Today, we'll begin with a discussion about the water main break that flooded the UCLA campus on Tuesday. Is aging infrastructure to blame? Then, will Obama use executive action to curb the migrant crisis? Plus, the Lakers get a new coach, a scientific paper touting necessity of processed foods draws nutritionists' ire, why is Kim Kardashian's app so popular? The life of a professional "rabbit" and much more.
Is aging infrastructure to blame for UCLA water main break?
A busted water main sent a geyser shooting 30 feet in the air and flooded Sunset Boulevard and UCLA yesterday.
About 8 to 10 million gallons of water were lost before the line was shut off more than three hours later. Athletic facilities on the campus, including the newly remodeled Pauley Pavilion, were deluged. Andrew Ames, a fitness instructor at UCLA, was in Parking Lot 4, right around the corner from Pauley Pavilion, when it all began. He joins Take Two to talk about what he witnessed.
The pipe that ruptured was a 30-inch water main carrying millions of gallons of water. It was built nearly 100 years ago in 1921, a reminder of our aging and vulnerable water infrastructure.
Mark Gold, acting director of UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, joins Take Two with more.
City of Ventura challenges residents to stop washing their cars
Especially in light of the UCLA water main break, it's now more important than ever to save water in Southern California.
As of yesterday, it is now illegal for anyone in the state to hose down a driveway or a sidewalk. You also can't allow landscape irrigation to flood off your property.
But officials in the city of Ventura, California think residents can and should go even further to conserve water. Here with more on the Don't Wash Your Car challenge is Ventura Water's general manager, Shana Epstein.
House, Senate take up contrasting bills to respond to surge in migrants
The House and the Senate are taking up bills this week that would provide funding to deal with the surge of migrants from Central America.
But the plans have different priorities and congress faces a tight deadline before heading to August recess in just a few days.
The plans have drawn criticism from across the political spectrum.
“They are looking to spend money on National Guard, on a very small number of immigration judges, and on an increase in detention resources. So it is an enforcement-only approach, where frankly a more rational, common-sense approach is sorely needed," said Ali Noorani of the National Immigration Forum, an advocacy group.
But some conservatives say federal immigration policy sends the wrong message and are urging an end the program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, which offers temporary legal status to some undocumented youth.
“What Congress is talking about doing right now is merely addressing the symptoms and fallout from the border crisis. Things are fluid and all that may change, but unless Congress rolls back and rescinds DACA, we are going to find ourselves in this situation again and again," said Dan Holler of the Heritage Foundation.
For more, we're joined by Southern California Public Radio reporter Leslie Berestein Rojas.
Mother of Mexican teen killed by Border Patrol files wrongful death suit
The mother of a Mexican teenager fatally shot by one or more U.S. Border Patrol agents filed a federal lawsuit seeking damages for her loss this week.
16-year-old Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez was walking along a street in his hometown of Nogales, Arizona which runs parallel to the border fence when he was shot at least eight times.
Bob Ortega, a senior reporter with The Arizona Republic, joins Take Two for more on this incident and the legal questions it raises.
Sports Roundup: New Lakers coach, Sterling ruling, Dodgers record and more
The Lakers coaching search is over as yesterday they introduced former Laker Byron Scott as their new head coach.
The Lakers are the last team in the NBA to fill their coach vacancy by 25 days. There didn't seem to be any other candidates left, they interviewed Scott at least three times. Why did it take as long as it did?
Scott is going on a little family vacation before he gets started but now that he's place, can he turn the Lakers around or maybe point them in the right direction?
The other big L.A. basketball news came down off the court but, in a courtroom. A judge ruled that Shelly Sterling has the authority to sell the Clippers to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer for $2 billion. It appears this could be the end for Donald Sterling, who are the winners and losers here?
After three decades under Donald Sterling's ownership, the Clippers will move into a new era. Should Steve Ballmer change the name of the team to maybe really establish a new image for the franchise?
Tomorrow is the MLB trade deadline and looking at the Dodgers and Angels, it would on the surface appear that both teams are in great shape. The Dodgers have the best record in the National League, they're in 1st place in their division with a 3 game lead over the rival Giants.
The Angels have the second best record in all of baseball and the only reason they're not in first place is because the Oakland A's have the best record overall. Brian, lets start with the Boys in Blue, what if anything do they need?
The Angels, Andy, to me are in a trickier spot because they probably will have to secure a wild card because the A's are sooo good. What do you think they need to do?
The NFL suspended Ravens running back Ray Rice for two games after a video surfaced of Rice dragging his unconscious fiancee out of an elevator after he knocked her out. They have since gotten married and it looks like Rice will avoid a felony assault charge jail by agreeing to counseling.
The NFL has defended their punishment despite suspending other players longer for things such as marijuana or steroid use. The backlash has been loud but the league has really drawn a line in the sand.
Finally, Dodgers icon, broadcaster Vin Scully plans to be back next season for what would be 66 years in the booth.
The life of professional race pacemaker Matt Scherer
Picture a track meet. The runners are stretching, shaking out their legs moments before the gun goes off.
For most of them, the goal is to win the race and maybe set a record along the way. For Matt Scherer, if he winds up never getting to the finish line, then he's done exactly what he was hired to do.
Scherer is a professional pacemaker or "rabbit," and in his career he's helped many elite runners set records by, in effect, leading them and then getting out of their way.
Matt Scherer joins the show to talk about his life as a professional "rabbit."
Governor Jerry Brown wraps up visit to Mexico
California Governor Jerry Brown wraps up his visit to Mexico City today. While there, he's signed deals on trade, climate change and energy, and he's urged more educational exchange between California and Mexico.
For more on this diplomatic trip, we're joined by Chris Megerian, reporter with the LA Times.
UCLA water main break wastes millions of gallons of water
The cause of yesterday's water main break near UCLA is still unknown, but officials have said they still have to drain the pipe before they can begin repairs.
KPCC's Ben Bergman was at the scene of the water main break and joins the show with the latest.
Take Two's Meghan McCarty puts into context just how much water was wasted. It is estimated that 8-10 million gallons flooded onto the streets and the campus before it was shut off. That's a whole lot of water during California's ongoing drought.
App Chat: What's behind the popularity of Kim Kardashian's app?
Kim Kardashian’s app is huge.
"We believe that the 'Kim Kardashian: Hollywood' app has made close to $3.39 million dollars for Kim Kardashian," says Jeremi Karnell whose company PTT Research estimates App Revenue. "She has the potential to make up to $40 to 50 million this year alone based on the app's performance to date."
The app is the fifth highest grossing app on Apple’s store right now, right behind Pandora Music. The thing is, it's actually a free game to download, which means that it's making all of its money off of people spending real money in Kim's virtual universe.
"You can get clothing and you can buy it for cash," said Michael Pachter, a research analyst for Wedbush Securities. "Once they decide they're going to spend money, it's easy to spend $20-$40 dollars at a time, because you're just buying cash in the game and the item might only cost a dollar or two or three."
What he's saying is that people can take their real money and essentially buy virtual credits that let them buy things in the game, but why would you want to do that? Well, in the game you play a fresh off the bus, L.A. transplant, trying to make your way in Hollywood. You start off at the bottom of the social ladder, with your ultimate goal to become an A list celebrity like Kim Kardashian.
Whitney Jefferson, celebrity editor at Buzzfeed, has been playing it a ton.
"I’ve actually only spent $40 dollars on the game so far. I kind of justified it to myself as in saying I’m not going out to he bar tonight, $4.99 for all of these Kardashian stars, that’s basically a drink," she said.
In the game, at first, no one wants to do business deals with you, but when you spend money on new clothes and beauty products people actually want to talk to you and your celebrity status goes up.
"The game kind of operates as the same way as her career… minus the sex tape of course," says Jefferson. "So, you start out, you’re on the E-list, you’re like walking to bars and people won’t talk to you because you’re too beneath them. And you do a commercial here and a photo shoot there and you just get more and more famous."
Along the way Kim gives you nice little golden nuggets of encouragement like, "You should come to this party with us, there will be a lot of amazing people there." If you show up at the party in a nice outfit, get your hair done, talk to the right people and spend a bit of hard earned cash, you're golden.
"I think my number one tip would be sell out immediately as soon as you can. I mean that’s kind of the point here. There are all of these questions about taste," said Jefferson. "Will you take your clothes off… if you don't you don't get this gig. It's like, just debase yourself for Hollywood and you’ll advance."
But the game's star power might fall in popularity over the next few months says Pachter, "It’s dropping in the most downloaded games and that means that it’s losing players as fast as its gaining them, and I think it’ll drop off the ratings next year some time."
So, like plenty of things in Hollywood, it might not be at the top for very long.
New York officials want to crack down on street characters
Over the years, Hollywood has been known not just for stars of the silver screen, but stars of Hollywood Boulevard.
That's where tourists pose with people dressed up as all sorts of characters — from Minnie Mouse to Superman to Chuckie — the maniacal doll from the 1988 film, "Child's Play." We're not the only town with these colorful characters; you'll find similar ones in Times Square in New York City.
But lately they've been stirring up trouble and city officials are looking for ways to crack down on them. For more on what legally is possible in such a situation, we're joined by Jonathan Turley, constitutional law professor at George Washington University.
Paper touting necessity of processed foods draws nutritionists' ire
The American Society for Nutrition published a paper last week stating that processed foods make up a vital part of the American diet, drawing the ire of some prominent nutritionists, who criticized the paper and accused its authors of conflicts of interest.
The paper, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, said that beyond being vital to the American diet, processed foods contribute to the health of the U.S. population, and it gave recommendations for making processed foods more nutritious and for improving the public’s perception of them.
But some nutritionists have shot back, saying the paper relies on an overly broad definition of processed foods. It included in its analysis foods that aren't generally thought of as processed, like packaged fruits and vegetables and roasted nuts. By including them, the critics say, the paper distorts the fact that more heavily processed foods, like children’s breakfast cereal, are far less nutritious.
Southern California Public Radio's Adrian Florido reports.
Study: Does color influence our senses of smell and taste?
What does the color red smell like? You probably thought of strawberries, cherries, or roses. But what if all those things were brown or green? Would they smell as sweet?
Researchers at Occidental College in Los Angeles have been looking at how our senses interact and they recently published a study on how we associate smells with colors. The author of the study, Carmel Levitan, an assistant professor of cognitive science at Occidental College, joins Take Two to explain.
Tracking apps help parents keep tabs on teens
If you're a parent, especially of a teenager, you likely worry about your kid. Are they making smart decisions? Are they safe? Where are they? Turns out there all sorts of apps to help answer these questions. Olga Kharif of Bloomberg joins Take Two to talk about some of these apps.