Sit-ins: the political statement that goes back years, a look at the Supreme Court's DAPA decision, how can grown-ups help kids cope with the stress of disasters?
The history of the sit-in movement
Yesterday, a number of House Democrats, led by civil rights icon John Lewis from Georgia, staged a sit-in on the floor of Congress.
Participants announced that the action was staged to protest the lack of legislation for gun control.
But how did the original IDEA of the sit-in come about?
The origins might surprise you ... we talk about it with Robert Watson, he's an Assistant Professor at Hampton University.
What does the SCOTUS decision on affirmative action mean for the UC system?
The Supreme Court ruled 4-3 Thursday morning on a controversial diversity admissions policy at the University of Texas at Austin.
The case, Fisher v. University of Texas, was brought by Abigail Fisher, a white student in the state who claimed discrimination when she was denied admission to the campus.
High school students in Texas are guaranteed admission to a state university if they are in the top 10 percent of their graduating class. For those students outside of that 10 percent, the university considers — among many other factors — race, in determining 25 percent of its admitted students. The policy is aimed at increasing diversity on campuses.
Here in California, there is a similar program: high school students in the top 9 percent of their class are guaranteed admission to UCs. California has its own history with using race as a factor in college admissions.
For reaction and analysis, Take Two spoke to Audrey Dow, senior vice president at the Campaign for College Opportunity, a state policy and research group that works to get more students into colleges.
Press the blue play button above to hear the interview.
State of Affairs: Gun control, Clinton v. Trump, and US Senate race
On this week's State of Affairs, House Democrats stage a sit-in, the fundraising imbalance between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, and what endorsements mean for the U.S. Senate candidates.
Joining Take Two to discuss:
- Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, Professor of the Practice of Public Policy Communication at USC's Sol Price School of Public Policy
- Carla Marinucci, POLITICO's California Playbook Reporter
SoCal has enough water for 3 years, but you should still conserve
L.A.'s Metropolitan Water District announced last week that it has enough water to cover people's needs for the next three years.
But that doesn't mean you can start taking longer showers.
Take Two chats with Newsha Ajami, director of Urban Water Policy with Stanford University's Water in the West, about how saving water should be a regular part of life in California whether there is or isn't a drought.
Oil spill releases thousands of gallons of crude in Ventura; company couldn't detect spill due to maintenance
Where to see history in the old bars of Los Angeles
When you want to order an Old Fashioned that lives up to its name, it turns out L.A. is the right city to find one.
A list from the site Trippy.com counted 29 historic bars in California, more than any other state. Nine of them are in Los Angeles, and to hear more about them and some other historic watering holes around, Libby Denkmann spoke with Alison Martino of Vintage Los Angeles.
Interview highlights
On why California has so many historic bars:
"I think we had such incredible architecture back in the 1930s especially, and a lot of those bars — like The Frolic Room and The Formosa — were built around that time, and they're historic... and a lot of them aren't landmarked. ...[People on Vintage Los Angeles] always ask me, they want to go to a historic bar—not the new thing—they want to see something historic so I send them off to those places. Mike has to make you an honorary member — he gives you a shot of slivovits — and if you take a shot of that, you're in."
On where you can see the history in these bars:
"I think Cole's is a great example and Musso & Frank's because they have that long mahogany bar and a lot of the original fixtures inside. A great place also is The Mint on Pico, where Harry Dean Stanton plays every now and then... and that's a dive but it's also very historic inside, a lot of original fixtures. And again, you gotta go to El Coyote, because that is beyond kitsch—all the stained glass and the old booths."
On her favorite historic spot:
"My favorite bar is Dantana's, which is an Italian restaurant established in 1964, and the bartender there since 1965—he's fantastic, Mike—and that's in the West Hollywood area. The Eagles came in there and wrote a few songs at the bar there and he's told those stories a few times because it's right next to The Troubadour. All these musicians from the 60's and 70's have come through there."
To listen to the full interview, click the blue audio player.
The Ride: 2016 Honda Civic coupe
Its reputation for utility, efficiency and reliability has made the Honda Civic a favorite among American drivers. But after more than 40 years, can the Civic still stand up to the competition.
To find out, we put a regular person - a complete stranger in fact - behind the wheel of the new 2016 Civic coupe and got his non-professional opinion. And although it might not be quite the right car for him, let's just say that overall, he came away impressed.
LGBT groups set their sights on gun control
The tragic mass shooting in Orlando has led some of the nation's top LGBT groups to train their sights on gun control.
Many of those same groups were instrumental in the fight to legalize same-sex marriage across the country, and they are bringing their organizational muscle to the battle over guns.
"We've called on Congress to pass commonsense gun legislation," says Rick Zbur, executive director of Equality California.
That includes a ban on military-style assault weapons, closing of gun show loopholes and improved background checks.
"Orlando really was a call to action and has resulted in us and many other LGBT groups to significantly elevate this as a priority," he says.
Zbur says with the fight over same-sex marriage more or less over, it allowed his organization to move onto the next phase of issues that affect LGBT people such as gun violence.
Not all people agree, however. In a recent op-ed in the New York Times, Nicki Stallard, founder of the LGBT gun group Pink Pistols, argued that LGBT people should carry guns to protect themselves from violence and hate crimes.
This is a call to L.G.B.T. people to take their own defense seriously, and to question the left-leaning institutions that tell them guns are bad, and should be left to the professionals. Become a professional. You’re allowed. That’s what the Second Amendment is for. We can fight back when our lives depend on it.
"Although there are some voices out there that have different points of view," says Zbur, "we think that this is clearly an LGBT issue and that there's strong support within our community for stronger gun safety."