Today on the show we start with a discussion about the continued problems plaguing the Affordable Care Act. Then, a look at the health risks facing the victims of Typhoon Haiyan and how Filipino-Americans are rallying to help. Then, Meatball the Glendale Bear is caught up in a fight over his copyrighted name, an old California ghost town is for sale and much more.
Insurance cancellations continue to plague the ACA
Many Americans who bought their own plans in the private market are finding that some insurance plans are being cancelled because they don't meet the minimum requirements under the law.
There are proposals in Congress, from both Republicans and Democrats to fix this, but some worry they may do more harm than good. Here to try and help us understand this is Sam Baker, health care correspondent for National Journal.
Typhoon Haiyan victims face many health risks
People in the typhoon-ravaged city of Tacloban in the Philippines are still waiting for aid relief from anyone. Speaking to the BBC, resident Jose Agrinalde made a plea to the rest of the world:
"We need massive international aid relief here now. The situation is so desperate we need aid, now."
Basic needs like food, clean water, and shelter are still hard to come by, and, if not addressed soon, this natural health disaster could evolve into a public health threat.
For a look at the health risks that could arise, we're joined by Jesse Bliss, director and disaster response coordinator for Loma Linda University's Center for Public Health Preparedness.
Tacloban transplants to the US help home city after typhoon
Tonight, Filipino-Americans will hold a special mass at the St. Philomena Church in Carson for the survivors of Typhoon Haiyan. The organizers of the event are a tight-knit community of immigrants from Tacloban, the coastal city hardest-hit by the typhoon.
KPCC's Josie Huang has their story.
Researchers discover new big cat fossil in Himalayas
While hunting for fossils in the Himalayas, a team of researchers found the skull of a cat. A big and very old cat. 4.4 million years old, to be precise.
Jack Tseng is a paleobiologist with the American Museum of Natural History, he was part of the group that found this new fossil. He joins the show with more.
Sanctuary and Meatball the bear advocate battle over name copyright
Meatball, a wild California black bear so named for his proclivity for eating frozen Costco meatballs, has become a media darling.
After he was captured and released several times in the Glendale area in 2012, a local woman, Sarah Aujero, took on his persona on Twitter, raising funds to send Meatball to a bear sanctuary in San Diego and avoid being euthanized.
Now the sanctuary is trying to wrest control of the Twitter account and its associated copyrighted name from Aujero.
Brittany Levine, who reported on the story for the Glendale News-Press, joins the show to explain.
Sports Roundup: Miami Dolphins, NFL rules, tailgating and more
The Dolphins can't swim away from controversy, when going for a run is a punishable offense and how a full, flowing head of hair can be charitable as well as beautiful.
For these topics and more, we're joined by Andy and Brian Kamenetzky, who have covered sports for the Los Angeles Times and ESPN.
The Jonathan Martin/Richie Incognito story just keeps on giving. Martin and Incognito were teammates on the Miami Dolphins. Martin has accused Incognito of racial and physical threats. Incognito admits he made them, but that they were a normal aspect of their friendship. Could this all just be that Martin and Incognito's friendship boundaries weren't quite in sync?
The NFL wants to get to make sure they talk to Martin before the Dolphins do. What do you think they'll ask him?
To the field, the Dolphins actually played Monday and did not look good. Could this situation be too big for a team to recover from?
Fear of negative press for hazing has spilled into other sports, right?
A lot of football fans haven't been happy over rule changes the NFL has made to try to avoid injuries, now Major League Baseball is getting in on it too.
A lot of this springs from the "culture" of each particular sport. Some have called for fighting to be banned in the NHL but most hockey fans start to hyperventilate at the though because they say it's part of the "culture."
A fun part of football culture is tailgating, but everyone knows you really can't have fun unless there are rules in place.
I think we could have a weekly segment called dumb NCAA rulings because they seem to come up a lot. What's the latest?
Want to buy a California gold mining ghost town?
Are you in the market for a ghost town? Today's your lucky day.
An ad recently posted on Craigslist offers the chance for a modern-day pioneer to purchase the small gold mining town of Seneca for the low cost of $225,000.
Included in the cost is the "town" consisting of Uncle Tim's Gin Mill bar, three small rundown cabins, a river, an island and 12 acres of land. The only catch is there are no utilities, so a generator is necessary for power.
Jeff Potter is the nephew of one of the owners and he's trying to sell it. He join the show with more about this remote business opportunity.
NFL claims to have final say on LA football stadium deal
It's been 19 years since an NFL team has called L.A. home. After the 1994 season, the Rams left for St. Louis and the Raiders went back to Oakland.
After nearly two decades, both teams' stadium leases are about to expire and they, along with other teams, are casting a longing eye back to Los Angeles. Meanwhile, the city of L.A. and entertainment giant AEG push forward with plans for Farmers Field.
However, according to Daniel Kaplan of Sports Business Journal, the National Football League has told teams that the league owns the L.A. market.
Sacramento already buzzing about next year's election
The ballot for November of 2014 already's a hot topic in Sacramento, particularly the propositions, as The California Report's Scott Detrow explains.
Hundreds gather for meeting about proposed Huntington Beach desalination plant
In Newport Beach, a crowd has gathered for a California Coastal Commission meeting about a proposed desalination plant in Huntington Beach.
RELATED: Hundreds turn out for coastal commission meeting on controversial desalination plan
It's been argued that the plant could provide as much as 50 gallons of water a day to the region but there is a lot of opposition building against the proposal. KPCC's Ed Joyce joins the show with an update on the meeting.
App Chat: Unique ways to capture life's fleeting moments
Capturing memories with your phone can be a disorganized, disjointed process.
Host A Martinez speaks with Jacqui Cheng about apps that help you capture your most unique moments in unique ways.
Recommended Apps:
Serving healthy meals to preschoolers in a 'food desert'
We all know the importance of fruits and vegetables for a healthy diet. It's no secret that entire swaths of Los Angeles have little access to fresh produce, but there are efforts to change that.
The City of Compton recently opened a farmer's market, and some are trying to address the problem by focusing on the city's youngest residents. KPCC's Deepa Fernandes reports.
What are your kid's favorite nutritious dishes? Where did you buy the ingredients, and why does he or she love the food so much?
Share your best recipes to help us create the ultimate kids menu. Email your responses to klepore@scpr.org or tweet/Instagram us using the hashtag #KPCCkidsfood.
Dreaming beyond the slaughterhouse
Ever since the large meatpacking plants moved from places like Kansas City and Chicago, rural Midwestern towns have been dealing with a huge influx of immigrants.
In part three of the series "In the Shadows of the Slaughterhouse," from Fronteras and Harvest Public Media, Peggy Lowe and Abbie Fentress Swanson report from on how some of these kids are hoping to achieve the American Dream -- by going to college and finding jobs outside the meat-packing industry.
What's behind the decline in cold cereal sales in the US?
For decades, Americans have started their day with one of the easier dishes to prepare: cereal. Lately, however, cereal companies have been looking at some soggy sales.
Kellogg recently announced that they would be cutting thousands of jobs in an effort to boost profits, and their competitor, General Mills, has shifted their focus away from marketing cereal and are now pushing yogurt brands instead.
Whether colorful, whole grain, full of nutrients or full of sugar, cereal holds a cultural connection that goes past the breakfast table.
Topher Ellis, co-author of "The Great American Cereal Book: How Breakfast Got Its Crunch," says one of the main reasons for this decline is due to shifting demographics.
"You've got falling birth rates, which means clearly fewer kids," said Ellis on Take Two. "Hispanics, which are a growing population in the United States, eat less ready-to-eat cereal than non-Hispanics."
Another factor is Americans' changing concerns over nutrition. Some parents are deciding not to feed their kids the sugary cereals kids from previous generations enjoyed. It seems that cereal companies' efforts to offer cereals with whole grains and fiber have not made enough of a difference.
"They've made very hearty attempts at pulling out sugar and putting in whole grains into the cereals," said Ellis. "By and large they are healthier than they were, say, in the '60s."
In addition, as our lifestyles become more and more hectic, fewer people are are sitting down to eat breakfast.
"Instant foods such as cereal bars, shakes, drive through fast food, breakfast biscuits, Starbucks offering items sold with morning coffee. All these things are helping lead to this decline," said Ellis.
Take Two wants to know: Are you a cereal lover? If so what's your favorite cereal and why? If not, what do you not like about it? Tell us in the comments!
What are your kids favorite dishes? Where did you buy the ingredients, and why does he or she love the food so much.Share your best recipes to help us create the ultimate kids menu. Email your responses to klepore@scpr.org OR tweet/Instagram using the hashtag #KPCCkidsfood.
Flying out of LAX? New company lets you rent out your car while you're gone
What if instead of paying to park your car at the airport, someone paid you to leave it there?
That's the idea behind a new company called "Flightcar", that opens its third location at LAX today. The catch: while you're away, other people could be driving your car. KPCC's Ben Bergman explains.
The mysterious and dangerous nature of moon dust
In the last year many people have thrown around the idea of creating a base on the moon. It's a lovely idea, but there are some major issues.
Getting equipment up there and sustaining life, of course, but one of the biggest issues facing those who go to the moon is moon dust. It's as sharp as glass and microscopic so it gets into absolutely everything.
It cuts through seals, hurts peoples lungs and makes existing on the moon much more difficult.
New Yorker writer Kate Greene joins the show to discuss her article about the dangers of moon dust.