New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman joins us in the studio. He's just back from visiting Yemen, Syria and Turkey. We'll talk to the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist about his thoughts on the turmoil in Syria, U.S. jobs and NSA surveillance, among other topics. Friedman is in San Francisco to host "The Next New World," a New York Times forum on technology and the global economy.

Each year, charities such as Florida-based Kids Wish Network raise millions of dollars. But according to a joint investigation by The Center for Investigative Reporting, the Tampa Bay Times and CNN, Kids Wish Network gave less than three cents on the dollar to the cause. The investigation identifies the nation's 50 worst charities, all of which devoted less than 4 percent of donations to direct cash aid. We discuss the investigation, what should be done to crack down on bad charities, and how to make good decisions about where to send your charitable dollars.

When parents of children born in the U.S. are deported, their kids sometimes stay behind. Many live with other family members in the United States, but thousands end up in foster care. The immigration bill being debated in the U.S. Senate could make it easier for these families to be reunited -- or stay together in the first place. But as things stand now, deported parents often face daunting challenges to get their children back.

You can tell a lot about people by the way they eat their French fries. At least Hannah Eagle can.

It's Forum's annual summer book show. We'd like to hear your recommendations for a good book to throw in a beach bag, prop next to your fishing pole, or relax with in the shade of a tree. Whether your idea of a great summer read is "Gone Girl" or "War and Peace," call or write with your picks.

In 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, authorizing the wartime incarceration of Japanese-Americans in what he called "concentration camps." A few Japanese Americans defied that order. One of them, Gordon Hirabayashi, broke curfew and refused to go to camp. He became the face of one of the defining Supreme Court cases of that period, Hirabayashi v. United States. Approaching the 70th anniversary of the case, we talk with Gordon's nephew Lane Hirabayashi about his uncle's life and legacy.

After the first day of the G-8 summit meeting in Northern Ireland, topics like tax evasion, transparency and a U.S.-European Union bilateral trade agreement seemed largely overshadowed by talks of the Syrian conflict. Russian President Vladimir Putin's dismissal of President Obama's call to support Syrian rebels has created a rift between Russia and the seven other members of the summit.

The Los Angeles Unified School District board votes Tuesday on whether to press the state for changes in the "Parent Trigger" law. Of the five times the law has been engaged in California, three were in the LAUSD, leading at least one board member to suggest tweaks to the way parent triggers work.

California courts have been hit hard by state budget cuts over the past five years. The new state budget restores some funding, but more than 50 courts have already closed -- and those still open are delivering slower service and charging higher fees. The cuts have hit particularly hard in far-flung communities such as Blythe, which sits on the Arizona border.