Families on food stamps face cuts to benefits on November 1; Study finds breast milk sold online is often tainted with bacteria; 'Back To Normal' and the misdiagnosis of mental illness in children; Tuesday Reviewsday: Lorde, Pusha T, Gretchen Parlato and more; How the rising jellyfish population poses a threat to humans and sea life; California's newest cities face extinction; More Americans open to online dating, Pew says and much more.
Families on food stamps face cuts to benefits on November 1
A major deadline is looming next week that will strip $5 billion for the fiscal year from the nation's food stamp program.
The Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program — or SNAP — has seen several slight increases as part of the federal stimulus program that are all expiring at the end of the month unless Congress intervenes. Republicans want to cut $4 billion a year from the program where Democrats want to see cuts of $400 million.
Beginning in 2009, the federal stimulus increased SNAP funding by $45.2 billion, increasing the monthly benefit from $588 to $668 a month for a family of four. If the stimulus is not extended, SNAP recipients will receive a 5 percent cut, bringing the monthly benefit to $632 a month. The benefits currently go to 47 million Americans every month.
It's unlikely the two sides will be able to put a deal together before next week's deadline.
Calculating the cost of vandalism in National Parks
Earlier this month, three Boy Scout leaders videotaped themselves destroying a 170-million-year-old rock formation in Goblin Valley State Park in Utah.
The video, which was posted on Facebook, has received a tremendous amount of backlash, and two of the men could face criminal charges for their actions.
It raises a question about the costs of these types of incidents, and what can be done to prevent them.
For more, we're joined by David Lamfrom, California Desert Senior Program Manager for the National Parks Conservation Association.
California's newest cities face extinction
A number of cities in the Inland Empire are struggling financially, despite signs the regional economy is finally beginning to pick up. In part, that's because their problems are not solely tied to the local economy.
Municipalities rely on Sacramento for a sizeable chunk of their budgets, and what Sacramento giveth, it can taketh away.
For the California Report, Alex Schmidt reports from Riverside County, four of California's youngest cities may die an early death because of changes to the state's funding formula that governs who gets what.
'Back To Normal' and the misdiagnosis of mental illness in children
It's every parent's nightmare to hear that his or her child has a mental illness.
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control, over the past decade there has been a 41 percent increase in rates of ADHD diagnoses, a 40-fold spike in bipolar disorder diagnoses and diagnoses of autism spectrum disorder have increased by nearly 80 percent.
But is a diagnosis from a doctor really mean a life-long sentence of drugs and therapy for a child? Or can normal childhood behavior be mistaken for a mental disorder?
In his new book, "Back To Normal," Clinical psychologist Dr. Enrico Gnaulati outlines the reasons why he thinks U.S. children are being overdiagnosed for mental illnesses like ADHD, bipolar disorder and autism.
In addition, he guides parents, teachers and other professionals in ways to distinguish between true psychiatric disorders in need of acute treatment and normal childhood reactions to stress and the growing demands of adolescence.
Dr. Gnaulati joins the show to talk about his new book and his research into mental health in children.
Study finds breast milk sold online is often tainted with bacteria
According to a study published in the Journal of Pediatrics, human breast milk bought online very often had high amounts of bad bacteria that can be harmful to babies.
We'll talk to a researcher about the industry behind breast milk commerce.
Why Hollywood bigwigs and moviegoers alike love the horror genre
Tis the season for spooky, and nothing says Halloween like a horror movie.
Judging by what we've been seeing in the theaters lately, Americans like to be frightened, and that suits Hollywood just fine. Scary movies can be a lot cheaper to make and tend to do very well at the box office.
Tatiana Siegel wrote about Tinsel Town's obsession with terror for Hollywood Reporter. She joins the show to explain.
Tuesday Reviewsday: Lorde, Pusha T, Gretchen Parlato and more
It's time for Tuesday Reviewsday, our regular segment in which we talk about the best in new music. This week we're joined by Oliver Wang of Soul-Sides.com and music supervisor Morgan Rhodes.
Oliver's Picks:
Artist: Lorde
Album: Pure Heroine
Release Date: September 27
Label: Universal
Songs: "Royals" and "White Teeth Teens"
This is the New Zealand teenager's debut album. She had a solid summer hit with "Royals," which originally debuted on Lorde's "Love Club" EP. The new album offers more of the same: minimalist production by Joel Little and Lorde's haunting, measured vocals.
Artist: Pusha T
Album: My Name is My Name
Release Date: October 8
Label: Good/Def Jam
Songs: "Suicide" and "Nostalgia"
This is the first solo album by former Clipse member, Pusha T. Still rapping about cocaine! Still sounding good doing it! Exec. produced by Kanye West.
Morgan's Picks:
Artist: Gretchen Parlato
Album: Gretchen Parlato Live in NYC
Label: Obliq Sound
Songs: "Butterfly" and "Weak"
Gretchen Parlato is the first vocalist ever admitted to the Theonious Monk Jazz Institute, and later won first place in the Theonious Monk international vocal competition. She's revered for her interpretations of R&B hits, and the album celebrates a personal milestone.
Artist: Robert Glasper Experiment
Album: Black Radio 2
Release Date: October 29
Label: Blue Note Recordings
Songs: "Let It Ride Ft. Norah Jones" and "Somebody Else Ft. Emeli Sande"
This is the third album in the Grammy Award-winning musician's "Black Radio" series. He's one of the bright new Jazz producers who has produced for other notable artists including Mos Def, J Dilla, Erykah Badu, Jay-Z, Talib Kweli, Common and more.
What do you think of these songs? Post your review in comments, on Facebook or tweet us . We'll feature the best in our weekly "Comments Box" feature.
Latino voters in Coachella Valley seeking access to water, sewage services
A group of residents in the Coachella Valley has complained to the Coachella Valley Water District about poor water access and sewage problems. They say at issue is the lack of diversity among local leaders and they claim the water district has violated California's Voting Rights Act by not allowing for sufficient representation of Latinos. For more on this, we're joined by Megan Beaman. She's a civil rights lawyer representing some of the Latino voters living in the Coachella Valley.
Orange County's canyon lands: a rural oasis amid suburban sprawl
Orange County has more than 3,000 people per square mile, making it one of the most densely populated areas in the country. Amid the suburban sprawl, there are still thousands of acres of open space known as "the canyons."
KPCC's Ed Joyce says, despite apparent protections, the scenic region is under threat of development.
Hopi Foundation gives anti-torture award
On the Hopi Lands in Northern Arizona, an international group of health care workers gathered recently to honor the latest recipient of the Barbara Chester Award, given by the Hopi Foundation to those who work with torture victims.
It is named after psychologist Barbara Chester, who developed the first treatment program in the U.S. for victims of torture. From the Fronteras Desk, reporter Constance DeVereaux has the story.
Getting to know the mountain lions that live in LA's hills
The mountain lion has many names, among them, puma, cougar and ghost cat. There are somewhere between 3,000 and 6,000 mountain lions in the state of California.
They're a rare species, so a sighting is a pretty thrilling event for both biologists and nature lovers. Mike Kessler followed the history of the large feline to present day for his story in Los Angeles Magazine and joins us to talk about it.
How the rising jellyfish population poses a threat to humans and sea life
You might have heard about the jellyfish swarm that recently shut down a Swedish nuclear plant. A huge number of jellyfish clogged the pipes that bring water in to cool the plant, forcing it to go offline.
It's not the first time this has happened. Shutdowns have occurred in the Philippines, Japan, even locally the Diablo Canyon reactor near San Luis Obispo, and it's likely this problem could continue. Marine scientists have warned that there has been rapid growth in the jellyfish population.
Lisa-Ann Gershwin, author of "Stung! On Jellyfish Blooms and the Future of the Ocean," joins the show with more.
Curbing downtown LA's dogs
Downtown LA's Business Improvement District recently installed signs downtown featuring a picture of a dog raising its leg and doing his business with a big red line through it.
The sign says "NO dog waste on anything metal, a building, a planter, the sidewalk," but there aren't a lot of other options downtown, so what's a dog owner to do?
The person behind the signs, Blair Besten, of the Historic Downtown Business Improvement district joins the show with more.
More Americans open to online dating, Pew says
Not long ago, most Americans viewed online dating as a last resort, or something for only the most desperate of daters.
Couples who found each other via the Internet would often make up elaborate "how we met" stories to avoid admitting to their digital courtship. Now that longtime stigma seems to be on the decline.
A new Pew study released Monday shows the number of Americans using online dating services has tripled in five years. In addition, 59 percent of people surveyed said that they believed online dating to be a good way to meet people, up from 44 percent in 2005.
For more on the findings of the Pew study and on the state of online dating today we're joined by UCLA sociologist and dating consultant Jessica Carbino.