KPCC: Living News

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.

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.

Giants' Lincecum wins second consecutive Cy Young

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:20:42 -0800

San Francisco Giants ace Tim Lincecum won the NL Cy Young Award on Thursday for the second straight year, emerging from one of the tightest votes in the history of the honor to become the first repeat winner since Randy Johnson.

Sounds During Sleep May Help You Remember

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:00:00 -0800

Certain sounds played while people napped helped them remember information associated with those sounds once they woke up, say researchers at Northwestern University.

Flood Of Immigrants To Long Island Sparks Tension

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:44:00 -0800

People born and raised in Suffolk County, N.Y., complain about dozens of people living in single-family homes; immigrants complain that they are victimized by locals. An Ecuadorean day laborer was murdered last year, allegedly by teenagers who said they regularly looked for immigrants to bash.

When football's deadly brutality outraged America

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:06:34 -0800

In just one season 100 years ago, 26 players died from injuries sustained in football games. The deaths sparked a national outcry and forced the new collegiate athletic association to take action to make the sport safer.

Brazil miniskirt woman soaks up fame

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:20:41 -0800

Brushing back freshly dyed blond hair as she posed for pictures, the Brazilian woman whose short pink dress got her kicked out of college said Tuesday she's enjoying her newfound fame, but wants to go back to school - with a security guard.

Video shows patient cop with affectionate cat

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:18:13 -0800

A black cat showed affection by crawling up and down a Texas police officer in a friendly display captured on the patrol car's dashcam. Taylor police Officer Keith Urban was seen being patient with the cat, whose image was captured during a recent traffic stop, then finally gently booting the kitty away.

Fewell picked to replace Jauron as Bills coach

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:17:42 -0800

Perry Fewell shared a simple but blunt philosophy in taking over as the Buffalo Bills interim head coach after Dick Jauron was abruptly fired on Tuesday.

Dictionary Picks 'Unfriend' As Word Of The Year

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:00:00 -0800

The New Oxford American Dictionary's 2009 Word of the Year can trace its origins back to the 17th century. The word: "unfriend." Christine Lindberg, senior lexicographer at Oxford University Press, says the Oxford English Dictionary provides a citation for "unfriend" from 1659.

In New England, Hard Cider Stages A Comeback

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:59:00 -0800

Apple growers in New England are looking to hard cider as a way to beat dropping prices and foreign competition. The fermented cider was the drink of choice for the nation's founding fathers. One New Hampshire orchard is out to turn the region into the Napa Valley of hard cider.

Fun? In Baghdad? A theme park seeks a comeback

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:17:26 -0800

During the time of Saddam Hussein, Iraqi families flocked to Baghdad Island, a sprawling, once-popular Baghdad amusement park. Destroyed by looting after the 2003 U.S. invasion, the park is now undergoing revitalization, with the help of the U.S. Army.

Bernie Madoff auction puts a price on irony

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 10:44:08 -0800

There's something a little tawdry about tables and cases filled with old jewelry purses, watches, duck decoys and golf clubs, even if they once belonged to a wealthy crook. The man who orchestrated the greatest Ponzi scheme in U.S. history is behind bars with a 150-year prison term, and now many of his belongings also have new homes.

Evangelist sentenced to 175 years for sex crimes

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:34:25 -0800

Evangelist Tony Alamo used his stature as a self-proclaimed prophet to force underage girls into sham marriages with him, controlling his followers with their fears of eternal suffering.

Bengals' Ochocinco fined $20,000 for $1 'bribe'

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:32:50 -0800

Chad Ochocinco's pretend $1 bribe is going to cost him a lot more. The Cincinnati Bengals receiver was fined $20,000 and reprimanded by the NFL for taking a dollar bill onto the field during an officials' review of one of his catches last Sunday. Ochocinco held the dollar in his right hand at his side but didn't give it to the official, who motioned for him to stay away.

Motion Picture Academy awards some notable Oscars early this year

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:10:11 -0800

It may not feel like Oscar season, but four honorees are scheduled to pick up gold trophies on Saturday.
This ceremony at Hollywood and Highland is a new event on Hollywood’s awards calendar.

Feds move to seize 4 mosques, tower linked to Iran

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:47:56 -0800

Federal prosecutors Thursday took steps to seize four U.S. mosques and a Fifth Avenue skyscraper owned by a nonprofit Muslim organization long suspected of being secretly controlled by the Iranian government.

For Marine's wife, a tough deployment at home

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:47:54 -0800

Shortly after Marine Sgt. Thomas Joiner left for Afghanistan, his wife, Charmaine, couldn't make ends meet. Their five kids are worried he won't come back — and now the only boy, who is 8, is acting out. "I just can't wait to see his face again," Charmaine says. "And to feel him and touch him and to know he's really just standing there."

The gut response to what we eat

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:33:08 -0800

A new study of human gut microbes put into mice has found that when mice eat a high-fat, high-sugar diet, abrupt changes result in the population of microbes. Scientists believe this research could open a new window into interactions between our gut bacteria, diet, and weight gain.

For Muslims, Fort Hood case sparks fresh fears

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:03:51 -0800

Thousands of Muslims are in the U.S. military, and many more work for the federal government. After the shootings at Fort Hood, many of these individuals fear they're in for some unpleasant scrutiny.