NA whistleblower Edward Snowden tells China of broad hacking efforts by the US; Poll: Is Snowden a hero or a traitor?; House passes ban on 20-week abortions; Does the US need another Church Committee?; Rollout of California program offers glimpse of universal Pre-K; Oscar-winner Dustin Lance Black on the fate of Prop 8; Nancy Jo Sales and the real story behind 'The Bling Ring'; How facelifts could fuel Nicaragua’s economy, plus much more.
Snowden tells China, Hong Kong of broad hacking efforts by the US
NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden is in Hong Kong, where he told the newspaper China Daily that the NSA has been hacking into Chinese computers since 2009. It's an interesting shift in the rhetoric, since it's the U.S. that's usually accusing China of hacking company and government networks.
Rob Schmitz, China correspondent for Marketplace, joins the show with more on how China is responding to these allegations.
Poll: Is Edward Snowden a hero or a traitor?
Activists have been rallying in support of Edward Snowden outside the American Consulate in Hong Kong, but support for the former NSA contractor is by no means universal.
Is he a hero or a traitor? It's a question Slate's Emily Bazelon has been chewing on. She joins Take Two for a discussion about how Snowden compares to Daniel Ellsberg, the man who leaked the Pentagon Papers, and more.
Does the US need another Church Committee?
As we learn more about the operations of the super-secret NSA, it's no surprise that some are calling for a full investigation of the nation's intelligence gathering community.
In fact, there is already an example of such an investigation. It was called the United States Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities. It's quite a mouthful, so most people refer to it as the Church Committee, after the chairman, Idaho Democrat Frank Church.
In 1975 and 76, the committee heard from scores of witnesses and investigated CIA, NSA and FBI operations that sometimes sounded like the stuff of spy fiction.
n example: The demonstration of a gun that fired a frozen sliver of poison, that mimicked the effects of a heart attack.
Denied access to abortions. What happens after?
The House Judiciary Committee has approved a ban on 20-week abortions, and now the measure is headed to the floor of the Senate next week.
This weekend, the New York Times magazine asks the question about what happens to those women who are denied access to abortions, they're told, because their pregnancies are too far along.
At the center of the article is research coming out of the University of California, San Francisco's Research Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health. The center's director Dr. Tracy Weitz joins the show to explain the implications of this decision.
Supreme Court overturns part of smog-reduction plan for the Port of LA
The Supreme Court overturned part of the anti-smog program at the Port of Los Angeles today.
The port had attempted to restrict the types of trucks that can haul goods in and out of its terminals, but justices voted unanimously Thursday to strike down part of the port's Clean Trucks Program.
KPCC's Molly Peterson joins the show to talk about what this decision means for the Port and the city.
Oscar-winner Dustin Lance Black on the fate of Prop 8
The legal battle over same-sex marriage in California culminates sometime in the next few weeks when the Supreme Court decides on the fate of Prop 8.
But while this drama played out in the courts, the drama also played out on the stages of schools, churches and community centers throughout the world, becoming a teaching tool wherever it goes.
WEIGH IN: We're hearing from voices for and against gay marriage in the lead-up to the Supreme Court's decision. Add yours: how were you personally affected by Proposition 8?
The play "8" was created by
, the Oscar award-winning screenwriter for "Milk." It's based on the real-life transcripts of the federal trial against Prop 8.
"Unfortunately, the opposition was crafty enough to make sure that cameras were not allowed in the courtroom," Black says. "What they couldn't do was destroy the transcripts, and what they couldn't do was to keep me from using those transcripts to let the world know what happened in that courtroom."
Staging the trial also allowed Black to punctuate some of the most dramatic moments, and bring it outside of the courtroom and directly into people's communities.
"When the judge asked [the defense attorney] how will it hurt anyone if these marriages go forward, he was stumped and said, 'I don't know. I don't know.'"
The court ultimately ruled against Proposition 8, but gay marriages in California are still on hold until the Supreme Court issues its ruling.
"I have full faith that this court is going to rule on the right side of history," says Black, "But I got to tell you, this process over the past four years -- everything that's happened, all the conversations, all the brave people who've come out to their families and their coworkers -- that hard work has moved this country."
Included in that hard work is "8." If the Supreme Court rules in favor of gay marriage, "Boy, would this play to be a dusty old relic that doesn't make to the next generation," says Black. If the court rules against it, "Then it is a roadmap for how we make progress."
WATCH: the full LA performance of "8"
City Hall Pass: Pot dispensary crackdown, Calderon investigation and more
Take Two looks at the latest in the investigation surrounding Senator Ron Calderon and rounds up the week in politics throughout California with KPCC political reporters Alice Walton and Frank Stoltze.
The federal government launched another crackdown on medical marijuana dispensaries here this week, despite the passage of Measure D in Los Angeles that allows 135 of them stay open.
This week we heard from one of the most powerful women in Los Angeles. LA County Federation of Labor Secretary-Treasurer Maria Elena Durazo spoke to Town Hall Los Angeles. We also heard from LA County Supervisor Mark Ridley Thomas. He wants an outside "Blue Ribbon Commission" to examine the Department of Children and Family Services.
Today, the LA City Ethics Commission is issuing its report on spending and matching funds from the mayor's race.
Finally, we get an update on the federal investigation into State Senator Ron Calderon from East LA. The FBI raided his Sacramento offices last week.
What does Darrell Issa want?
A Southern California Republican is in the spotlight on Capitol Hill, taking on the Justice Department, the IRS, and the Obama administration. But what does Congressman Darrell Issa want? KPCC's Washington Correspondent Kitty Felde tries to find out.
Small New Mexico town of Magdalena runs out of water
The vicious drought gripping the southwest appears to have a bullseye on New Mexico. Wildfires are burning across the state and water is increasing scarce. So scare, that early this month one town in central New Mexico ran out of water. Mónica Ortiz Uribe from the Fronteras Desk reports on how the town is scrambling to find a new source of water.
If you turn on a faucet in the town of Magdalena in central New Mexico, nothing will come out.
On Wednesday the water level in the town's only drinking well dropped below the well's pump. The water level in the well has dropped consistently as a result of an unrelenting three-year drought.
Lorie Scholes lives in a ranch just west of town.
"We haven't had a drop of rain in three years," she said. "It is so dry here it's awful. It's like walking on potato chips."
The town, which is about 30 miles west of Socorro, N.M., is applying for an emergency permit to drill a second well. Residents are getting water from tanker trucks.
The Office of the State Engineer is working to find new water sources for multiple New Mexico towns experiencing severe water shortages.
Lawsuit claims Nevada hospital violated mentally ill patients' rights
An update now on a story we've been following about a psychiatric hospital in Nevada. Back in April, it was reported that the facility had put as many as 1,500 mentally ill patients on buses and sent them to cities around the country.
About a third of them ended up here in Southern California.
Now, a class action lawsuit has been brought against the state of Nevada and the hospital, charging them with violating patients' constitutional rights.
Here with more on the lawsuit is Phillip Reese, who's following this story for the Sacramento Bee.
Mayor of Monterrey, Mexico gives the city over to God
Northern Mexico continues to struggle with crime, violence and kidnappings, which is why Alicia Margarita Arellanes Cervantes, the mayor of Monterrey, Mexico, is giving the city over to God:
"I, Alicia Margarita Arellanes Cervantes, give Monterrey, Nuevo León, to our Lord Jesus Christ, so that his kingdom of peace and blessings may be established. I open the doors of this municipality to God as the ultimate authority. Lord Jesus Christ, welcome to Monterrey, the house that we have built. This is your home Lord Jesus, Lord of Monterrey.”
Her remarks at a recent public appearance have stirred a contentious debate about the separation of church and state in Mexico. For more on this we're joined now by Tracey Wilkinson, Mexico bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times
Nancy Jo Sales and the real story behind 'The Bling Ring'
Friday marks the opening of the new Sofia Coppola film “The Bling Ring,” a fictionalized account of a real-life set of Southern California teenage burglars who targeted celebrities such as Paris Hilton and Orlando Bloom.
Coppola based her film in large part on a book titled "The Bling Ring: How A Gang of Fame-Obsessed Teens Ripped Off Hollywood and Shocked the World." It's author, Nancy Jo Sales, joins the show to talk about the story and how she feels about the movie adaptation.
Rollout of California program offers glimpse of universal Pre-K
The first year of Transitional Kindergarten has just ended. Its a new grade level in California and in many ways, it's a glimpse of what President Obama's Universal Pre-K might look like. KPCC reporter Deepa Fernandes dropped in to find out what they learned.
Dinner Party Download: Choose your own adventure, Unicorn passport and more
Every week we get your weekend conversation starters with Rico Gagliano and Brendan Newnam, the hosts of the Dinner Party Download podcast and radio show.
On tap this week:
Choose-Your-Own-Adventure: The Movie?
English Schoolgirl Passes Through Turkish Customs With Toy Passport Identifying Her As A Unicorn
This Week In History: The First Blood Transfusion
This week back in 1667 the first successful blood transfusion into a human took place… which is not to say the ones that followed were successful.