Today, we take a look at reports that the L.A.Sheriff Dept. hired officers with troubled records. Then, what's behind Amazon's announcement that they plan to offer deliveries via drone? Also, how do we manage wildlife as human development encroaches more and more in into their habitat? Then we talk to LA Times reporter Rebecca Keegan for our regular segment On The Lot about the business of Hollywood.
Report shows LA Sheriff's Dept. hired dozens of troubled applicants
The LA Times has uncovered dozens of questionable hires made by the LA County Sheriff's Department.
Records show that in 2010, about 280 county officers were offered jobs, including applicants who had accidentally fired their weapons, had sex at work, and solicited prostitutes. Of that group, 29 had been fired or forced to resign from other law enforcement jobs out of concerns of misconduct or performance problems.
Reporter Robert Faturechi co-investigated this story for the LA Times. He joins the show to explain.
Amazon aims to use drones to expedite deliveries
If you end up ordering something on Cyber Monday, you'll probably have to go through one of the major bummers of ordering something online -- the wait.
Two day and overnight delivery have become pretty standard, and recently Amazon started offering same day delivery not to long ago.
Even then you'll find yourself waiting hours for your order, but Amazon is hoping to fix that. They revealed last night on CBS' "60 Minutes" that they want to deliver packages to people in 30 minutes using drones.
Enter Amazon Prime Air:
From working at Trader Joe's to performing on stage with a Latin Grammy winner
Each week we profile a different musician - and this week we have Irene Diaz with her debut album "I Love You Madly."
You may not recognize her music - but if you shop at Trader Joe's in South Pasadena - she may have helped you find those plantain chips that you love so much.
We came across her album in the mail along with the 500000 other albums we get a day.
But hers had a note that said "Irene works at Trader Joe's in South Pas. Let me know if you'd like to do an interview."
So we popped the disc in, listened and immediately booked her to come on.
If you'd like to see Irene - she'll be performing with Gaby Moreno Saturday night at The Troubadour in West Hollywood.
Holiday retail sales sluggish during Black Friday weekend
If the overeating didn't tire you out this weekend, maybe the shopping did.
All weekend -- starting Thursday night -- people pounded that pavement at shopping malls all over the country in search of the uber holiday deal. But while foot traffic was up, you all didn't spend as much as retailers may have hoped.
For more we are joined by Shelly Banjo, retail reporter for the Wall Street Journal.
Does the US wildlife need stronger management?
The earth's human population is over 7 billion and growing. As our numbers increase, we spread into areas where wild pigs, alligators, coyotes and countless other species live.
The line between wildlife habitat and human housing is becoming increasingly blurred, so how should we deal with bears digging through the neighborhood garbage cans? Or an alligator taking a dip in the pool?
For some answers, we turn now to David von Drehle, editor at large for Time Magazine, who wrote about this for the latest issue.
Road kill or road crossing: California slow to protect wildlife
A lot of Californians will be hitting the road for the holidays, and chances are they'll see some road kill at least once.
Thousands of wild and domesticated animals are killed every year in California, and while that's bad for the animals, it's also bad for states. Wildlife collisions cause a $1 billion a year in damage nationwide. Some states are taking steps to help animals get across highways safely.
KQED Science reporter Lauren Sommer has the story.
On The Lot: Box office winners, RIP Paul Walker, Maria Bello and more
Time for On The Lot, our weekly look at the business of entertainment with Rebecca Keegan of the LA Times.
We begin with the holiday weekend box office champs, two films that feature women in lead roles: "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire", and "Frozen."
Both these films kind of have it all. They set box office records, they polled very high with people who saw them and the critics love them. How did they nail it so well?
There are a lot of movies set for release in the holiday season, but will "Frozen" and "Hunger Games" power through all the way to New Years?
Fans of the car racing franchise, "Fast and Furious" are still in shock over the death of Paul Walker, who was killed in a car crash on Saturday. Walker played Brian O'Connor in the series of films. We'll take a look back at his life and his acting career.
His death happened as the seventh film in the series is being shot in Atlanta. What are the plans for releasing it? This is a monster film franchise. How might Walker's death will effect it?
Walker also starred in another film, set to be released in just two weeks called "Hours," about a father's struggle to save his prematurely born child in New Orleans during Katrina. Will it still be released ahead of Christmas?
Let's talk about someone who makes an entirely different kind of film: John Sayles. He makes indie movies, and he's a favorite of many NPR listeners. But he's hinting that the indie grind is just too much, and this might be his last film, right?
Maria Bello revealed, in a New York Times column, that she is having a romantic relationship with a woman. She's just the latest actor to come out, sometimes in pretty interesting ways.
New DC exhibit celebrates the work of female photographers
In Washington, D.C. a photo exhibition of nearly 100 images has opened at the National Geographic Museum. The exhibit, "Women of Vision," showcases work by 11 of the world's top women photographers who have shot photos from the battlefields of Iraq to the inner workings of the brain.
The BBC’s Jane O'Brien met some of them at the exhibition, including war photographer Lynsey Addario, who was captured by Gaddafi forces while on assignment in Libya.
Are the problems with healthcare.gov a thing of the past?
The Obama administration had promised they'd fix most of the problems with the troubled healthcare.gov by the end of November. Yesterday, officials at Health and Human Services, the department in charge of the site, essentially declared victory.
Sam Baker, healthcare reporter for National Journal, joins the show with more.
San Bernardino: Portrait of residents of a problem-plagued city
With all the bad news coming out of San Bernardino -- the city bankruptcy, council members arrested, politicians recalled, poverty and a high crime rate -- you might wonder who would want to live there.
KPCC's Sharon McNary found residents who want to be in San Bernardino and have high hopes for the city's future.
Winner declared in Honduras presidential election, but turmoil persists
Yesterday, thousands of people took to the street in the capital of Honduras to protest the election results.
On Saturday the conservative party candidate Juan Orlando Hernandez was declared the winner. But rival Xiomara Castro and the supporters of her Libre party have rejected those results.
There were hopes this election could restore some stability to a country that has been wracked by poverty and violence. In 2009 a coup d'etat ousted then president Manuel Zelaya, the husband of current candidate Xiomara Castro.
Since then things have deteriorated and Honduras now ranks as one of the most dangerous countries in the world.
Reporter Nicholas Phillips joins the show from Honduras with more.
The high cost of a liquor license in New Mexico
Since the end of Prohibition, states have grappled with how to regulate the sale of alcohol. Some retain laws that haven't changed much in the last 80 years.
Take New Mexico. It has some of the most expensive liquor licenses in the country. The state's last liquor store license sold for nearly $1 million dollars.
From the Fronteras Desk, Mónica Ortiz Uribe takes a look at how these antiquated laws impact the state's economy.
San Francisco middle schools receive historic gift
What would you do with a gift of $2.7 million dollars?
That was the question faced by San Francisco Middle Schools after Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff donated the amount to the district. He asked that the money go towards innovation, so the district will use half the money to beef up its tech infrastructure.
But officials are turning the rest into grant money to be given to principals across the city. From the California Report, Ana Tintocolis has the story.