The escape of three Orange County inmates, the Academy's changes for more inclusive membership, "In Football we Trust" explores exploitation of Polynesian pipeline
What the Orange County jail break reveals about jail security
A massive manhunt is underway today for three inmates who escaped from the Orange County Central Men's Jail in Santa Ana on Friday.
Three men— Hossein Nayeri, Jonathan Tieu and Bac Duong— all have extensive and violent rap sheets.
Investigators believe the inmates were able to move through the maximum security jail's plumbing system, cut through layers of steel bars, make their way to an unsecured area on the roof, and rappel down with a makeshift rope.
Kevin Tamez, managing partner for the security consulting firm MPM Group, joined Take Two to discuss what the escape tells us about the security of the Orange County Central Men's Jail and other facilities like it.
Child migrants face new risks as they await asylum in US
A new AP investigation has identified more than two dozen migrant youth who faced abuse and neglect in the U.S. while waiting for their cases to move through immigration courts after federal authorities weakened standards for vetting sponsors.
Tens of thousands of children from Central America have made the long journey north and across the border in recent years, fleeing gang violence and instability back home – many traveling alone.
Once here, they face a long and complicated process to seek asylum. And without a parent, many are placed with other families or adults.
But that can present new risks for the children.
"Experts told us this may be the tip of the iceberg," said
, national investigative reporter at the AP.
"The government was so overwhelmed by the number of children appearing at the U.S. Southwest border that they started weakening some of the child protection processes that had been in place, sometimes for years, in order to really speed these children out of government shelters and into sponsors homes," said Burke.
Those changes included stopping fingerprinting for most adults and eliminating FBI criminal history checks for many sponsors, according to memos obtained by the AP under FOIA requests.
"One of the consequences of those weakened child protection policies is that some children ended up with adults who really were not responsible," said Burke. That led, in some cases, to sexual abuse, neglect and labor trafficking.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has said that no shortcuts were taken and that overall, the program does "an amazing job."
"I know we learn from lessons and keep trying to improve the system to ensure the child is placed in a safe place, and I'm confident the vast majority of the kids are," Mark Weber, spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, told the AP.
Examining Egypt five years after the Arab Spring
Five years ago, the world woke up to news of a revolution in Egypt. Thousands gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square.
It was the genesis of what became known as the Arab Spring -- a series of uprisings that spread throughout the Middle East in places like Tunisia, Libya, Syria and beyond.
From the early days of protest, through the fall of the Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, Take Two regularly checked in with Suzie Abdou, an Egyptian, who moved to the US as a young child.
Abdou has been back to Egypt five times since the revolution. She joined Take Two to talk about how the country has fared since the Mubarak regime was toppled.
Press the blue play button above to hear the interview.
Reading by the Moonlight: Literary picks for the New Year
There was some cloud cover this weekend, but if you looked up Saturday night you might have caught sight of the first full moon of 2016.
Which means, it's time for reading by moonlight, our monthly literary segment with
of the Libros Schmibros Lending Library here to share his top picks for what to read.
David's Picks
First up is a book with a very dramatic title... "Eternity Street: Violence and Justice in Frontier Los Angeles" by John Mack Faragher. The book is about Los Angeles in the 19th century, just as it's beginning to form as a city. Unfortunately, the city it begins to form as is a bloody dystopia that has a new murder case everyday.
Next another work of non-fiction which isn't about L.A. but written by a local author, Erin Aubry Kaplan, who many might know as a contributing editor to the L.A. Times' op-ed section. "I heart Obama" is a look at President Obama's time in the Oval office and how he's cemented his status as folk hero.
Rounding out the list, a book that might be just in time for this election year: "Breakthrough: The Making of America's First Woman President" by Nancy L. Cohen. Cohen draws from many different interviews and conversations about women's leadership, equal pay and being on the cusp of the country's first potential woman president.
NBCC
Now to some accolades for a few California writers. The National Book Critics Circle or NBCC has just nominated a few folks for awards.
"The Sell Out," by Paul Beatty which we have discussed before. The book is a satire of race relations in Los Angeles. It takes place on a farm in Compton.
Also getting a nod from the NBCC, former Los Angeles times reporter Sam Quinones. His book "Dreamland: The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic" is about the rise of heroin in the United States.
For the aspiring writer
The University of California at Riverside is hosting it's annual writers program this week. It takes place February 2-4.
Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera will be there on Feb. 2 and will speak at 7 p.m.
To hear the full interview, click the blue play button above.
What's next for the Raiders? A move to SoCal may still come
Yes, the Rams are in. And the Chargers may be, too. Both teams are expected to be on the move in coming years, after the NFL approved the Inglewood stadium plans and an ambitious relocation plan.
So where does that leave the Raiders?
Matthew Artz is a reporter with the Oakland Tribune and he's been following the situation in Oakland, where plans for a new football stadium – and a bid to keep the team in the city – face some big obstacles.
California stakes a claim in the olive oil business
This year marks an important anniversary in the development of the California wine industry
It was forty years ago when our wines outperformed French vintages at a prestigious competition which came to be known as the Judgement of Paris.
A similar moment may soon be in store for the olive oil industry.
For years European countries have dominated the market, but recently California has been making serious headway.
Bloomberg Reporter Peter Robison recently wrote about this and discovered that this state has been involved in the olive oil industry for a long..long time.
In Football We Trust: the NFL and the Polynesian pipeline
Football is America's passion, generating billions of dollars every year. As a result, the game needs players, with a high proportion of new talent coming through what's known as the Polynesian pipeline. Young men from Samoa, Hawai'i, Tonga and other islands are 28 times more likely to play in the NFL than any other ethnic group, based on population size.
Tonight on PBS, a new documentary titled "In Football We Trust" tells the story of the "pipeline" through the eyes of four Polynesian high school students in Utah. It explores why success is so important, not just to the players, but also their families.
As part of a special screening of "In Football We Trust" in Carson last week, Take Two's A Martinez sat down with a panel of guests to talk more about the pipeline, and its impact on the Polynesian community in Southern California.
Guests
Gavin Dougan; Executive Producer, In Football We Trust
Sydney Seau; daughter of the legendary NFL linebacker, Junior Seau
Coach Pene Talamaivao; Primetime Polynesian Athletic Training; former NFL player (San Diego Chargers, Buffalo Bills)
Shawn Tanuvasa ; educator with Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints; played football to college level and is also a youth coach