A check in with Janice Hahn on her decision to run for L.A. County Board of Supervisors, mapping the Middle East in a different way, will Apple dive into the auto industry?
Janice Hahn talks LA County Board of Supervisors bid
Congresswoman Janice Hahn has announced she is leaving Capitol Hill after just a few years on the job.
She wants to return to local government in Los Angeles, and has already put in her bid to run for the L.A. County Supervisor position to replace Don Knabe, who's being term-limited out of office.
Hahn says it's a decision she's long thought about. Her father, Kenneth Hahn, served on the Board of Supervisors when she was young.
"I literally was born into county government," she said. "I think for me, once I believed I was going to be in public service myself, I think this was a job I had always had my eyes on."
She said her Washington departure has a lot to do with gridlock there, and an unwillingness for parties to compromise.
"I can do so much more sitting on a body like the County Board of Supervisors," she said. "It's much more collegial, much more opportunity to work together, and get things done for the people of Los Angeles County."
LA's counter-extremism efforts highlighted at CVE summit
President Obama and Vice President Biden have been meeting with National and International leaders for a 3-day summit this week on Countering Violent Extremism. In the wake of recent deadly attacks in Copenhagen and Paris, perpetrated by homegrown terrorists, the summit's focus is on how local communities can help prevent violent extremism.
The White House has been well-aware of the threat of homegrown extremism for some time. But the long-time strategy at the national and local levels was one of law enforcement - gathering intelligence and working with federal and local police to thwart individuals on the verge of carrying out a violent act.
Now, with the Islamic State successfully recruiting youth from the US and throughout Europe to fight in the Middle East, and convincing some to commit terrorist acts at home - a change in prevention policy is in order.
That's what is being discussed at the CVE summit. The Obama Administration and other world leaders are turning to community leaders to establish youth outreach programs focused on recognizing vulnerable individuals who are flirting with extremist ideas before the ideas take hold. The programs will offer young people resources and support, including mental health services.
In Los Angeles, groups like the Muslim Public Affairs Counsel have already implemented programs - namely, the Safe Spaces Initiative - aimed at reaching at-risk young people. The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI have also been working with LAPD to deter radicalization since the Fall of 2014.
Steve Weine has studied the counter-extremism efforts underway in LA - one of three pilot cities, along with Boston and Minneapolis, whose efforts were featured at this week's CVE summit. He's a Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Illinois who's studied Radicalization and Violent Extremism Prevention, and he attended the first two days of the summit.
Weine joined Take Two, along with Andy Liepman. Liepman is a senior policy analyst at the RAND Corporation and the former Principal Deputy Director of the National Counterterrorism Center.
King-Crane map proposed a different Middle East
What would the Middle East be like today if the region had been mapped out differently after World War I and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire?
Nick Danforth, a Ph.D candidate at Georgetown University who recently wrote "The Middle East That Might Have Been" for The Atlantic, explains.
Promising new HIV treatment revealed in study
Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute have discovered a new way to possibly block new HIV infections, much like a vaccine.
Adrian Florido speaks with the study's lead author - Michael Farzan.
Hospital infections aren't always preventable
Two patients are dead at UCLA's Ronald Reagan Medical Center. The cause: a deadly infection from a bacteria known as CRE. Almost 180 more people may have been exposed since October, too.
It was spread by two endoscopes -- devices inserted down the throat to treat various conditions. It's believed the bacteria survived the disinfection process before they were used on other patients.
Dr. Louise-Marie Dembry, hospital epidemiologist at Yale-New Haven Hospital and president-elect of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, explains why the disinfecting science and procedures in hospitals won't ever be 100 percent effective.
The Wheel Thing: Why Apple is, or isn't building a car
Early this week the Wall St. Journal reported a story that, based on a variety of unnamed sources, surmised that Apple Computer might soon be Apple Automotive.
Fanboyz and girlz of the Cupertino firm have long dreamed of an iCar. But would, could, should Apple actually get into the often hairy, and generally low-margin business of building cars.
Car critic Susan Carpenter says yes. And no.
No, because it's very difficult to make a great car. Sure Apple has container ships full of cash and no shortage of great design minds. Still, it's tough.
Yes, because if anyone can build a great (probably electric) car, it's Apple.
But, when pressed, Carpenter says the best outcome would be what she sees as a kind of super-group. Or, a super-duo anyway. If Apple and Tesla were to partner on building a full line of electric vehicles that would be - and there's really no other word - awesome.
State of Affairs: 2016 presidential hopefuls in CA, and Condoleezza Rice for Senate?
On this week's State of Affairs, former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice comes out number one in a state-wide poll on potential contenders to replace U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, Rep. Janice Hahn announces a run for L.A. Board of Supervisors, and potential 2016 presidential hopefuls visit California.
Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, Professor of the Practice of Public Policy Communication at USC's Sol Price School of Public Policy and Carla Marinucci, Senior Political Writer for the San Francisco Chronicle joined Take Two for a look at the latest news in California Politics.
A look at new AIDS treatments, potential cure
There was a time when being diagnosed with HIV was a death sentence. Now, there's talk of a cure.
In his latest piece for The New Yorker, medical writer Jerome Groopman explores new treatments, including a strategy scientists call "shock and kill." He joins Take Two with more.