On Take Two today we'll talk about the psychology behind the Ebola scare and find out how pediatricians talk to parents wary of vaccinating their kids. Plus we'll get the latest in sports news with Andy and Brian Kamenetzky and talk to California native Christen Press, who's a forward on the U.S. Women's Soccer team.
Why do pandemics cause panic?
Ebola is not a global pandemic, and it's far from widespread in the US. There's only been one death and two other confirmed cases in America.
But still, there's plenty of panic.
In the past week, there have been scares in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Boston, Kansas City and more.
All of them have been false alarms.
Phillip Alcabes, author of, "Dread: How fear and fantasy have fueled epidemics from the Black Death the Avian Flu, " says pandemic threats -- swine flu, SARS, AIDS -- have historically caused large scale panics.
He adds that certain groups and ethnicities often become the target of people's fears, too.
Questions remain over the 43 students missing in Iguala, Mexico
In Mexico's state of Guerrero, families of more than 40 missing students continue to demand their safe return. Since their disappearance on Sept. 26, the local police has been removed, two-dozen bodies have been found in shallow graves and arrest warrants have been issued for the mayor of Iguala and his wife.
Over the weekend, more graves were found, and yesterday students and teachers from the Ayotzinapa teachers’ college protested over the lack of information. NPR Mexico correspondent Carrie Kahn says it's unclear where the students are and it's hard to believe they are still alive considering the amount of police assigned to search for them.
Kendrec McDade's mother hopes judge will release report on the fatal shooting of her son
Two years ago, police officers in Pasadena fatally shot an unarmed black man. 19-year-old Kendrec McDade was killed by officers Matthew Griffin and Jeffery Newlen who were responding to a 911 call about an armed robbery.
While it later turned out there were no guns involved in the reported crime, the officers were cleared by an internal investigation. The District Attorney's office concluded the officers had reason to believe McDade had a gun.
McDade's mother, Anya Slaughter, filed a lawsuit and recently settled with the city. But she still has plenty of questions regarding her son's death.
An independent report on the fatal shooting was presented to the City of Pasadena in August. Since then, several civil rights groups and media outlets have filed public information requests to obtain a copy of the report, but it hasn't yet been released.
At a court hearing yesterday, a judge delayed his decision about whether to release the report. Anya Slaughter was at the hearing, and says she was disappointed to hear the news.
"Yesterday was a nightmare. It was very disappointing because... I was hoping that from the last hearing in September that the judge had made up his mind and that he was going to release it," Slaughter says.
And even if it the report isn't released to the public, Slaughter says she wants to see it herself: "I feel like me being a mother, that is my duty, that is my right, to be able to see the full report."
Click on the above link to hear the full interview with Anya Slaughter.
Hate crimes down to its lowest point in 24 years in LA County
The Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations released its annual Hate Crime Report. Overall, the report found that hate crime is down to its lowest point in 24 years. But it's not good news for everyone, as some groups have seen an increase in attacks in the past year. The report detailed that African-Americans continue to be the most targeted group of all hate crimes, although they comprise less than 9 percent of county residents.
Robin Toma, executive director of the organization that put out the report, says the decrease is due to the training and educational programs that took place last year.
Sports Roundup: re-structuring at Dodger Stadium and wisdom of the basketball's Zen Master Phil Jackson
Every week we'll talk about the latest in sports with Andy and Brian Kamenetzky.
On tap today, the Dodgers hired former Tampa Bay Rays GM Andrew Freidman as their president of baseball operations. And the team's former GM Ned Colletti moves into a new role as senior advisor to CEO Stan Kasten. What do these changes mean for the team?
The way it looks right now, we could be on the verge of a Kansas City Royals-San Francisco Giants World Series - but would America pay attention if it came down to these two teams?
And former Lakers coach Phil Jackson is president of the NY Knicks. He had a couple of things to say about the Clippers and Lakers.
First, he called former owner Donald Sterling "a weird duck", "an outlier" and a "squirrelly dude"... he also said that he didn't think the racially charged views Sterling made in those recordings were ones he held personally.
What are we to make of these?
Apple and Facebook pay for egg freezing, but will that improve the work-life balance for employees?
Many women today are faced with a difficult choice: have a baby while you can but risk sacrificing advances up the career ladder, or keep on working hard but risk losing out on having a child.
Now two tech companies are trying to make it easier for women to work and raise a family. Facebook recently started covering egg freezing as part of their benefits package, and Apple announced it will do so in January.
Brigid Schulte, author of "Overwhelmed: Work, Love and Play When No One Has the Time," says that in the best sense, "It's really a nod to current reality, which is that these work cultures are very intensive, the hours are long... they're very sort of unfriendly, in a sense, if you want to have a family."
But, Schulte says, offering to cover egg freezing for employees doesn't really get to the root of the issue.
"It's become fix the women, make the women change, if you want to have a family, well then use technology to sort of hoodwink biology, rather than really look at the reason for why something like this would even be contemplated," Schulte says. "The reason why it would be contemplated is that these are crazy work cultures."
US soccer's Christen Press: 'Being in the moment' key to World Cup run
Wednesday night, the U.S. women's soccer squad begins its World Cup campaign as it faces off against Trinidad and Tobago. It's part of a series of games that will also put them up against Guatemala and Haiti in coming days.
There's a lot at stake: the best teams can clinch a spot in Canada next summer. It's all part of a tournament put on by CONCACAF, the association of North, Central American and Caribbean nations.
We caught up with one of the U.S. players, Christen Press, during a break in training in Kansas City. Press grew up in Southern California and went on to play at Stanford, where she broke school records for goals scored and assists and was the national player of the year.
Key highlights from the interview:
How do you deal with the intense pressure of performing as a striker for the national team?
It’s the high stakes position on the field. And the best way to deal with that pressure – of being able to put the final touch on the ball and help your team advance in a round or win the World Cup – is to realize that it’s just another touch. You take great touches in the midfield, on defense, and when it gets to in front of the goal, there’s a lot more pressure and that touch feels extraordinarily more important. But if you just keep it in perspective, you realize that there will always be another chance. I’ve been doing this for 25 years, so once you get that confidence and that calmness, it becomes much more manageable.
How did your time in Europe shape you as a player and a person?
The European leagues have been there a long time, the coaches have been there, the clubs have been there, there's history to the teams. There's already that football support culture. And also, the style is very different and it reflects the style of the international teams that we play against. I think that hugely impacted my game and my perspective on the game, just to see how great things can be if you just have a little bit of balance in your life.
How do you feel about having to play on artificial turf during the World Cup in Canada?
The quality of turf, or the quality of grass, is such a range. We’ve played in Canada on some of these pitches and the turf is not the highest quality. A lot of times when we're having these discussions, the authority figures have been saying that the best turf in the world is better than grass. But that’s not what this is. This is an instance where the turf that we’ll be playing on is far inferior to a grass pitch. And it really affects the pace of the game, the touches on the ball and a lot of people really are wary of injuries. I don’t think that going into World Cup you should have to worry that you’re going to get injured because you’re playing on a poor quality turf.
On your personal blog, you highlight a quote that says “We are the creators of our own destiny.” What does that mean to you?
For a long time growing up, I thought that everything happens for a reason and it’s kind of already written. But as I’ve grown and learned various things, I think that the most important moment is the one that you’re in and that’s the only moment that matters, that you can really control. The future is unknown and the past is history. So just [by] being in that moment and doing you’re absolute best, I think you have a real chance at impacting your future.
Upcoming US games (all times Pacific):
Oct. 15 vs. Trinidad and Tobago, 5:30 p.m., Sporting Park; Kansas City, Kansas
Oct. 17 vs. Guatemala, 6 p.m., Toyota Park; Bridgeview, Ill.
Oct. 20 vs. Haiti, 4:30 p.m., RFK Stadium; Washington, D.C.
Dreaming sin Fronteras explores lives of undocumented youth in music, drama
Dreaming Sin Fronteras is the title of a new show that explores the lives of young, undocumented immigrants through their own voices. It includes dialogue, drama and lots of live music.
"I wanted to do something that was eclectic and different," said director Antonio Mercado. "I wanted something that was part-play and part-concert to allow the audience to groove and to even dance if they wanted to."
The multimedia event features "dreamers," from across L.A.; musicians Shawn King (DeVotchKa), Raul Pacheco (Ozomatli), Ceci Bastida (Tijuana NO!) and Stephen Brackett (The Flobots); and art by Favianna Rodriguez.
What: Dreaming Sin Fronteras (Dreaming Without Borders)
Where: Bovard Auditorium, University Park Campus, USC
When: Thursday, October 16, 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
More information here.
To RSVP for the event, click here.