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Take Two

Police use of force, jailing disabled inmates, Tuesday Reviewsday: Kendrick Lamar

LA Rapper Kendrick Lamar is one of many artists whose lyrics are deciphered by fans on Rap Genius.
LA Rapper Kendrick Lamar.
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Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Coachella
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Listen 46:58
A look at police de-escalation training, L.A. County jails agree to accommodate disabled inmates, a review of Kendrick Lamar's 'To Pimp a Butterfly.'
A look at police de-escalation training, L.A. County jails agree to accommodate disabled inmates, a review of Kendrick Lamar's 'To Pimp a Butterfly.'

A look at LAPD's de-escalation training, L.A. County jails must now be brought up to ADA compliance, a review of Kendrick Lamar's 'To Pimp a Butterfly.'

LA County settles lawsuit over conditions for disabled inmates

Listen 11:17
LA County settles lawsuit over conditions for disabled inmates

Nearly seven years after disabled inmates filed a lawsuit alleging deplorable conditions in Los Angeles County jails, a federal judge has given final approval to a settlement.

Chief David Fender with the L.A. County Sheriff's Department and Richard Diaz, an attorney with the Disability Rights Legal Center, joined Take Two to explain how the jails will be brought into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. 

LA playwright travels more than 5K miles for King Richard III's reburial

Listen 6:37
LA playwright travels more than 5K miles for King Richard III's reburial

In England, thousands of people have stacked long lines this week to view the reburial of King Richard III, one of the most notorious and controversial figures in English history.

His scheming and murderous rise to power is shown in Shakespeare's famous play and the role has been played by Al Pacino, Kevin Spacey and Ian McKellen. Here's McKellen in the 1995 film:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjJEXkbeL-o

But there's long been efforts to take a different look at his role in history as a leader who pioneered legal aid and judicial changes in the courts. Those efforts only intensified after remains were discovered in 2012 beneath a car park.

That's sparked renewed interest in his life and led to the events this week, which has drawn people from across the world.

One of them is Nance Crawford, a resident of Los Angeles and a playwright, who made the trip this week.

"It's almost a life-changing event," said Crawford, a member of the Richard III Society, after attending a private ceremony yesterday. "I'm so overwhelmed right now, I'm really having a hard time taking all of this in."

Tuesday Reviewsday: The impact of Kendrick Lamar's 'To Pimp A Butterfly'

Listen 9:07
Tuesday Reviewsday: The impact of Kendrick Lamar's 'To Pimp A Butterfly'

Last week, Los Angeles rapper Kendrick Lamar released one of the most anticipated album's of the year called "To Pimp A Butterfly," but is it any good?

https://open.spotify.com/album/7ycBtnsMtyVbbwTfJwRjSP

The new record dropped a week early, but it's already being devoured by listeners.  It set a Spotify streaming record with 9.6 million plays in the first 24 hours it came out and it's at the top of the iTunes charts. Music supervisor 

and Oliver Wang from Soul-Sides join A Martinez to talk about the album, the issues it addresses and the quality of the music found on it.

Liquid gold: Selling breast milk raises practical, ethical questions

Listen 9:55
Liquid gold: Selling breast milk raises practical, ethical questions

To those in the know, it's called liquid gold. 

Breast milk is one of the most ancient and fundamental forms of nourishment. Recently it's also become a commodity, a very expensive one at that. 

Women are selling their pumped breast milk to companies which then process it into a high-protein product.

Reporter Andrew Pollack wrote about this for the New York Times.

"There's a belief that there are numerous components of milk that could be used for nutritional products or even the basis of medical products to treat not only babies, but also adults," he told Take Two.

But the business of breast milk is raising a lot of questions, both practical and ethical.  For more Take Two's Alex Cohen spoke with  Brandi Jordan, lactation consultant and owner of the Cradle Company based in Pasadena, and Bruce German, director of the Foods for Health Institute at UC Davis.

Metro's incoming chief on his vision for LA mass transit

Listen 6:47
Metro's incoming chief on his vision for LA mass transit

Mass transit riders in Los Angeles have a lot to look forward to in the coming decades when, in just rail alone, many lines are set to open or expand.

Overseeing all that growth will be the new CEO of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Phil Washington.

Washington will lead Metro starting in May once he wraps up his tenure in Denver. There, he led the city's own multi-billion dollar expansion.

He joins Take Two with his own vision of how to transform and improve public transportation in Southern California.

Snow resorts plan ahead as drought enters 4th year

Listen 6:50
Snow resorts plan ahead as drought enters 4th year

Skiing and snowboarding has traditionally been an important economic driver for the Lake Tahoe area. But now business owners are thinking about the future as California enters its fourth year of drought.