Largest Southern California Federal Gang Case; San Francisco Cancels Halloween In The Castro; Foster Care Update; Expanding Electronic Surveillance; Ira Flatow On Science And Nature
Largest Southern California Federal Gang Case
Another 18 arrests were made in the second wave of a crackdown on the Florencia 13, a South L.A. gang accused of drug trafficking and shootings of African-Americans in neighborhoods the gang sought to control. 80 of the 102 defendants named in four indictments are now behind bars. Larry talks with Assistant U.S. Attorney, Peter Hernandez, about the indictments and arrests that are the result of Operation Joker's Wild, a three-year federal and local task force investigation into the activities of the Florencia 13 gang Larry also talks with Sam Quinones, staff writer for the LA Times, and author of True Tales from Another Mexico: The Lynch Mob, The Popsicle Kings, Chalino and the Bronx, and Antonio's Gun and Delfino's Dream: True Tales of Mexican Migration.
San Francisco Cancels Halloween In The Castro
San Francisco has decided in the words of Gavin Newsom to "cancel Halloween" in the Castro district due to the unruly behavior and violence by those who attend the event. High profile bars and the BART stops in the area will close early tonight in order to comply with the order. Larry talks with Joe D'Alessandro, the President and CEO of the San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau and with Jeffrey Prang, the Mayor Pro-tempore of West Hollywood.
Foster Care Update
Larry Mantle talks with Trish Ploehn, Director of the L.A. County Department of Child and Family Services about recent foster care measures that were signed into law by Governor Schwarzenegger.
Expanding Electronic Surveillance
In the wake of a recently thwarted train bombing, Germany is seeking authority to plant secret "Trojan" viruses into the computers of suspected terrorists, which would provide remote access to all files and a record of every keystroke typed. Is this a necessary preemptive measure in the war on terror, or a flagrant invasion of privacy? Moreover, are similar methods being surreptitiously used by the FBI in the United States? Joining Larry Mantle to discuss the issue is Marc Rotenberg, Executive Director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington D.C., and James Lewis, Director of the Technology and Public Policy Program at The Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Ira Flatow On Science And Nature
Ira Flatow, host and executive producer of NPR's "Talk of the Nation: Science Friday", joins Larry Mantle to talk about what he's learned from his thousands of conversations with the pioneers that have made science possible. In his new book, Present at the Future the veteran science correspondent reveals the mysteries of today's science and technology and explores what science means to our everyday lives, and where we go from here.