KPCC: Latest News

Green Dot Public Schools Chairman Steve Barr steps down

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:36:05 -0800

Steve Barr, the founder and chairman of the influential charter school company Green Dot Public Schools, is stepping down. A spokeswoman said today Barr is leaving Green Dot to work on “national education issues.” She gave no other details about his departure.

Second defendant sentenced in Westside ATM murder

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:09:03 -0800

A 23-year-old Inglewood woman convicted of the murder of a federal employee at a Westside ATM during an ATM robbery was sentenced to prison today.

Man faces murder charges for Lake Forest drive-by shooting

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:57:45 -0800

Edgar Calvillo, 21, Santos Escamilla, 21, and Alfredo Cruz, 23, have been charged with murder for a drive-by shooting in Lake Forest after a dispute regarding the Cruz's girlfriend. Calvillo's trial begins Monday; Escamilla and Cruz are scheduled to be tried in January.

Evidence-Based Medicine Focuses On What Works

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:07:00 -0800

This week two panels of medical experts recommended fewer screening tests for breast and cervical cancer. The idea of evidence-based medicine is that the decisions made between doctors and patients should be based on scientific studies. Yet people don't always want to do what the data say to do - whether it be about screening, or treatment.

Obscured By War, Water Crisis Looms In Yemen

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:56:00 -0800

News from Yemen has been dominated recently by an escalating rebellion along the border with Saudi Arabia. But the country has been making news for decades because of its severe overuse of a rapidly disappearing water supply, the result of natural and political reasons.

California attorney general investigates scam targeting black churches

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:46:33 -0800

State Attorney General Jerry Brown Friday said he’s investigating whether 30 African-American churches in Southern California were the target of a computer scam.

'Botax' In Senate Health Bill Upsets Plastic Surgeons

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:38:00 -0800

Levies on liposuction, breast augmentation and other cosmetic procedures would generate billions of dollars to help cover the uninsured.

LA County unemployment rises to 12.8% in October

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:33:22 -0800

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Los Angeles County increased to 12.8 percent in October, up from a revised 12.6 percent in September, the state Economic Development Department reported today.

High School Football A Way Of Life In Massillon

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:16:00 -0800

Massillon, Ohio, is something of a football nirvana. A high school game can draw 20,000 spectators - in a town of 30,000. The school's official name is Washington High School, but no one calls it that. It's just Massillon - and in Massillon, it's just about football.

Senate Health Bill Faces Saturday Showdown

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:42:00 -0800

Democrats will need to vote in lockstep to overcome GOP opposition in a key procedural vote to move the $849 billion measure to full debate. But it's not yet clear whether Majority Leader Harry Reid can round up enough support.

Marines Reflect On Duty, Death In Afghanistan

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:16:00 -0800

When the Marines of "America's Battalion" first arrived in Afghanistan, they were eager to get into the fight against the Taliban. Now, as they wrap up their seven-month deployment - and after the loss of a dozen comrades - they see warfare in a different light.

Behind the scenes at House ethics committees

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:00:00 -0800

Last month, the committee that serves as the "ethics cop" for the House of Representatives launched new investigations.

It's checking into several members of Congress - including Long Beach's Laura Richardson and L.A.'s Maxine Waters. The Richardson case involves a house that was in foreclosure. The Waters case involves federal bailout money and an L.A. bank.

KPCC's Washington Correspondent Kitty Felde closes her series on ethics in Congress with a look at the secretive committee that will decide whether Richardson and Waters broke any rules.

Price Fight: Coke Isn't It At Costco

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:01:00 -0800

If you're a member of Costco, the nation's largest wholesale club, you may be surprised to learn that Coca-Cola's products are no longer on the shelves. The two companies are locked in a rare public dispute over the price consumers pay for beverages.

New Guidelines Issued On Cervical Cancer Screening

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:00:00 -0800

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists is offering new guidelines for cervical cancer screening - delaying the start of pap smears for young women and cutting back on the frequency of the tests. These guidelines were released just days after a different group caused a furor by recommending that most women wait until they're 50 to start getting mammograms.

Senate Tries To Strike Balance On Abortion Language

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:00:00 -0800

The fight over health care has moved to the Senate, and that means the fight over abortion is there as well. Earlier this month, the House passed legislation that would ban federal funding of abortion, but most Democrats say it went too far. Can the Senate's version find a compromise?

Hard Lessons From Two Mass Killings In Texas

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:49:00 -0800

The Senate is conducting hearings into the recent shootings at Fort Hood - a tragedy that took place just miles from the site of a deadly 1991 attack. That episode, in which a gunman killed 23 people at Luby's Cafeteria in Killeen, Texas, reshaped how police, medical and psychological personnel respond to such tragedies.

Fungus Provides Clues To North American Extinctions

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:33:00 -0800

One of the great mysteries about North America is what killed off woolly mammoths and other exotic animals that roamed the land after the last ice age. Ideas have ranged from a comet impact and climate change to human hunters. A study published Friday in Science Magazine provides new clues about this - cleverly deduced from samples of a fungus that grew on the animal's dung.

LAUSD and teachers union agree to substitute teacher changes

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:51:59 -0800

Los Angeles Unified and its teachers union announced Thursday they’ve solved a conflict over the school district’s approach to filling substitute teaching slots.

Man arrested in San Jacinto home-invasion robbery

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:40:18 -0800

A 47-year-old man was arrested in connection with a home-invasion robbery on Appian Way in San Jacinto.

House Votes To Cancel Medicare Pay Cuts For Doctors

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:56:00 -0800

Majority Leader Steny Hoyer was able to get the bill passed while the Senate couldn't by appending it to a more popular bill. Republicans complained that the cost of the measure was not offset and also charged that it was repayment to the AMA for endorsing the Democrats' health care bill.