The curse is broken and the Cubs are MLB champions, what happens to the @POTUS twitter account after the election? Trolls offers up a new kind of princess.
The Chicago Cubs win the World Series
Last night, after more than a hundred years the Chicago Cubs defied history and became the 2016 World Series Champions.
Here are the top moments in the game. And here is a highlight video:
It was a thrilling, historic and heart-wrenching game to watch, even for casual baseball fans.
But for Cubs super fans
and Tony Pierce, it was so much more. We talked to them about it.
GLAAD report finds LGBT representation in TV has reached 12-year high
Primetime programming hit a diversity landmark this season.
A report out from GLAAD reveals that the number of regular LGBT characters in the small screen lineup has hit its highest mark since they started counting 12 years ago.
Nearly 5 percent of characters on primetime shows identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender. But, the report also blasts networks for continuing to kill off gay characters to further plotlines.
For more on this, director of entertainment media at GLAAD, Ray Bradford spoke with A Martinez.
To hear the full segment, click the blue play button above.
Meet the Judges: Debra Archuleta, candidate for LA Superior Court
This year, eight candidates are running for four spots on L.A. Superior Court. The Court serves nearly 10 million people spread out across the county and judges oversee both criminal and civil matters – everything from contract disputes to homicide trials.
Take Two spoke to all eight of the candidates running for the bench. Here are highlights from Debra Archuleta, candidate for Office No. 11:
What work do you currently do and why do you do it?
I've been with the District Attorney's Office as a prosecutor for 26 years and I’ve been with the office 28 years. ... I have spent the majority of my career prosecuting violent felonies. ... After the primary [election], I was transferred over to the charge evaluation division where I review felonies and some other non-violent and non-felony cases for potential review and filing – once the cases are brought in by law enforcement agencies to see if we have a viable criminal prosecution or not. My areas of expertise are domestic violence, domestic violence homicide, child molestation, sexual assault. I was the head of the stalking unit for three years and I’ve also prosecuted gang cases and violent street crimes for the majority, if not the entirety, of my career.
Do you remember a particular case that stands out for you during your career?
I have many cases that stand out for me for a variety of reasons. What I take away from this is the impact that violent crime has had on the victims' families, so it’s hard to just narrow it down to a few cases. But certainly many of these people have altered my life and apparently I’ve altered theirs, hopefully for the better.
What first drew you to a career in law?
I knew as a young teenager that I wanted to be an attorney and I really wanted to be trial lawyer. … It looked very exciting to me to be a trial lawyer and to be a woman doing that kind of work. I’ve always had a passion for justice so I decided to work my way through college and law school and I’ve committed myself to seeking justice for victims for the last 26 years as a prosecutor. It’s been a very rewarding career and I’ve learned a lot about how people suffer and how they come through the other side of that and carry their experiences with them.
What makes you the best candidate for the office you're running for?
I think what I would bring to the bench is my knowledge of the law – my experience as a prosecutor on so many different kinds of cases. ... You also have to bring not only your heart and your mind to this endeavor, but you also have to be willing to show toughness, fairness but compassion if need be. And I believe that the kinds of cases that I have tried throughout my career have allowed me to look at the system from the inside out. I think I’m just ready to be able to have a wider sphere of influence beyond the current caseload that I carry for the District Attorney’s office.
What should the public know about who you are outside the courtroom?
I come from a family that really did not have much of anything. My dad grew up in a house with dirt floors in Southern Colorado. And yet, the idea of hard work and education and compassion for others just sort of flows through my veins. And I take my experience, my life experience, my family history very seriously because I too worked through community college and then U.C. Irvine, and I worked. And then I worked full-time and on the weekend when I went to law school and I’ve been able to take that work ethic and my desire to seek and do justice with me for the last 26 years.
I’m married to a school teacher and we’ve raised two children. And I felt that this was the right time to seek this larger role within the criminal justice system because my children are old enough now and I feel that my husband and I did a good enough job … that I felt that I could go on and have the next professional experience so that I can take my life experiences and hopefully positively impact the criminal justice system because I truly want to be part of the solution and not part of the problem.
This series is a part of our voter game plan, in which we make it easier for you to vote. To read more about the L.A. County Superior Court Judge candidates, and for a digital version of your personalized ballot, visit kpcc.org/votergameplan. (Don't see all of the judicial candidates at that link? They'll be on Take Two now through the election, so check back for more!)
Related: Meet the LA County judge candidates
Meet the Judges: Steven Schreiner, candidate for LA Superior Court
This year, eight candidates are running for four spots on L.A. Superior Court. The court serves nearly 10 million people spread out across the county, and judges oversee both criminal and civil matters – everything from contract disputes to homicide trials.
Take Two spoke to all eight of the candidates running for the bench. Here are highlights from our conversation with Steven Schreiner, candidate for Office No. 11:
What work do you currently do and why do you do it?
I'm working for the District Attorney's Office currently in the Norwalk branch, and the assignment I have is referred to as "special trial," so basically cases that are especially assigned to me – typically, murder cases or special circumstance murder cases that I prosecute up the line.
How did you first get into law and what drew you to this career?
Once I went to law school, tried moot court and trial competitions, I realized, I’m a trial lawyer. That’s what I can do. That’s what I enjoy doing. So I went into law school because I knew it was a challenge that I wanted to take on and it wasn’t until I had been in it for a while that I realized where my talents lay and what I wanted to do.
What makes you the best candidate for the office you're running for?
You want a judge who has experience in the law, who’s been in the courtroom, who knows the rules of evidence, who knows the applicable law. You only acquire that experience through time. A lot of times you’ll talk to people in our office that have been a D.A. for 20 years... but you have to really question what have they really done in that period of time? And for a lot of D.A.s, trial work is something they do early in their career and then…they shy away from it as they go further on. I’ve never done that. I just began jury selection on a murder trial this morning. So, I’m continuing to do that all the way through. It’s sort of a measure of a work ethic as well.
The other side of the coin is that you want somebody that knows the law and has the experience, but also has the appropriate judicial demeanor. You have to treat both sides with respect. You have to give everybody the opportunity to be heard. I think I bring the combination of experience, of judgment, of having done a lot of heavy cases to know ones that aren’t meriting that sort of serious treatment, as well as the demeanor that allows all people to come in and feel comfortable and heard.
Do you remember a particular case that stands out for you during your career?
One of the cases that I had 15 years ago or so, that was one of the most serious cases I ever had, it was a triple murder…It was a potential capital case. As I studied it, and I became concerned about when the witnesses had made statements and the circumstances under which they’d done it, I came to the conclusion that although I was by no means certain as to whether or not this defendant had committed these murders, that I questioned the credibility of our own witnesses. And ultimately, made a decision to go up our chain in the office and say, I have to recommend dismissing this case. It was a very difficult thing to do because I didn’t know...But I felt it was ethically something I was obligated to do and that’s one of the tough lessons to learn, especially as a prosecutor.
What should the public know about who you are outside the courtroom?
My upbringing is unexceptional. My father [is from the] Midwest, first one in the family to go to college, my mom, from the East Coast in Brooklyn, met in L.A. I was born in L.A. and grew up in Northern California in a fairly middle-class existence. My parents have been married for over 60 years. I was not a star student all the way through. I kind of did what I had to do, when I had to do it. I always decided I wanted to dip my toe in the water for law and it wasn’t until I got to law school, and then I worked for the Public Defender’s Office in Santa Clara County, doing intake interviews in the jails for about a year, so I got a lot of exposure to it, and worked for a criminal defense firm. And then thought about the different roles, and thought okay, I think I’d be comfortable prosecuting on the other side, and that’s what I’ve been able to do. But you’re an advocate there. So, to make the transition into the bench, you have to cease to be an advocate and be able to be the neutral arbiter and I think that’s something that, after all the years I’ve been doing this, I’m prepared to do it.
This series is a part of our voter game plan, in which we make it easier for you to vote. To read more about the L.A. County Superior Court Judge candidates, and for a digital version of your personalized ballot, visit kpcc.org/votergameplan. (Don't see all of the judicial candidates at that link? They'll be on Take Two now through the election, so check back for more!)
Related: Meet the LA County judge candidates
What Ontario's airport should do to challenge LAX
The LA/Ontario International Airport is about 45 miles east of LAX, but it has plans to grow into one of the regions top airports. Maybe even challenging LAX's dominance for passengers.
It's already completed the first step to that goal earlier this week – the airport is now run by local officials in Ontario after breaking away from the LA-based organization that oversees LAX.
But what should be on its checklist to get more flights onto runways?
George Hobica, travel writer and the founder AirfareWatchDog.com, joins Take Two with his recommendations.
The next @POTUS: How the President's digital history will live on
Whoever wins the presidential election on November 8th, we know, will be taking President Obama's place in the White House come January 20th.
But what about @POTUS, the President's Twitter account? Barack Obama is the first president to have his own Twitter handle.
Here's his first tweet, posted last year:
Hello, Twitter! It's Barack. Really! Six years in, they're finally giving me my own account.
— President Obama (@POTUS)
Hello, Twitter! It's Barack. Really! Six years in, they're finally giving me my own account.
— President Obama (@POTUS44) May 18, 2015
He's also the first president to use a Snapchat filter, go live on Facebook, do an interview with a YouTube star, or sit down for Funny or Die's "Between Two Ferns."
So what will happen to his online presence once he's no longer in office?
This week, the White House laid out its plans for the digital transition from the 44th President to the 45th.
John Woolley, a political science professor at UC Santa Barbara, heads up the online presidential archive called "The American Presidency Project."
He joined Take Two to explain how the hand-over of social media accounts will work and the challenges associated with archiving the massive volume of online material that's already out there.
To hear the full interview, click the blue player above.
The Ride: Cars sales slow, but they're getting greener
Last year, Americans bought a record number of new cars. Sales reached almost 17.5 million. But that may have been a peak for the industry. It seems clear that automakers won't set another record this year, and some brands and models have seen dramatic drops in sales.
Generally, cars have been losers, with sales of trucks, SUVs and crossovers remaining strong. In fact, the three most popular vehicles were all trucks–Ford's F series, Chevy's Silverado, and the Dodge Ram. Meanwhile, mainstays like the Toyota Camry, Honda Accord and Ford Fusion all lost ground.
Among brands, Fiat was down 24% and Chrysler sales dropped almost in half. But there were some winners. Tesla sales increased 88%, and Jaguar posted gains of some 225%, mostly on the strength of their new, more affordable XE sedan and F-Pace SUV.
The good news is that automakers are now offering greater incentives and better deals to consumers. The bad news is that the average transaction price for a new vehicle is now $34,663, up almost $800 compared to a year ago.
Take heart, or maybe take a deep breath. Though sales are sagging a bit, the EPA says fuel economy is increasing and emissions dropping. Car makers outperformed greenhouse gas emission standards for four straight years, with new cars spewing out 10% less CO2 than they did in 2011. Meanwhile, fuel economy creeped up one-half mile per gallon over last year. The average for all cars stands at 24.8 mpg.
State of Affairs: Early voting, the 2018 race for Governor, and ballot selfies
On this week's State of Affairs, a record number of Californians vote early, ballot selfies get their day in court, and the first female candidate enters the 2018 race for California Governor.
Joining Take Two to discuss:
- , political reporter for KQED
- , POLITICO's California Playbook Reporter
LinkedIn adds new 'Salary' feature. OK, but what's the point of LinkedIn?
Included in the list of today's obligatory social media is the professional networking site, LinkedIn. But even if you are one of the over 400,000 users, you may be wondering what real value LinkedIn offers.
LinkedIn continues to try to expand the user interface. They just launched a new Salary feature where users can discretely enter their salary and job title to compare with others in their field. And a few months back, Microsoft announced it will be acquiring the company.
So, we tend to flock to LinkedIn when we're on the job hunt, but how helpful it is and what does the platform have in store for the future?
Fore more, Take Two's Alex Cohen spoke with Bridget Carey. She is a Senior Editor and the host of CNET's daily tech news show Update.
To hear the full interview, click the Blue Arrow above.
'Trolls' explores the concept of happiness, a new kind of princess and fuzzy immersion
The new animated film "Trolls" is about a land of tiny creatures with huge hair who live in a technicolor forest in perfect harmony.
Except for one troll named Branch, voiced by Justin Timberlake.
Poppy, voiced by Anna Kendrick, is an uber-energetic, cowbell-toting princess - who tries to save the rest of her friends from dour, troll-eating creatures known as Bergen.
The film is directed by Mike Mitchell - who also helmed the Shrek films. He spoke with Take Two's host Alex Cohen about the music, "fuzzy immersion" and why Poppy is unlike any other princess.
Creating the world
"What I got really excited by is, I saw the opportunity to create a whole world. Like there was no mythology, there's no story to these guys. All you got are these little stubby, smiley guys with a lot of hair. Just inheriting that, that leaves a lot open to interpretation and so, that's what got me going about it."
There could've been many different takes on Trolls, but due to the nature of the characters, filmmakers were drawn to creating a story exploring happiness.
"We really got into this concept of happiness. How do you get it? How do you lose it? I started watching a whole bunch of TED talks about happiness and really diving into happiness and what we discovered is, everyone is born with this innate feeling of happiness inside you. Everyone is. No matter what. And it's not always easy to tap into that happiness, and so that's where we started. And then it just became natural, one because these characters seem very happy, with their big puff of hair and their smiley faces but also because it seems like these days with the media and all the politics that are going it is like...I'm craving to see some nice, happy, bright, entertainment and that's what we set out to do."
"Fuzzy immersion"
"Trolls" has a signature technicolor look about it, something the filmmakers referred to as "fuzzy immersion".
"Our Trolls, instead of skin, they're like gummy bears that have been flocked in velvet and our trees are all covered in felt and the leaves are made of felt and the ground is carpet..."
"We really wanted this to have a handmade feel and not feel computer-y and it's something that our production designer, Kendall Cronkhite, who is a genius, just took it further than we even thought it as imaginable."
Developing Poppy
"Very proud of Poppy. We wanted to break the princess mold, the stereotype of the princess out there. She's got big teeth and we also kept her stubby body. And I really loved that she doesn't have to wear uncomfortable shoes...those uncomfortable princess shoes, enough of that. And we just really kept her body shape round and it's great because I think hopefully girls will aspire to use their brains like Poppy does..."
Poppy isn't just about being a princess because it's a nice title, she's a natural leader.
"She is a fantastic leader and it's great that she spends time doing that and not obsessing in the mirror, who's got time for that?"
The music
"What I try to do, when I worked on the Shrek films, you're doing a joke that a father laughs at and he looks down at his daughter and she's laughing at the same joke, that's magic. We wanted to do the same thing with music..."
Mitchell went on to explain he modeled this idea of connecting parents and kids through music, after Guitar Hero.
"A lot of parents love this game because they're like 'Wow, my kid is now getting hip to all these songs that are so important to me, that I grew up on,' ...I'm hopeful that Trolls is going to be the same thing."
To hear the full interview, click the blue play button above.