A look at President Obama's cyber intelligence center, what Ferguson is like six months after Michael Brown's shooting, cultural impact of Alabama's gay marriage debate.
Alabama legalizes same-sex marriage, but not without a struggle
This week, Alabama became the 37th and latest state to legalize same-sex marriage.
But the move hasn't come without protests. Many local officials are refusing to hand out licenses in defiance of a federal judge who ruled same-sex marriages should be allowed to proceed, as planned.
Gary Gates, research director of the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, explains how overcoming legal hurdles doesn't necessarily mean the battle is won when it comes to LGBT rights.
Impatient: We answer your questions about measles and vaccines
It's been a little more than a month since we first started talking about the measles outbreak that began at Disneyland. Since then, you've heard a lot about the disease, both on Take Two and from our reporters, but we know many of you still have questions about how to keep yourselves, and your loved ones, safe and healthy.
So, we thought that it would be a perfect opportunity to launch our new health focused segment, Impatient, with Southern California Public Radio's Rebecca Plevin.
This week she takes the opportunity to answer some listener questions about the measles vaccine.
Q: Kristen Hughes of Burbank asks: Since the CDC recommends that infants 6-11 months of age who will be traveling to countries with a known measles outbreak get the vaccination early, why aren't they allowing Southern California parents to vaccinate their infants early? My son is 8 months and I want to get the MMR vaccine now!
A: Dr. Michael Neely, a pediatric infectious disease expert at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, says it's a question of balancing risk.
Infants inherit some immunity to diseases, including measles, from their moms. Neely says this protection lasts for between six and 12 months. If a child gets the vaccine between six months and one year of age, those inherited antibodies can interfere with the vaccine, and make it less effective. So typically, doctors recommend that parents wait until a child is one year old to get their first measles shot.
Doctors do recommend that if an infant is traveling to a country where measles is widespread, that it's worth getting the shot early for extra protection. But, because the vaccine will be less effective, the child will still need two more doses after he or she turns one.
Neely's advice to Hughes? He says:
"... The risk of exposure here in Southern California is still very low for the general population. So there really isn't much need for her to be worrying about vaccinating her infant. If however, she absolutely cannot sleep at night, and she's so anxious that she wants to get the vaccination, she can discuss it with her pediatrician, they can consider whether or not to vaccinate together."
Q: Another listener, Amelia, is worried about her cousin who she says is in her late 60s, has never been vaccinated and has never had measles. Should she be worried about her cousin getting sick?
A: Dr. Neely says practically everyone - an estimated 95 to 97 percent of the people - born before 1957 are considered to be immune to measles.
That's because the disease was widespread at that time, and they probably lived through several measles epidemics.
He says her cousin might've even had the measles, and not known it, if he or she didn't have the classic symptoms.
But if they're still concerned, Neely says, "there's a simple blood test that can be done to measure the level of anti-bodies in the blood against measles and if they're high enough, the woman is immune."
Q: We received a question from a woman named Gail, who commented on the measles FAQ on our website. Her husband's 67. She said that he had something called German measles as a kid. Does that mean he's immune to measles now?
A: German measles is another name for rubella, or the “R” in the MMR disease. It's another virus that causes fever and rash.
So, German measles and the measles virus we’re seeing today are different. And having one would not make you immune to the other.
To the first part of Gail’s question: Her husband is 67, which means he was born well before 1957. And the vast majority of people who were born before then are considered to be immune to measles.
Check out Rebecca's measles FAQ for additional information and where to get vaccinated.
Do you have questions we haven't answered? Let us know in the comments, on our Facebook page or on Twitter ( or ).
New cybersecurity agency announced by Obama administration
Yesterday, the Obama administration announced a plan to create a new agency to protect the nation from hackers.
It's called the Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center will serve as a hub to coordinate cyber threat intelligence from the FBI, the National Security Agency, the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies.
Alex Cohen speaks with
- computer security reporter with the Wall Street Journal.
Sports roundup: Magic criticizes Lakers, role of analytics in pro basketball, possible NFL stadum in LA
Lakers legend Magic Johnson calls out Lakers executive Jim Buss on the ill-fated decisions of the storied franchise. Charles Barkley says analytics has no place in pro basketball. And what's the latest on the possible NFL stadium coming to LA? It's time for sports with
.
The other Oscars: 'Aya' wonders what if you drove the wrong person home
What extent would you go in order to make a human connection with another person?
"Aya" tells the story of a young woman waiting at the airport, but when an arriving passenger confuses her for his driver, Aya goes along for the ride and takes him.
The film is one of this year's Oscar nominated live action shorts.
Israeli filmmakers Mihal Brezis and Oded Binnun got the inspiration because they thought airport waiting areas were intense and filled with emotion.
"What if some stranger accidentally came up to me and I'd play the role?" wondered Brezis.
Binnun says they purposefully kept Aya's intentions a mystery.
"She just seizes the moment. This is be something that can make you feel alive."
It's never fully explained why she pretended to be the man's driver. What is clear, however, is that this is not a movie about coincidental romance.
"It's not the romantic relationship as we're used to seeing in movies," says Brezis. "They don't even kiss, and it's not a friendship because they don't know much about each other."
Instead, the filmmakers wanted to explore a relationship between characters that centered on a pure, human connection.
The film became an unprecedented success in Israel. Although it was too short to be a feature film shown in most theaters and too long to be included in many film festivals.
"The surprising thing about this movie is that it was actually commercially in theaters," says Binnan. "People actually went to the cinema, bought a ticket and watched a 39-minute film."
They say it was the first time it happened in the country.
Brezis and Binnun say now, the momentum is strong to make a longer movie about Aya
"We're back to the plan of taking her character and making it into a feature," says Brezis.
Ferguson, six months after the Michael Brown shooting
It's been six months since 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot and killed by police officer Darren Wilson.
Brown's killing sparked nationwide protests and renewed conversations about police relations in communities of color.
So, a half-year later, are Ferguson residents finding their way back to "normal"?
We talk to Kenya Vaughn - she's a reporter and web editor with the St Louis American, one of the oldest African American newspapers currently in publication.
Inside the Gabriel García Márquez archive: Nobel speech, a letter to Gandhi and old Mac computers
A rare peek inside the creative process and personal papers of one of the 20th century's most famous writers is coming to a university library in Texas.
Gabriel García Márquez, the famed Colombian novelist, died last year, but fascination over his extensive body of work and rich life continues.
Fans will soon get a new glimpse into the Nobel-prize-winner through a collection of personal archives.
It includes manuscripts, photographs, even the typewriters he used to compose some of his legendary work. But the prized item may be extensive drafts of an unpublished novel, titled "We'll See Each Other in August."
"It is the richest material, in terms of corrections, additions, excisions," said José Montelongo, librarian at the Benson Latin American Collection at the University of Texas, Austin. The archive will reside at the Harry Ransom Center at the University along with the work of many of the 20th century's most notable authors, including Jorge Luis Borges, William Faulkner and James Joyce, who all influenced García Márquez, according to the university.
"It will be fantastic for literary scholars and for lovers of his writing," said Montelongo.
Gabriel García Márquez and his wife Mercedes in Bogota, 1967. Image courtesy of Harry Ransom Center.
Hispanic-Serving Institutions increasing, with more to join
For decades, historically black colleges and universities have endeavored to provide education to African American students across the country.
But what about other minority communities? In the California, a number of campuses are considered Hispanic-Serving Institution, or HSI, schools dedicated to providing educational opportunities for Latinos.
Michele Siqueiros, executive director of the Campaign for College Opportunity, joined the show to explain what HSI means and how it may shape the future of college.
Man who missed DACA age cut-off gets 2nd chance
As many as 300,000 immigrants will be able to apply for temporary legal status next week.
Under a White House plan, people who came to the U.S. as minors to be eligible for the program, and their age won't matter.
KPCC's Leslie Berestein Rojas profiles one man who missed the age cut-off for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
A man's quest to fix one grammatical mistake on Wikipedia
About 8 million English Wikipedia articles are visited every hour of every day, yet only a tiny fraction of readers click the 'edit' button in the top right corner of every page.
Bryan Henderson is not most users. The 51-year-old software engineer has a pet peeve when it comes to people who misuse the phrase "comprised of." Under the moniker Giraffedata, he's made more than 47,000 edits to the site since 2007.
Joining the show to talk more about is another man with a deep passion for grammar, Ben Zimmer, executive editor of vocabulary dot com and language columnist with the Wall Street Journal
You can read Henderson's case for why you shouldn't use "comprised of" here.
Jon Stewart and Brian Williams: Two big exits for TV news
Two big departures in television news were announced Tuesday: NBC suspended Brian Williams for six months amid a growing controversy over his embellishments of his coverage of the Iraq War, and Jon Stewart said he's leaving "The Daily Show" after more than 16 years as the show's anchor.
New York Times deputy business editor Peter Lattman joins Take Two to discuss what these two shake-ups mean for television news.