How natural disasters can bring communities closer, a deeper look at the role of Tweets, forums and comment sections, Rio Olympics wrap up.
With Paul Manafort gone, Donald Trump might have to 'write-off' California
For Trump-watchers around the country, chairman Paul Manafort's Friday resignation from the Republican nominee's campaign came as little surprise.
A series of front-page investigations released this week raised questions and eyebrows about Manafort's political dealings in Ukraine.
Manafort was brought onto team Trump in late March to secure delegates in the final chapter of the primary election. Establishment Republicans hoped the hire would also encourage the candidate to tone down his rhetoric.
Manafort's departure leaves three people at the helm of the Trump campaign: Breitbart chairman Stephen Bannon, Conservative pollster Kellyanne Conway, and Mr. Trump himself.
What does the change mean for more centrist Republican voters in California and the West?
Take Two put that question to Republican strategist Arnold Steinberg.
Why do you think he's leaving now?
The way that he came aboard was to help with delegates, but he soon realized that, from an operational standpoint, he had to take control of the campaign and from the standpoint of his own pride and ego, he really put in the effort to have Corey Lewandowski go.
I think the main problem with Paul's stewardship is that he spent so much time cultivating the media, going on the news, that he wasn't able to put in the quality time to do the job.
I think the media spin is very wrong on what's been happening because Kellyanne Conway, who I've known for twenty years, is very much a message person, somebody who would be more in tune with what Paul Manafort is trying to do to make Trump more presidential and reach out the general election. On the other hand, the appointment of the Breitbart guy (Stephen Bannon) is at odds. So there already is a disconnect because you have two people who are very, very different.
How might all of this play out here in California? A lot of people see this as a move even farther from the traditional Republican stance.
The biggest problem with California, which is not going to be carried by the Republicans, is if Republicans don't become more unified there, some of them may stay home because they can't vote for Clinton.
Let's say they called you tomorrow and said, 'OK, Arnold, what should we do, especially here in California?'
In California, if I was talking to Trump, I would say, 'Don't say you're writing it off, but write it off there. Concentrate on the battleground states.'
What you do nationally is going to impact in California, with 14 to 15 percent of the national vote there. If Trump nationally has a good message and stops taking a bad Hillary [Clinton] news day and overcoming it with his own blunders, it would have an impact in California.
He can't carry the state, but it would lift Republican enthusiasm, and we wouldn't have a down ticket problem losing Assembly and congressional seats.
(Answers have been edited for clarity.)
Press the blue play button above to hear the full interview.
Blue Cut fire: When natural disasters bring out the best in us
As of early this morning, it appeared that firefighters were gaining ground on the Blue Cut fire in San Bernardino. It is now 26 percent contained.
With 37-thousand acres burned, it is still unclear how bad the damage is, but several structures have been destroyed. But despite the loss that comes with natural disasters, communities in crisis do band together.
And in this case, nearby residents have pitched in to help those in need. At the height of the fire, 82-thousand residents were under evacuation orders.
To discuss the ways the community of San Bernardino has been coping, A. Martinez spoke to Angie Baker. She is an evacuee, currently staying in a hotel. She is also a professor of occupational therapy at Stanbridge College. He also spoke to Yevette Baysinger, executive director of the Red Cross San Bernardino chapter.
To find out how you can help the Blue Cut fire evacuees, click here.
To see the latest on the fire, click here.
Comment sections might not be the best place to talk about race or religion
Internet comment sections, especially those under news stories, are a popular meeting place for ordinary people who want to sound-off about current events.
But often, when those stories involve characters of a particular race or religious background, the comments can turn vitriolic.
The racial climate online was the focus of a Pew survey out this week. They asked people from different groups how often they comment on racial issues. Twenty-eight percent of black social media users say they post some things. Among whites, just eight.
The study raises questions about whether the internet is the right forum to host these conversations, and if so, how?
For a deeper look at the role of the web in the nation's racial and religious discourse, Take Two spoke to three voices from the world of digital media, each a part of communities that have made headlines in recent weeks.
Press the blue play button above to hear the conversation.
Harley-Davidson to pay $15 million for emissions violations
Move over Volkswagen. There's another vehicle maker on the hook for emissions violations, and it's one of the biggest names on two wheels: Harley-Davidson.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced Thursday it had slapped the American motorcycle maker with $12 million in civil penalties and another $3 million in mitigation fees for violations of the federal Clean Air Act.
According to the DOJ, Harley sold almost 340,000 super tuners -- an aftermarket device that increases a motorcycle's power by altering its fuel injection system but also increases its emissions. The super tuners were used on motorcycles dating back to 2008, the DOJ said.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency discovered the elevated emissions during a routine investigation of emissions certification materials Harley-Davidson submitted to the agency. The EPA says Harley also sold an additional 12,000 motorcycles that did not undergo proper EPA emissions certification to meet federal clean air standards.
In a statement, Harley-Davidson said it agreed to pay the $15 million as a good faith compromise with the EPA. Harley says its super tuners were designed and sold legally.
Nevertheless, under the terms of the DOJ agreement, Harley is required to stop selling super tuners August 23. Whatever inventory remains in stock at its U.S. dealerships needs to be bought back and destroyed.
Any super tuners Harley might sell in the future will require certification from the California Air Resources Board; super tuners sold outside the U.S. will need to be labeled as not for use in the U.S.
Sue Carpenter is co-host of The Ride, Southern California Public Radio's series on modern mobility.
The Dish: Kim Hoa Hue brings Central Vietnamese dishes to the SGV
The go-to place for authentic Vietnamese food in Southern California has long been the Orange County city of Westminster – also known as "Little Saigon." But for those who want to stay a bit closer to Los Angeles, the San Gabriel Valley is where it’s at – or more specifically -- the city of El Monte. That’s thanks to a large South Vietnamese population that’s taken up residence there since the Vietnam war.
Restaurants in El Monte mostly specialize in South Vietnamese dishes like the popular rice noodle soup known as Pho, but there are exceptions.
For the latest installment of our seasonal food series, Summer Dish, Vietnamese-American food blogger Cathy Chaplin takes us to one of these gems -- Kim Hoa Hue restaurant, to sample something called the Hue Combo, consisting of foods from Central Vietnam.
The dish is a sampler of the best of what Hue cuisine has to offer, including steam rice cakes banh beo, and banh nam, shrimp and pork dumplings known as banh bot loc , and rice sheets with minced shrimp called banh uot tom chay.
Visit Cathy Chaplin's food blog, Gastronomy, to learn more about Kim Hoa Hue and Vietnamese food.
Kim Hoa Hue Restaurant
9813 Garvey Avenue
El Monte, CA 91733
Phone: 626-350-1382
This story is brought to you by a new podcast about Asian America coming soon to KPCC, called “Shoes Off: Stories from the New Asian America." Like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter.
'Paralympic athletes are the most resilient people on the planet': One SoCal athlete's story
There's a quote in Latin on Angela Madsen's website: Vita mutatur, non tollitur. "Life is changed, not taken away."
Years ago, Madsen was serving in the Marine Corps when she tripped during a basketball game and injured her back. It damaged her sciatic nerve and ended her military career. In 1993, she had surgery, but it went horribly wrong—she was paralyzed from the waist down. At the time, Madsen says one of her doctors described her condition as "a waste of human life."
"It pissed me off, so it kind of was a precipice or a turning point for me," Madsen told Alex Cohen. "I turned that anger I had towards him into motivation to get moving. I learned it was my responsibility to take charge of my life, to determine who I was going to be, where I was going to go in this new, adapted kind of style."
Before her surgery, Madsen had set a goal to be surfing again within a year. She ended up surfing again, and taking up many more sports.
First, it was the National Veterans Wheelchair Games.
"I took off and never looked back after that," Madsen said.
She played wheelchair basketball for a decade, and then she started rowing. Soon after she started rowing, she was recruited to a committee to make adapted rowing a Paralympic sport. She competed in rowing at the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing. That led her to the field events, shot put and javelin. She competed in shot put and won bronze at the 2012 London Paralympics.
Madsen, now 56, lives in Long Beach but since January, she has been living and training at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista. As the Paralympics draw closer, Madsen is in a routine at the training center: several hours of training on the field, sports medicine and massage, recovery, followed by several hours of lifting in the gym before she heads back out to the field to throw some more.
"Teams are getting harder to make, we're always setting new world records...just like the Olympians do," Madsen said. "We are Olympians, just without the use of legs or without vision—or without sight. We have plenty of vision."
Though the Rio Paralympics have been dogged with funding issues and low ticket sales, Madsen says she and other athletes are unaffected.
"Paralympic athletes are the most resilient people on the planet," Madsen said. "We've all overcome major obstacles and major adversity to get where we are, so it's not really a problem for us to remain positive even though all this other stuff is going on."
Her goal for now? The podium.
"Gold is best, but just getting on that podium—I'd love to be on the center state and hear the anthem and see the flag raise," Madsen said.
And then it's on to the next goal. Once the Paralympics are over, Madsen will set her sights on a solo trans-Pacific row, from California to Hawaii. She already holds several world records for ocean rowing.
"I'm pretty amazed with myself and the things I've been able to do," Madsen said. "You can choose to remain adrift in life, or you can set a new course and head off in a different direction, which is our own personal responsibility in life. We all have that choice and the power to move ourselves positively forward."
Click the blue audio player to hear the full interview.
Is it possible to break the two-hour marathon barrier or have humans reached their physical limits?
Closing ceremonies at the Rio Games are this Sunday. It's also the men's marathon final, but don't expect any records to be broken at that event. The world record for covering the 26.2 miles is two hours, two minutes and 57 seconds. It was set by Kenya's Dennis Kimetto at the Berlin Marathon in 2014.
For fans of distance running, the possibility of a person one day running the marathon in under two hours is a topic that sparks a lot of debate. Some say human beings are pretty much at their physical limits right now. Others think it's not a matter of if as much as when.
Andrew Bosch is one of those people. He's a professor of sports science and physiology, and part of a project called SUB2HR.
They believe that a sub-two-hour marathon can happen in 5 years by "applying a dedicated scientific approach."
For more, Bosch joined Take Two host and distance running aficionado A Martinez via Skype and he began by speaking about what the project entails.
Interview Highlights
What does this project entail?
"A lot of debate has raged for a long time now about whether anybody would ever be able to run under two hours for the marathon and if so, when would that be possible. There are those who say it'll never happen, those that will say it'll happen but in decades time from now and then some of us are thinking well, maybe we can speed up the process a little bit if we take the very best runners in the world and apply the best that science and medicine and everything else around sports science has to offer and take this group and really focus on trying to get the time down to sub two hours or as close to two hours as possible.
So, if we apply nutrition, medicine, world-class training, discussion with those have coaches, with the coaches and so on. We hope that we can speed the process up and achieve that sub two hours sooner rather than later, somewhat like the first attempt at the sub-four minute mile. People said that couldn't happen and this might be the same sort of thing."
What would you say is one of the biggest obstacles to running a sub-two hour marathon?
"One of the obstacles with the sub-four minute mile was psychological and I think that could well be a factor here as well. Another very simple thing, but maybe very important, is the way that top marathons currently are run, is you have something like a London marathon or Berlin or something like that and there's huge prize money and amongst the top contenders in the race, everybody wants to try and win that first prize so there's very little in terms of helping one another.
So a very simple way to maybe change that would be to think about a prize structure where all the athletes involved in the sub two hour attempt are all running for a common cause and that common cause is to run two hours and the prize structure is such that if that is achieved that all get X amount and there's not huge purse to any one athlete. That will encourage them to help each other and to enable drafting in the same as in back racing. It's still fast enough that the air resistance effect is quite big and that'll be worth a minute, a minute and a half, something like that alone."
Have you considered that what you're doing could be a futile effort? That maybe we have reached a plateau for our physical abilities.
"Yeah, it could be. I'd like to believe it isn't and I think every so often when you start thinking that maybe a record is stuck and the next thing it does move along and I'm going to use the example of Ayana in the women's 10,00 meter, she took a cracking something like 15 seconds almost off the world record. And you know, that record has stood for a long time and it seemed like virtually untouchable, she breaks is by these 15 odd seconds so I think we've got to be careful about saying where the limits lie.
On the one hand, one tends to think, 'okay, this record hasn't moved for a long time maybe this is the limit,' then something like that happens. On the other hand, logically you've got to say that yes, indeed there has to be a limit, somewhere there's a limit. But, we'd like to explore that and find art and if nothing else, move the record closer towards two hours..."
To hear the full interview, click the blue play button above.
What does political art try to reveal?
There's a controversial art installation that's popped up in several cities around the country — including in Los Angeles.
It's a life-size Donald Trump statue. The thing is, though: he's naked. Like, zero clothing.
The statues were produced by the artists collective INDECLINE and it's called The Emperor Has No... Well, let's just say the last word refers to a sensitive part of the male anatomy. We'll leave the rest to your imagination.
So, just how effective is political art like this and what does it say?
A Martinez spoke to Richard Wearn, professional sculptor and Professor of Art at Cal State L.A.
On what the artists are trying to accomplish...
I think the work is very effective in that it's kind of mimicking the way, perhaps, someone like Donald Trump did climb to a place of prominence in the political landscape and that the old adage is that we create our own politicians. With the work of this nature, it's mute; it's not making a statement based on language. It's just there and we kind of create the meaning around it. We project upon it.
I think the work is very effective on that level. It's also something that's a vehicle for dissemination through social media which is now sort of the primary political broadcast instrument in many ways. If people really did do their homework and thought through how this thing was going to operate. It's been effective.
On the idea that the body image portrayed is an unflattering of Trump...
When you look at the sculpture, it's not too far from his body form. We're so used to looking at idealized body forms in the media that we lose sight of the fact that the human body can be a very weird-looking thing at times. And so when you throw something like that in a public space, the affront has maybe to do with the fact that it's not an ideal body, but that is probably closer to the reality of his body.
On the meaning behind the title of the piece
Obviously it relates to the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale ["The Emperor's New Clothes]. A lot of Hans Christian Andersen's work was political satire but drawn up in the medium of fairy-tales. So all the connection that have to do with the foolishness, the arrogance that gets connected with power and powerful people fall into. All those references are there.
To hear the full conversation, click the blue player above.
Summer concert series: Tree People's 'Once Upon a Canyon Night'
This summer, we here at Take Two have been exploring all sorts of opportunities to enjoy music under the stars.
For this installment, we head to the top of Mulholland Drives to a place called Tree People. It's a non-profit whose mission is to inspire people to take personal responsibility for our urban environment. Each summer, they do a series called Once Upon a Canyon Night.
For more, Jim Hardie, producer of the series and director of park operations at TreePeople stopped by to speak with Alex Cohen.
To hear the full interview, click the blue play button above.
For more on Take Two's summer series you can check out LACMA's jazz series here, The Autry's sizzling summer nights here, Skirball's sunset concerts here and the Levitt Pavilion series here.