A Syrian mother and daughter reflect on their country's unrest, how social media has become a tool for spreading empathy, LA's homeless shelters prepare for rain.
'My heart is broken': SoCal Syrian Americans react to Aleppo crisis
Today, president Bashar Al Assad said that "history is being made" with the defeat of insurgents in Aleppo. Tens of thousands of civilians and the last remaining rebels are evacuating under a delicate cease fire.
To many, the unrest in Syria is a world away. But for those of Syrian descent living here in Southern California, scenes of violence and devastation are almost too much to bear.
Maria Khani, a senior Muslim chaplain with the L.A. County Sheriff's Department, has family from Aleppo. She and her daughter, Dania Alkhouli, are co-founders of A Country Called Syria, an organization that educates people about the culture and contributions of Syria.
They joined Take Two to share their thoughts on the current crisis in Aleppo.
Interview highlights:
Maria Khani:
"My heart is broken into pieces. Tears flow out of my eyes all the time. The only thing that I can keep on doing is doing here what I believe is right. To continue to reaching out to people and share with them the history of Syria, making connections with people, praying and being here today...I have lots of memories, my mom was born in Aleppo. Although I grew up in Damascus, we used to visit Aleppo. I have lots of memories. Just seeing people dying— doesn't matter if it's Aleppo or any other city— it's overwhelming, it's devastating, it's heartbreaking. It's all of the above."
Dania Alkouli:
"I think the word helpless is something a lot of us are feeling, just because it's so distant. But, like my mom said, there's still the action of, first and foremost, having faith and keeping prayer. Because, you know, when you reach that point of helplessness, you end up stopping what you do, and we can't do that. The people of Syria and Syria itself needs us to keep going under these current circumstances."
To hear the full interview, click the blue player above.
Rainy nights provide opportunity to reach out to LA's homeless
A big storm is expected to drop a lot of much needed rain on the area, beginning as early as tonight, a welcome relief during our long drought.
But for the legions of homeless people living in flood-prone areas near riverbeds and freeway overpasses, this kind of storm can be life-threatening.
In one response, The city of L.A. says it will be keeping its winter shelters open 24 hours a day until Saturday morning when the rain is expected to taper off. One shelter that's always open is Union Rescue Mission in Downtown L.A. Even if it fills to capacity tonight, the mission will take people in need to other winter shelters.
Sanden Totten spoke Union Rescue Mission's CEO, Rev. Andy Bales, to find out more about the shelter's services during the storm.
If you see someone in danger during the storm and would like resources to help, contact our guest Rev. Andy Bales with Union Rescue Mission at 626-260-4761 or Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority at (213) 224-8589.
*Note: Union Rescue Mission is located in Downtown L.A., not Pasadena, as was mentioned during our live broadcast.
Here are three takeaways from the interview:
1. Even though El Nino was a dud, it doesn't mean people shouldn't be prepared for tonight, or any other storm warnings.
ANDY BALES: I'm hoping that hasn't made us lackadaisical in getting the word out now for those people who have camped out. This can be deadly if we've put people to sleep by not being ready this year.
2. People from various organizations will be out tonight looking for people to rescue in high risk areas.
BALES: PATH, or People Assisting the Homeless, has outreach teams that go along the rivers and the LAHSA outreach team goes out. [Union Rescue Mission] will do what we can and we'll have people ready if somebody sees someone in need tonight. We'll have a van ready to pick them up and we'll bring them back to the mission until we're filled and then we'll get them to the other winter shelters.
3. Helping someone who doesn't want shelter is tricky, but not impossible.
BALES: Persist in your invitation. Sometimes it takes 30 invitations before somebody takes you up on it. The rain, although it's dangerous and inconvenient, can assist. Two years ago, the rain was about to hit and I went into the woods of Pasadena and invited a man to come with me that night. I said, 'The rain is going to hit tonight' and he actually got in my car and came with me. So if you're a caring, compassionate person, and you might want to take a teammate out with you, this will be a night when people will likely take you up on the offer and go with you to a winter shelter. That's for the compassionate and the brave, but it is an opportune time to get someone to make a move off the street before the rain hits.
*This interview has been edited for clarity
Click the blue player above to hear the interview
What Trump's meeting with Silicon Valley leaders means for the future of tech
PRODUCTIVE!
That was the word Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos used to describe a meeting held yesterday at Trump Tower in New York.
The meeting was hosted by Donald Trump along with his soon-to-be Vice President Mike Pence. And the guests? 12 leaders from the world of technology.
For more on who was there, who wasn't and what this meeting means for the future of Silicon Valley during a Trump administration, Alex Cohen spoke to Politico's Tony Romm.
To hear the full conversation, click the blue play button above.
The Ride: Google and Uber press ahead on self-driving
The robots are coming. And they're behind the wheel.
Every day it seems there's another indication that self-driving cars are quickly becoming a reality.
Just this week, Google announced it was spinning off its autonomous car unit into a company called Waymo. They won't actually makes cars, but will focus on technology–the hardware and software that allows vehicles to navigate without humans behind the wheel.
Meanwhile, Uber launched a small test of self-driving ride hail cars in its home base of San Francisco. A handful of tricked-out Volvo SUV's are picking up passengers, but there are human engineers in the vehicles who can take over if things go awry.
Still, that didn't make the California DMV happy. They put Uber on notice that it was violating regulations, and needs to obtain permits for the autonomous cars. Uber responded that because there were humans in the cars, they don't require permits. The DMV says, sorry Uber, they do.
Stay tuned.
Gov. Brown gets fired up, Carly Fiorina meets with Trump, and the Field Poll ends
On this week's State of Affairs, Governor Jerry Brown gets fired up about climate, Carly Fiorina meets with her former rival, and California's presidential electors gear up to cast their votes for Hillary Clinton.
Joining Take Two to discuss:
- Jack Pitney, Professor of Politics at Claremont McKenna College
- Marisa Lagos, Political Reporter for KQED
What it takes to preserve a movie for hundreds of years
The Library of Congress announced that classic films like "The Princess Bride" and "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" will be preserved as part of its National Film Registry.
The Registry collects historically and culturally important motion pictures so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Take Two talks with Steve Leggett from the National Film Preservation Board about what makes a movie worth saving, and the step-by-step process to make sure a copy can last for hundreds of years.