Three women graduate from Marine Corps infantry training for the first time in history. Then, Sony Entertainment announces cuts and a shift of focus from film to TV, BMW debuts all electric i3 at LA Auto Show, Artists and DJs unite to raise support for Typhoon Haiyan victims, Jimmy Au of Beverly Hills focuses on finding the right clothes for shorter men, plus much more.
Women complete grueling Marine combat training for first time
In September, 114 women graduated from the Marine boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina.
From there, 42 passed the physical requirements for training, 19 volunteered to do it, 15 followed through, seven made it through the first month, and just four completed the course. Yesterday, three of those women graduated from Camp Geiger in North Carolina.
RELATED: Women pass Marine training, clear first hurdle to combat role
Joining us now to talk about this milestone is Major Mary Jennings Hegar, who was part of a lawsuit that challenged the Department of Defense's ban on women serving in ground combat.
Sony Entertainment announces cuts, shift of focus from film to TV
How many of you saw the film "After Earth"? What about "White House Down" or "Smurfs 2"?
If you didn't see any of these, you're not alone. Those were all box office flops this year, all from the film studio Sony Entertainment.
RELATED: Sony to cut $250M, reduce slate of films and lay off employees
The company made a dramatic announcement yesterday that they would make a significant shift from movies and move to TV. They also announced that they would be looking to cut more than $200 million over the next few years.
With more on this we're joined by Andy Fixmer, he's an entertainment reporter with Bloomberg
Update: Fwd.us hosts immigration 'hackathon' in Mountain View
Updated, Nov. 22:
Earlier this week, the advocacy group Fwd.us, led by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, paired leaders in the tech industry with young immigrants. Their task was to develop new ways to advocate for solutions to the immigration debate.
On Wednesday we checked in with one of the young dreamers who was taking part in the project, Justino Mora. Mora's team won the Best Advocacy Award at the hackathon, and he joins the show to explain what happened during the hackathon.
Earlier:
Politicians seem to have reached an impasse when it comes to immigration reform, so some young tech types are moving ahead without them.
Earlier this week in Mountain View, the advocacy group Fwd.Us, led by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is hosting what they're calling an immigration hackathon. Leaders in the tech industry will team up with young immigrants to develop new ways to advocate for solutions to the immigration debate.
Friday Flashback: Filibusters, Obamacare, Trey Radel and more
It's time for our weekly analysis of the news, the Friday Flashback. Joining us today is Nancy Cook of National Journal and James Rainey of the Los Angeles Times.
They called it the nuclear option. Yesterday, Harry Reed hit the red button, and, well, so far, we are all still standing. Of course we are talking about the vote in the U.S. Senate to limit filibusters. What's the background on this?
Republicans are really angry about this, or at least acting like they are. But if they end up controlling the Senate, and the White House, won't they will find this very convenient?
Some are saying that this is going to set of a new level of partisan rancor, beyond anything we've seen before. Hard to imagine how that is possible. The other view is that this will make it easier for the President to achieve some of his goals.
Meanwhile, Obamacare. This week, Republicans released a "playbook" that outlines ways a GOP candidate can tar a Democratic opponent with the stain of the health care mess. It includes talking points, such as premiums are increasing, more people will be uninsured, and taxes are going up. How effective is this going to be back in local districts, and how worried are Democrats?
We are about a week away from the President's deadline. He promised that the healthcare.gov website would be fixed by the end of this month. Any indication that will actually happen?
An Ohio man and former small business owner named John Boehner wrote about his troubles trying to get signed up for Obamacare on his blog. I guess the Speaker of the House had a little trouble with the DC healthcare website?
Here in California, the board implementing Obamacare voted not to allow insurance companies to continue offering those so-called sub-standard policies. This was after the President reversed himself last week, and said insurance companies could continue to offer these plans to policy holders who liked them.
Yesterday freshman Congressman Trey Radel of Florida said he was taking a leave of absence, after attempting to buy cocaine from an undercover DEA agent. He claims he was suffering from a disease, and told reporters he will undergo treatment...
Radel was a rising tea party conservative, and among his favorite reforms, drug tests for food stamp recipients. Your thoughts?
We have to talk a little about the stock market. Yesterday, the Dow closed above 16,000. The blue chip index is up 22 percent so far this year, making this the longest bull market in ten years. Somehow, with millions of people still unemployed, or working and barely able to survive, it seems out-of-whack, maybe even cruel. What's behind the rally, and will working people ever see any of the wealth this stock run up is creating?
USGS Study: 1200 square miles of Central Valley land is sinking
A new study shows sinking land in California's Central Valley is affecting flood control, water deliveries, and high speed rail.
The US Geological Survey says the fault lies with large groundwater withdrawals. The changing terrain will be quite a challenge for people looking to build the high speed rail system.
For Capital Public Radio, Amy Quinton reports that finding a solution won't be easy.
'Family Guy' star Alex Borstein on her new HBO show 'Getting On'
Actress Alex Borstein is a TV legend, with 12 seasons on a show that's been a cultural touchstone of politically incorrect comedy, "Family Guy."
Though her voice might be recognizable — she plays Lois Griffin on the show — you will soon be able to see her face regularly on HBO's Americanization of the British comedy "Getting On," opposite Laurie Metcalf and Niecy Nash.
Like the British original, the U.S. show takes place in a hospital's all-women geriatric ward. Borstein, Metcalf and Nash play nurses who have to juggle the many personalities, egos and needs of their patients. Tess Vigeland talked to Borstein about her role as Lois and what to expect from her new show.
Interview Highlights:
On the most surprising thing about doing 'Family Guy":
"The most surprising thing I think is that every time I show up for a table read, I laugh out loud. And that's surprising because honestly most of the time in TV, you get a script and you have kind of seen everything and heard everything and every single time there is something new in there that makes me guffaw. Like I laugh out loud or I'm shocked or I'm pleasantly surprised."
On how "Getting On" is both a comedy and a drama:
"That's what I love about it. That it's just real. People will say, 'Oh, do you love getting to play drama?' I don't feel like I'm in a drama. I'm just playing a real person. A real, fully dimensional character and we all are. These women are dying and it's very real and people in life tend to not want to think about that death is going to happen to all of us and we are all going to lose our mommies, and no matter how old you are that doesn't get easier. So, I think the show is just real. You're laughing out loud sometimes at something and then you're kind of bummed out and touched.
"One of my favorite things about the show is that it has a gritty kind of documentary film that you are kind of a voyeur, you're peeking into something you shouldn't see, that people don't want to see. And we're kind of pulling the curtain back, but at the same time we are not looking at camera or aware of a camera. I just think it's a neat fly on the wall kind of show."
On looking for a show that would push different buttons:
"I knew that I wanted to play something that was just really well rounded, very real and it's really hard at my age to find something that affords you the opportunity. A lot of times you are relegated to just being a mom in a sitcom, which is great work and can be so funny, but you tend to kind of hit the same notes again. You're the wet blanket, the voice of reason, you nag, you complain about not having sex. It's so cool to be playing this character who, yes she is still lonely and she is a disaster in terms of relationships, both friendships and anything intimate. But it's more than that. She has all these different sides, and all these bizarre wants and desires and she is a fully realized person. So I just feel so lucky to have the opportunity to play someone like this."
On whether she's experienced what its like to be in an assisted-living facility:
"My grandmother was in a facility at the end of her life, and I think it will be seven years in December that she passed away. It's so hard to watch, but there are also really funny moments. That's what I love about the show, that it captures the reality of what happens in those places…the indignity of aging. I have a 1-year-old. The baby was 2 months old when we shot the pilot, and you're in the thick of wiping bottoms and taking care of this little helpless creature and you just can't help but see that it's the same thing.
"Somehow, one end of it we find terrifying, fearful and we feel ashamed. We don't want anyone to see us that way and the other we think is adorable and we take pictures of. My husband and I would snap photos of large number twos that the baby had that went all the way up her back because we thought it was hilarious. Why do we have such a difference of opinion when it's on the other end of the spectrum?"
On working with a diverse, female-heavy cast:
"It just feels good. I like women. Not just in this business, you hit a certain age and roles dry up and there's not a lot. That's changing, but it still holds true. But in real life a woman in her 60s and 70s are invisible. Old people are invisible, and especially women. I love that this show is shining a light on those faces. They cast these women with these faces that are just phenomenal. They are real and they have lived and they tell such stories and they are beautiful. No one is going through hair and makeup and no one is going through wardrobe fitting. Everyone is just comfortable and in these gowns and robes and slippers. It does feel a little revolutionary. It's just something really freeing about it and daring."
BMW debuts all electric i3 at LA Auto Show
The LA Auto Show opens to the public today. A new, third generation Mini Cooper makes its debut, along with the Jaguar F-Type coupe. But the belle of the ball may be BMW's first designed-from-the-ground-up, all electric i3.
If you're 5'8" or under, Jimmy Au's has just the right fit (photos)
In Beverly Hills, just around the corner from designer brand shops like Hugo Boss and Gucci, there's a specialty store that's survived two recessions and the ever-increasing popularity of online shopping. It's called Jimmy Au's for Men 5'8" and Under and only caters to one type of customer: short men.
"You would think all you would have to do is shout 'Hey I've got clothes for short men' -- but that doesn't cause men to come running," says Alan Au, Manager at Jimmy Au's for Men 5'8" and Under.
According to Au, part of their continued success has come from something as simple as the right business name.
"We used to be called Jimmy Au's Small and Short and it worked for a while, and then I decided we should change it because some guys won't walk through the door because it says 'small and short,'" Au says.
More than 50 years old now, the business has come a long way from humble beginnings. Alan's dad, Jimmy, started out custom fitting suits in Hawaii from the trunk of his car. Jimmy Au stands 5'1" and he soon realized he was better at fitting shorter men. So, Mr. Au decided to focus on what he knows best.
Today, everything about the shopping experience at Jimmy Au's is tailored for short men. The mannequins in the window were custom built so they stand 5'8" instead of the standard 6'. Even the display shelves are placed lower, and the Au's strategy has worked. Shorter men from all over SoCal -- and the U.S. for that matter -- come to Jimmy Au's and drop thousands of dollars at a time.
Au says stores specifically for short men just don't exist anymore, partly because it's a limited market. But why all the "Big and Tall" stores and no "Short and Smalls?"
"There's a huge market for big and tall because big and tall guys cannot settle for clothing," Au says, "They must have clothes that are big enough for them otherwise they go naked."
It all comes down to settling, Au says, because plenty of short men figure they just can't find better fitting clothes.
Ira Kalb, professor of marketing at USC's Marshall School of Business, says Jimmy Au's ability to successfully market to a specific customer is key for small businesses these days.
"You create this idea that you're a boutique and that you specialize," Kalb says, "That will draw people from a much wider radius than you would if you were just going to a chain store."
So, if you run a small business, take some advice from Jimmy Au: You have to know where, and sometimes how high, your customer stands.
Warsaw climate change conference yields few results
For two weeks, international delegates have been in Warsaw discussing climate change. Today is the last day of the conference, but these meetings — known formally as the 19th session of the Conference of the Parties — haven't produced all that much in terms of results.
For more on just what's been happening at this conference, we're joined by Michael Dorsey, the interim director of energy and the environment at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies in Washington, DC.
Artists and DJs unite to raise support for Typhoon Haiyan victims
As relief efforts continue in the Philippines following Typhoon Haiyan, some here in Los Angeles are finding new ways to support victims of the disaster.
On Saturday, the Art Show Benefit for the Philippines will feature music, art and apparel to raise awareness and money for Filipino survivors in need of food, water and other aid. Prominently featured at this event are some of the best DJs in the world, who just so happen to have ties to the Philippines.
Andrew Im, one of the organizers of the event, joins the show with more.
Did city officials overlook earthquake fault in Hollywood?
Crews are currently hard at work on a $200 million residential and commercial development in Hollywood called Blvd6200. Turns out, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times, this massive development may in the process of being built right above an earthquake fault.
A fault that city officials may have overlooked in reports when they signed off on the project. For more on this we're joined by Ron Lin of the LA Times.
New doc looks at the life and work of cartoonist Gahan Wilson
You may not know the name Gahan Wilson, but there's a good chance you've seen his work. The cartoonist has been penning disturbing yet hilarious cartoons for decades that have ended up in places like the New Yorker and Playboy.
A new documentary, "Gahan Wilson: Born Dead, Still Weird", looks at the life and work of this lovely man with a very demented sense of humor. Host Alex Cohen talks with its director Steven Charles Jaffe.
Tim Heidecker on his new album 'Some Things Never Stay The Same'
Tim Heidecker is one-half of the popular Cartoon Network show, "Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!" and stars as Gene on "Eastbound and Down."
But he's also the other half in a band, Heidecker and Wood. Heidecker joins Take Two's Alex Cohen to talk about his new album, "Some Things Never Stay The Same."