Obama Picks Education, Interior Picks; State Republicans Pitch Budget Closing Measure; Madoff Makes Off: Jewish Charities Hit Hard; FDA Reversal on Eating Fish?; How Karaoke Changed the World
Obama Picks Education, Interior Picks
President Barack Obama has announced his picks for Secretaries of Education and the Interior. Chicago public schools chief Arne Duncan will be Education Secretary. In a news conference today, Obama described Duncan as "the most hands-on of hands-on practitioners,'' and he said that Chicago students have made remarkable progress under Duncan's leadership. Obama's Interior Secretary pick is Colorado Senator Ken Salazar. In the past Salazar has opposed drilling in the Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, He has also opposed the Bush administration's efforts to set up a program for leasing Western lands for oil shale development.
State Republicans Pitch Budget Closing Measure
The State budget is now projected to rise to over $40 billion by 2010. Republican lawmakers refuse to raise taxes, but are looking at spending funds committed to various social programs. Larry gets the details.
Madoff Makes Off: Jewish Charities Hit Hard
Wall Street financier Bernard Madoff is charged with perpetrating a $50 billion Ponzi scheme that has hit Southern California Jewish charities especially hard. The Chais Family Foundation, for example, is reported to have shut down after losing money to Madoff. Larry gets the latest on the scandal.
FDA Reversal on Eating Fish?
The FDA is circulating a draft report within the government that may indicate the health benefits for pregnant women and children of consuming fish are greater than the potential risks from mercury. The EPA is already taking great exception with the report. Should pregnant women and children step away from the sushi bar? Larry and guests discuss.
How Karaoke Changed the World
Many of us sing in the shower or in the privacy of our cars, but do you have the courage to take up a microphone in front of an audience of strangers? With an increasing popularity of karaoke nights, amateur songsters flock to bars to sing their favorite tunes. Author Brian Raftery is a karaoke enthusiast who discusses the growing passion in his new book and Larry Mantle speaks with Raftery about his attraction to crooning other people's classics and how the trend began.