What the Charter Time Warner deal means for TV in Southern California, a check-in on foster care in California, this week in new music.
How will the Charter, Time Warner deal affect Southern California?
Charter Communications has made a deal to buy Time Warner Cable, in a move that the company says will allow it to reach nearly 24 million customers in 41 states, including major markets in New York and Los Angeles.
In Southern California, the proposal would make Charter the biggest pay-TV service in the region, valuing Time Warner at $78.7 billion, including debt.
We're joined by Paul Sweeney, Bloomberg Intelligence Analyst.
Severe storms cause widespread flooding in Texas
Severe storms have flooded several highways and homes and killed at least seven in Central Texas. More remain missing and forecasters say more bad weather is on the way.
For a look a the latest, we're joined now by reporter Mose Buchele of member station KUT in Austin, Texas.
The state of LA's foster care system, and one couple's journey to become parents
Right now there are more than 400,000 children across the country in the foster care system.
Los Angeles has the second largest child welfare program in the country, after New York City, with about 36,000 children in the county's care.
Philip Browning, the Director of the Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS) for L.A. County says that most referrals to DCFS come through a 24-hour hotline manned by hundreds of social workers.
"If a worker at our hotline believes there's an immediate need then someone will go out immediately. If not, it might be over a five or 10 day period," Browning says.
Once the social worker arrives at the home, Browning says, they'll talk with whoever is there and make a decision about whether the child should be left there, usually with their biological parents, or whether they should be removed.
If it's determined that the child needs to be removed from the household, DCFS will first try to place them with a relative or family friend who the child knows who's able to pass a criminal background check. If that's not possible, the child will be taken to a DCFS facility for about 24 hours until another relative or foster parent is found.
For couples looking to become foster carers or adoptive parents, like Clare Norris and Marcus Bellringer, the first step is a training program and a background investigation.
Norris says she knew she wanted to adopt from the time she was a teenager.
"I thought that adding to the overpopulated world seemed unnecessary," she says, "and that offering my home to someone in need was a better use of my resources."
While Norris and Bellringer are now far along in the process of qualifying as foster carers, they say they found the system so problematic and the training so unhelpful that they almost scrapped their foster care plans. But a conversation with a social worker changed their minds.
"There was something that she said that inspired us, I think, to stay. And that's when she started articulating the need," Bellringer says.
Norris adds, "She was talking about the impact on the parent and that sometimes people underestimate what they can handle, but that she's seen people really transformed by this whole process. And that stood out to me a lot."
L.A. County DCFS Director Philip Browning says he regrets that Clare and Marcus's experience has been "less than what is desirable," and appreciates their feedback about how to improve the system.
"We have thousands of social workers everyday who come into this profession, not for the money, I can assure you, but to try to make a difference," Browning says. "And they really do need options such as Marcus and Clare."
Tuesday Reviewsday: Jamie XX, Saun & Starr and more
Oliver Wang from Soul-Sides and music supervisor Morgan Rhodes join A Martinez in the studio for Take Two's weekly new music installment - Tuesday Reviewsday.
Below are their picks for what you should be listening to.
Morgan Rhodes
Artist: J*Davey
Songs: "High on Life," and "Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda"
Album: Pomp
Summary: Ten years ago they were ahead of their time. Los Angeles natives Brook D'Leau and Miss Jack Davey were blending genres before blending genres became de rigeur. Part Joy Division, part Eurythmics, part Vanity 6, they're back on the scene after strong anticipation.
Artist: Saun & Starr
Song: "Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah"
Album: Look Closer
Summary: Funky retro soul from this duo of backup singers to Sharon Jones, their debut is classic Daptone Records style.
Artist: Alina Baraz & Galamatias
Song: "Can I" and "Make You Feel"
Album: Urban Flora
Summary: Producing what's etherial and sultry, the music is like blending EDM with Sade. This duo is a collaboration between Cleveland and Denmark, merged to make sultry soulful electronica.
Oliver Wang
Artist: Jamie XX feat. Young Thug
Song: "I Know There’s Gonna Be (Good Times)"
Album: In Colour
Summary: It's meant to revisit the 90s rave years in the UK, but it's not strictly nostalgic. There's a lot of diversity throughout the album, and this track mixes an innocent-sounding melody with Young Thug whose lyrics are filthy and Lil Wayne-esque.
Artist: Taylor Swift feat. Kendrick Lamar
Song: "Bad Blood Remix"
Album: 1989
Summary: This remix could've been credited "Kendrick Lamar feat. Taylor Swift" because he's so prominently featured in this version. In hip-hop, an artist of Lamar's stature might have rubbed off people the wrong way. But now, taking the biggest acts in pop music and mashing them together is a natural move.
Artist: The Brothers Johnson
Song: "Strawberry Letter 23"
From: Right On Time (1977)
Summary: This isn't a new release, but a remembrance for Louis Johnson who passed away at 60. He's one half of The Brothers Johnson, and "Strawberry Letter 23" is one of their biggest hits. They were giants in their day, and Louis was one of the most important bass players of their days, nicknamed "Thunder Thumbs."
Elon Musk's life center of Ashlee Vance's new book
Elon Musk is an inventor, entrepreneur and engineer.
If he gets his way, someday we could all be moving to Mars on one of his Space X rockets, and driving his Tesla electric cars to our Solar City powered Martian homes.
All of that sounds unbelievable -- but maybe not in Musk's mind. It seems that whatever Musk imagines or puts his mind to either eventually comes true, or at the very least, seems possible someday.
Ashlee Vance takes a look at Musk's life in the new book, "Elon Musk: Tesla, Space X, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future."
Scientists find gene that turns female mosquitoes into male
Aside from being annoying, mosquitoes are also dangerous. The pesky insects can transmit a number of diseases, some of them fatal. But scientists at Virginia Tech have come up with an innovative idea to keep them at bay: turn female mosquitoes into males.
The new research was published last week. Zach Adelman is one of the study's author and he joined us for more.
Why mysteries in 'Mad Max' can be satisfying
[Note: Spoilers ahead. Sort of]
"Mad Max: Fury Road" grabbed $32 million over Memorial Day weekend. The film is a hit with fans, but there's very little explanation of the world.
How did Furiosa lose her arm? What exactly happened to Max's family? What's up with the guy playing the fire guitar?
Audiences never get those answers, nor do they really care: the movie has a 98 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Some movies do a deft job at being very light on exposition, forcing audiences to fill in the blanks while putting a spotlight on the action.
Jack Epps Jr, chair of the screenwriting program at USC, says this will happen more and more as the foreign box office for Hollywood grows – audiences don't like backstory told through subtitles, so it's better to capture them through visuals and effects.
Twitter opens NeighborNest for San Francisco's poor, homeless
Twitter has recently opened up a $3 million skills center called NeighborNest.
It's a place specifically designed to help San Francisco's poor and homeless adults, and their children, learn more about technology.
Caroline Barlerin, Twitter's head of community outreach and philanthropy, tells more.