Historic California News

Episode Number 26 - Original Airdate: October 19, 2012 Preparedness Drills Aim to Reduce Earthquake Losses Millions of people from the Pacific island of Guam to southern Italy joined a practice drill this week for earthquake preparedness . Mike O'Sullivan reports that the annual event that began in 2008, called the Great Shake Out , has a simple message that could save lives in a real earthqua...

Episode Number 25 - Original Airdate: September 3, 2012 Nokia, Microsoft Launch New Phones Competition is heating up in the world of mobile computing, with separate product announcements on Wednesday by partners Nokia and Microsoft , and by Motorola , which is owned by Google . As VOA's Mike O'Sullivan in Los Angeles reports, other mobile phones and tablet computers will be unveiled in com...

Episode Number 24 - Original Airdate: March 22, 2011 Elizabeth Taylor Remembered for Sultry Roles, Turbulent Life Hollywood legend Elizabeth Taylor has died in Los Angeles at the age of 79. Her publicist says the actress had been hospitalized for six weeks and died of congestive heart failure early Wednesday. The screen icon is remembered for several Oscar-winning performances and a tempestuous pe...

Episode 23 - Original Broadcast Date: December 26, 2023 Moon Base Moves From Hollywood Screen to Near Reality: A Special Video Episode A future moon base is central to the vision of the U.S. space Agency NASA , which hopes to return humans to the moon within two years. It’s part of an international program called Artemis . As Mike O’Sullivan reports, it’s a future that Hollywood has envisioned. Th...

Episode Number 22 - Original Airdate: March 15, 2011 Infrastructure is Challenge for Electric Vehicle Owners Auto experts say electric vehicles are a practical alternative to gasoline-powered cars, at least for some drivers. The biggest challenge for the auto industry is expanding the infrastructure for recharging the vehicles. This story was originally aired on March 15, 2011 on Voice of America...

Episode Number 21 - Original Airdate: March 2, 2011 California Company Unveils Hummingbird Spy Drone A California company that makes unmanned drone aircraft for the U.S. military has unveiled a tiny flying drone that looks like a hummingbird. The airborne spy is part of a new kind of military technology that also has civilian uses. This story was originally aired on March 2, 2011 on V oice of Amer...

Episode Number 20 - Original Airdate: June 30, 2011 Global Study: Growing Pentecostal Churches Have Social Mission Religion scholars say the fastest-growing form of Christianity is Pentecostalism , with its exuberant worship and belief in the so-called gifts of the Spirit, including speaking in tongues and divine healing. Researchers say Pentecostals and charismatics - Catholics and others who sha...

Episode Number 19 - Original Airdate: September 17, 2010 Making an Album -- the Way it Used to be Done The Big Band sound -- the kind of jazz popular in the 1930s and '40s -- can still be heard today. Some of the top musicians in Hollywood got together recently to record a new big band album, produced by composer Patrick Williams , known for composing many memorable pieces, including the theme...

Episode 18: Water Wars In LA, It's Laws against Lawns - July 25, 2014 Special Video Episode In this episode of Historic California News, VOA's Mike O'Sullivan tells On Assignment' s Alex Villarreal about the impact of California's drought on residents of Los Angeles. This content was originally broadcast on Voice of America on July 25, 2014. We leave this episode as it was orig...

Episode Number 17 - Original Airdate: May 14, 2010 California to Vote on Legalizing Marijuana California could become the first American state to allow people to smoke a joint just because they feel like it. In 1996, California became the first U.S. state to approve the medical use of marijuana . Since then, 13 other states and Washington, D.C., have passed similar laws. Now a measure on the Calif...

Episode Number 16 - Original Airdate: May 13, 2010 Big Sunday Projects Put 50,000 Volunteers to Work Each year in late April or early May, more than 50,000 volunteers in Southern California help out at hundreds of non-profit organizations, from schools to community centers, at an annual event called "Big Sunday." They paint, clean and garden to help local charities. This story was origin...

Episode Number 15 - Original Airdate: May 23, 2010 USC Is Top US University for International Students The number of international students in the United States is at record levels. Last year, more than 670,000 foreign students attended an American college or university. The University of Southern California had the largest number for the eighth year in a row. Mike O'Sullivan paid a visit to t...

Episode Number 14 - Original Airdate: June 6, 2010 Behind Policy Debate, There's Human Drama at US-Mexico Border The southern U.S. border with Mexico is the focus of political debate over illegal immigration . But human dramas play out every day along the border. In Nogales, Arizona , the conflict pits U.S. ranchers and residents against migrants trying to cross the border illegally. This stor...

Episode Number 13 - Original Airdate: January 29, 2010 US Military Center Assesses Haitian Needs The U.S. Army has set up a data collection center in Port-au-Prince, Haiti , to assess the needs of residents in the aftermath of the massive earthquake January 12. Thousands who come daily are in desperate need of water, food and work. Roughly 10,000 people show up here most days, at a building of the...

Episode Number 12 - Original Airdate: April 22, 2010 Democracy Activists Look at Digital Opportunities, Challenges The power of digital devices, such as mobile phones equipped with cameras, was seen in protests that followed the disputed Iranian election in June, 2009. Postings on such websites as Facebook and Twitter brought thousands to the streets, and digital images from Tehran fueled sympathe...

Episode Number 11 - Original Airdate: April 15, 2010 Shanghai Girls: A Tale of Survival and Bond Between Sisters In her novel, Shanghai Girls , author Lisa See takes readers on a turbulent journey from China torn by war in the 1930s to Los Angeles' Chinatown . Shanghai Girls is a story of two sisters, and it opens in Shanghai in 1937. The city was a glamorous international center, known as the...

Episode Number 10 - Original Airdate: October 30, 2009 Both Parties Target Voters in Oregon Reporting from Portland, Oregon, Mike O'Sullivan speaks with eighteen-year-old Max Berger, who works for the Young Voter Project in a cluttered makeshift office not far from downtown Portland. He got involved in politics after being inspired by Vermont's Democratic ex-governor, former presidential candidate...

Episode Number 9 - Original Airdate: October 3, 2009 Death Toll Rises in Pacific Islands, Families Cope with Losses from Tsunami Reporting on location from American Samoa, Mike O’Sullivan describes how relief efforts are continuing in the Pacific islands of Samoa , American Samoa and Tonga , where the death toll is approaching 200 from Tuesday's earthquake and tsunami . Seaside communities are...

Episode Number 8 - Original Airdate: November 30, 2009 Falun Gong Wages War of Words with China The organization Falun Gong made news in 1999, when its members held a massive demonstration outside Communist Party headquarters in Beijing. In response, Chinese authorities labeled the group an evil cult. And during the past 10 years, they have arrested thousands of Falun Gong adherents. Human rights...

Episode Number 7 - Original Airdate: April 8, 2008 Exercise Adds to Life and Lifetimes Studies often show regular exercise can help people live longer. A researcher in the Netherlands, Doctor Oscar Franco , recently showed that older people who exercise a lot can add more than three years to their lives. VOA's Mike O'Sullivan found a group of U.S. senior citizens who are taking such studie...

Episode Number 6 - Original Airdate: April 15, 2008 Designer Bob Mackie Dresses Stars Costume designer Bob Mackie is known as the Sultan of Sequins , and some of the biggest names in Hollywood have worn his flamboyant creations. VOA's Mike O'Sullivan recently visited Mackie's Los Angeles studio to see how he designs outfits for the stars. This story was originally aired on April 15, 20...

Episode Number 5 - Original Airdate: February 5, 2010 UNICEF, NGO's: Haitian Children at Risk Aid workers in Haiti say hundreds of thousands of children are at risk in the aftermath of the January 12 earthquake. The case of 33 children allegedly abducted by a group of Americans illustrates the plight of children separated from parents, and those whose families are living in desperate condition...

Episode 4 Griffith Observatory: Where the Stars Converge on Hollywood This special video episode of Historic California News takes us back to a report filed by Mike O'Sullivan on April 8, 2024. We allow the episode to speak for itself, without our customary introductory theme music. Griffith Observatory in Hollywood is a landmark where visitors, many now inspired by NASA's Artemis moon pro...

Episode Number 3 Fans Meet Old Time Hollywood Stars at Autograph Convention Autograph conventions offer fans the chance to meet the stars from television and movies. They offer the stars a chance to get involved in the growing business of celebrity memorabilia. At a recent convention in Los Angeles, fans bought pictures of their favorite Hollywood actors, many from movies and television series fro...

Episode Number 2 - Original Airdate: November 25, 2004 Popular US Novelist Sidney Sheldon Publishes New Thriller In Sidney Sheldon 's latest novel, Are You Afraid of the Dark? the veteran writer takes readers on a trail of intrigue across two continents. The former Hollywood screenwriter and best-selling novelist tells VOA's Mike O'Sullivan in Los Angeles that at age 87, he is not read...