Years of activism.  Years of promises. And yet, not much seems to have changed in Hollywood--at least when it comes to the Academy Awards.   This year's major nominations----very white and very male. 

And, it's old vs. new Hollywood----old fashioned theatrical releases vs. streaming----pitting one against another and today's Oscar nominations show that war all to well.

Speaking of white and male, Cory Booker exiting the Democratic primary race leaves the leading candidates very white, and mostly male--what happened to the once promising campaign of the New Jersey senator?

Iranians are taking to the streets by the thousands, but they're not shouting "death to America"--instead they're expressing anger at their own regime after it admitted to shooting down a civilian airliner last week by mistake.   We'll get to the complex roots of a changing Iranian society.

And Harry and Meghan will mostly get their wishes to divorce themselves from the British Royal Family.......we'll take a look at how "Megxit" could reshape the future of the royals. 

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A state senator in Vermont is looking to prove a point--he wants to ban the use and possession of cell phones in that state for anyone under 21-years-of-age!

No, he's not really serious.........but maybe he should be?

December jobs numbers are out today and while they're solid, peel back the layers and they reveal some possibly worrying trends.

And new internal emails leaked from Boeing reveal an extremely troubling culture at the aerospace giant when it comes to the doomed 737 MAX jet.

New research reveals an intriguing connection between higher minimum wages and a lower suicide rate.  Also turns out that even small increases in the minimum wage can increase life expectancy!

And Hollywood producers were extremely busy in 2019, turning out a record 532 scripted shows; that number is expected to jump in 2020.  Does anyone have any time to watch all of that television, and is the quantity of new television diluting the quality?

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California's forthcoming budget proposal has an ambitious plan in it for the state to start its own brand of generic prescription drugs with an eye on dramatically cutting prices.  Can it work? 

Uber is making some changes to its pricing system, but only in California........and it would seem only as a way to work around the state's new independent contractor law, which was written specifically with Uber in mind. 

It appears the Ukrainian Airlines 737 that crashed shortly after taking off from Tehran's airport was a victim of Iranian-U.S. tensions:  there's now evidence showing the plane was accidentally shot down by an Iranian missile.

Speaking of those tensions, the House of Representatives is set to approve new limits on President Trump's ability to launch attacks on Iran.

And there's drama in the United Kingdom where Prince Harry and his American bride Meghan Markle are planning to bail on the royal family; apparently they didn't even give a head's up to the Queen!  Is this the beginning of the end of the British royal family?

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Even after Iranian ballistic missiles were hurled toward Iraqi military bases housing American troops, the prospects of a broader war in the Middle East seem lessened today.  That's because those missiles, launched from inside Iran, didn't do much in the way of damage and didn't kill any Americans; and the Trump administration has decided to hold its return fire, for now.

So is that it? This latest episode of increased tensions between the U.S. and Iran is all over?

Most likely not, and not by a long shot. In fact, computer systems for the city of Las Vegas have been hacked, and Iranian hackers are the chief suspects--and that could be just the start of sustained cyber attacks by Iran.

What about Israel, how has it managed to stay quietly on the sidelines of this episode........and how long can that last?

And then there's the politics, because there's always politics:  how is the killing of Qasam Soleimani likely to be used by the Trump reelection campaign?  We'll go in depth on all of it.

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Another scandal looks to be unfolding within the ranks of the LAPD. Members of an elite crime suppression team are under investigation over allegations that they falsified records and wrongly listed innocent people as gang members. Police Chief Michel Moore says 10 officers have been assigned to home and others have been taken off patrol. 

While tensions are escalating between the U.S. and Iran, Israel seems to be distancing itself from conflict. But will that keep the country from getting involved anyway since Iran has repeatedly threatened Israel over the years? 

Another disaster hits Puerto Rico. A 6.4 earthquake shakes the island as it's still rebuilding following the devastation from Hurricane Maria. 

A mystery illness has officials in Hong Kong on high alert. The disease — an unidentified form of viral pneumonia — has sent several dozen people to the hospital in mainland China and Hong Kong. The U.S. Consulate General in one mainland city even issued a health alert. With all the air traffic between here and China, is there a chance the disease could spread here? 

All the fires in Australia are devastating wildlife. Millions of animals have died, including kangaroos and koalas. Can these species recover when the fires are finally put out? 

One man is willing to do anything for his girlfriend. And we mean anything. 

 

 

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The waiting game now begins. Will Iran or won't Iran retaliate following last week's assassination of Qassem Soleimani? And when will it happen? These are questions that military and intelligence officials are furiously working to find out. So far, Iran's hasn't moved ballistic missiles into firing positions but the alert status has been raised so that they are prepared to move and could be fired soon. Iran also says it's going to abandon the remaining limits of its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Will all this happening, is it possible President Trump actually made the right strategic decision to take out Soleimani?

This past fall's wildfire season across California wasn't as bad as the ones in the previous couple of years. It was also the first that utility companies like So Cal Edison and PG&E purposely shut off power during high wind events. At first, officials said there was no way to tell if the shutoffs actually prevented wildfires. Now, one researcher from Stanford University says YES they did.

New data coming out shows even more problems with those Boeing 737 Max planes. The New York Times says Boeing did an internal audit at the request of the FAA to figure out if had accurately assessed the dangers of key systems. The biggest issue found were previously unreported concerns with the wiring that helps control the tail of the plane.

Recreational marijuana is legal but not quite everywhere. There are many cities where dispensaries are still illegal. So, that means residents in those areas have to travel elsewhere. A local dispensary down in Orange County figured out how to save people the trip even if they're in a city where there are no dispensaries. 

 

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Are we now marching to the drum beats of yet another war in the Middle East? A U.S. airstrike kills a top Iranian General, Qassem Soleimani. He was the architect of Iran's interventions across the Middle East and the head of the country's elite Quds Force. President Trump explained he ordered the killing because he says Soleimani was "plotting to kill" many Americans. The president also said he ordered the strike to avoid a war, not to start one. Was this airstrike the beginning of a much larger conflict with Iran? How much does this destabilize an already volatile Middle East? Should our allies in the region be worried?

The situation here in the U.S. is still stable. The economy is humming along and many people are enjoying what's left of their Winter vacation before returning to work on Monday. But one thing a lot of people aren't doing is spending those gift cards they got over the holidays. New data shows about $3 billion in cards will go unredeemed this year alone. So, why aren't people using them? 

And the debate about vinyl vs. CD might be coming to an end--with vinyl winning. 

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Australia is burning. Much of the country is up in flames due to fast-moving wildfires. Tourists have even been trapped on beaches because there was nowhere else to go. The situation is very similar to our firestorms here in California. 

President Trump starts 2020 with dual conflicts to address on different sides of the world. Defense Secretary Mark Esper says the U.S. has indications that Iran or its proxy forces may be planning additional attacks against American interests in the Mideast. This comes after the president blamed Iran for protesters storming the American embassy in Baghdad. Then, there's North Korea. Kim Jong Un has been hinting lately at new nuclear tests. 

Strange drones are causing a big commotion in remote parts of Colorado and Nebraska. More than a dozen of them have been seen recently.  But no one is sure who's behind it or what they're doing or why they're doing it. 

What started as the most diverse field of Democratic presidential candidates ever is losing some of its diversity again as Julian Castro announced he's dropping out of the race.

Is Baby Yoda leading a puppetry renaissance of sorts in Hollywood? 

Highway signs are there to help people avoid accidents--not create them. But it's a different story in Florida.  

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This coming weekend could make traveling over Thanksgiving look like a picnic.

Get ready, holiday travelers, because if you haven't already skipped town on the way to your Christmas or New Year's Eve destination you could be in for a brutal weekend of travel. 

It didn't take long for President Trump to lash out over the extremely critical editorial from Christianity Today magazine, which called for Trump's impeachment and removal from office.  But evangelical Americans have showed little wavering in their support of Trump.

Even as facial recognition cameras start popping up in more places, it turns out the software isn't every good at actually recognizing faces--especially if those faces are on people of color.  

Fresh off of his performance at last night's Democratic presidential debate, we talk with billionaire Tom Steyer.......and ask him if he might be more effective spending his money to force Trump out of the White House in other ways.

And the reviews for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker....well they're not good.  Which leads us to ask, why is it so difficult to produce a TV series or move franchise finale that people actually like?

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So you've impeached an American president.........now what?

Well if you're Nancy Pelosi, the next step apparently is..........to wait.  The Speaker of the House will slow play the just-approved articles of impeachment against President Trump, she is demanding a fair process and not just a show trial in the Senate.  Will her gambit work? 

And how does the impeachment of President Trump stack up against the two other times it's been done in American history, plus the one time it came close for Richard Nixon?

The President will launch his reelection campaign under the cloud of impeachment and if you believe him and his advisors, that's exactly how they like it.  We get the rare opportunity to sit down with the communications director for the Trump 2020 campaign to get an inside look at how they plan to retain control of the White House.

And the New York Times recently had highly detailed and personalized data from about 12 million cell phone users dumped in their laps.

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