The Patriot Act may end for the NSA, a journalist explores a rise in underage drinking among Korean Americans, the Spanish version of Uber.
Mr. Rand Paul comes to Washington
Yesterday Kentucky Senator Rand Paul conducted an unusual bit of political theatrics.
As the Senate was in the midst of a debate over a trade deal, Paul took to the floor … and didn't let go.
For more than 10 hours Paul filibustered about an issue he holds near and dear, the NSA and its program of phone data collection.
We talked to Dustin Volz, staff correspondent for National Journal
Is underage drinking a problem among Korean American youth?
Underage drinking has long been an issue for youth from many backgrounds. But how different cultural communities respond is rarely talked about.
That's something journalist Steve Han takes on in a recent article in KoreAm Journal.
Han himself grew up in a Korean American family and, as he writes, the stats for the community are alarming:
"In a recent survey of 1,043 college students under age 21, conducted by AADAP [Asian American Drug Abuse Program], nearly a quarter of Asian Americans said that they had considered themselves “drunk” more than three times in the past month, compared with only 12 percent of all surveyed California students. Among those Asian American students, Korean Americans represented the largest ethnic majority in the pool, with 35 percent of them consuming six or more drinks in one sitting."
Han profiles a group called the Koreatown Youth and Community Center that is leading efforts to reduce underage drinking by working with local businesses and educating children and teens.
His article, "Protecting Youth from ‘Culture of Drinking’" in KoreAm Journal, was produced as a project of The California Endowment Health Journalism Fellowships, an initiative of the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.
Rise in Palo Alto teen suicides rattle community
The Northern California city of Palo Alto is a place celebrated for its affluence, its intellect and its innovation.
It's home to Stanford University and the headquarters of a number of tech companies including Tesla Motors, Hewlett-Packard and Skype.
Recently, though, Palo Alto is becoming known for something far more troubling: teen suicide. Journalist and former Palo Alto resident Diana Kapp explores this issue in the latest edition of San Francisco Magazine.
The Wheel Thing: Is my car one of the 34 million with defective airbags?
After denying fault for more than a decade, a Japanese company that makes airbags used in a variety of auto brands now admits its products are defective.
That's triggered what appears to be the largest product recall in the history of product recalls.
The device that inflates the airbag on impact can explode, sending shards of metal into the passenger compartment. Six deaths and scores of injuries have been linked to the defect.
Those errant bags are in at least 34 million cars in the U.S., and can be replaced free of charge under recall regulations.
Here's how you find out if your car has the bad bags:
Find a copy of your vehicles VIN number. This is a 17-digit code. You can find it on your auto registration, and on your car itself. It's usually on the driver's side of the dash board. Stand outside the car and look through the windshield. If it's not there, it's probably on the inside post of the driver's side door.
Once you have the number, enter it here, at safercar.gov
If your car is on the list, contact a dealer or your manufacturer. Official advice is to get it fixed quickly. But because of the massive recall, it's likely you will have to wait weeks, or even months before parts are available to replace your airbags.
K2 Sports: The Lakers NBA Draft Lottery, NBA Finals
The latest NBA news, including the Lakers' shocking move from no. 4 to no. 2 in the NBA Draft Lottery, and the debate over kids at post-game press conferences.
Andy and Brian Kamenetzky join the show for a special Thursday edition of sports.
Refugio Beach oil spill: A check-in with California Fish and Wildlife
Clean up efforts continue following an oil spill earlier this week off the coast of Santa Barbara.
The spill spans 9 miles of Santa Barbara's coast. Officials say up to 105,000 gallons of oil escaped the busted pipe, and as much as 21,000 gallons made it into the ocean.
Alexia Retallack with the California Fish and Wildlife Office of Spill Prevention and Response tells more about the progress being made.
State of Affairs: LA elections, Loretta Sanchez and CA budget
On this week's State of Affairs, low voter turnout for LA city council and school board elections, Rep. Loretta Sanchez's offensive gaffe, and reaction to Gov. Jerry Brown's revised budget.
Professor Fernando Guerra, Director of the Center for the Study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University, and Capital Public Radio state government reporter Katie Orr join Take Two.
The history behind LA's exuberant Googie architecture
This week, fans of mid-century architecture in L.A. breathed a huge sigh of relief, after the City Council voted to make Norm's Restaurant in West Hollywood a cultural and historical monument.
The 24-hour eatery on La Cienega Boulevard is an eye-catching example of a lively architectural style known as Googie that became popular in the 1950s. Optimistic and exuberant, the style features space-age jagged roofs and striking street signage designed to the grab the attention of the growing number of motorists on the streets.
Googie architecture became unfashionable in the 70s and 80s, but has had a renaissance in recent years, due largely to boosters like Chris Nichols from L.A. Conservancy, who has been leading a campaign to preserve these iconic buildings.
Dwell on Design L.A. will be hosting an event on May 31 dedicated to the battle over Norm's preservation. L.A. Conservancy's Adrian Scott Fine and noted Googie historian Alan Hess will be discussing the importance of Googie architecture Thursday at the L.A. Convention Center.
Boyle Heights warehouse is the new home of Lucha Libre
In the depths of a dusty old building in Boyle Heights, the Mexican art of Lucha Libre wrestling is enjoying something of a renaissance thanks to a body slamming TV show.
Lucha Underground debuted on the El Rey Network in the fall of 2014. It features famous masked Mexican luchadores as well as global indy talents and ex-members of the WWE's main roster. That's World Wrestling Entertainment to the uninitiated. However, the show's set design might be as much of a draw as its wrestlers.
Lucha Underground is filmed in a run down warehouse on Anderson Street by the 4th Street Bridge. It's part arena, part television set, and according to Dario Cueto, the Underground's evil fight promoter and the series' main antagonist, part "temple."
(The Lucha Underground arena. Credit: Grant White)
The multi-tiered arena still has its catwalks and girders intact and features zig-zagging scissor-gates made into audience barricades and wooden bleachers that look like pyramids. All of this angular geometry converges at the ring itself, with an Aztec figurehead painted on the mat. On camera, it all appears almost subterranean.
(L-R: Referee Justin Borden, Aero Star, and Fenix. Courtesy of El Rey Network)
"I compare it to going to Disneyland, going into the Indiana Jones settings," says Sergio Torres, an ex-wrestler and now announcer for the Lucha Libre promotion, UIPW, referring to the lines to get in to a taping. "It's an abandoned warehouse, but once you get in there, it takes you to the underground."
It all comes from the mind of production designer, Kelly Van Patter, whose resume includes penthouse suites for The W Hotel and the Tribal Council from Survivor. The common thread is sustainability. Van Patter found many set dressings already present in the warehouse, as well at salvage yards and flea markets. Then, she beat them up.
(A sparring area for Lucha Underground's stable of wrestlers. Exposition scenes are shot here as well. Credit: Grant White)
"There's always a special aging that has to go into it, because this is a gritty fight club, so it has to look pretty grungy. Some of the things we just take and throw around outside on the ground just to scuff it up and give it a layer of dirt and grime. A lot if it though, is scenically painting it so that it has a certain patina or age to it" said Van Patter.
So how did Lucha Libre end up in a junk-filled warehouse in Boyle Heights? According to Lucha Underground's color commentator, Vampiro (aka Ian Hodgekinson), it began in the early 1900s, when American wrestling used to sell out baseball stadiums.
"Until there was a really famous match where one of the guys had his knee ligaments torn, and before the match there was a deal made where he wouldn't lose, and that was the first actual fixed fight, and the public found out about it. Since that day, pro wrestling started getting the image that it wasn't real anymore and it lost it's appeal as a legitimate betting sport. And then it had to go the carnival route, who can survive 3 minutes with this guy type thing" said Vampiro.
(A 1910 postcard featuring French athletes standing atop a frozen swimming pool, partaking in "French wrestling," a style said to be a precursor to what is now known as "Professional Wrestling." Credit: Casas-Rodriguez Postcard Collection/Flickr Creative Commons.)
The carnival matches were a big hit at the military bases in border towns, where Mexican promoters caught on and started selling out fights in Mexico and Japan in the 1940s. The masks came to Los Angeles, says Vampiro, via the Lucha Libre movies from the 1960s starring El Santo, Blue Demon, and Mil Mascaras. "Latinos who lived in Los Angeles in that era, wanted something from their homeland that was from their youth."
El Santo vs. la Invasion de los Marcianos (1966) Spanish language trailer
Lucha Libre started appearing in swap meets, and alongside American wrestling and boxing, had renewed glory days at the now defunct Grand-Olympic Auditorium from the 1960s through the 1980s. But by the late 80s, the WWF and Hulkamania had captured the nation's attention.
Today, Lucha Libre may have a chance to steal back some of the pro wrestling spotlight. Not from a sold out pay-per-view at the L.A. convention center, but from a hundred-year-old warehouse by the railyards of the Los Angeles River.
(A vessel that may have been used to transport molten metal in one of the warehouse's past purposes. Credit: Grant White)
"This building...was built in 1915, and at some point it was used to service trains because there are tracks that run through the building, and big giant doors that are big enough for trains to pass through," remarks executive producer Eric Van Wagenen.
Perhaps it makes sense to put something reinvented, like Lucha Libre, in a place with a similar history. Van Wagenen describes Boyle Heights as an area with a long history of immigrant settlement. Sergio Torres, a long time East Los Angeles resident says "It's good for the Lucha business. It's good to get the names out there and show that there's something else aside from the WWE World."
Lucha Underground airs on the El Rey Network, Wednesdays at 8pm ET (English broadcast), and on Uni-Mas, Saturdays at 4pm PT (Spanish Broadcast).