Israel-Lebanon Clash Escalates; San Bernardino Fires; Using Cell Phones While Driving May be Banned in California; Mass Transit Security Update
Israel-Lebanon Clash Escalates
A spokesman for Israel’s Foreign Ministry says it believes Lebanese guerrillas are trying to move two captured Israeli soldiers to Iran. The Hezbollah raid in which the soldiers were seized has led to an exchange of rocket fire on both sides of the Israeli-Lebanese border. Larry discuss the escalating situation with Newsweek's Jerusalem Bureau Chief Kevin Paraino and Paul Scham at the Middle East Institute.
San Bernardino Fires
Two wildfires that already have burned 100 buildings are threatening to link up in the San Bernadino National Forest where millions of dead trees could provide ready fuel. The five-day-old fire has destroyed 40,000 acres and is 20 percent contained. Larry Mantle talks with Glenn Barley of the California Office of Forestry and Fire Protection, fire ecologist Richard Minnich of UC Riverside and Carol Post, owner of the Red Dog Saloon in historic Pioneertown.
Using Cell Phones While Driving May be Banned in California
In May, a measure that would ban hand-held cell phones while driving squeezed through the State Senate. The Assembly will vote on the bill next month. Gov. Schwarzenegger has condemned the common practice of driving with one hand on the steering wheel while holding a cell phone with the other. If approved by the Assembly and signed by Schwarzenegger, the bill would make driving while using a hand-held cell phone an infraction, punishable by a fine. Larry and talks about the measure and the possibility of its passage with State Senator Gil Cedillo.
Mass Transit Security Update
Since the London bus bombings in 2005, the LA County MTA has invested $9 million in security upgrades, including a new video surveillance system and explosive sniffing dogs. They have also trained more than 9,000 transit workers in detecting suspicious packages and people. Larry discusses the current state of security of numerous large mass transit systems, here in California and elsewhere. Guests are MTA Security Spokesman Captain Dan Finkelstein, Lieutenant Daniel Hartwig of the BART Police Department and Jack Riley of the RAND Corporation.