The US Justice Department is challenging a merger of American Airlines and US Airways. Should the airlines be allowed to merge, or would it prove too costly for consumers? Then, we'll talk about the fate of wild horses. Should they be slaughtered, or is there another way we can deal with them? And how much praise is too much when it comes to your children? Later, we'll revisit the turmoil in Egypt, as the government cracks down on protests and casualties grow. Then, should jurors have to be fluent English speakers? And we'll talk about hyperlocal news agencies. Can they ever be successful?
Feds sue to block massive airline merger
The plan to create the largest airline in U.S. history may get derailed by the Department of Justice. calling the merger "pretty messed up" and "bad for consumers," Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer announced a lawsuit to block the deal between American Airlines and US Airways that was cemented earlier this year. It would have meant the third mega-merger of legacy carriers in recent years - following Delta-Northwest and United-Continental.
How would it affect consumers and the overall travel market? Does a deal stopper mean American Airlines and U.S. Airways lead to worries of bankruptcy?
Guests:
Charlie Leocha, Director, The Consumer Travel Alliance - a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization
Marc Scribner, Fellow in Transportation Studies, Competitive Enterprise Institute
Fate of wild horses divides Native Americans, animal rights groups
The practice of slaughtering wild horses on Indian reservations has never been banned, but has been forced to stop when funding for inspection was cut from the federal budget. The issue whether to restore funding to the inspection has divided animal rights groups and some Native American groups—at times driving a wedge between members of the same tribes.
Proponents of feral horse slaughtering, including the Navajo Nation, say the itinerant animals cost the tribe hundreds of thousands of dollars a year and take away important natural resources from its land. Opponents say that there are ways to preserve the horses and killing them is cruel and violates the cultural tradition and identity of Native Americans.
Guests:
Erny Zah, director of communications for the President’s Office at the Navajo Nation
Neda Demayo, founder and president of Return to Freedom Wild Horse Preservation and Sanctuary
Do we praise our children too much?
Early childhood experts are saying too much praise can have negative side effects. As KPCC’s reporter Deepa Fernades explained, when parents praise kids for talent or intelligence, they are making it harder for them to deal with life.
Carol Dweck, Stanford Psychology professor, recently did a study that looked into whether praise for children ages 1 and 3 impacted the child when they were aged 7 and 8. Dweck found negative impacts. She found that the praising actually harmed the child’s behavior for taking on challenging tasks. Researchers are not saying all praise is bad.
It is natural for parents to want to build their child’s self esteem. But research shows it is better to praise kids for their effort, and not just telling them they are great. Take our poll here and let us know if you agree with the research.
Do you think too much praise is bad for children? Can praise the wrong way impact their ability to face challenges? Do you agree with the research? What is the right way to encourage a child?
Guests:
Deepa Fernandes, KPCC’s Early Childhood Development Correspondent
Alfie Kohn, author of numerous books on education, parenting, and human behavior including “Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A's, Praise, and Other Bribes” (Houghton Mifflin, 1993/1999) and “Unconditional Parenting: Moving from Rewards and Punishments to Love and Reason” (Atria Books, 2005)
Egyptian police crackdown on protest camps
At least 149 people were killed and 1,400 injured in Egypt Wednesday, in one of the deadliest days that country has seen since the revolution. Egyptian security forces moved in with tear gas, gunfire and bulldozers sweeping away two sit-in camps of supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi. The actions lead to wider violence in the capital and other provinces.
Egypt’s Vice President and pro-reform leader Mohamed ElBaradei resigned in protest saying he doesn’t want to be held responsible for “a single drop of blood,” as the military imposed a month-long state of emergency and nighttime curfew. The violence has been condemned by other predominantly Muslim countries in the region, as well as by the United States, which warned Egypt's military-backed interim government that “the world is watching.”
What does the escalating violence and unrest mean for Egypt’s ability to move forward?
Guests:
Max Rodenbeck, Chief Middle East correspondent, The Economist, based in Cairo
Jeffrey Martini, Middle East analyst at the RAND Corporation
Does a jury of your peers have to be all English speakers? (Poll)
This is one part in a new KPCC series looking at the rights, responsibilities, traditions and privileges that come along with being a citizen. Let us know what you think.
A New Mexico Supreme Court ruling this week underscored the rights of non-English speakers to serve as jurors in the state's trials. Its constitution declares clearly that the right of any citizen to, "Sit upon juries, shall never be restricted...on account of...inability to speak, read or write the English or Spanish languages."
RELATED: #ProjectCitizen: What does it mean to be a good citizen?
It's the only state in the union to make such an accommodation by providing interpreters for prospective jurors. In California, jurors must be able to understand basic English, but there are no tests to address fluency and comprehension.
"Usually it's a case by case matter…The standard is, in California, can you understand English enough to understand and discuss the case? Which is a low and rather unformed standard," said Andrew Ferguson, Assistant Law Professor, University of the District of Columbia, on AirTalk. "Many times, out of the abundance of caution, [a] juror may be dismissed, not because they couldn't do the job, but because the judge and the lawyers are uncertain."
This wrinkle in jury selection gets to so many issues: diverse cross-sections of jurors, levels of comprehension, costs to the legal system, discrimination, and a growing population of new Americans.
This is an issue that comes up often in largely multicultural cities like Los Angeles, which are home to many immigrants with varying levels of English comprehension.
"Some judges look at it as a juror trying to get off the jury by using the excuse that they can't comprehend it. Attorneys...sometimes do want to dismiss the juror because the last thing they want is a juror that can't understand the case," said Richard Gabriel, the President of the trial consulting firm Decision Analysis, Inc. "While most the other states take a cautious approach about not allowing jurors who can't understand the case, New Mexico takes an affirmative approach and says you should make greater efforts to include those non-English speakers by providing interpreters.
How difficult are jury deliberations if you had an interpreter or even multiple interpreters? How often do Americans with a foreign mother tongue use that as a fake excuse to get out of jury duty? What’s the harm and benefit of excluding non-English speakers from juries?
Guest:
Andrew Ferguson, author of “Why Jury Duty Matters: A Citizen's Guide To Constitutional Action;” former Public Defender in the District of Columbia; Assistant Law Professor, University of the District of Columbia
Richard Gabriel, the President of Decision Analysis, Inc. a national trial consulting firm with offices in Los Angeles, Chicago, and San Francisco
Do hyperlocal blogs still matter?
When AOL CEO Tim Armstrong interrupted his own conference call, on which he was informing employees of Patch blogs around the country about their fates, to fire someone for recording the call, he turned an important moment in the world of hyperlocal news reporting into a teachable moment in personnel management. But that hasn’t stopped many media watchers from speculating on the fate of both Patch and the phenomenon of local reporting largely.
Do you follow any local blogs or Twitter feeds that give you news about your town or neighborhood that larger news reporting agencies simply ignore? Does AOL’s closing of hundreds of Patch offices signal a failure of local reporting?
Guests:
Ken Doctor, media analyst for newsonomics.com and the author of “Newsonomics: Twelve New Trends That Will Shape the News You Get” (St Martin Press, 2010)
Alex Thompson, publisher and editor of Venice311.org