The latest on the fatal shooting of a man on Skid Row, how new generations identify with being Jewish, selections for Read Across America day.
The history of tension between the LAPD, Skid Row's homeless
Sunday's fatal police shooting in Los Angeles' Skid Row has gone viral.
The shooting was caught on cellphone video by a bystander. But at the moment, details are slim. Witnesses say the man killed was only known by his street name "Africa." Police officers were responding to a robbery call which led to a struggle with him.
SCPR's public safety reporter Frank Stoltze tells Take Two about the history of tension between the LAPD and the homeless population on Skid Row.
New deadline nears for DHS funding; Congress remains at odds
Congress once again faces a funding deadline this week for The Department of Homeland Security. The agency's $40 billion budget is being held up over a fight over President Obama's executive actions on immigration.
John Boehner's dilemma, Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to Congress and SCOTUS looks at Obamacare
Take Two's look ahead to the news stories we should be paying attention to over the next seven days.
Congress nearly implodes over funding Homeland Security last week, what does that mean for John Boehner's role as Speaker of the House - is it in jeopardy?
And look who's coming to Congress - Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu makes his long anticipated address before Congress - what might be the political implications?
Joining us this week is Ron Elving, NPR senior Washington editor and analyst and Nancy Cook, political correspondent for National Journal.
(CORRECTION - in the segment, host A Martinez mis-identified Representative Adam Schiff as Republican Adam Schiff)
Gay Republican group gains recognition from California GOP
Sacramento Bee reporter David Siders has a re-cap of events at weekend-long State Republican Party conference in Sacramento.
Author Annabelle Gurwitch talks about her Jewish identity
A report from the Pew Research Center released late last week found harassment of Jews living in Europe is at a seven-year high.
So perhaps it's no surprise that when Annabelle Gurwitch, a Jewish writer living in Los Angeles, asked her teenage son if he would be interested in a trip to Europe, he politely declined.
Gurwitch wrote about the experience for the L.A. Times and joined Take Two to discuss.
Annabelle Gurwitch is the author of "I See You Made an Effort," recently released in paperback.
On the Lot: Eddie Redmayne as a woman, shake-up in studio executive suites.
Rebecca Keegan of the LA Times comes in for our weekly chat about the film business. Today:
- Strong box office for Oscar-winning films proves the financial power of the Academy Awards.
- Lupita Nyong'o' Oscar gown stolen, then recovered. We think, anyway.
- Rebecca Keegan's Oscar gown vs. an escalator.
- Top dog out at Paramount, new chief in at Sony.
Read Across America Day: Top picks to celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday
Today is March 2, otherwise known as Read Across America Day.
Throughout the country, parents, teachers and others will take time out of their day to read a book and help foster a love of literature.
The "official" selected reading is the Dr. Seuss classic "Oh the Places You'll Go!"
But if you are inspired to do a little extra credit reading, we've got some suggestions from Mara Alpert, children's librarian at the LA Public Library.
What's your favorite Dr. Seuss book? You can tweet us at @TakeTwo or leave a post on our Facebook page here.
Click here to hear KPCC listeners read us their favorite #kidreads.
@KPCC @taketwo "Go Dog Go" of course!
— SpeakUp StandUp (@WeirMB) March 2, 2015
JPL soil moisture satellite to shed light on drought
On January 31, the Jet Propulsion Lab launched a research satellite called SMAP, Soil Moisture Active Passive, to help us better understand and predict the patterns of drought here in the West.
For the first time, scientists will be able to map soil moisture at high spatial resolution every 2-3 days globally. This map will unlock the mystery of processes not understood before such as how evaporation impacts weather and how soil moisture impacts resources we have for agriculture and human use.
For an update on the satellite's progress, we speak with Dr. Eni Njoku, a member of the SMAP Project Science team at JPL.
Fast food companies adopt new identities for younger demographic
As part of a widespread movement, Taco Bell and other fast food franchises are adopting new restaurants to reach out to a younger, hipper demographic.
MMA's female superstar, Ronda Rousey
This past weekend Mixed Martial Arts fans tuned in to see fighter, actress and LA native Ronda Rousey take on Cat Zingano
For those unfamiliar with Rousey ... She's a former Olympic judo fighter that is unbeaten in her 11 MMA fights.
Ronda Rousey stopped Cat Zingano with an acrobatic armbar 14 seconds into the first round, dramatically defending her bantamweight title at UFC 184.
We'll find out more about her with Ben Fowlkes, MMA columnist for the USA Today.