How Seattle PD is doing better with transparency into OIS investigations, how the U.S. has historically handled refugees and things to do on the cheap this weekend
Forced to flee to the US, Syrian actor Jay Abdo responds to House lawmakers
Refugees seeking asylum in the US must often endure a lengthy vetting process that can last for years. In the wake of last week’s terror attacks in Paris, that process is likely to become even more stringent, especially for Syrians.
In the wake of the attacks, French investigators announced that at least one of the terrorists came to Europe from Syria by posing as a refugee. The revelation has led several US lawmakers to speak out against letting in more refugees.
Thursday, the Senate approved a bill that would make admission nearly impossible. The legislation faces an uncertain future.
Syrian actor Jay Abdo was one of the biggest movie stars in the Middle East until he was forced to flee his country. Now, he and his wife, Fadia Afashe, work to support other Syrians fleeing the politically turbulent nation.
Jay Abdo recently shared the story of how he fled to America with Take Two’s Alex Cohen.
Abdo and his wife sat down again with Alex Cohen to share their thoughts moments after the Senate vote.
Press the blue play button above to hear the interview.
Lessons from Seattle PD's transparency project
With local and national spotlights on officer involved shootings, there's been lots of discussion about the need for greater transparency in law enforcement.
One of the ways to get there is with body cameras. Seattle's Police Department is leading the way in this arena. The change started in 2014 after a lengthy investigation by the Department of Justice three years earlier.
The DOJ found a "pattern or practice of excessive force that violates the US constitution." The City of Seattle disagreed with the DOJ's findings, but vowed to increase transparency by equipping officers with body cams.
The department appointed a new police chief, who brought on Mike Wagers, named him Chief Operating Officer, and charged him with overseeing the new project. He joined us to talk more about it.
Officer Involved: police relations and the tale of 2 neighborhoods
If you do nothing wrong, then you shouldn't be afraid of the police, right?
That was a common sentiment by many to SCPR's reporting in Officer Involved, a project where we examined officer-involved shootings in Los Angeles.
"Only people who are paranoid and subconsciously wish to act suspicious get in trouble with the police," Nathan Lee wrote on NPR's Facebook post on the series. "If you're afraid of the police, you're already a victim of this anti-police movement."
However, some people act the way they do around the police because of past experience.
Good feelings prevail where police shootings rarely happen
Beverly Grove is a neighborhood teaming with families, sidewalk cafes and shops with the latest fashions.
What is doesn't have are many officer-involved shootings, nor negative feelings about the police.
"I don't feel bad or awkward or that they shouldn't be there," said Stephanie Kelley, who was walking through on a recent afternoon. "If they're doing their job, then that's awesome. They're keeping the neighborhood safe."
"I have more of an issue with the traffic citation police than with the normal police at this moment," said Brent Mitzner, who works in the area.
Poor police relations lead to bad feelings in Watts
Watts is a neighborhood 12 miles away from Beverly Grove, but worlds away in how people view the police.
It is one of the hotspots of officer-involved shootings, according to KPCC's data.
"The police here are looking for problems," said Greg Brown. "They aren't attending to problems, they're looking for problems."
Brown grew up in Watts, where he remembers being ticketed at 10 years-old for not stopping at a stop sign while biking.
Now in his mid-20s, he also remembers an incident in front of his home.
"A police officer has drawn on his gun on me while I was in my driveway just to ask what my address was to see if I lived there," he said. "When I see them, I'm angry because of everything I know. And then I'm fearful because I know what they have the power to do."
Paulette Benz also says she fears the police because she says her nephew was shot and killed by officers.
The details have remained unclear to her, but she says he was unarmed and did not have a weapon on him.
"For his body to be riddled with bullets, it just doesn't make sense to me," says Benz. "I've pretty much given up hope on the system."
She says she knows not all officers are bad, but losing a loved one like this made her lose trust.
Ralph Flores, meanwhile, believes that the community in Watts would trust the police more if they reached out more to say hi, not just view them as potential suspects.
"I know when I was growing up in Skid Row, you had police officers that would pull you over and offer you baseball cards," he says. "[My kids], they go 'No way! They give tickets now!"
KPCC wants to hear your own story, and know if an interaction with a police officer changed the way you view law enforcement. Let us know what conversations you're having when you talk about police at home.
A new Pew report finds more Mexicans are leaving than coming to the U.S.
A Pew Research Center report released this week found that more Mexican citizens are leaving than coming to the United States. The top reason Pew cites for Mexican immigrants leaving is so they can reunite with their family.
Ana Gonzalez-Barrera is a research associate at the Pew Research Center. She talked with host Alex Cohen about Pew's findings.
Patrolling the US-Mexico border as a Mexican-American
In wake of the terrorist attacks in Paris last week, protecting America’s borders once again dominates the headlines.
And in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election, immigration, too, is center stage. But protecting America’s border between the U.S. and Mexico isn’t a simple case of good versus bad.
For some, protecting the line where north meets south is complicated. Thousands of border agents are both Mexican and American.
Alfredo Corchado explores the political and emotional tug-of-war of these agents in a three-part series for New Yorker Magazine. It’s called "Faces from the Border." He joined us to talk more about his piece.
Read the first part of the series here. Second part can be found here.
America's history of sometimes welcoming, sometimes fearing refugees
The U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly yesterday to impose strict new screening measures on refugees from Iraq and Syria.
The passage of the measure comes amid concerns that terrorists could enter the United States by posing as refugees. And it's not the first time Americans have had uneasy feelings about refugees.
Historian Erika Lee, Director of the Immigration History Research Center at the University of Minnesota, joined Take Two to discuss America's complicated history of both welcoming and fearing refugees.
"We've always wavered when it comes to immigration, but we've always wavered when it comes to refugee immigration as well. And it really ranges, it ranges from deep, heartfelt humanitarianism, the call for morality and to do the right thing... toward outright xenophobia and rejection."
To hear the full interview, click the link above.
The late night shift, who's on top and who's lagging
It's been about a month since the late night talk show world had its musical chairs moment.
CBS's The Late Show plucked Stephen Colbert to replace David Letterman and The Daily Show grabbed Trevor Noah to fill Jon Stewart's shoes. All the while the Jimmy's, Fallon and Kimmel, keep plugging along.
Bill Carter joins us now to talk about how the late night TV scene is playing out. He's a CNN analyst and author of the book "The Late Shift."
Black List hosts live reading of Ben Schwartz's 'El Fuego Caliente'
Ben Schwartz is most widely know for playing Jean-Raphio Saperstein, one of the most obnoxious characters in "Parks and Recreation."
Schwartz is not only an actor, he's also a writer. He's penned a script titled El Fuego Caliente. A live reading of the screenplay featuring a star studded cast will happen Saturday night in Los Angeles.
It's being put on by a group called the Black List. We're joined by founder Franklin Leonard.