epidemiologist and public mental health researcher at Johns Hopkins University; she specializes in normative and problematic use of media and technology

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

The final frontier: Trump directs Pentagon to establish ‘Space Force’

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President Trump Meets With National Space Council At White House

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 18: U.S. President Donald Trump holds up an executive order that he signed during a meeting of the National Space Council at the East Room of the White House June 18, 2018 in Washington, DC. President Trump signed an executive order to establish the Space Force, an independent and co-equal military branch, as the sixth branch of the U.S. armed forces. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images); Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images

AirTalk®

On Monday, at a National Space Council meeting, President Trump said he would direct the Pentagon to create a sixth branch of the military – a “space force” which would protect the goals of the U.S. in space.

The conversation about establishing a military presence in space has been around since the Cold War. Last year, Congress decided to kick the can down the road on a decision to create a space corps. (They asked for an independent study on the decision, which is due in August.)

Realistically, it would take some time and an act of Congress to establish a new, separate military branch. There has been pushback from some lawmakers who think this would create further bureaucracy at best, and an arms race at worst.

We get the latest on Trump’s announcement. What does it mean, realistically? What previous efforts have there been to establish a U.S. military presence in outer space? And what are the potential benefits and drawbacks?

With guest host Libby Denkmann.  

Guest:

Todd Harrison, director of the Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank

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

With new CA ballot initiative, the rent control debate continues

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House for rent in Los Angeles, CA.

House for rent in Los Angeles, CA.; Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

AirTalk®

A new initiative found its way to the November ballot, adding fuel to the ongoing rent control debate in California.

As the Los Angeles Times reports, the statewide initiative would repeal legislation that keeps most new rent control laws from passing. Currently, city leaders may not change rent control rates on apartment buildings built before October 1978, per the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act.

This initiative would repeal Costa-Hawkins, giving local governments the power to pass additional rent control measures. The AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which is behind the initiative’s campaign, says this will help the state’s growing housing crisis.

But opponents, including gubernatorial candidate, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, say the plan is too aggressive. There is also fear that rent control could lead to a drop in home building. The California Apartment Assn., a landlord advocacy group, is en route to spend upwards of $60 million to squash the initiative.

Guest Host Libby Denkmann speaks to CALmatters housing reporter Matt Levin for a breakdown of what this could mean for landlords and renters.

With guest host Libby Denkmann.  

Guest:

Matt Levin, data and housing reporter for CALmatters, a nonprofit news site; he is also host of the site’s “Gimme Shelter” podcast; he tweets @mlevinreports

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

Deep dive into immigration: pending legislation on the Hill, psychological impact of family separation and how we got here

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House Republican Leader Paul Ryan And GOP Leadership Address The Media After Weekly Party Conference

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) talks with journalists during a news conference following a House Republican Conference meeting June 6, 2018 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. ; Credit: Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images

AirTalk®

President Trump is scheduled to meet House Republicans on Tuesday to discuss two GOP immigration bills that are expected to get a floor vote this week.

The first bill is a conservative measure written by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), the other is a “compromise” among Republican leaders, moderates and White House staffers.

Meanwhile, backlash is growing over the current border crossing policy where more than 2,000 immigrant children were separated from their parents in recent weeks. The new policy sparked a conversation about the effect separation has on children. Health experts, notably pediatricians and psychologists, called the effect catastrophic. As a reaction to the trauma, the body releases a flood of stress hormones that can start killing off dendrites, the branched extensions of a nerve cell in the brain that transmit mes­sages. Such trauma can kill off neurons in the long run especially in children.

The effect is so damaging that thousands of mental health professionals have signed a petition urging the president to end the separation policy. We explain the scientific research that is driving such move.

If you experienced child-parent separation that affected you till this day, call us at 866-893-5722 and share your experience with us. 

Guests:

Arit John, a congressional reporter for Bloomberg; she tweets @aritbenie

Ted Hesson, immigration reporter for POLITICO Pro; he tweets @tedhesson

Charles Nelson, pediatrics and neuroscience professor at Harvard Medical School; director of research in the Division of Developmental Medicine at Boston’s Children Hospital; he tweets @CharlesaNelson1

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

California’s high housing costs and its impact on employment

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Realtors Lower Housing Market Sales Forecast

SAN FRANCISCO - JUNE 06: Rows of houses stand June 6, 2007 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images); Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

David Wagner | AirTalk®

Plenty of workers still move West each year for a new job in California.

But the state's high cost of housing may be deterring many other job seekers from moving into the state. Business leaders up and down the state say California's expensive housing makes it challenging to recruit new workers -- and to keep existing employees here.

Read David’s full story here

With guest host Libby Denkmann. 

Guest:

David Wagner, KPCC’s business reporter whose latest story looks at the impact of the state’s high housing costs on employment; he tweets @radiowagner

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

How will climate change impact CA real estate? New report has bad news for coastal properties

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Exclusive beachfront properties from the public beach in Malibu, California.

MALIBU, CA - JUNE 15: Exclusive beachfront properties from the public beach. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images); Credit: David McNew/Getty Images

AirTalk®

A beachfront property in, say Santa Monica or Malibu, might cost you millions of dollars, but a new report is putting the value of that investment into question.

According to a report published by the Union of Concerned Scientists, nearly 20,000 California homes will be at risk of damage because of climate change-related sea level rise by 2045. Which means that a 30-year mortgage on a coastal property might be a lemon. And yet exorbitantly priced beach homes in California imply that the housing market isn’t responding to this medium-term risk.

What are the projections for how climate change will impact the California coast in the coming decades? How will this affect the housing market and related industries, such as home insurance? If you live or are considering buying a waterfront property, how did you assess that risk, if at all?

With guest host Libby Denkmann.

Guests:

Kristina Dahl, senior climate scientist for the Union of Concerned Scientists and a co-author of the new report

Aaron Terrazas, senior economist at Zillow Economic Research, an independent research group at Zillow  

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


Former US national coach Bruce Arena on the decline of American soccer, and how to fix it

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United States v El Salvador: Quarterfinal - 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup

Former head coach Bruce Arena of the the United States looks on before playing against El Salvador during the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup Quarterfinal at Lincoln Financial Field on July 19, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.; Credit: Patrick Smith/Getty Images

AirTalk®

The world of sports is full of highs and lows, and Bruce Arena can attest to this.

He, more than most people, has felt the pain of loving a sport that the U.S. just can’t seem to master – soccer. As a coach, he’s worked with soccer stars David Beckham, Landon Donovan and Christian Pulisic. Arena’s also lead the men’s national team to the 2002 World Cup, deemed their best performance. But his dreams were crushed for the 2018 Russia World Cup, when the U.S. men’s team failed to qualify for the first time in 32 years.

What needs to happen for the state of soccer to change on our home turf? In his new book, “What's Wrong with Us?: A Coach’s Blunt Take on the State of American Soccer After a Lifetime on the Touchline,” Arena looks back on his career, both as a player and coach. He speaks to fill-in host Libby Denkmann today with his take on what needs to be done to reform the game.

Guest:

Bruce Arena, author of the book, “What’s Wrong With US?: A Coach's Blunt Take on the State of American Soccer After a Lifetime on the Touchline" (HarperCollins 2018), former head coach of U.S. Men’s National Team; member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame

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

Seven private schools in DC area scrap Advanced Placement classes: We evaluate the program’s utility

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Science teacher Virginia Escobar-Cheng works with her students on March 10, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / RHONA WISE/AFP/Getty Images); Credit: RHONA WISE/AFP/Getty Images

AirTalk®

Seven private schools in the D.C. area are planning to eliminate Advanced Placement classes from their curriculum over the next four years.

The schools say the program is not necessary for college-bound students. AP aims to provide high school students with experience in college-level coursework.

In a joint statement released Monday, the schools criticized the program saying it puts too much emphasis on memorization and that it has “diminished utility.” Thomas Toch, director of the think tank FutureEd at Georgetown University, says those private schools already have advanced curriculums and are serving high-achieving students.

But AP plays a crucial role as a “catalyst for raising the level of rigor in the nation’s high schools for low-income students, students of color and those traditionally underserved in American public education.” A pushback against AP, Toch argues, will not serve the majority of other students across the nation.

We examine the program’s utility. 

With guest host Libby Denkmann.

Guests:

Thomas Toch, director of FutureEd, an education policy think tank at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy in Washington, DC; former senior partner at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, a California-based education policy and research center

Christopher Gruber, dean of admission and financial aid at Davidson College, a private liberal arts college in North Carolina

Patty Carver, teacher at Holton-Arms School in Bethesda, Maryland, one of the seven schools that is dropping AP classes; she tweets @pcarvs

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

Disney workers push for $18 in OC’s only living wage measure

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Disneyland Turns 60

In this handout photo provided by Disney parks, Mickey Mouse and his friends celebrate the 60th anniversary of Disneyland park on July 17, 2015 in Anaheim, California.; Credit: Handout/Getty Images

AirTalk®

More than 22,000 Anaheim voter signatures have landed a new measure on the November ballot that would require local businesses receiving city subsidies, including Disney, to pay its workers a “living wage.”

The signatures were collected in just three weeks by a coalition of 11 unions representing Disney workers after a study commissioned by the coalition found that a large amount of Disney employees have experienced homelessness and food insecurity in the last two years despite working full time.

If the measure passes, workers will see a minimum wage increase to $15 an hour by next year and subsequent $1 annual increases to reach $18 an hour by 2022.

Opponents of the measure say, if passed, the move would drive businesses away and kill jobs. Walt Disney Co. and Wincome group, a hotel developer, also might put the kibosh on two mega projects that are in the works in the Disneyland Resort district.

We reached out to Disney for comment but did not receive a response before the airing of this segment.

Here is a copy of the proposed measure:

With guest host Libby Denkmann.

Guests:

Ada Briceño, co-president of UniteHere! Local 11, one of the unions representing employees at several Disney hotels

Todd Ament, president and CEO of Anaheim Chamber of Commerce, one of the groups opposing the living wage measure

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

Trump plans executive order to stop indefinite separation of detained families at the border. So what happens to those families next?

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View of a temporary detention centre for illegal underage immigrants in Tornillo, Texas, US near the Mexico-US border, as seen from Valle de Juarez, in Chihuahua state, Mexico on June 18, 2018.; Credit: HERIKA MARTINEZ/AFP/Getty Images

AirTalk®

President Donald Trump says he'll issue an executive order to end the practice of separating families at the border.

Meanwhile, there are reports that young children and infants are being held in “tender age” shelters after being separated from their families at the border when illegal crossing into the U.S. There are separate facilities for adults, who are entitled to due process in court within 48 hours, where many plead guilty to criminal charges of crossing the border illegally. In Texas, “operation streamline” means that there are mass hearings that expedite this process, whether for better or for worse. This is something that’s being introduced in California.

So how does asylum play into all this? And what happens, step-by-step, when a migrant family crosses the border, from both the adult and the child’s perspective? Plus, after Trump signs the executive order to end indefinite separation, what happens to those families?

We get an explainer of how the process works in California and in Texas.

With files from the Associated Press 

With guest host Libby Denkmann

Guests:

Andrew Nietor, immigration and criminal defense attorney; president of the board of directors of Federal Defenders of San Diego, who handles criminal cases after getting a notification of a case from the San Diego immigration court; he tweets @anietor

Elissa Steglich, clinical Professor at the University of Texas School of Law Immigration Clinic

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

Trump administration v California: Checking in on the legal battle over ‘sanctuary state’ laws

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People protest outside a speech by US Attorney General Jeff Sessions March 7, 2018, in Sacramento, California. ; Credit: NOAH BERGER/AFP/Getty Images

AirTalk®

On Wednesday, there was a federal court hearing on three of California’s “sanctuary state” immigration laws.

The laws in question: AB 450, which limits federal agent access to workplaces, SB 54. Which limits local law enforcement cooperation with ICE and AB 103, a law that allows state officials to inspect federal detention centers.

U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez was hearing the case, which may be appealed and be bumped up to the ninth circuit.

We check in with John Myers of the L.A. Times, who was at the federal court hearing yesterday.

Guest:

John Myers, Sacramento bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times; he tweets @johnmyers

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

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