New York City was hit hard Saturday by the killing of two NYPD officers as they sat in their patrol car on a Brooklyn street. Also, Linda Deutsch has been the most trusted voice in court journalism. Now, she says, she’s moving on to the next stage of her career. Then, in “Diversity Explosion: How New Racial Demographics are Remaking America,” demographer William H. Frey examines the impact of America's ethnic shift.
Shooting of two NYPD officers puts cops around the country on high alert
The New York Police Department was dealt another blow this weekend when two uniformed officers were murdered in broad daylight on Saturday afternoon. Officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos were shot at point blank range while they sat in their patrol car in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. The gunman fled to a nearby subway station, where he shot himself in the head on the platform as the door closed on a subway car full of people. NYPD Commissioner William Bratton called the shooting “an assassination.” Mayor Bill de Blasio said that the shooting digs at the heart of the city, and that investigators are still looking to see whether the shooter acted alone.
The incident has re-ignited tensions between the city of New York and its police force. Pat Lynch, who is president of New York’s police union, said that there is “blood on the hands” of not only those who incited violence under the pretense of protests, but also on the hands of City Hall.
The incident exposed and intensified anger between NY's mayor and the police department. Police Commissioner Bill Bratton says the city's tensions are the highest since the 1970s. What can civic leaders and New York residents do to effectively respond to the killings?
Guest:
Alex Silverman, reporter for WCBS 880 in New York City, has been on the ground covering the police shootings
Holiday grub: Culinary inspiration from LA Times food maestros
From capons, duck, ham and lamb to nut loaf, gluten-free cakes, but maybe not gluten-free cookies, LA Times food editor and kitchen director, Russ Parsons and Noelle Carter, join us for our annual tips and tricks for your holiday fare. Results are in from their yearly holiday cookie bake-off and the winners are mouth watering. The top ten includes ingenious macarons filled with white chocolate peppermint ganache and classically decadent maple pecan pie bars.
If you aren't quite ready for dessert, Russ can walk you through preparing the perfect roast beef, keywords: low, slow and salt.
As we zip ever closer to 2015, they also have ideas for New Year's Eve party snacks, such as a delectable eggplant dip.
What is on your menu? Do you need extra encouragement for experimental dishes? You can also tweet to Russ and Noelle using #LATHoliday.
Guests:
Russ Parsons, Food Editor, Los Angeles Times
Noelle Carter, Director of the Los Angeles Times Test Kitchen
Veteran AP courts reporter Linda Deutsch retiring after 48 year career
When Charles Manson leapt over a defense table and tried to stab the judge at his trial, Linda Deutsch was a greenhorn reporter who had been sent to the trial to back up a veteran AP reporter. During jury selection for the O.J. Simpson, Linda Deutsch was named the pool reporter and went on TV every day to explain what had happened. When Michael Jackson was acquitted of molesting a teenage fan, the pop idol called Linda Deutsch for an exclusive interview. Indeed, for the last near half century, Linda Deutsch has been the most trusted voice in court journalism. Now, she says, she’s moving on to the next stage of her career.The veteran AP courts reporter closes her notebook for good Monday, capping off a 48-year career during which she covered some of the most high-profile trials in American history.
Deutsch says her first big story was covering the 1963 civil rights march on Washington, D.C. during an internship she had during college. However, Deutsch says it was covering the 1970 trial of Charles Manson that made her into a trial reporter.
"Everybody thought, now I was a trial reporter. That's how my career was decided," Deutsch told AirTalk's Larry Mantle. "In essence, Charlie Manson changed my life, I hate to say. After that trial, the minute something happened that was big, somebody in the newsroom would say 'Another trial for Linda to cover!" And I was off and running."
Deutsch was known for her uncanny ability to get major players in the trials she covered to speak to her outside of formal interviews and press conferences. Both O.J. Simpson and Michael Jackson called Deutsch after their trials, and she says they both thanked her for being fair to them. She says she kept in contact with Simpson for years after his trial.
"It has to do with personal connections. I think everybody got to know who I was and they learned that they could trust me. That was the big thing. They knew that if they said that it was off the record, it was off the record. If they wanted to get something out, they knew that I was a conduit to write the story, so long as it was legitimate. I think I broke a lot of stories that way."
Deutsch says while she spent a lot of time during her career with people who had done terrible things, she had to remain objective and look at each defendant the same way. She added that leaving the cases in the courtroom and being able to joke with other reporters helped her keep her sanity during some of the more disturbing cases she covered.
"I see them as human beings who I meet at the worst time in their lives. There has never been a worse time for a defendant than being on trial in a major case. You have to look at them from the human side and be compassionate, and also know that some people really deserve punishment and they are really bad people, but there's always two sides to every story."
Deutsch, who is 71, says her plan for the future is to work on her memoirs and probably lecture a little bit.
Guest
Linda Deutsch, veteran courts reporter for the Associated Press who is retiring after a 48 year career in journalism. She has covered the high-profile trials of Charles Manson, O.J. Simpson, Michael Jackson, and many more.
Diversity explosion: The impact of America’s ethnic shift
The year 2011 marked a defining point in the changing demographic makeup of the US. It was the first time when more minority babies were born in the country than white babies. By 2020, the census expects that minorities will make up 40 percent of the US population.
In “Diversity Explosion: How New Racial Demographics are Remaking America,” demographer William H. Frey examines the impact of this ethnic shift. With the disappearance of a racial majority in the US, what are the economic, social and political implications? Who are driving these changes? How would this shift change America’s existing racial divide
Guest:
William H. Frey, an internationally regarded demographer and author of the book “Diversity Explosion: How New Racial Demographics are Remaking America” (Brookings Institution Press, 2014). He is a senior fellow in the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution