Today we take a look at the new roadblocks affecting the Senate's immigration bills; The genocide trial of former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt is halted; Steve Proffitt takes a ride in a new hydrogen-powered fuel cell SUV; How air traffic-controller furloughs will affect travel in and out of LAX; Porn star James Deen has become an industry advocate amid growing fame, plus much more.
Immigration bill hits stumbling blocks due to Boston bombings, pet projects
This morning, the Senate is convening its second hearing on the Gang of Eight's immigration bill.
After months of negotiations, there are a few new stumbling blocks in its way. Revelations about the immigration status of the two suspects in last week's bombing in Boston might force lawmakers to rethink parts of the bill. In addition, pet projects hidden in the bill are beginning to raise questions about the initial agreements between labor and business.
For more on this, we're joined by Wall Street Journal editor Aaron Zitner.
Genocide trial of ex-Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt halted
The genocide trial of former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt has been put on hold, after the judge in the case refused to follow another judge's ruling that the case should be retried.
Rios Montt is accused of overseeing the deaths of over 1,700 indigenous Mayans during Guatemala's civil war. His trial had been proceeding smoothly until an appeals court halted the proceedings.
Here with more is Rachel Levin, a reporter with Al-Jazeera and has been covering the trial in Guatemala.
Quitting coal cuts carbon, but costs customers
Los Angeles plans to go coal free by 2025 to reduce carbon emissions. The city currently gets 40 percent of its energy from coal-fired power plants in Arizona and Utah. So while great for Earth Day, quitting coal will have ripple effects on the region, not to mention ratepayers. Laurel Morales from the Fronteras Desk reports.
While L.A. is making the leap to cut the most carbon-intensive fuel used to generate electricity, the rest of the world is slow to give up its coal. The International Energy Agency reports that global demand for coal far outpaces non-carbon energy fuels.
"When you look at other cities globally that are as big or bigger than Los Angeles particularly in the developing world in China, in Vietnam, in India they’re building coal-fired power plants left and right," said Robert Bryce author of "Power Hungry: The Myths of Green Energy and the Real Fuels of the Future."
Why? Because it’s cheap and it’s abundant.
RELATED: Patt Morrison recycles, and 6 other ways to go green on Earth Day
The Los Angeles Times reports that the plan to reduce L.A.’s dependence on coal and use more natural gas, solar and wind will cost more than $600 million. The price of natural gas is volatile.
In Arizona the major power supplier Salt River Project plans to reduce its dependence on coal over the next decade from 53 percent to 42 percent. Tom Cooper directs resource planning and development for Salt River Project.
"I mean moving toward a sustainable energy future in the long run is an important concept for everyone but I think we have to be careful not to get ahead of the technology and fundamental economics of the question," Cooper said.
Currently Los Angeles is selling its share of the Navajo Generating Station, where it gets much of its coal-fired power. That sale is another challenge for the power plant. But Cooper says putting millions of dollars into the Navajo Generating Station to meet proposed EPA standards is still more cost-effective than replacing it with natural gas.
The fuel cell and the future of cars
What could be the next big thing in cars?
Steve Proffitt reports on the progress being made in developing hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles, and rides in a new fuel cell SUV that the Korean auto maker Hyundai has recently put into mass production.
Hollywood Monday: 'Oblivion', BitTorrent, China film market and more
No pain for Tom Cruise and Universal Pictures. Cruise is back on top after his futuristic thriller, "Oblivion," won the box office sweepstakes this weekend. With that, and all the latest Hollywood news is Rebecca Keegan of the Los Angeles Times.
Kaiser program reduces Vicodin and OxyContin prescriptions
Much of the recent attention on the nation's prescription drug epidemic has focused on corrupt or negligent doctors. But there's another significant problem in the medical community
Many physicians routinely prescribe powerful drugs like Vicodin and Oxycontin because they don't know how addictive and dangerous they can be. KPCC's Stephanie O'Neill reports on an effort by one large health provider to tackle this issue.
Mayor Villaraigosa unveils new $7.7 billion budget plan
The current mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa, unveils his budget for the upcoming year, and it's a prettier picture than you might expect. Here with the details is KPCC's Alice Walton.
Dear Mayor: What are the top issues affecting LA residents?
LA mayoral hopefuls Eric Garcetti and Wendy Greuel face off tonight in a live TV debate. The two candidates are battling to succeed Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Over the past few weeks, KPCC asked L.A. residents about their top issues.
RELATED: See all of KPCC's Dear Mayor coverage
KPCC's Frank Stoltze looks at where the candidates stand on those issues.
Permits for porn shoots in LA drop sharply due to Measure B
Back in November, voters passed Measure B, which requires adult film productions to obtain health permits before shooting, as well as mandating the use of condoms in sex scenes. The measure passed with 56 percent of the vote.
Shortly after Election Day, Steven Hirsch, the founder of Vivid Entertainment, made this grim prediction about the future of his industry:
"There are so many requirements that are a part of this law that there is absolutely no chance that anybody will be shooting in the county of Los Angeles if this law is passed as written."
Now there may be some data to back that claim. LA county normally issues 500 permits a year to adult film productions, but now, with nearly a third of the year behind us, they've only handed out two.
For more on the effect of the condom mandate, we're joined by Gram Ponante, an adult industry reporter who files for publications like Fleshbot and Hustler.
PHOTOS: Porn star James Deen becomes an industry advocate amid growing fame
Among the most vocal opponents of mandating condoms on adult film sets has been porn star James Deen. He's one of the industry's biggest names and he may also be the unlikeliest: A slightly-built young man who's the son of engineers, known not for his physique but for his boy-next-door persona. KPCC's Josie Huang visited Deen on set to learn what's behind his growing fame.
Blinding sun bakes the San Fernando Valley, but it's dark inside a low-slung studio, where a crew is shooting an adult film. A science fiction adult film, to be exact, called "Saving Humanity."
James Deen rehearses his role as an villainous president of the future. He leans back in his chair to dress down a minion who failed her mission.
"I think you've had your chance," Deen sneers.
In an industry where women get top billing, Deen is the rare male performer known by name.
At 27, Deen has turned out hundreds of adult films. Won multiple industry awards.
"I love the free expression of sexual ideas," he says. He quickly adds, "really it could be as simple as I like having sex."
Deen says he's been plotting out a career in adult entertainment since he first came across a porn magazine as a young boy.
The younger child of divorced engineers, Deen was known then as Bryan Sevilla, his real name, and grew up in the northern suburbs of Los Angeles. As a teen, he had a bar mitzvah, caroused with other skateboarders in spots around Pasadena, took some classes at Pasadena City College.
But the endgame was always porn. He says he even told his parents about it. "At first they didn't really believe me. Then they were like, 'oh, you're telling the truth,'" he says.
He read up on how to get into the business, and by 18, had booked his first gig.
The Boy Next Door
Nine years later, fans build digital shrines to him on Tumblr and snatch up James Deen hoodies at his online store. More than 100,000 people follow him on Twitter
Twenty-four-year-old college student Alexandra Tunks is a Deen fan. She says women are increasingly open about consuming porn and voicing what they do or don't like about it.
"On videos, it's predominantly sort of an unattractive guy, the guy that the male viewer imagines, oh that's me," Tunks says.
Kind of like a Ron Jeremy, she says, referring to the rotund porn star. In contrast, Deen is about 5'8", slim, with blue eyes and curly brown hair. Handsome, Tunks, but, "not in that Brad Pitt, oh my God, you're like a statue, I can never find someone like that," she says.
Deen's popularity has spawned write-ups in The Guardian and GQ. It's perhaps no surprise that a porn star is getting mainstream attention. The lines between celebrity and pornography are blurring; Kim Kardashian only became more famous after her sex tape came out.
But not everyone is enamored of Deen. Porn remains a hot-button issue and some are alarmed by Deen's teenage fan base.
In a report called "Porn star next door: The young man that your teenage girl maybe secretly watching," Nightline detailed how the Internet had given minors access to Deen's work on websites like "Kink" and "Sex and Submission."
Going Condom-less
Deen has also sparked controversy among safe sex advocates. Last year, Deen campaigned against a law that requires condoms on porn shoots in Los Angeles County. He says it infringes on his freedom of expression.
Michael Weinstein of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation advocated for the law. He says porn executives put performers at risk for profit, and sees their decision to make Deen a spokesman as a very calculated move.
"It's like PR 101," Weinstein says. "Would you rather put Ron Jeremy out there or James Deen? I mean, James Deen looks like the boy next door."
Since the law passed in November, Deen says he has continued to go condom-less on film shoots. He stresses that he and other performers get tested for sexually-transmitted diseases. He gets checked out every 14 days.
Deen makes it a point to speak publicly about the industry in between film shoots. He's an in-demand guest at college campuses, appearing in recent months at Pasadena City College and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Life after "The Canyons"
Irrespective of what you think of him, Deen isn't going away. In fact, his profile has gotten a boost by a movie he's made outside of adult film.
"The Canyons," is a psychosexual thriller written by "American Psycho" scribe Bret Easton Ellis and directed by Paul Schraeder of "Taxi Driver" fame. The film won't be released by IFC Films until the summer in the US, but it's already achieved notoriety because of the casting of Deen, and the volatile starlet, Lindsay Lohan.
Deen says he only made the Canyons because he respects the moviemakers involved, and that he's not interested in crossing over into the mainstream like other porn stars have tried.
After what will turn out to be a 12-hour shoot on "Saving Humanity," Deen will head to a different porn set the next day. He's booked straight through the month, which is how he likes it.
"Even if things change for me, I don't want it to affect me," Deen says. "I like me. I want to stay me."
That means working in porn for decades to come, he says, or for as long as viewers can stand to watch him.
School funding plan takes stage in budget talks
A recent opinion poll found more than 70 percent of Californians support the Governor's proposal to spend more of the state's budget for K-12 on English learners and low-income students. The conversation in Sacramento is about to kick into high gear as budget negotiations continue, but it's been buzzing for some time now in the rest of the state. Reporter Charla Bear has the story
The best Earth Day books for kids
Today is Earth Day, and there are all sorts of ways to celebrate the occasion, from planting trees to recycling electronics. In addition, public libraries around southern California are holding events to raise awareness about the environment.
While you're at the library you might be looking for a little bit of Earth Day reading for your kids, something besides "The Lorax," perhaps? Our favorite children's librarian Mara Alpert is here to share some great green selections.
Mara's Recommendations:
PICTURE BOOKS
Emeraldalicious by Victoria Kann
(K-Grade 2) The girliest girl of them all, Pinkalicious, discovers all is not beautiful in her local park and uses her special magic wand to make a change.
The World is Waiting for You by Barbara Kerley
(All ages) Brand new and utterly beautiful celebration of our planet, illustrated with amazing photographs showing children and grown-ups exploring the wonders of our world.
The Earth Book by Todd Parr
(PreK-Grade 1) Super simple, super colorful, super Parr-fect book to share with young children about simple ways we can show how we love our planet.
All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon Illustrated by Marla Frazee
(K-Grade 3) Another terrific book to use with young children, celebrating all the things that make our world a special place.
NON-FICTION
Why Should I Bother About the Planet? by Susan Meredith, Illustrated by Sara Rojo
(Grades 2-5) Asks the big questions, and provides good answers.
101 Ways You can Help Save the Planet Before You’re 12! by Joanne O’Sullivan
(Grades 3-6) Offers kids and grownups easy and practical ideas for things everyone can do to help save the planet. #9: Make It Last – learn how to make things like crayons, shampoo, and even sneakers last longer.
The Smash! Smash! Truck by Professor (Aiden) Potts
(Grades 2-6) Professor Potts starts off the story of recycling with the Big Bang and the birth of our universe, and brings it all the way to a glass bottle being collected, smashed, remade, and reused.