Today, what new EPA limits on power plant carbon emissions mean for California and alternative energy sources. Then KPCC's Annie Gilbertson kicks off her series showing how trauma and stress affect kids' learning abilities. Plus, we have a primer of what you need to know about the biggest races in Tuesday's election.
California housing remains unaffordable for poorest residents
For years California's housing market has been one of the most expensive in the country, and the economic downturn made houses even less affordable for the state's poorest residents.
That's according to a new report from the California Housing Partnership Corporation, a non-profit group set up by the state to increase the supply of affordable homes.
Matt Schwartz is the group's CEO, and he joins A Martinez to talk about realizations in the report.
Obama administration seeks to cut carbon emissions from power plants
The Obama Administration announced new rules to combat climate change this morning.
Speaking earlier, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said the goal is to cut carbon pollution by 30 percent by the year 2030. And the rules would apply to existing power plants.
"This is not just about disappearing polar bears or melting ice caps," said McCarthy in announcing the rules. "This is about protecting our health and our homes."
The Obama administration has sought to frame the rules as a public health issue.
"Nearly a dozen states are already implementing their own market-based systems to reduce carbon pollution and over a thousand mayors have signed agreements to cut their cities’ carbon pollution," said the President in his weekly address. "The idea of setting higher standards to cut pollution at our power plants is not new, it’s just time for Washington to catch up with the rest of the country."
But the new rules are almost certainly going to face legal challenges moving forward.
For more on these new rules, Take Two speaks with Molly Peterson, KPCC's Environment Correspondent.
EPA's climate change rules could spur renewable energy in West
The new EPA rules are aimed at reducing carbon emissions from existing power plants, a main driver of climate change.
But they could also have an impact on business and industry in the West.
RELATED: Landmark EPA rule aims to cut carbon 30 percent by 2030
For more we turn to Ann Carlson, Shapiro professor of Environmental Law at UCLA and faculty director at the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment.
How trauma and stress affect kids' learning
In this first installment of a three-part series, KPCC education correspondent Annie Gilbertson takes a look at new research that shows the mere act of being poor can affect the brain, making it hard for kids to learn.
Los Angeles public schools — where more than 80 percent of students live in poverty — illustrate the challenges for these students. Less than half of third graders in L.A. Unified read at grade level and 20 percent of students will have dropped out by senior year.
But researchers also offer hope. They said the right interventions can make a difference. And one school in MacArthur Park is battling biology by helping children with life as well as school — to growing success.
The races to watch in California's June 3 primary
Voters across the country are heading to the polls on June 3 to cast votes in both local and statewide primary elections.
Here in California, there are a number of interesting races — from the race for Governor to L.A. County Sheriff.
RELATED: KPCC's MyBallot: Voters guide for the 2014 primary elections
KPCC political reporters Frank Stoltze, Alice Walton and John Myers, KQED's Senior Editor for California Politics and Government, join Take Two to break down where the races stand in the countdown to Election Day.
Study: For many African-American grads, a college degree is not a job guarantee
The Great Recession has made things tough for new college grads, especially true for African-American students.
A new study shows that 12.4 percent of black college grads aged 22 to 27 are unemployed, compared with the average rate of just 5.6 percent. Between 2007 (prior to the recession) and 2013, the unemployment rate for black recent college graduates nearly tripled.
"The results were pretty distressing," said John Schmitt, senior economist with the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, DC, and co-author of the study. "We found that one in eight young black college grads is unemployed, and over half — about 55 percent — of young black college grads who have a job are actually in a job that doesn't require a four-year degree at all."
Schmitt stresses that the report is not an indictment of a college degree. Students he looked at with college degrees had a much better employment outcome than those without. But a degree itself, even one in the coveted STEM disciplines, does not give black grads an advantage equal to that of their peers.
"It is an indicator of the very strong social forces that young black workers are up against in the labor market," said Schmitt. "Both a bad labor market, but also a real ongoing case of racism and discrimination in the labor market, which still exists."
The Mexican vigilantes from California
Vigilantes in Michoacan, Mexico, have risen up to challenge the threat from drug cartels like the Knights Templar.
Many of those vigilantes come from California -- either because they were deported or moved back to protect their families.
Some say they take to the streets because they've learned in the U.S. that extortion and brutality should not be permitted.
LA Times reporter Tracy Wilkinson joins Alex Cohen from Apatzingan, Mexico, to share more of their stories.
Amazon's illegal market for prescription drugs
You can find just about anything on Amazon these days: books, clothing, lawnmowers, baby strollers and even prescription drugs.
Physician and journalist Ford Vox recently discovered the extent of Amazon's marketplace for illegally sold drugs. It was delivered to his front door in the form of a prescription skin cream his wife inadvertently ordered.
While the federal government has gone after similar websites for selling controlled substances found on Amazon — such as certain forms of anabolic steroids — these drugs continue to pop up on Amazon marketplaces with seeming impunity, Vox writes in a piece for Slate.
On the Lot: Bueller house, Avatar teams with Cirque du Soleil and Maleficent rules the box office
Rebecca Keegan, who writes about film for the Los Angeles Times, joins the show for On the Lot, our regular discussion of the film business.
The Disney film, "Maleficent" ruled the box office. Does it represent a new direction for the princess-centric studio?
James Cameron announces an Avatar live show with Cirque du Soleil and Chicago's glass house, made famous by "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" finally sells for only $1 million.
Hackers try to solve LA's data problems in a weekend
This weekend, hackers got together for 48 hours to try and build apps to help Los Angeles and its residents. Programmers and designers met up for what's known as a hackathon. This particular one was designed to digest raw data put out by the city of L.A.
Mayor Eric Garcetti has been a big proponent of greater transparency within the city. He announced an open data initiative back in December of 2013 with the idea that different departments could post raw data about their goings-on, online. The hope has been that, armed with raw data on things like parking tickets and city spending, citizens would feel empowered to build apps that utilize that data and ultimately help them feel more connected.
The hackathons have been used to promote the digestion of raw data into useful things.
This weekend, a group of high schoolers won by designing an app called Shelter Connect, which is supposed to connect homeless shelters with restaurants and volunteers that want to work with them.
Check out a full list of the projects here.
The event was put on by Hack for LA, which was co-founded by Catherine Geanuracos, who joins Alex Cohen to talk about the competition.
Oh, and if this sounds familiar, we covered the last hackathon a few months ago.