Investigation continues into the death of a woman who was shot by an 80-year-old man after she and an accomplice broke into his home. Also, a new report from the CDC says that less than half of American children are vaccinated against human papilloma virus (HPV), a form of cancer. Then, it's Filmweek on AirTalk!
Will 80-year-old Long Beach man be charged for shooting death of home intruder?
Investigation continues into the death of a woman who was shot by an 80-year-old man after she and an accomplice broke into his home. The incident happened in Long Beach on Tuesday, July 22. Long Beach Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell said that the 80-year-old man Tom Greer, who had identified himself in an interview with NBC Channel 4 , told investigators that he was attacked by two suspected burglars when he got home that night.
The two suspects—a man and a woman--then left him on the floor and then tried to break into his safe. Greer got up, grabbed his gun and shot at the two suspects, who fled the home. The 80-year-old then gave chase, and said in a TV interview that the woman told him, “Don’t shoot me! I’m pregnant – I’m going to have a baby.” “I shot her anyway,” Greer said in the interview. “The lady didn’t run as fast as the man so I shot her in the back twice --she’s dead … but he got away.” Greer told police he acted in self defense.
Guests:
Kevin McBride, an attorney in Palos Verdes that has handle cases involving the lawful use of deadly force in self defense and defense of others
Laurie Levenson, former federal prosecutor and a professor at Loyola Law School
Iraq elects a new Kurdish president
Iraqi lawmakers elected Fuad Massoum, one of the founders of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party, as the new president of Iraq on Thursday. Iraq’s presidency is a largely ceremonial position -- until 2003, the president rotated by religious affiliation, after 2003, it was determined that the president would be Kurdish, the prime minister Shiite, and the head of parliament Sunni. Massoum was elected by a two-thirds majority in parliament, and underscored major tasks ahead of Iraq’s new government, including security, political, and economic changes.
His election comes in the midst of a particularly tense period of rebellion in Iraq, and on the heels of a particularly intense attack on a prison that killed dozens of people. Massoum is known for having good relations with politicians across religious parties -- he will be responsible for selecting a candidate for prime minister to continue the process of forming a new government.
How do Iraq’s political leadership positions reflect the nation? What will the new president’s role be in shaping a new government?
Guest:
Eric Davis, Ph.D., Professor of Political Science at Rutgers University and past director of the University's Center for Middle Eastern Studies; His blog is “The New Middle East”
Why aren’t more teens getting the HPV vaccination?
A new report from the CDC says that less than half of American children are vaccinated against human papilloma virus (HPV), a form of cancer. Increasing HPV vaccinations to even an imperfect standard would decrease cases of head, neck, and pelvic cancer in both men and women. The CDC has said that improving vaccination rates even to Rwanda’s level would prevent 50,000 girls from getting cervical cancer. HPV vaccination rates have increased in the past year by about 5 percent, but improvement rates have been much slower than the CDC’s goal rate.
While the financial burden of vaccination was one reason for slow growth in recent years, the HPV vaccine has been added, alongside vaccines for meningitis and Tdap, to the list of vaccines offered for free to children without insurance.
Why are so few American children and teens vaccinated against HPV? How can the vaccine be made more accessible?
Guest:
Dr. Beth Y. Karlan, MD, Director of the Women's Cancer Program at the Cedars-Sinai Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute
After last year’s riot, a tamer, gentler US Open of Surfing comes to Huntington Beach
The U.S. Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach kicks off tomorrow. The biggest surfing competition in the world brings in millions of dollars for Surf City, USA and local businesses. But this year, event organizers and city officials are scaling back the event in an attempt to prevent a repeat of what happened last year. After the competition, thousands of people flooded Main Street and a riot ensued that ended up costing the city over $30,000 in damages.
Fast-forward to this weekend, where alcohol sales and consumption will be banned. It also won’t feature a live music stage, and there will be an increase in police presence.
The competition attracts tens of thousands of spectators every year. Has last year’s riot taken the bloom off the competition?
Guests:
Mitch O’Brien, Lieutenant, Huntington Beach Police Department; for four years, Lt. O'Brien represented the city's interests in organizing the US Open of Surfing
Dave Brooks, Founder of Amplify - a new media company in the events business; and surf enthusiast
Filmweek: Lucy, A Most Wanted Man, Magic In The Moonlight and more
Host Larry Mantle and KPCC film critics Claudia Puig and Henry Sheehan review this week’s releases, including "Lucy," "A Most Wanted Man," "Magic In The Moonlight" and more. TGI-Filmweek!
Lucy
A Most Wanted Man
Magic In The Moonlight
Guests:
Claudia Puig, film critic for KPCC and USA Today
Henry Sheehan, film critic for KPCC CriticsAGoGo.com
Comic-Con Harassment complaints and Toronto Film Festival lineup
A growing number of Comic-Con attendees are protesting incidents of sexual harassment at San Diego's massive annual celebration of geek culture.
This year, comics editor Janelle Assellin surveyed Comic-Con fans and found 59 percent said they felt sexual harassment was a problem in comics and 25 percent said they had been sexually harassed in the industry. Masked men in character are said to act with impunity - groping, stalking and assaulting.
Surprisingly, organizers say 40 percent of attendees are women. And more are demanding something significant be done to enforce a zero-tolerance policy against harassment.
In response, Comic-Con spokesperson David Glanzer told the LA Times, "Anyone being made to feel uncomfortable at our show is obviously a concern for us.... For this reason we have more staff and security than other events of our type."
Also, the Toronto Film Festival unveiled its lineup.
The annual film bash is seen as a reliable predictor of Oscar success; past winners of the festival's audience award--Slumdog Millionaire, The King's Seech, 12 Years a Slave, to name a few--had gone on to winning the Oscar for best picture. We'll take a look at what’s on offer and which film has got the most buzz.
Guests:
Rebecca Keegan, Los Angeles Times reporter joins us from Comic-Con International in San Diego
Pete Hammond, awards columnist at the entertainment news site, Deadline. His latest piece is on the Toronto Film Festival lineup and what it portends for next year’s awards season