Yesterday, the GOP announced its blueprint for immigration reform. What reactions has this announcement caused? The Department of Defense has issued new guidelines for military attire that some religious groups say is too restrictive. Should the military's dress code accommodate religious attire?
Reaction to GOP’s immigration reform blueprint
A highly-anticipated blueprint from Republican leadership for immigration reform includes paths to legal status for millions of people, according to discussions and a one-page memo from the Republican retreat in Chesapeake Bay.The plans would offer legalization to some of the 11 million immigrants living illegally in the United States.
Those who were born in the United States or brought to the country as children -- Dreamers -- could apply for legal residence or citizenship. Others who admitted to wrongdoing, then paid fines and taxes, and passed tests in civics and English would be offered legal status. The plan would also take measures for additional security at U.S. borders.
How will this plan fare amongst Republicans, who are frequently divided on issues of immigration reform? Will Democrats accept scaled-down measures?
Guests:
Alex Saab, Repubilcan, City of Downey councilman and an immigration attorney
Kris Kobach, Secretary of State of Kansas. He is also currently of counsel with the Immigration Law Reform Institute, the legal arm of the Federation for American Immigration Reform
Joseph Villela, Director of Policy and Advocacy at Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles: CHIRLA
Competing mayors make traditional Super Bowl wager -- when will LA get back in the game?
Denver Mayor Michael Hancock is stirring up a firestorm over his wager with Seattle Mayor Ed Murray. Hancock is offering up samples of Denver’s finest green chile.
What else is on the table? Seattle’s finest salmon, Colorado beefsteak, embarrassing outfits for charity, and important works of art.
If Denver wins, Seattle will lend the city a Native American mask resembling a seahawk. If Seattle wins, Denver will temporarily relinquish Frederic Remington’s bronze sculpture “The Broncho Buster.”
Hancock and Murray are only the latest mayors to join a long sporting tradition of wagers from competing cities.What have been the best ones over the years? How does a city decide what to offer?
L.A. is currently without a football team, but with Rams owner Stan Kroenke’s recent purchase of a 60-acre lot near Hollywood Park, hopes of an L.A. Super Bowl contender are being refueled. If L.A. had a competing team, what local goods would the city gamble?
Guest:
Martin Rogers, Sports writer and broadcaster for Yahoo!
Should the military’s dress code accommodate religious attire?
The Department of Defense has issued new guidelines for military attire that some religious groups say is too restrictive and is not accommodating enough to religious clothing.
The Pentagon announced this week it will require the military to accommodate the "individual expressions of sincerely held beliefs" of service members as long as that does not interfere with carrying out a military mission.
The American Sikh community has been outspoken that the regulations do not go far enough and exclude the turbans and beards that are required of their religion. They argue that the ban on turbans effectively bars Sikhs from joining the military.
In the past decade, a small number of Sikh soldiers have been granted exemptions to wear their beards and turbans and several have gone on to achieve high ranks in the military and earn medals for their service.
Should the Pentagon be more accommodating to religious attire in the military? What are the safety concerns about wearing turbans while in uniform? Is the military too restrictive or are strict uniform requirements good policy for the military?
Guests:
Major Kamaljeet Singh Kalsi, military doctor who served overseas in Afghanistan and earned a Bronze Star Medal. He’s an American Sikh.
Jeffrey Addicott, Professor of Law and the Director of the Center for Terrorism Law at St. Mary's University School of Law in San Antonio, Texas
Filmweek: That Awkward Moment, Labor Day, At Middleton and more
Larry and KPCC film critics Andy Klein, Claudia Puig and Charles Solomon review this week's releases, including That Awkward Moment, Labor Day, At Middleton and more. TGI-Filmweek!
That Awkward Moment
Labor Day
At Middleton
Guests:
Andy Klein, film critic for KPCC and the L.A. Times Community Papers chain
Claudia Puig, film critic for KPCC and USA Today
Charles Solomon, animation film critic for KPCC and author and historian for amazon.com
Why are so few women making blockbuster films?
Women are becoming more visible than ever at the top rungs of Hollywood.
Awards season this year will feature a number of nominated female producers and directors including Jennifer Lee for Frozen and Megan Ellison, a producer behind both Her and American Hustle. But despite several high profile examples - women still make up a paltry number of the creatives behind Hollywood.
According to a new report from the Center for the Study of Women in Television & Film, women made up just 16% of all directors, executive producers, producers, writers, cinematographers, and editors working on the top 250 (domestic) grossing films last year.
That's a slight drop of two points from 2012. The largest percentage of women - 25 percent - were producers with women making up just 6 percent of all US directors.
Kathryn Bigelow broke down barriers by being the only woman to win an Oscar for best director for 2010's Hurt Locker.
It's been proven that women can reach the upper echelons of Hollywood so why aren't there more women leading film productions? Does the problem extend beyond Hollywood blockbusters to smaller independent films? Is gender bias genuine problem in Hollywood?
Guest:
Cathy Schulman, President of Women In Film, a professional organization founded with the commitment to promote the unique visions of women in the global communications industry. Schulman is Oscar-winning producer for the 2004 film, “Crash,” which won Best Picture among other honors. She just completed the film HORNS, starring Daniel Radcliffe
AirTalk Live Event: FilmWeek 2014 Oscar Preview at the Egyptian Theatre
Larry Mantle and the KPCC film critics are ready for their close-ups. The 11th annual “FilmWeek on AirTalk” Academy Awards preview is coming to the historic Egyptian Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard at 1:00pm on Sunday, February 23rd.
Larry will be joined by Andy Klein of the L.A. Times Community Papers chain, Wade Major of IGN's DigiGods.com, Claudia Puig of USA Today, Tim Cogshell of Alt Film Guide, Alynda Wheat of People Magazine, Peter Rainer of the Christian Science Monitor, Henry Sheehan of CriticsAGoGo.com, Charles Solomon of Amazon.com and Lael Loewenstein, KPCC Film Critic.
KPCC 89.3 FM'S "FilmWeek" Oscar Preview 2014 is co-presented by KPCC 89.3 FM and the American Cinematheque.