Today on the show, we start with news that big tobacco is lighting up the e-cigarette market. Then, an analysis by Politico shows oil-train accidents have skyrocketed in last 5 years. Plus, what can 'maker culture' do for the US economy? The energy vampire that lets you watch 'Game of Thrones,' photographer Andrew Burton documents the quiet lives of elderly CA inmates and much more.
Big tobacco now lighting up the e-cigarette market
Supporters of electronic cigarettes have long touted their benefits. They say that the devices help smokers quit, that they eliminate the dangers related to second hand smoke and that they're an overall healthier option to cigarettes.
But this idea of the e-cigarette being a better version of the traditional one has sparked heated debates between health advocates and backers of the devices. Some say that they just encourage an unhealthy habit, and some policy makers believe that they actually might induce young people to become smokers.
Studies have shown the truth behind the claims that e-cigarettes can help people quit smoking traditional cigarettes, that those claims are specious at best. Now e-cigarette supporters are getting powerful new backers in big tobacco companies.
Reynolds American, which makes Camel cigarettes, announced that a company subsidiary would start distributing a new e-cigarette called Vuse. Plus, the parent company of the Marlboro brand, Altria, is planning to release their own e-cigarette device called MarkTen.
Matt Richtel, a reporter for the New York Times has been writing about big tobacco and the e-cigarette market, and he joins Take Two to talk about his recent report.
For more, please click on the "listen now" button when the audio is posted.
Analysis shows oil-train accidents have skyrocketed in last 5 years
As the country ramps up domestic oil production, there are concerns over the transportation of crude across North America. The number of accidents involving trains carrying oil have increased dramatically in the last five years, according to a Politico report out today.
These incidents have resulted in injury and death and cause millions of dollars in damage.
For more on problem and how the Department of Transportation is handling it, we turn to Politico's senior transportation reporter Kathryn Wolf.
The Last Straw: The construction project that could save Las Vegas water
Las Vegas is famous for being a desert oasis of dancing fountains and shimmering pools, but in the midst of a long drought, the city is turning to drastic measures to keep the faucets flowing.
A massive construction project is underway to build a 20-foot tunnel underneath Lake Mead, called the Third Straw. The fist two straws are intake tunnels that have been drawing water from Lake Mead and transporting it to Las Vegas, but due to dwindling water levels, they could soon be sucking nothing but air.
The solution was the costly and time-consuming Third Straw. Kalee Thompson writes about the project in Popular Science magazine.
Fish in California hatcheries must migrate by truck due to drought
Salmon and trout living in California hatcheries are being moved by truck to cooler waters in order to save their population, because of side-effect from the state's acute drought.
With less snow and other precipitation during colder months this past winter, the temperature continues to rise to lethal levels for fish living throughout the state. Water levels in rivers and streams are now too low and warm for the fish to successfully migrate like they do naturally.
William Cox, manager with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife's Hatchery Program, explains the process of moving fish to cooler waters and offers his insight into the future of those fish in their new environments.
Why 'trenching' quake zones isn't always conclusive
California released a preliminary map of a seismic fault that runs through Hollywood earlier this year.
It's thought to be capable of producing a magnitude 7 quake and developers looking to build in the area must prove they aren't directly on top of it. They typically do that by "trenching," or digging a deep hole and looking for evidence of past quakes.
But KPCC's Sanden Totten reports it's not always conclusive.
Sports Roundup: World Cup, NBA's new champions and Redskins patent cancelled
A tie is as good as a win, is LeBron James a winner or a whiner? And the Washington Redskins are no longer protected, at least by a trademark. Its our weekly look at sports with writers
TOPICS:
The World Cup in Brazil rolls on, Mexico and Brazil played to a scoreless draw and the U.S. has to put aside their thrilling win against Ghana because they're set to play the powerhouse Portugal team. We'll find out what their chances could be.
The San Antonio Spurs beat the Miami Heat and are NBA champs. For LeBron James, that makes four straight finals appearances since he took his talents to South Beach and "only" two championships. For anyone else that would be wildly successful, but why does it feel like it's turning out to be a disaster for James?
It seems that the owner of the Washington Redskins has more headaches this week. For years, Native American nations have said the name and logo of the team is racist and offensive, while supporters claim its an honored nickname that was created with the intent to honor Native Americans. This week, the U.S. Patent Office made the rare move and cancelled trademark protections for the team. We'll explore more.
Baseball fans vote for the players they want to see on the All-Star team. St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina is leading NL catchers but the Milwaukee Brewers are trying a novel new approach to getting their star catcher into the All Star game:
Maker Faire: What can 'maker culture' do for the US economy?
Today, the White House hosts its first ever Maker Faire. These events, started in the Bay Area eight years ago, are what you get when you mix science fairs with county fairs.
RELATED: White House Maker Faire: San Diego man presents electric giraffe
Makers — made up of engineers, tinkers, artists, hobbyists, and more — gather to show off their latest inventions, designs, and fun-filled devices. By hosting this event, the White House hopes to jump start innovation and promote manufacturing in the creative fields.
Mark Allen, founder and executive director of the L.A. non-profit Machine Project, gives Take Two a look into "maker culture," and what bringing it to mainstream attention could do for economy.
California to begin early release of elderly, ill inmates
California parole officials announced this week that the state is ready to begin the release of some elderly and frail inmates who meet new parole criteria.
As a part of the state's court-mandated effort to reduce prison crowding, inmates who are over 60 and have spent at least 25 years in prison may now be eligible for early release. Prisoners with serious health conditions may also be eligible to be moved to health care facilities.
LA Times reporter Paige St. John joins Take Two for more on who qualifies and what this will mean for the bigger goal of prison population reduction in California.
Picture This: Documenting the quiet lives of elderly California inmates
Elderly inmates make up the fastest growing segment of the prison population in the U.S., and they pose their own set of challenges for prisons. States' "tough on crime" sentences have meant that people are staying in prison longer. As they get older, just like the rest of us, they often get sick and some are terminally ill.
In California, the Department of Corrections has developed some unique programs to meet the needs of a growing number of elderly prisoners.
Getty Images photojournalist Andrew Burton got a window into the lives of some elderly California prisoners. He joins Take Two as part of our occasional series, "Picture This."
Interview Highlights:
How did you come up with the idea to focus on older prisoners?
"I first watched a documentary called 'The House I Live In,' by Eugene Jarecki. That got me quite interested in the incarcerated population. From there I started doing research and came across a 2012 Human Rights Watch report called 'Old Behind Bars,' and it was about 100 pages long and a phenomenal trove of information about the skyrocketing number of elderly prisoners and the health costs that come along with them. From there I started contacting the department of corrections across the country and eventually gained access to California's."
What kind of access were you able to get?
"California was very accommodating, they allowed me to go into five prisons over the course of a week. There were two prisons I was especially focused on, one was California Men's Colony in San Luis Obispo, where they have a gold coats program where healthy and younger prisoners help elderly prisoners who are beginning to suffer from Alzheimer's and dementia. As well as the California Medical Facility, where they have a 17-bed hospice program for prisoners who are dying. That was the first hospice program in the prison system in the country."
Explain the gold coats program:
"Its a program run at the California Men's Colony and there are 11 total healthy, younger prisoners who have been proven to have a good track record as prisoners and they help elderly prisoners who have Alzheimer's and dementia and are [mobility] impaired. They help them from the moment they get up until the moment they go to bed. They help them clean their jail cells every morning and make their bed and oftentimes help them with food in the cafeteria and bathing if they need help with that."
Can you tell us about some of the men you met?
"I was quite moved by the prisoners that I met. These are men that, when they were younger, were violent and certainly posed a threat to society, but most of them have been in jail now for so many decades that they've been whittled down to very soft, kind of gentle elderly men. What I found interesting is that while their crimes certainly deserve punishment, in my opinion these men served no threat to society anymore. I had great conversations with a lot of these men.
"I also came across men like Anthony Alvarez, this was an 82-year-old man, he served a 62 years to life sentence and he had served 42 of them so far. This was based only on three-strike laws, he had never killed anyone or raped anyone. He had a series of small burglaries, possession of firearm, and he had escaped from a county jail. For the most part I enjoyed getting to know the prisoners. I don't know what the right answer is when you're dealing with elderly prisoners, I think it's a tricky subject, but I found them to be profoundly kind and good people."
Did you get a sense that your subjects that this time of their life is about reflection?
"I think you could say that, Mr. Alvarez is also just starting to suffer from dementia as well, so his mind is slowly becoming undone. I think for the most part these men have come to peace with the fact that they will be ending their lives in prison. He was a great conversationalist, he was a very warm, gentle man, and I enjoyed my time with him."
For the prisoners with dementia, is it possible that they're better off in prison, given the care they're given?
"This is certainly another issue that the state is having to deal with. There is a compassionate release program for prisoners who have less than six months to live. The problem is these prisoners oftentimes no longer have family or friends to go home to. Many times prisoners die kind of a lonely death still behind bars. There's certainly no easy answer to that question."
Professional caregivers file lawsuit against Kindred Healthcare
Professional caregivers are set to file a class action lawsuit in California today. They say their employer, Kindred Healthcare and its affiliates, failed to pay minimum wage or overtime as the state requires. The California Report's April Dembosky has more.
San Diego Sheriff deputies to carry drug overdose antidote
In response to a growing number of heroin and prescription drug overdoses, more than 20 states — including California — have changed their laws to allow more people to utilize an overdose prevention antidote.
While a number of East Coast police departments have equipped officers with the device, the idea has been slower to catch on here in California - except in San Diego County. For the California Report, Kenny Goldberg has the story.
Cable box woes: Your ticket to 'True Blood' is an energy-sucking vampire
When you're asleep or even away from home, there's a little energy vampire at your house. It's sucking off so much power that it can run up your electricity bill, all while doing pretty much nothing.
It's your beloved cable box.
L.A.Times reporter
says that, except for air conditioning, this device is often the biggest energy user in your home.
"A set-top cable box with a digital recorder can consume as much as 35 watts of power, costing about $8 a month for a typical Southern California consumer," he writes.
Power is often drained when it's not in use, too. During this time, the drive might be spinning while it downloads updates, DVRs your favorite show, or updates the firmware. Manufacturers and cable companies have dragged their feet on upgrading the devices to be more energy efficient.
Vartabedian joins Alex Cohen with some advice on how you can you put it on a power diet.
'Sunshine law' will shed light on Physician Owned Distributorships
The federal "Sunshine Law" will require public disclosure of financial relationships between certain doctors and businesses. That will shed more light on Physician Owned Distributorships, or PODS.
In the second of two reports, KPCC's investigative producer Karen Foshay says PODS have sparked government concern about possible criminal activity.
Two films on Bowe Bergdahl already in the works
It's been less than three weeks since U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl was freed from Taliban captivity in exchange for the release of five Taliban detainees from Guantanamo.
Bergdahl returned to the U.S. on Friday and the Army is now investigating his capture and why Bergdahl left his military base.
While plenty of questions remain, that hasn't stopped two different camps from working on films about the soldier. One project in the works is from Academy Award-winning screenwriter Mark Boal (The Hurt Locker) and another is from Fox Searchlight, who've optioned the rights to the late Michael Hastings' Rolling Stone article about Bergdahl.
Tatiana Siegel, film reporter with The Hollywood Reporter, joins Take Two for more on the competing projects.
Rosie Perez joins cast of characters in LA's 24-hour play event
Actress Rosie Perez is the Artistic Chair for the Urban Arts Partnership and will be an actress in one of the 24-hour plays presented in Santa Monica this Friday.
The event will feature famous actors, writers, directors and musicians from the screen and stage, including Alanis Morissette, Ben Karlin, John Cho, Michael Ealy, Fred Savage, and Tracie Thoms. Proceeds from the event benefit Urban Arts Partnership, an organization that serves underprivileged children in Los Angeles and New York.
Perez joins Take Two to talk about the pressure of putting together a performance in less than a day and why the Urban Arts Partnership means so much to her personally.
You can find more information about Friday's 24 Hour Play in Los Angeles here.