KPCC's Josie Huang reports from the K-pop Convention, KCON, in Irvine, where fans from all over the U.S. came to see their favorite Korean Pop stars. Plus, we look ahead to the second presidential debate coming up this Tuesday, we break down Prop 34, and a new report shows a record number of immigrants running for Congress, and much more.
A look ahead to the second presidential debate
President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney face off for the second debate tomorrow night with national tracking polls showing a dead heat just three weeks until election day.
We'll check in on what the polls are saying with Molly Ball of The Atlantic. She currently has a piece in The Atlantic about why grannies love Paul Ryan.
Immigrants show strong political influence in 2012 Congressional race
On November 6th, a record number of candidates from immigrant communities — 80 in total — will be running for seats in Congress.
A group called the New American Leaders put together a report on these candidates. The organization also works to train first and second generation immigrants to run for office.
Sayu Bhojwani, the group's Founding Director joins the show.
Props To You: Eliminating the death penalty in California with Prop 34
California’s Prop 34 would replace the death penalty with a sentence of life in prison.
The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) says it would save the state an estimated $130 million per year, but opponents of the bill say those savings won’t go back to taxpayers and that abolishing the death penalty would be a menace to public safety.
KPCC’s Lauren Osen reports on the facts behind Prop 34.
National death penalty debate increasingly hinges on cost
Seventeen states have already done away with the death penalty, and efforts are underway in many others to end it. Those efforts are bringing together some unlikely allies: many longtime supporters of capital punishment are now changing their tune due to concerns about the high costs incurred, not just in California but in some traditionally conservative states as well.
Reporter Ashby Jones wrote about this for the Wall Street Journal.
K-Pop fans from near and far descend on KCON in Irvine
Millions of Americans got their first taste of Korean pop with the song by "Gangnam Style" by PSY. You’ve heard the song at the ballpark, on the Internet, even on this very radio station, but K-POP is much more than "Gangnam Style."
The genre already has loyal legions of fans across the United States. More than 9,000 of them descended on the Verizon Amphitheater in Irvine this weekend for one of the largest K-POP events ever held outside Korea. And as KPCC’s Josie Huang discovered, a celebration of Korean culture turned out to be a very multicultural affair.
The star-studded concert isn’t until night, but by morning, thousands of fans are already pressed shoulder-to-shoulder. There are autograph signings with music idols, K-POP dance, and singing contests.
KCON is filled with fans whose love for catchy KPOP tunes and eye-candy singers surmounts language barriers, and predates "Gangnam Style."
Eighteen-year-old Thalia Astello from Lawton, Okla., was first in line to get her CD signed by members of B.A.P. They walk into the autograph tent, wearing coordinated jackets and heavy mousse - and the crowd goes wild.
Astello emerged, smiling and shaking.
”I was just so excited that I forgot the very the very little Korean that I know," Astello said. "But I did get to tell Junhong (a.k.a. Zelo) Happy birthday because his birthday is in a few days.”
Then there’s Chula Vista resident, Peter Yeager. He was at KCON as part of a 54th birthday present from his two daughters, who first introduced him to KPOP. They're fangirls, but his presence is a little surprising considering he usually listens to German industrial metal bands like Rammstein.
”It’s happy and upbeat music, whereas some of that other stuff I listen to – not so happy," Yeager said.
There were so many others, like the three sisters who drove 11 hours from Apache County, Ariz., and the 17-year-old girl who came by herself from Mexico City. There's the cashier from Springfield, Mo. who saved up months for the trip. All came from places with tiny to non-existent Korean communities. K-POP has taken hold in those places, largely thanks to the Internet.
“And that’s giving direct access to all these people for free," said Andrea Kim, better known as Shin-B, a bilingual hip-hop artist who’s worked with K-POP producers in Korea.
"It’s just over-the-top and it’s so extravagant and they get sucked into the high production value," Kim said.
Now, some non-Koreans are even trying to become part of the K-POP phenomenon.
David Lehre, a.k.a. Chad Future, is a 20-something performer and comedic filmmaker based in LA. He’s one of several white K-POP performers at KCON.
"When I saw those videos and how big they were, how exciting they were, I was like, this is what I want to do and everybody said to me, ‘You can’t do K-POP, because you’re not Korean and I was like well, Why?" said Lehre.
Earlier this year, he debuted his new single "Hello," in which he raps a little in Korean. The reviews from K-POP fans skeptical of his act have not been kind.
As I walk the grounds of KCON, I notice most fans are Asian — of Filipino, Vietnamese and Chinese descent — but there aren’t many Koreans. It dawns on me that non-Koreans far outnumber Koreans here. Lydia Kim, a volunteer with KCON's organizer, Mnet, noticed it too. She, for one, is more into Maroon 5 than K-POP, but Kim was impressed by how much non-Korean fans know about Korean culture.
"Honestly, it makes me kind of proud to be Korean to see a culture that so many different races want to be a part of and really admires," said Kim.
Nightfall came, and it was time for the big concert, which included performances by Hyuna – the pop star with a cameo in the "Gangnam Style" video. But some of the evening’s loudest screams were reserved for a new band.
EXO-M members sing in English, Korean, and Mandarin. The band’s trying to tap into the massive Chinese market, but it’s apparently also doing quite well among American audiences if the sing-alongs at KCON were any indication.
So, as if learning Korean isn’t hard enough, fans of EXO-M will have to learn Chinese, too.
The shuttle Endeavour finally home at the California Science Center
It's never easy getting anywhere in L.A. on time. That was certainly true this weekend for the Endeavour.
The space shuttle arrived at it's final home at the California Science Center yesterday, a full 17 hours late.
But that gave on-lookers plenty of time to head out and see the ship in person as it navigated surface streets.
One of those people in the crowd was Chris Hawthorne, Architecture critic for the LA Times. He joins the show to talk about his experience witnessing the Endeavour's precise movement across town.
Malala Yousafzai, Pakistani teen shot by Taliban, inspires protests
Malala Yousafzai is the 14-year-old Pakistani girl who was shot by the Taliban last week for speaking out in favor of girl's education.
She's in Great Britain where she'll undergo surgery to repair her shattered skull. Her fate has made headlines all over the world, including in Pakistan itself, where there's been an outpouring of outrage at her shooting.
We'll speak with journalist and author Ahmed Rashid.
New book looks at Arizona's controversial history with immigration
Arizona has become the epicenter for one of the most polarizing issues in America: illegal immigration.
It's controversial immigration enforcement policy, known as SB 1070, was hotly debated, made it to the Supreme Court and sparked protests across the country. But before Gov. Jan Brewer pushed the state into the immigration spotlight, Arizona had a history of difficulties with its immigrant population.
To learn more we talk to Jeff Biggers, a native of the Copper State and the author of a new book called, "State Out of the Union, Arizona and the Final Showdown over the American Dream."
State Out of the Union: Arizona and the Final Showdown over the American Dream, by Jeff Biggers
PHOTOS: Idaho resident re-creates Downtown LA in his basement
Ten years. That's how long it took one man to recreate his youth.
70-year-old Larry Kmetz spent five decades living in Southern California, so when he and his wife retired to Idaho he found himself missing the streets of downtown LA.
So he turned, of all places, to his basement.We'll talk to him from his home in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho
Click here to see a photo of Kmetz's creation.
Should 9-11 plotters at Guantanamo Bay reveal details of their CIA interrogations?
Let's go to Guantanamo Bay, where a pre-trial hearing is underway for the alleged plotters of the September 11 attacks. One of them is Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of the attacks.
One of the most contentious issues raised today is whether to allow the accused to publicly reveal what occurred during the time he was detained by the Central Intelligence Agency.
Prosecutors are arguing against the release of this information for national security reasons. For more on this we speak to Carol Rosenberg, a reporter with the Miami Herald.
We reached her at Guantanamo bay where she's covering the hearings.