Iraq Update; Shift In Car Insurance Premiums; Climate Change And Wildfires; World Cup; Same Sex Marriage In Court Again; Writing Wrongs
Iraq Update
Judy Muller discusses the latest wave of sectarian violence in Baghdad including a bus attack this morning in a Sunni neighborhood.
Shift In Car Insurance Premiums
The state's fourth-largest provider of auto insurance has agreed to base its rates on safety and driving frequency rather than primarily on where a driver lives. The plan would cut some $133 million from the annual bills of the club's nearly 1 million California policyholders. Judy Muller talks about it.
Climate Change And Wildfires
Guest host Judy Muller talks about a recent study out of Scripps in San Diego that asserts that rising temperatures in the West have created a four-fold increase in large wildfires over the past 34 years. Is climate change primarily to blame for this increase in wildfires? What other factors might come into play?
World Cup
Judy Muller discusses the final World Cup game and Italy's triumph over France. She will also discuss the controversial "head-butt" by France's captain and why it happened.
Same Sex Marriage In Court Again
On Monday, the California Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments in the case of Woo v. California and five other cases that will decide whether excluding same-sex couples from marriage violates the California Constitution. Guest host Judy Muller talks about this case and other recent court rulings in New York and Georgia that will shape the legal future of gay marriage in America.
Writing Wrongs
According to experts in the fields of education and business, writing is one of the most important skills a student can learn. Research from the National Commission on Writing indicates, however, that the teaching and practice of writing are woefully neglected in U.S. schools. More and more, students are graduating without this essential tool, and employers are spending billions each year to get their employees up to speed as a result. How much of a problem is this apparent lack of writing ability among college grads? Why aren't our students learning to write? And what will it take to affect real change? Guest host Judy Muller talks with Jim Harvey, a nationally known education writer and author of the Commission's reports, and C. Peter Megrath, President-Emeritus of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges, and Senior Presidential Advisor at College Board, about the ongoing effort to create a writing revolution in America.