San Diego's teachers union says its members will not accept an 8 percent pay cut to balance San Diego Unified School District's budget.

On September 1, 1939 — the first day of World War II in Europe — President Franklin D. Roosevelt appealed to the warring nations to “under no circumstances undertake the bombardment from the air of civilian populations.” Just six years later, British and American Allied forces had carried out a bombing campaign of unprecedented might over Germany’s cities, claiming the lives of nearly half a million civilians. This film examines the defining moments of the offensive that led the U.S. across a moral divide.

State Schools Superintendent Jack O'Connell visited San Diego High School today to unveil a new set of tools that he says will help California close its persistent achievement gap.

This is the story of a single father who is determined that his nine-year-old daughter become a rap star and thus redeem his deferred dream. This program follows the father-daughter duo through the grit and glamour of the music industry, the struggles of being a single dad with no means and the sacrifices a child makes in order to make her daddy proud.

China has halted its military cooperation with the U.S. and threatened this week to sanction American companies involved in selling arms to Taiwan. Beijing's sharp reaction came after Washington announced a $6.4 billion weapons deal to Taiwan.

How will Jane Austen, the master of happy endings, tie up the tangled affairs of her heroines Emma Woodhouse, Harriet Smith and Jane Fairfax? And what will she do about those mystifying men, Mr. Knightley and Frank Churchill?

We may think we know what is beautiful and what isn't, but in the natural world, beauty can be many things -- including what we might find completely repulsive. Not only can the bizarre be attractive, it can also provide just the edge a creature needs to succeed in a difficult environment. From frogfish and hagfish to naked mole rats and elephant seals, the program shows how and why ugly can be beautiful, even when it isn't pretty.

I'm hoping that our discussion of "44 Inch Chest" (ending its engagement at Landmark's Ken Cinema tonight) on the Film Club will inspire you to seek out this film on its last night in San Diego.

A few companies in Tijuana hope that a series of slogans printed on billboards and banners around the city will help empower residents.

The San Diego Community College District has completed a makeover of a gym on its downtown campus. The new facility is notable for its use of the latest energy efficient technology.

A magnitude-6.0 earthquake has struck off the coast of Humboldt County, but officials say there are no immediate reports of major damage or injury.

As a group of Americans waits Thursday to see child trafficking charges will be filed for their actions in Haiti, aid agencies say the primary risk comes from a generations-old practice that allows parents there to put their children into domestic servitude.

San Diego journalists Gloria Penner and Gene Cubbison have been covering the city for roughly 40 years. In her continuing series "San Diego's Evolving Downtown" KPBS Metro Reporter Katie Orr spoke with Penner and Cubbison about some of the stories they've covered over the years.

Walking the walk? Culture Lust production assistant Meredith Hattam may blog about galleries and theater, but she'd never had an opera experience - until now.

There’s a new animated film from Belgium that has no computer generated effects and no 3D. Instead "A Town Called Panic” (opening February 5 at Landmark's Ken Cinema) uses little plastic toys and stop motion animation. You can listen to my Film Chat and to the Film Club discussion about the film.

Steve Earle's singer-songwriter son plays The Loft, the Editors play the House of Blues, and that's just two of your music options for the weekend. Also, next week marks the beginning of the San Diego Jewish Film Festival and their 20th anniversary. We'll talk music and film on this Weekend Preview.

San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders says the funding process for a new transportation center at the San Ysidro border crossing is moving forward. He has been in Washington, D.C. to lobby for the project.

On our itinerary this Culture Lust Weekend: circus meets performance art at the La Jolla Playhouse, Seeing Beauty at MoPA, and The Belly Up gets plucky.

For several years, Toyota dismissed charges that many of its models are subject to sudden, unexplained acceleration. With the fatal accident last August of the Lexus driven by veteran California Highway Patrol Officer Mark Saylor, Toyota's attitude changed. We look at whether Toyota's proposed fixes are enough and what the corporation can do to regain its reputation for quality.

Jeff Parker's new book is Iron River, a crime novel where the action is on the California/Mexican border, where the vicious drug cartels hook up with gun runners and the mayhem becomes increasingly scary.

Should the City of San Diego consider municipal bankruptcy as a possible solution to its financial problems? We speak to City Attorney Jan Goldsmith about the impact bankruptcy would have on the city, and discuss Goldsmith's goals for his second year in office.

The plan to close the prison has run into steady resistance from Congress in the past year, and this week, a bipartisan group of senators introduced a bill to prevent civilian trials for the Sept. 11 plotters. If the law were to pass, it would severely interfere with the president's plan to close the prison.

A bid to delay a public vote on San Diego city’s strong mayor form of government has failed. Residents of the City of San Diego will vote this June on a measure asking if they want to make the strong mayor form of government permanent.

San Diego researchers say they've discovered some new compounds that bind to HIV, and that could lead to a new class of AIDS drugs.