Reflecting on San Bernardino
San Bernardino is nestled below a mountain range, and sits just off the I-10 freeway. It's the sort of place Southern Californians zoom by on their way to Palm Springs or Las Vegas. But this week's mass shootings have put a spotlight on the city. In the 1990s, it was known as a "murder capital," and gun violence remains stubbornly high. It's struggled with high rates of poverty and in 2012, the city filed for bankruptcy. Our Los Angeles Bureau Chief Steven Cuevas lived in the region for years, and has been covering the events of this week. We talk with him about how residents there are feeling.
California Muslim Groups Respond to San Bernardino Shooting
While the city of San Bernardino hosted a vigil on Thursday, in the nearby city of Chino members of the Baitul Hameed Mosque held their own gathering to mourn the 14 people who were killed and to pray for the 21 wounded victims. Condemnations and prayer vigils have become an almost immediate response by Muslim leaders in the wake of attacks perpetrated in the name of Islam. But some Muslims, particularly in Northern California, have been rethinking this strategy.
Where Are All the Hanukkah Songs?
If you've been to a shopping mall or turned on the radio in the past couple weeks, chances are you’ve heard "Let It Snow," "Winter Wonderland," "White Christmas" or "Silver Bells." What do all those songs all have in common? Besides being ubiquitous this time of year, they were all written by Jewish composers. With the first night of Hanukkah beginning Sunday, we wondered: if Jews are writing all the Christmas classics, who's writing the Hanukkah songs?
Pageant of the Pigeons Celebrates a Much-Maligned Creature
A nearly 70-year-old pageant has just come to a close in Southern California, and its contestants aren't your typical beauty queens. The Los Angeles Pigeon Club's annual "Pageant of the Pigeons" is kind of like a dog show for these much-maligned creatures. We meet some of these feathered friends and the people who love them.
Bay Area High School Choirs Face Off in 'American Idol'-Style Sing-Off
The musical competition has been with us for a long, long time, but "American Idol" took the form to a whole new level, reaching highs and lows never seen before. The show is about to air its final season, but over the course of 15 years, its phenomenal popularity has inspired a host of TV shows, movies and real life competitions, like a high school choir sing-off going on right now in the San Francisco Bay Area. And your vote could determine who wins.