What does the Zimmerman verdict mean for race relations in the U.S.?; Talking about the Zimmerman verdict with your kids; The man behind the Spanish-language radio show, 'Piolín por la Mañana'; Study: Fracking in Salton Sea area triggers earthquakes; Beachcombing: SoCal's geologic history, as told by the sand; New abortion regulations impact the US-Mexico border, plus much more.
What does the Zimmerman verdict mean for race relations in the US?
For the last two days, the verdict in the George Zimmerman trial has sparked a range of emotions across the country. Late Saturday, a jury comprised of six women found Zimmerman not guilty in the shooting death of Florida teen Trayvon Martin.
The 2005 Stand Your Ground law in Florida allows anyone to use lethal force against a perceived deadly threat. The prosecution had to prove that Zimmerman had "ill-will" or "hatred" towards Martin in order to convince the jury of his guilt.
RELATED: In the wake of the Zimmerman verdict, what sort of conversations are you having?
Multiple source have weighed in on the decision and what it means about our legal system and what this case says — and doesn't say — about race relations in this country.
For more on this we're joined by Jody Armour, a law professor at USC and author of "Negrophobia and Reasonable Racism: The Hidden Costs of Being Black in America."
Talking about the Zimmerman verdict with your kids
In the wake of the George Zimmerman verdict, some African-American parents have wondered what they should say to their children. Liz Dwyer, the education editor at GOOD, faced this question as mom to two young boys, ages 12 and 9.
She wrote about the verdict's impact on her family on her personal blog, Losangelista.com.
RELATED: In the wake of the Zimmerman verdict, what sort of conversations are you having?
The man behind the Spanish-language radio show, 'Piolín por la Mañana'
Many non-Spanish speakers might not know who Eddie "Piolín" Sotelo is, but he's one of the most influential people in the country.
As host of the daily Spanish language morning radio show, "Piolín por la Mañana," he reaches 3.5 million people listen every morning. But while he's mostly about entertaining, he's also passionate about political issues like immigration. He was a major force in rallying his listeners for immigration reform in 2006.
Piolín is based right here in L.A., and he was just inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame.
Take Two host A Martinez recently stopped by his studio to talk about this honor, his work on immigration reform, and more.
Interview Highlights:
On being inducted into the Radio Hall Of Fame:
"It's a big blessing, especially because Larry King is going to be there, too. He's going to be hosting this great event, so that's going to be another dream come true."
On emigrating to the United States:
"Anybody who comes to the United States, they come because they want to work for their dreams. When I came to the United States…I crossed the border from Tijuana, and I remember going through difficult situations when I was crossing the border, as soon as I arrived to Santa Ana, California. It was difficult so I better take advantage of my time and my blessing to be in this great nation."
On why he has immigration lawyers on his show:
"What I am trying to do is give to my listeners the best information about immigration or any situation that they night have with people that know exactly how to respond to the questions that they might have."
On why new immigrants should learn English:
"I think its important that when you come to the United States, you learn the language. English, we have to work for that. That's the only way we're going to show the power that the Latino community has. I believe that if you're a person that gives back to the community, if you're preparing yourself to become better in the United States, I think you deserve a chance to stay here. When I became a U.S. citizen, it was like a movie in my mind. Going back to when I crossed the border, where so many situations where I got fired because I was undocumented. Now I'm a U.S. citizen, I was like, wow, God can make a miracle for anyone who has faith and that can come anytime."
New abortion regulations impact the US-Mexico border
Getting an abortion will become more challenging and more expensive for women across the state of Texas. Early Saturday morning the state legislature gave final passage to a bill that will result in some of the strictest abortion regulations in the country.
Abortion providers say the new regulations will result in dozens of clinics shutting down. Mónica Ortiz Uribe from the Fronteras Desk reports that will have a big impact on the U.S./Mexico border.
On The Lot: 'Fruitvale Station,' Comic-Con and more
Time for On the Lot, our weekly summary of news from the movie business with LA Times reporter Rebecca Keegan.
This weekend art synched up with life with the opening of "Fruitvale Station," a film about a real shooting incident in Oakland that has some parallels with the Trayvon Martin case.
"Fruitvale Station" has won awards at Sundance and Cannes, and some people are already saying it's an Oscar contender. But does tying a film to a controversial event like the Trayvon Martin shooting present some real problems?
Another film caught up in a headline controversy is the forthcoming "Ender's Game." Harrison Ford and Ben Kingsley star in the film, but controversy isn't about the film, or even the novel it's based on. It's about remarks made by the novelist.
Comic-Con opens late this week. What are the big movies that the Comic-Consters are most excited about?
Odd Hollywood Jobs: Dialect coach
This is one in a series on Odd Hollywood Jobs — not acting or directing, but rather the tasks you haven't heard of. You can read other segments in this series at the links below the story.
If Claudette Roche is doing her job, you won't hear anything except a perfect accent coming from an actor on screen. As a dialect coach, it's Roche's job to make sure actors master their characters' accents with such precision that audiences won't know the difference.
As a former actor, Roche fell into the job after doing what she calls, "Ask Five Friends." This entails calling on some close friends and asking them, "What am I good at?"
"I was open to anything. The first person said, 'Well you're a good cook.' ... She said, 'Open up a restaurant,' and I said, 'That's the last thing I want to do in life,'" said Roche. Another friend told Roche she could be a writer, but that didn't quite pan out.
Finally, a fifth friend mentioned that Roche was good with accents and suggested she become a dialect coach. Since then, Roche — originally from England — has coached countless actors and radio personalities how to master a non-native accent or how to quell their own accents if need be.
Roche joins Take Two to tell us more about her job, which accents are the hardest to master and why the American accent is so important.
Interview Highlights:
On the one dialect many people have trouble with:
"I think Australian, because as Americans, we don't hear a lot of Australian, and we hear more English. A lot of Cockney. There's a certain similarity between Cockney and Australian. When an American is working on Australian, they end up sounding way too English or a strange hybrid of something. Australians are notorious for loathing when an American does their accent. I don't think anyone has anyone has said they've done it well."
On the similarities between Scottish and Jamaican accents:
"If I say the word 'wait.' Jamaican would be 'whey-it.' I met a Scot once, and said, 'So you're Jamaican?' And he said, 'What?' Because the Jamaican accent is influenced by Scottish people way back when, generations ago. The Scots landed in Jamaica, hence the accent is heavily influenced by Scotland. Some of those vowels are just the same."
On the most difficult part about her job:
"The most challenging is if it's an actor who needs to sound 100 percent American, that's the challenge.You and I don't actually speak English properly because we have shortcuts. Every language has shortcuts, doesn't mean it's wrong. It's just how we speak. It's teaching someone to have those little shortcuts that you and I accept. This word, 'spare.'… Here's what you actually said, 'sbare.'"
On the existence of a neutral accent:
"A neutral accent is neutral of the language. They've decided that the neutral Spanish language accent would be Mexico City, so actors or anyone on radio, from Venezuela, Puerto Rico, have to learn a Mexico City accent."
On the most surprising things she's learned as a dialect coach:
"I think it's how important the American accent is for people. I didn't realize how important it was, not just for actors, but for real people. A lot of people don't get jobs because they have foreign accents. They don't get jobs because people have a bias against them about their accent. They'll assume they are not as intelligent or perhaps they don't like people from that nation and people don't advance because they don't have the right accent and it's upsetting and sad, but I let them get that leg up."
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Caltrans officials on the status of the 5 Freeway closure
On Saturday, a tanker truck traveling on the 5 and 2 freeway interchange blew a tire, crashed and set the structure ablaze. Today transportation officials are dealing with the aftermath of the fiery crash, which killed three people.
The crash has forced the indefinite closure of all northbound lanes and two southbound lanes of the 5 Freeway. Caltrans officials have not reported when traffic will get back to normal, leaving thousands of drivers looking for an alternative
That's where Aram Sahakian comes in. He oversees special traffic operations for the Los Angeles' Department of Transportation.
Do female Senators foster a more collaborative atmosphere?
There's been plenty of political impasse on the Hill of late, over immigration, the farm bill, etc.
On Tuesday, Majority leader Harry Reid has scheduled votes on seven Obama appointments, and he vows to change the Senate filibuster rules if Republicans block or delay these appointments.
Right now an appointment can require the two-thirds votes needed to prevent a filibuster. Reid would change that so appointments could be approved by a simple majority.
That's raising further tension between Reid and Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell; tension that's been building since before the 2012 general election.
Let's imagine for a moment that it wasn't two men, but two female senators grappling over the issues. Might they be more civil? Women now make up one-fifth of the Senate, and many of these female leaders believe their gender makes them better suited for reaching political compromise.
Jill Lawrence joins the show to discuss her latest piece for National Journal called "Do Women Make Better Senators?"
Tracing 'Sharknado''s roots back to a Burbank-based Asylum
There has been plenty more said about "Sharknado" all over the internet the past few days. If you've been under a rock — Or perhaps in a storm shelter — and you haven't heard of it, this campy creature feature about a tornado full of sharks premiered on the SyFy channel last Thursday.
It is just the latest in a series of schlocky B-movies churned out by a Burbank-based production company called The Asylum. Writer Amanda Hess joins the show to tell us about the studio, which she profiled for Pacific Standard magazine.
When and why do you abandon a book mid-read?
Maybe you're not in the mood for a movie about airborne sharks. How about a good book instead?
If you're looking for a page-turner, you might want to avoid the list of books we're about to share with you. The website Goodreads compiled a list of books that people are most likely to abandon mid-read.
Joining us to talk about the list is Goodreads' co-founder and editor-in-chief Elizabeth Khuri Chandler.
The Top 5 Abandoned Books:
1.) The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling
2.) Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. Jones
3.) Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
4.) The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson
5.) Wicked by Gregory Maguire
The Top 5 Abandoned Classics:
1.) Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
2.) The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
3.) Ulysses by James Joyce
4.) Moby Dick by Herman Melville
5.) Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
Teen's summer vacation: Visiting wells and clinics in Africa
SUMMER LEARNING: Education experts say idle summers can put kids behind when they go back to school in the fall. KPCC's education team spoke to teachers, parents and kids across Southern California about what they're learning this summer - or not.
Researchers say summer is a critical time for kids to pick up new skills, or practice what they were taught last school year. Students who don't can lose a lot of ground.
KPCC visited students, from pre-school to high school, to find out how they're working on their education this summer.
In the first part of our "Summer Learning" series, KPCC's Adolfo Guzman-Lopez hangs out with a teen from Encino who has more things on her to-do list this summer than most people get done in a year.
A sneak preview of 'Becoming LA' at the Natural History Museum
This week the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles at Exposition Park is rolling out a new, permanent exhibit called Becoming Los Angeles. It's a massive project which recounts much of the history of Los Angeles — biologically, geographically and culturally — over the span of 500 years.
Becoming LA is a collection of items ranging from the first container of water collected from the LA aquaduct to suitcases found at the Manzanar internment camp. Take Two got a sneak preview last week of the exhibit with the museum's anthropology chair Margaret Hardin and creative director Simon Adlum.
We began our tour with an unlikely -- yet integral -- player in our city's history.