Which Way, L.A.?

New FAA rules might require you to register your drone before you fly it, and there are several regulations here in California about where these airborne overlords can go. But Sacramento and the FAA aren't exactly on the same page. Guest host Barbara Bogaev tries to make sense of the territorial dispute in the skies.

The state legislature is in recess now, but come the New Year they'll tackle a raft of big divisive issues, and face-off with Governor Jerry Brown in a new climate of shifting power dynamics. We get a preview of the year ahead and take stock of 2015. 

"A new generation of hyper-luxury homes with stratospheric price tags is colonizing the most gilded hillsides and canyons of Los Angeles." That's according to the New York Times, in a series about shell companies that hide the real ownership of such properties--not just from celebrity hounds but local and international law enforcement. We hear about the "Starship Enterprise" and other monstrosities in Bel-Air and around the country.

A medical school with a difference is planned for Southern California by Kaiser, the managed care system that runs hospitals and provides health insurance. The goal is hands-on experience for doctors trained to practice in systems of what's called "coordinated care." With the emphasis on new technology and cutting costs, does a doctor's "bedside manner" still have a future?

At the Climate Change Summit in Paris, the major players insisted that reductions in greenhouse emissions be voluntary. The City of San Diego has taken a big step further. It has established mandatory deadlines — enforceable by law — including 100% renewable energy generation by 2035. Los Angeles and other cities will have to get in line.

Ten years ago, the Port of Los Angeles signed a court-ordered agreement to reduce air pollution at a massive new terminal.But Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa told the port director to be "flexible," and she was -- and the new rules were not put into effect. Last year, Mayor Eric Garcetti appointed a new port director to set things right. 

Almost 700,000 students in America's second largest school district were told to stay home today -- when almost 1000 schools were closed because of a terrorist threat deemed "credible" by Superintendent Ramon Cortines.  

The Directors Guild has taken its first official look at Hollywood and found a bastion of discrimination — especially when it comes to women. In the past two years, 82% of feature films, big and small, were directed by white males — with women in charge just 6% of the time. We hear about efforts to penetrate legendary secrecy and diversify an industry where choices are notoriously subjective.

What are predicted to be the strongest El Niño-generated storms on record are only weeks away and FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, says it's time to get ready. Local officials are taking their own measures.

Today, the US Supreme Court was asked once again to consider banning affirmative action in admissions to public colleges and universities nationwide. California is already there. It's been a laboratory for eliminating race-based admissions since Prop 209 was passed by the voters in 1996.

Mass shootings in Paris, Colorado Springs and San Bernardino have generated more pressure than ever on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. They're being asked to monitor messages worldwide, alert federal officials and take threats and hate-speech off line — without becoming agents of government or ideological censors. At the local level, the LAPD and county sheriffs rely on community partnerships to find out when ideas might turn into violent action — at the risk of religious profiling that's illegal and counter-productive. We look at challenges that can't be avoided.

California has the toughest gun controls in the country. That means universal background checks, waiting periods and handguns that stamp bullet cartridges so law enforcement can identify the weapons that fire them. What the laws don't mean is prevention of mass shootings like last week's massacre in San Bernardino. So, what good are they doing?

Yesterday's mass shooting has focused attention on the city of San Bernardino and its struggle with urban decay. The identity of the killers has also cast an unwelcome light on the Muslim community in the Inland Empire.

Fourteen people were shot to death this morning and 17 others were injured at a holiday party for state health workers at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino.  Three shooters escaped in a black SUV.  

The Governor of California oversees the world's eighth largest economy, so it makes sense for him to join more than 100 heads of state at the Climate Change Summit.