California is lagging behind its goals for prison reform. Then, a new report points to Thailand, Malaysia as hotbeds of human trafficking, but the U.S. isn't immune. Plus, therapy is key to combating 'toxic stress' in babies, how two Prop 8 plaintiffs became symbols of the gay marriage fight, payday advance companies settle in with Native American tribes and much more.
California prison reform lags behind goals
The U.S. Supreme Court ordered California to significantly reduce its prison population three years ago. Since then, Governor Jerry Brown has been hard at work trying to meet those goals.
Last year, he declared the prison emergency over, but the numbers tell a different story.
"Prison costs have actually not gone down, they've increased," L.A. Times reporter Paige St. John tells Take Two. According to St John's analysis of the data, the state will pay an additional $2 billion this year.
Much of that is due to the costs of sending inmates to local counties and taking care of the prison population diverted to the local level, says St. John. That population is also increasing, after an initial drop after the reforms took effect. Currently it's at 135,000 and rising.
St. John notes that there's been a push to build rehabilitation and education programs for inmates.
"But it's going to be a number of years until that expansion is finished, so for the time being, we're looking at continued early releases from jail," she said.
Report shows human trafficking a major problem in US
A recent report from the U.S. State Department on forced labor and human trafficking across the globe singled out countries like Malaysia and Thailand.
In those countries, some immigrants who arrive looking for work are instead forced into slavery and prostitution. But the issue isn't unique to that region of the world, it's happening here in the U.S. and even in Los Angeles.
Why? It has to do with the fact that the city has a major port, is a major travel destination and has a large migrant economy, says Kay Buck with the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST).
What's common, says Buck, is for people to get stuck in industries that have little to no regulation. Workers show up here and have their passports taken away, so that they end up stuck. A recent example of this occurring in L.A. was in Hancock Park, a wealthy neighborhood near Hollywood.
Three Indonesian women filed a lawsuit against a family, alleging that they were lured to the U.S. to work for the family as caretakers, only to have to work in inhumane conditions, working 14 hours a day, seven days a week. They also had their passports taken and were told by the family that if they spoke to strangers or the police, they could be thrown in jail.
The government has come up short in support of survivors. Buck says they have survivors waiting for beds, and that at one point there were 39 victims on their waiting list, hoping to get help.
Buck hopes that they'll move on that, "The government needs to do more so that we can provide the immediate shelter and emergency services for survivors."
After 'I Do': How 2 Prop 8 plaintiffs became symbols of the gay marriage fight
This segment is part one of Take Two's five-part series "After I Do," on the issues and challenges that LGBT people face beyond the gay marriage movement. Hear part two and part three here.
One year ago this week, LGBT activists won an important victory at the U.S. Supreme Court when the justices struck down the Defense of Marriage Act and ushered in the demise of California's Proposition 8.
Two of the plaintiffs against Prop 8 were Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo of Burbank, who became two of the faces in the fight for same-sex marriage.
RELATED: Beyond gay marriage, what's the biggest issue facing LGBT community?
It all started with a 2009 political ad campaign made by the National Organization for Marriage, a group that opposed same-sex marriage, called, "Gathering Storm."
"Jeff had seen the ad first and he knew it would make me crazy," said Paul Katami on Take Two. "I stood up off the couch and I think my exact words: 'That's it. We're doing something.'"
The two assembled their friends and acquaintances to make their own response video called, "Weathering the Storm."
A moment of serendipity in the process led two of the featured gay men in that video to connect Zarrillo and Katami with Chad Griffin, a founder of the group to fight Proposition 8, American Foundation for Equal Rights.
The organization was looking for people who didn't get married during the window it was possible in California.
"We were thinking we were going into a meeting for something quite different," said Katami. "The first call we got was, 'We're looking to educate the public more on Proposition 8. We think you guys would be great spokespeople, would you please come to a meeting?'"
But to their surprise, they went a step further: AFER asked them if they would be plaintiffs in its legal challenge.
"When Paul came home from work one day," said Jeff Zarrillo. "Multiple times that day, people [in West Hollywood] had said, 'Oh, so you're a troublemaker.' Finally I raised my voice and said, 'You know what? At least we're doing something!'"
It was the start of a long legal process that they didn't realize would last years.
"When we first signed on, it was going to be a series of motions," said Katami. "There would be no testimony, there would be no witnesses, there would be no trial."
Several trials and four years later, Zarrillo and Katami got the verdict they were hoping for: the Supreme Court affirmed a lower court's ruling that the supporters of Proposition 8 didn't have the legal standing to defend it.
Because the state of California also refused to defend the law, Prop 8 was history.
That was on a Wednesday, and the couple thought it would take 25 days (the maximum time a stay could be lifted) for the California courts to allow same-sex marriages to take place, again.
But Zarrillo says that on that Friday, "Sitting at my desk I get a text from Adam [Umhoefer], who's the executive director of AFER and he said, 'You need to call me.'"
It turns out the state was going to lift the stay that day, and so the couple rushed to the parking lot of the L.A. County registrar in Norwalk and walked in as soon as they got the green light for their license.
"It was a shotgun wedding!" said Zarrillo. "You can only imagine making that phone call to your mother who lives 3,000 miles away and saying, 'Mom, thanks for your support for the last 4-and-a-half years, but I'm going get married now. I'm sorry you can't be there.'"
On Saturday, June 28th, however, they'll be celebrating their first anniversary at the Beverly Hilton, and their family will definitely be there. Zarrillo adds, though, "As long as there are less than 50 states in this country without full federal equality, then there's work to be done."
On The Lot: 'Transformers,' China market, 'Star Wars' and more
"Transformers" take over China, "Looper" director Ryan Johnson gets looped into the "Star Wars" franchise and Han Solo has a bit of a limp. It's time for On the Lot, our regular discussion of the film biz with L.A. Times writer Rebecca Keegan.
The big release this week is the new "Transformers" movie. It hits theaters Friday not just here but in China. How unusual is this? What other ways did this film engage with the Chinese market?
The film even has a number of Chinese sponsors, but apparently one of them isn't happy with the end result. China's not just interested in working with Hollywood, what's happening right now in their domestic film industry?
Former Warner Brothers president Jeff Robinov is getting in on the action. We talked about this when he formed his production company Studio 8, which is explicitly trying to collaborate with China. What's the latest with him?
The new JJ Abrams "Star Wars" installment is filming in London, and the big news last week is that Harrison Ford was injured on set. What happened?
Looking to the future of the "Star Wars" franchise, director Ryan Johnson, known recently for the time bending thriller "Looper" has been brought on. What's the buzz on him?
Therapy is key to combating 'toxic stress' in babies
A phenomenon called Toxic Stress is gaining more attention. It's when infants and toddlers are subjected to psychological trauma.
Experts say prompt treatment is key to recovery, and sending therapists into affected children's homes may help kids recover from trauma. It's part of a push toward home visitation programs that many say are essential to improving these children's lives.
KPCC's Deepa Fernandez reports.
Pew Report: US-born workers now majority of Latino workforce
For the first time in nearly two decades, immigrants don't account for the majority of Hispanic workers in the U.S., according to a new study from the Pew Research Center. There are now fewer Latino immigrants in the labor force than there were before the Great Recession, a significant change.
For more on what's behind this shifting demographics, we turn now to Rakesh Kochhar, associate director of research for the Pew Research Center's Hispanic Trends Project.
Payday advance companies settle in with Native American tribes
Many Native American tribes around the United States support their communities with casinos, but for some, that may not be a viable option.
Some are now looking to profit from payday advance lenders, online vendors that offer short-term loans up to $1,000 with high-interest rates.
Julia Harte and Nick Nehamas wrote about the effects of these companies on Native American tribes in their series for Al-Jazeera America titled, "Payday Nation." They join Take Two to talk about these lenders on settlements here in California and around the country.
Federal judge intervenes in Northern California tribal dispute
The federal government is stepping into a bitter feud between warring factions of a Northern California Indian tribe.
A rift within the Paskenta band of the Nomlaki tribe over who controls the tribe, its casino, and its casino profits, came to a head this month when both sides hired armed guards to either defend or take over the tribe's Rolling Hills Casino in Corning, California. Now a federal judge has intervened with a temporary restraining order banning guns on casino grounds.
Reporter Stephen Magagnini has been covering the story for the Sacramento Bee and joins Take Two for the latest.
World Cup 2014: US to face Germany after last-minute tie; Mexico plays Croatia
The U.S. was just seconds away from a come-from-behind win against Portugal in the World Cup yesterday, when star Cristiano Ronaldo launched a cross that led to a last-minute goal. The final score was a tie, 2-2.
That means the U.S. is not guaranteed a spot in the next round and must go up against powerhouse Germany later this week. There are also two big games today, with Mexico fighting to survive the group stage against Croatia and Brazil playing Cameroon.
For more, we're joined by Mike Woitalla, editor and writer with Soccer America magazine.