Today on the show, we start with a report that the FBI is investigating use of force by border patrol agents. Then, A judge stalls end of life measures for Casey Kasem. Plus, Tesla could open its secrets to competitors. Plus, California state prisons struggle to enroll parolees in Medi-Cal before release, a 'Paleo Foodie' explains how to eat like our ancestors, and much more.
FBI to take role in investigating use of force by border patrol
The FBI is looking into allegations of abuse by border patrol agents.
The move comes after increasing pressure on US Customs and Border Protection, which has been criticized for not doing enough to look into use of force along the border.
According to info from the agency and reported by LA Times, just 13 out of 809 abuse complaints between 2009 and 2012 led to disciplinary action. We're joined by Christian Ramirez, director of the Southern Border Communities Coalition, an advocacy group based along the US-Mexico border.
Customs and Border Protection Public Affairs Deputy Assistant Commissioner Chris O'Neil said in a statement to Take Two:
"As he has said repeatedly, Commissioner Kerlikowske is committed to integrity and transparency, and improving the use of the force review process. As part of this commitment, CBP has asked the FBI for a top Senior Executive to lead the CBP Office of Internal Affairs on an interim basis. Mark Morgan, currently Deputy Assistant Director for Inspections at the FBI, will assume this role later this month and focus on strengthening CBP's internal review capacity and working with the DHS Inspector General and interagency partners on investigating allegations and complaints, specifically regarding use of force. CBP thanks Mr. Tomscheck for his service and his efforts to build the CBP Office of Internal Affairs."
Short-term border facilities holding some child migrants too long
The federal government is scrambling to house a surge of unaccompanied Central American children and teenagers apprehended crossing the border illegally, many in Texas' Rio Grande Valley.
Obama administration officials said Monday federal agencies are requesting more than $2 billion from Congress to pay for more shelters.
Unaccompanied migrants under the age of 18 are only supposed to be held in Department of Homeland Security facilities for fewer than 72 hours before they’re transferred to the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services. They are supposed to be housed in shelters run by that agency's Office of Refugee Resettlement.
But a shortage of space in those shelters means the children have been languishing in facilities that are not equipped for them.
In the last eight months, border agents made more than 47,000 child apprehensions. That is more than a 90 percent increase from the same time period last year.
Many of these young migrants are fleeing violence and gangs in Central America. Some have heard rumors that U.S. immigration policy is lenient for children who cross alone.
The Obama administration has called this an “urgent humanitarian situation requiring a unified and coordinated federal response."
Back in late May, before this issue became known publicly as a presidential priority, a 24-year-old Honduran migrant named Marleny Bueso Ponce was detained in a Border Patrol station in Arizona. There she met a boy who had been caught at the border without his parents.
“He was crying that he wanted to phone his mother, to tell her that he loved her, that he missed her,” Bueso Ponce said.
Bueso Ponce and her own child were paroled after a couple days, as has been typical for families apprehended at the border. But she says the boy stayed behind at the holding cell when she left.
She says the boy told her he’d already been held there for 11 days.
That would be a violation of a federal statute that says unaccompanied children must be transferred out of such DHS facilities within 72 hours.
Bueso Ponce’s account of the boy’s story can’t be verified. But Obama administration officials say cases like this one are happening. On Monday they acknowledged on a press call that migrant children have been held in short-term DHS facilities for longer than three days.
The officials spoke to reporters on the condition of anonymity.
“Border Patrol stations were not designed for any kind of long-term custody,” said Michelle Brané of the Women’s Refugee Commission in Washington, D.C. “They are completely ill-equipped to deal with anybody long term, and they are particularly inappropriate for children to be in for any length of time.”
Brané said such facilities have no showers, beds or recreation areas.
“And not having a shower, for example, we have been hearing kids have been in facilities for up to two weeks,” Brané said. “That is a very long time to be in the same clothes you have traveled in and crossed rivers in.”
As the number of unaccompanied children crossing the border has surged, there hasn’t been enough space for them in HHS shelters. The federal government has been trying to set up more, but Brané says that doesn’t happen overnight.
“You need to find beds quickly but you also want them to safe,” Brané said. “So that is where I think this bottleneck is coming. Places need to be licensed. They need to have the appropriate staff caring for them. They need to have protection mechanisms for the children.”
Obama administration officials said, HHS is requesting an additional $2 million from Congress for this effort. DHS is also requesting an additional $160 million.
In the meantime, the federal government has been setting up emergency housing for child migrants on military bases in California, Texas and Oklahoma.
Over the weekend, federal officials started adding showers and other amenities at a processing center in Nogales, Ariz. It will serve as a way-station for up to 1,500 children at a time, before they’re transferred to more permanent sites.
Tony Banegas, the honorary Honduran consul in Arizona, visited the Nogales site over the weekend. Many of the children there had been flown in from South Texas, where they were apprehended.
Banegas said the conditions there were still a work in progress.
“They need mattresses, they need toothpaste,” Banegas said. “Better food, warm food.”
Banegas said he is grateful for the effort federal agents are making. But he says it is still very difficult for the children who are housed there.
“Some are young and they miss their family, they don’t know what is going to happen,” he said. “It’s scary.”
Eventually these children will be transferred to a shelter, and then may be reunited with family members or placed in foster care.
They’re still in deportation proceedings, though. So they’ll either be ordered to return to their home countries, or win the right to stay in the U.S.
Obama administration officials said they had planned for an increase in unaccompanied migrant children this year, but were caught by surprise by the size of the increase.
Central American women caught crossing the border with children are also overwhelming federal facilities in South Texas. Community shelters and churches in El Paso are helping to house these families after they are released from border facilities.
With a 3-0 lead, the LA Kings inch closer to the Stanley Cup
The Los Angeles Kings continue to roll through the Stanley Cup final, as they blanked the NY Rangers 3-0 to take a 3-0 series lead.
Believe it or not, that goal was the first time in this series the Kings have a lead in regulation time. Going back the last three games, the Kings have only gotten out front when they score the game-winning goal in overtime.
Playing from behind and not panicking has become this team's trademark and now this cool-as-ice demeanor has left them one win away from their second Stanley Cup in the last three seasons. With more on the Kings is Dave Joseph, reporter for ESPNLA and he joins us from New York City.
Washington State moving slowly on implementing legal pot industry
There have been a number of hitches with Colorado's legalization of marijuana, including reports of kids showing up in ER rooms after getting into their parents edibles, border states seeing a spike in pot when those visiting Colorado return and a rash of dangerous explosions as people try to cook hash oil at home.
All troubles officials in Washington State are watching closely. Voters there also elected to legalize marijuana in 2012, but things have been a lot more slow going in the Northwest. For more on why we're joined by Reid Wilson of the Washington Post.
Tesla may open its patent secrets to competitors
Tesla Motors' CEO Elon Musk may open up a few of his company's patents as a way to spur the electric car market.
At last Sunday's launch of the Tesla Model S, Musk said he'd want to open up the designs for his Supercharger system. If he did that, it would effectively give his competitors a boost in technology and development that they wouldn't have to invest in, themselves.
While it seems counterintuitive for a company to help out its competitors, having more players in the electric car market could actually be good for Tesla.
It would create a standard for technology that uses its own designs, but also drive up demand for electric cars and the infrastructure in them — both of which would help Tesla's own sales. Alan Ohnsman, auto reporter for Bloomberg News, joins Take Two to explain.
Judge stalls end of life measures for Casey Kasem
Casey Kasem has enjoyed decades of fame thanks to his smooth sound as host of America's Top 40, but these days, he's been making headlines because of the bizarre family fight over his care.
Kasem's health has seriously declined due in part to an advanced form of Parkinson's disease, and for the past year, his children have been fighting with their step mother, Jean Kasem, for conservatorship of their father.
His daughter Kerri Kasem, who was granted temporary control of his treatment last month, consulted with doctors and decided in recent days to stop giving her father food, water and medications, attorneys said in court.
But a judge ruled Monday that Casey Kasem should be fed, hydrated and medicated while a court-appointed attorney evaluates the health of the ailing radio personality after his daughter moved to implement end of life measures.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Daniel S. Murphy ruled that Casey Kasem should receive the treatments while an attorney appointed by the judge meets with Kasem and his doctors.
Kasem was admitted to the hospital with an infected bedsore last week.
Kerri Kasem decided to begin end-of-life measures after doctors determined that feeding and hydrating the celebrity had become increasingly painful, attorney Troy Martin said in court. The judge's ruling is likely to cause the former "American Top 40" host more pain, he said.
AP reporter Anthony McCartney has been covering this story since the beginning. He joins the show to tell us the latest.
With contributions from the Associated Press.
Tuesday Reviewsday: People Under The Stairs, Lee Fields and more
Oliver Wang of Soul-Sides.com and music supervisor Morgan Rhodes join Take Two to run down the latest releases you need to know about.
Oliver's Picks
Artist: People Under the Stairs
Album: 12 Step Program
Song: "Umbrellas (God Forgive Me)"
This local L.A. duo celebrate their ninth studio release since the late ‘90s. Their identity over the years has remained very consistent. They’ve created a classic sound unto themselves, uncomplicated, feel good, soulful samples with slick, witty rhymes. With that, they’ve stayed active far beyond many of the peers they started with.
Artist: The Koreatown Oddity
Album: 200 Tree Rings
Song: "Title Sequence"
On the other side is a relatively brand new artist, with the odd name of The Koreatown Oddity and just to make things odder: he wears a wolf’s head mask whenever he performs. This is his debut album though he’s put out a series of previous projects on tape. I don’t mean metaphoric mix tapes, I mean actual cassette tapes. His style certainly seems influence by Odd Future, though he’s not part of that camp…but he’s an intriguing new artist on the L.A. scene that currently seems stocked with compelling, emergent talent right now.
Artist: Saun and Starr
Album: 7” release
Song: "Gonna Make Time"
Saun and Starr started their career singing back-up for Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, and now they’re venturing out to the front of the stage with their debut 7-inch. It’s what you’ve become to expect and want from Daptone: deep soul tracks and piercing vocals. This is as good as anything I’ve heard from Daptone in a minute
Morgan's Picks
Artist: Lost Midas
Album: Head Games - EP
Song: "Head Games (feat. Audris)"
Los Angeles' beatmaking scene has a new hero: Lost Midas aka Jason Trikakis. The Boston transplant's "Head Games" is the follow up to last years' Memory Flux, a short EP that showcased his affinity for ethereal fuzzy beats, a sound that L.A. has pioneered and absolutely perfected.
Artist: Hollie Cook
Album: Twice
Song: "Tiger Balm"
The daughter of two musicians, this British reggae artist on celebrated world music label Mr. Bongo Records. Her latest, twice, is lush, cinematic and trippy like all of her very cool releases to date.
Artist: Lee Fields & The Expressions
Album: Emma Jean
Song: "Just Can't Win"
Bluesy soulful sounds from a seasoned veteran. Four decades of music making and living make for an introspective record about loving and living.
Stanford sexual assault case sparks calls for tougher punishment
When students are found guilty of sexual assault, how should they be punished? Should they be kicked out? Or is suspension enough?
Campuses are caught in a tough place — trying to take alleged victims seriously while making sure the rights of the accused are protected.
Last week, hundreds of students at Stanford University took part in a protest rally in support of a rape victim whose attacker is being allowed to graduate this month.
Emily Bazelon, a senior editor at Slate and the Truman Capote Fellow at Yale Law School, joins Take Two to talk about the Stanford case and whether universities are letting students off too easy for sexual assault.
CA bill would require 'affirmative consent' standard for sexual assault cases
In California, a bill that would require public universities adopt an "affirmative consent" standard when determining whether or not a sexual assault took place is on its way to a vote in the state Assembly.
Senate Bill 967, which passed the state Senate last month, defines consent as "an affirmative, unambiguous and conscious decision by each participant to to engage in mutually agreed-upon sexual activity" and adds that consent must be ongoing throughout a sexual encounter.
Kareem Aref, a student at UC Riverside and the president of the University of California Student Association, joins Take Two to explain his organization's support for the bill.
Why drowsy driving is dangerous and hard to catch
Police officials say the truck driver who hit and critically injured comedian Tracy Morgan last weekend hadn't slept in more than 24 hours before the accident.
RELATED: Trucker in Tracy Morgan crash lacked sleep, prosecutor says
Morgan is still recuperating from that New Jersey car crash, which left one person dead.
Drowsy driving has sometimes been described just as dangerous as drunken driving, but unlike drunken driving, it can't be accurately tested for.
Dr. Charles Cziesler, professor of sleep medicine at Harvard Medical School, joins Take Two to explain the difficulties in punishing drowsy drivers, as well as talk about who is most likely to fall asleep behind the wheel.
The 'thrill and addiction' of Seattle graffiti artists
Is it street art? Or just graffiti? Many American cities have tried to curb the practice of tagging, and in most places, it's associated with gang activity. In Seattle, that's generally not the case.
Reporter Kimberlee Williams, from the youth media program sponsored by Seattle public station KUOW, prepared this story about two young Seattle men who go by the names Baso and Skeez.
RadioActive is KUOW's program for high school students. This story was produced in RadioActive’s Spring Introductory Workshop. Listen to RadioActive stories, subscribe to the RadioActive podcast and stay in touch on Facebook.
Timing, relationships are keys to LA's fundraising success
The city of Los Angeles has landed a lot of federal money of late — nearly 3.5-billion over the past six months. Why so much? KPCC's Washington Correspondent Kitty Felde says it's a matter of timing, relationships, and self-imposed taxes.
California state prisons struggle to enroll parolees in Medi-Cal before release
State prisons parole roughly 40,000 people each year. A handful of those parolees have jobs lined up when they get out, but the majority hit the streets penniless and often, in poor health.
Most are eligible for a low-cost or no-cost health care plan, and prisons are trying to get parolees enrolled before they're released. For The California Report, Julie Small has the story.
California judge rules teacher protections unconstitutional
A long-awaited verdict in the Vergara vs. California trial over the future of teacher tenure has finally come down.
RELATED: Vergara trial: Calif. judge says state teacher protections unconstitutional (updated)
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Rolf Treu struck down three California laws that protect the jobs of hundreds of thousand of public school teachers. He found the laws "disproportionately" harm poor kids.
Joining us with more is KPCC education reporter Adolfo Guzman Lopez.
World Cup 2014: Protests, metro strike hit Sao Paulo as first game near
The World Cup begins tomorrow, but questions over cost overruns and preparation are still issues. Nowhere is that more apparent than in Sao Paulo, host to tomorrow's opening game.
There, traffic has become a major factor, because metro workers have threatened to resume a strike that sent the streets into chaos just days ago. But Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff dismissed concerns, saying in a national address that the country is ready.
"There are people who claim the resources for World Cup should have been directed to health care and education. I hear and respect their opinion but I don't agree with them. It's a false dilemma," said Rousseff Tuesday.
Journalist Mauricio Savarese describes "tension in the air" in Sao Paulo.
"Tomorrow is going to be a very interesting game of wait and see," he tells Take Two. That's when metro workers are scheduled to resume talks with officials.
It's also when host-favorites Brazil takes on Croatia and attempts a run at history: to raise the trophy for the first time on home soil.
Singer/songwriter Jolie Holland on her nomadic, musical life
Nomadic musician and singer Jolie Holland has a voice that's hard to forget. She's back with a new album on Anti- Records, called "Wine Dark Sea."
She'll be playing tonight at the Echo here in Los Angeles. Jolie Holland joins me now.