45% OF CAL STATE UNIVERSITY FRESHMEN NOT PREPARED FOR COLLEGE; EMINENT DOMAIN; IRAN: THE MAIN BENEFICIARY OF THE INVASION OF IRAQ?
45% OF CAL STATE UNIVERSITY FRESHMEN NOT PREPARED FOR COLLEGE
Forty-five percent of incoming freshmen in the California State University system last fall were ready for college-level math and English. This is a 2% increase from the previous year, but far below the 90% proficiency goal the University hopes to reach by next year. Cal State University, or CSU, is the nation's largest four-year public system with 23 campuses throughout the state.
EMINENT DOMAIN
The Long Beach Redevelopment Agency has approved using eminent domain to take a church building to build a housing project. Los Angeles officials have cleared the way for a developer to use a Hollywood property currently housing 30 small businesses, to build a hotel, apartments, and retail units. Ted Chen and his guests discuss eminent domain and the rights of property owners vs. the rights of a city to take property to make way for business development.
IRAN: THE MAIN BENEFICIARY OF THE INVASION OF IRAQ?
From 1980 to 1988, Iraq and Iran fought a brutal war that claimed a million lives. When the US invaded Iraq in 2003, Iranians breathed a sigh of relief as their worst enemy was eliminated. However, there was a secondary benefit: the insurgency has bogged down US forces, greatly reducing the credibility of any American threat against Iran. With its main enemy eliminated and its other great rival significantly weighted down, Iran has suddenly found itself in a pivotal position in the Middle East. Larry talks with experts about this side effect of the Iraqi war.