KCRW's Which Way, LA?

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.

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.

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.

San Bernardino Mass Shooting

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. 

A State Supreme Court majority has refused to review the murder conviction of a 10-year-old boy who confessed to killing his father. Had his young brain developed enough to understand that, before he confessed, he'd waived his Miranda right to remain silent?

One of America's great newspapers is already a shadow of its former self. The latest buyout of about 80 LA Times veterans is focused on the reporters and editors who have the most experience. We hear what that will mean for news consumers who depend on what's still the biggest news organization on the West Coast.

Have the Orange County Sheriff and the District Attorney engaged in secret misconduct for 30 years? A group of high-powered lawyers and former prosecutors wants the federal Justice Department to investigate. We hear about the alleged misuse of jailhouse informants and violations of the right to a fair trial.

One of Santa Monica's few black residents has put the city and its police force in the national spotlight. Fay Wells is a college graduate and business professional, whose story went viral. She'll tell us how 19 cops showed up ? two with guns drawn ? after a white neighbor mistakenly thought she was breaking into her own apartment. Was it racism or good police work in a liberal enclave with a black police chief?

In the latest installment of KCRW's Below the Ten series, the story of two families that migrated to the Antelope Valley ? where housing costs less, but commuting back to the old neighborhood means a long trip home. 

Students who've been occupying the administration building at Occidental College moved to the office of President Jonathan Vietch today. He has refused to step down like his counterpart at the University of Missouri. That action a week ago has helped spread protests over racism and the lack of diversity to campuses around the country, including USC and Claremont-McKenna as well as to Oxy. We hear from both sides.