A U.S. Appeals Court rules that marijuana should remain a class-one drug, disputing its medical benefits. Plus, the Pentagon plans to help Mexico take down drug cartels like al-Qaida insurgents. Then, we bring you part two of our bilingual child series, we talk about the fight between California cheese makers and dairy farmers, and much more.
Appeals court rules that marijuana has no medical value
Yesterday, a U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that marijuana should continue to be classified as a schedule-one drug, meaning it has no medical value and the potential for abuse is high.
The decision was a set back for pro-marijuana groups who say the federal government is ignoring scientific evidence that shows pot has some medical value.
Tony Dokoupil, senior writer with Newsweek and the Daily Beast joins the show to discuss the issue.
Pentagon to aid Mexico in hunting drug cartels like al-Qaida insurgents
The Pentagon is reportedly planning to step up its training of Mexican security forces, with a goal to teach them to pursue the cartels the same way U.S. went after Al-Qaida. We'll speak to Ioan Grillo, author of the book "El Narco" who has been reporting on the drug war for more than a decade.
Bilingual Learning: Inside the mind of a bilingual child (VIDEO)
Bilingual immersion programs are growing in popularity all over California, but are there actual benefits to programs that teach multiple languages at the elementary level?
In the second part of our series on bilingual education, KPCC's Deepa Fernandes takes you inside the brain of a baby and toddler to see what happens when they are exposed to more than one language. Click here to view part one of the series.
California cheesemakers and dairy farmers at odds over milk pricing
California's cheese makers have benefited from milk prices lower than the federal level, but the state's dairy farmers say they can't sustain the low prices any longer, and they want the Department of Food and Agriculture to raise the price they're paid for their milk.
It would be good news for California dairy farmers, but local cheese makers argue they'll lose their competitive advantage. Meanwhile, other cheese making states like Wisconsin are waiting in the wings to try and pick up business from California
SoCal school finds lunch after recess can equal healthier kids
We all want our kids to eat healthier, but no matter how much you try to fill their lunch box with organic, whole grain whatever, it won't do much good if your kids aren't eating it. Especially if they're throwing away most of their food away because they want more playtime. KPCC's Adolfo Guzman-Lopez found a school that might have the answer.
For years, students at Murray Elementary School were like most others, they saw lunch as an easy obstacle to overcome to get to the important part of the school day: recess.
But five years ago the school decided to move lunch – and the school's principal said it has paid big dividends.
“When we were doing recess after lunch – we can’t make the kids eat their food – so they were eating a bite or two, not drinking their milk and they were throwing the whole dish away so that the could go play,” said principal Saida Valdez.
And their next meal wouldn’t come for at least another five hours, said Valdez, which mean the kids were starving by 3 p.m.
Very little learning can happen on a mostly empty stomach, said Steven Mittleman, a pediatric endocrinologist at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.
“Kids who are hungry, first of all, have a hard time focusing and paying attention because they’re thinking of being hungry,” Mittleman said.
Now students in this San Gabriel Valley school play their hearts out during recess, mellow out as they sit down for lunch, and then go back to class.
Valdez says she made the change after reading about schools in other parts of the country that moved lunch and were reporting fewer discipline problems, more attentive students in the afternoon and less uneaten food in trash cans. She's seeing the same results.
“Before we used to fill our salad bar just one time the entire lunch process," she said. "And now we refill it three to four times."
Markell Lewis of California Food Policy Advocates said there’s a lot of interest in the subject. Her group is teaming up with UC Berkeley researchers on a “time spent eating” study that’ll examine the merits of switching recess and lunch.
“Lots of partners statewide, including the Department of Education are very interested in this larger issue," she said, "which is related to how much time a student has to eat a meal and making sure they get the most they can out of their meal.”
And part of that involves eating the right things, Mittleman said.
“If you feed them a meal that’s high in say simple carbohydrates, these sugary foods and beverages, then what tends to happen is their blood sugars can drop somewhat rapidly later on which makes them sleepy and a have a hard time focusing,” he said.
The federal government has tried to address that. This year, it began requiring schools to serve lower calorie meals with more whole grains and a wider variety of fruits and vegetables.
At Murray Elementary in Azusa, kids are now eating healthier, said cafeteria worker Maria Barrios, who listed the selection on a recent visit: spaghetti, mixed vegetables, green salad with tomatoes. The salad bar included celery, apples, pears and kiwi.
The kids are even asking for seconds and thirds. Barrios passes around an "extras cart" with milk, apples, and other untouched food. On most days, it goes back to the kitchen picked clean.
Advocates said getting kids to eat a healthier lunch will pay dividends beyond the bell. Especially in working class communities like Azusa, with high rates of obesity and diabetes, it could have a lifelong impact.
Photos: Rare large pod of 23 gray whales spotted off SoCal coast
Whale watchers off the Southern California coast saw a lot more than they expected when a chartered boat descended on a large pod of 23 gray whales, which usually travel alone or in groups of two or three as they migrate.
Gray whale season started on Dec. 26, 2012, and lasts through April.
As immigration reform looms, workers ponder legalization
An estimated 11 million people live in the United States without proper documentation. And billions are spent every year on immigration enforcement. One contentious debate centers on whether amnesty might be the answer. Fronteras Desk reporter Jill Replogle takes a look at what legalization might mean for one industry with a high percentage of undocumented immigrant workers.
Within just a few miles of each other, two, very different groups of construction workers had begun their day.
One group was building a large apartment complex just across the street from San Diego State University. The workers here have steady jobs. They get morning breaks and they’re covered by workman’s comp if they get injured.
The other group was drinking coffee and chatting in the parking lots and sidewalks around Home Depot, waiting for someone to drive by and offer them a job. Most of the members of this group are undocumented immigrants from Mexico.
This second scene plays out every morning all across the country. As many as one in six construction workers is undocumented.
Does this group compete with the workers over on the apartment complex for jobs? Sometimes.
“Just depending on what your trade is,” said David Yanora, a heavy equipment operator at the apartment site.
“Because most of these guys out here are just out here as laborers. They don’t have a specific trade they’re good at, they can just pretty much do anything.”
Yanora said he doesn’t personally face much competition with undocumented immigrants because his is a more skilled trade. The ones doing the dirtiest, most backbreaking construction jobs — like hauling rubble — are the ones who face competition.
“Big companies are looking for people that can work cheaper,” Yanora said. “I mean that’s just the bottom line.”
The guys standing out front of Home Depot are often cheaper. They usually can’t afford to be picky, so their wages vary a lot.
“One day you can earn $150 and the next, $60 or $50,” Vladimir Estorga said.
Another worker, Jorge, who’s been picking up jobs outside of Home Depot for 13 years, said he’s been paid really well, and he’s been paid nothing.
“That’s how it is here on the corner when you don’t have papers,” he said.
So now imagine — and it may not be so far off — that Jorge, Vladimir Estorga, and possibly tens of thousands of other construction workers get their papers, and can legally compete with their colleagues up the street.
Won’t they take jobs away from Americans?
Won’t they depress wages for native workers?
Economists say not likely, because these undocumented workers are already in the labor force. They’re already working.
“The labor market effect on wages and employment is something that happens when people come into the country,” said Pia Orrenius, senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
Many illegal immigrants have been working in the U.S. for decades, so whatever effect they might have had on the labor market happened decades ago.
At the same time, if immigration reform is well policed, employers will find it harder to pay undocumented workers under the table. Contractors will have to pay workers' compensation and payroll taxes for newly legalized employees, which means construction costs could go up.
On the flip side, this kind of immigration reform could help companies who have always played by the rules compete. Workers at the apartment complex, like Mike Loftus, a plasterer, say they want the playing field to be even.
“I think it’d really help if everybody had their papers, a lot,” Loftus said.
The bigger issue, economists say, is fiscal — how will legalizing undocumented immigrants affect tax revenues and social welfare programs?
Newly legalized immigrants who don’t already pay taxes will start paying, and that will be a boon to public coffers. But they may also qualify for federal benefits, like food stamps and tax credits.
“Legalization is really more a problem down the line if you think that these people are going to be disproportionately using welfare programs or entitlement programs,” Orrenius said.
Look for that issue to be hotly debated, and to affect how a reform bill is crafted.
The biggest benefit of a path to legalization would be to the undocumented workers themselves. Most economists say their wages are likely to go up. They may have more job security, and legal recourse if they get injured or stiffed by an employer.
Jorge said if he were to get his papers, he’d ditch the Home Depot parking lot and get a steady job.
“I’d be working in a company, in a restaurant, or in a store,” he said. “Every day, my eight hours, as the law mandates.”
Sen. Harry Reid's complicated relationship with gun control
President Obama has made gun control a priority, and he'll expect Majority leader Harry Reid to champion legislation in the Senate. But there's just one problem, Reid has portrayed himself in the past as a supporter of gun rights.
Many elected officials are adept at walking a fine line, but this may be the kind of tightrope exercise that could trip up even the most experienced politician.
Jon Ralston, host of Ralston Reports, a TV show and blog focused on Nevada politics, joins the show to discuss Reid's relationship with gun control.
Petra Haden 'Goes to the Movies' and reimagines the film score
Petra Haden is not your typical musician. When she decided to cover the Who's album "The Who Sell Out," she didn't get a backing band, she recreated every guitar lick, every drum hit using her voice.
Her latest acapella album "Petra Goes to the Movies" features this LA vocalist singing famous film scores. Petra joins Alex Cohen with more.
RELATED: Petra Haden and choir give soaring voice to movie scores at the Getty
LA dominates list of 'up-and-coming' neighborhoods
The real estate listing site Redfin recently released its list of the 10 most "up-and-coming" neighborhoods, and as no surprise to many, California dominated. So what does that mean for home buyers? We'll speak to KPCC's business reporter Matt DeBord.
One mom on learning to love the minivan
Karen Alpert is the brains behind the parenting blog, Baby Sideburns. This week she's back to talk about the dark side of being a parent, and why we shouldn't be afraid of the minivan
UCLA study shows signs of brain injury in living former NFL players
Researchers at UCLA have discovered a groundbreaking new development in the area of brain trauma. Brain scans performed on five former, but still living NFL players revealed clues to a specific type of football-related brain damage called CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
Previously only found during an autopsy, this is the first time its been discovered in living subjects.
Dr. Gary Small is a professor of psychiatry at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA. He's also the lead author of the study, published yesterday in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.
RELATED: RSVP for our Crawford Family Forum event on this subject
Ashok Rajamani on 'The Day My Brain Exploded'
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, is a progressive disease that's linked to head injuries, most recently found in former NFL star Junior Seau.
The lesser-known arteriovenous malformation, or AVM, is a congenital brain injury, a malformation of arteries and veins in the brain that can cause seizures, strokes and severe neurological problems. It's a rare condition which affects only about one percent of the population.
Ashok Rajamani discovered he was part of that one percent when he was just 25 years old.
His new book, "The Day My Brain Exploded," looks at how AVM changed his life, and not entirely for the worse.