An update on the escalating violence between Israel and Hamas-run Gaza. Is a ground war inevitable? Then on the show, DirecTV will now be able to air Lakers games, but we'll look at how bars and restaurants have been impacted by the Lakers blackout so far. Then we talk to Eric Deggans, author of "Race Baiter," about how the media feeds fears of the 'other,' The Dinner Party guys are here with a weekend's full of hot topics and we give you a rundown of the biggest stories in this week's Friday Flashback.
Israel and Hamas-run Gaza edge closer to full-out ground war
Today, Israel and the Hamas-run government in Gaza moved one step closer to a full-out ground war. Israeli troops are massing on the border for a possible ground offensive as Palestinian rocket fire continues to pour in from the Gaza Strip.
For the first time since the 1991 Gulf war, air raid sirens went off as rockets launched from Gaza landed near Tel Aviv.
So far three Israelis and 23 Palestinians have died, including the top commander of Hamas, who was killed by an israeli air strike on Wednesday.
Dan Ephron, Newsweek's Jerusalem Bureau Chief joins the show to give us an update on the continuing conflict.
Friday Flashback: Obama speaks, Hostess dies, Fiscal Cliff looms
A roundup of this week's biggest stories with Jim Rainey, political columnist for the Los Angeles Times, and David Gura, reporter from the Marketplace Washington Bureau.
Topics:
Petraeus/Broadwell/Allen/Kelley affair
Obama's first press conference since reelection
The Fiscal Cliff
Mitt Romney, post-election
Hostess closes amid union strike
The US Postal Service is bleeding
BP fined $4.5 billion for Gulf oil spill
The Dinner Party: The NBA’s Chocolate Thunder, edible deodorant and the world's worst hotel
Rico Gagliano and Brendan Francis Newnam, the hosts of the Dinner Party radio show and podcast, are here with your weekly conversation starters.
How long is the shelf life of a Twinkie?
Convenience stores may never be the same.
Hostess, the makers of Twinkies, Ding Dongs and Snoballs, is going ahead with plans to shut down operation and layoff its more than 18,000 employees.
The company claims it couldn't weather the financial hit it took after workers went on a nation wide strike last week. Nevertheless, Hostess still has some fans, especially when it comes to their signature treat the Twinkie.
If the urban legend that Twinkies have an indefinite shelf life is to be believed, anyone worried about losing their Twinkie fix could just buy a box or two now and save them for the future. But do they really last forever?
I think we've all heard the rumor that a Twinkie will last longer than the plastic it's packaged in, or that the Hostess over-produced the little cakes in the '80s and have been selling that original batch in new packaging ever since.
That's all fluff, but Twinkies do have an sell-by window, and it's only about 25 days. After about a month Twinkies start to get hard and brittle.
Steve Ettlinger, author of the book "Twinkie, Deconstructed," says Twinkies get hard, but that doesn't mean you can't eat them.
"I've got some that are 8 years old. They are hard but they are not spoiled," he said.
So Twinkies could last 30 years, but they just might not be that fun to eat. And one thing different about Twinkies is they don't rot.
Ettlinger says there are around 39 ingredients in Twinkies and none of them are fresh. It's stuff like Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Soy Lecithin and Cellulose Gum.
There is some flour, processed whey and each Twinkie may have about 1/500th of an egg in it, but the ingredients are stable enough that they may get stale but they don't seem to rot.
So if you want to stock up now go ahead, but just make sure you've got a strong jaw.
LA Dems criticize Super PAC's mailer attacking elected officials
A political mailer sent to voters in the San Fernando Valley in the final stretches of this year's election is raising eyebrows:
Californians for Integrity in Government, a Super PAC backing Representative Brad Sherman in his heated race against fellow Democrat Howard Berman, sent out a mailer to Republican voters urging them not to vote for Berman because he has the support of three liberal Democrats.
Above three headshots of Democrats Rep. Maxine Waters, Rep. Barney Frank, and U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer of California, the mailer reads: "If you love these politicians, then vote for Howard Berman."
Sherman won the election by more than 20 points, but now that mailer is taking some of the shine off his victory. He has openly renounced the mailer and has insisted he has no control over the actions of groups outside his campaign.
Politico's Kate Nocera explains more about the mailer and the controversy.
Is it possible to keep any online communication private?
This morning former CIA director David Petraeus spoke to lawmakers in a closed session about the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Bengazi, but did not address the scandal that forced his resignation from the CIA.
The details of his affair with biographer Paula Broadwell were released last week, which sparked a lot of discussion about the privacy of online communication.
The two reportedly shared a Gmail account where they left messages for one another in a draft folder, no emails were ever sent. That clearly it didn't fool the FBI.
But if one was planning to conduct a little risky business online, is there any way to keep it private?
In 'Race Baiter,' Eric Deggans dissects how media feeds fears of 'the other'
Television networks used to make money by reaching out to the biggest and most diverse audience as possible, but with the rise of cable TV, satellite radio, blogs, podcasts and social media, there's a new business model.
Media moguls have found the easiest and most-profitable approach is to focus on a niche audience with a distinct point of view.
Media critic Eric Deggans believes it has created perilous consequences for journalism and our society.
Race Baiter: How the Media Wields Dangerous Words to Divide a Nation By Eric Deggans
How the Lakers DirecTV blackout has affected bar and restaurant businesses
Lakers fans with DirecTV can breathe a sigh of relief. The satellite broadcaster finally reached a deal with the Time Warner channel, Sportsnet, which now carries the Lakers.
DirecTV subscribers missed out on the early games of the season, while negotiations between the broadcasters stalled.
Many sports bars and restaurants with DirecTV have had a hard time attracting customers without the Lakers on their screens, especially in the L.A. Live complex in Downtown L.A.
Aaron Garisek, Director of Operations of the ESPNZone at L.A. Live tells us how the Lakers blackout affected his business.