Congress is allowing 55 tax breaks to expire at the end of this year. What does that mean for you? Then, LAPD's new efforts to test drugged driving--and an HIV prevention pill that hasn't quite caught on. Later, why is the number of law enforcement officer gun deaths the lowest in more than a century?
Goodbye 2013, goodbye tax breaks
It's not even midnight yet and already that dreaded annual ritual has begun - tax time.
As if doing your taxes wasn't complicated enough, Congress is repeating its yearly practice of letting popular tax breaks expire at the end of the year, just to resurrect them in time for next year's filing.
That temporary lapse in the tax breaks may not hit your wallet too hard since they'll probably be back by the time you file next year. Still, the uncertainty is making it difficult for millions of individuals and businesses to plan what their tax liability is going to be, and some businesses and trade groups are fed up.
What if Congress doesn't end up reinstating the breaks? What if the rules change? Which are set to expire? Why does Congress go through this back and forth over tax breaks every year? How does this affect your yearly tax filing?
New Year's Eve: LAPD checkpoints to debut drug detecting cheek swabs
The LAPD will begin administering voluntary cheek swabs that detect drug and alcohol levels at their DUI checkpoints on New Year’s Eve.
Sobriety checkpoints have traditionally included tests to determine whether drivers have consumed alcohol, including breathalyzers, but the new cheek swabs also pick up on drugs, including cocaine, marijuana, and ecstasy.
Different drugs can be detected by a cheek swab after various amounts of time. Cocaine and marijuana are traceable for up to 24 hours, ecstasy and meth for three days, and alcohol for just 12 hours.
Drivers stopped at DUI checkpoints may be asked to take the oral swab test, but can refuse. If the police suspect the driver to be intoxicated and arrest them, drivers can still refuse testing and have their license suspended for 12 months, otherwise a blood test would be administered to test for drug and alcohol levels.
Are voluntary cheek swabs effective ways to measure sobriety? Are they fair? Should the LAPD use this kind of test at DUI checkpoints? What’s the best way to handle a request to take an oral swab?
Guests:
Stephanie Arrache, Criminal Defense Attorney
Commander Andrew Smith, Commanding Officer, Media Relations and Community Affairs Group, Los Angeles Police Department
Tony Stein, president and technical director of “Safety Research Associates” based in La Cañada, which does research on driving under the influence of pot and alcohol, among other things.
Pill to prevent HIV hasn’t caught on yet
After 18 months on the market, a pill called Truvada that has been shown to prevent HIV has yet to be embraced by gay men.
The pill is a combination of two antiviral drugs that have been used to treat HIV -- the medication would prevent infection using an approach called pre-exposure prophylaxis, but despite the support of health experts, the treatment has been met with indifference or even hostility.
From January 2011 to March 2013 only 1,775 prescriptions for Truvada were filled, not including the ones for those participating in the drug’s research, and most of them were for women.
Why aren’t more gay men using these preventative pills? Are the drugs prohibitively expensive, or stigmatized? What’s the best way to prevent the spread of HIV and reduce risky behavior?
Guest:
David Tuller, academic coordinator for UC Berkeley's masters program in public health and journalism and frequent contributor to the New York Times and other publications.
What role should the US play in Afghanistan next year?
According to a new, classified report by U.S. intelligence agencies, security conditions in Afghanistan will likely worsen regardless of the withdrawal of U.S. troops.
The assessment warns that insurgents could rapidly take back control of key areas and threaten Kabul as early as 2015 if troops are fully withdrawn.
Support for the continued occupation of Afghanistan is incredibly low, but will bringing American soldiers home have devastating security repercussions?
How many troops should remain to support to protect the Afghan government? What issues will the U.S. face in its dealings with Afghanistan in the coming year?
Guests:
Jason Campbell, Associate policy analyst at the RAND Corporation think tank, where he focuses on issues of international security; Campbell returned from Afghanistan recently
Police fatalities by firearms at lowest level since 1887
U.S. Law enforcement fatalities in 2013 dropped to their lowest level in six decades, and the number of officers killed in firearm-related deaths this year was the lowest in more than a century.
According to a report by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, 111 officers were killed in the line of duty in 2013—the fewest since 1959, when 110 died. Thirty-three officers were killed in firearms-related incidents. That’s the lowest number since 1887—and a 54 percent drop from two years ago.
In California, 10 officer lost their lives in 2013—the second-highest number of fatalities, behind Texas.
What’s contributed to these dramatic drops in officer fatalities—gun-related and otherwise? Has officer safety become a growing priority for law enforcement agencies?
Guest:
Craig W. Floyd, CEO, National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund