Today on the show, we hear about how immigration reform activists are turning to more aggressive and risky tactics to get their point across. Plus, California changes guidelines on how to deal with mentally ill inmates. Emily Bazar returns to answer listener questions about Obamacare and taxes, Feral cows are threatening visitors to Chino Hills State Park, plus much more.
Immigration reform protesters take on more aggressive tactics
Last week, college student Dean Santos stood with dozens of other protesters in San Francisco as they surrounded a federal bus believed to be carrying immigrant detainees bound for deportation. Their goal: To keep the bus from leaving.
It was the most recent in a series of increasingly bold — and risky – protests, because some of the protesters themselves face possible deportation.
KPCC's Leslie Berestein Rojas examines the more aggressive approach among young people who publicly declare their undocumented status, to protesters blocking a bus full of detainees.
California considers new rules on dealing with mentally ill inmates
California's prisons are considering new rules in how they deal with mentally ill inmates.
Prison officials had been accused of mistreating and neglecting those prisoners, who make up a third of the inmate population. The announcement of these new rules comes as a federal judge has said the state must provide public copies of videotapes showing mentally ill prisoners being sprayed repeatedly with pepper spray.
For the latest on all of this, we're joined again by LA Times reporter Paige St John.
Ask Emily on Take Two: The impact of Obamacare on your taxes
If you are a careful listener of Take Two, you'll know that every two weeks, we have a chat about questions that crop up in regards to the new healthcare law.
It's a segment we call Ask Emily, featuring Emily Bazar, senior writer for the California Healthcare Foundation Center for Health Reporting.
Emily has been so bombarded by questions of late, we thought it would be good to squeeze in an additional chat this week. This week, we'll discuss what happens with Obamacare and taxes. How do you define the size of a family?
Partial release of New Mexico mental health audit raises questions
In June, New Mexico's behavioral health care system was thrown into chaos. The state abruptly froze Medicaid payments to over a dozen mental health providers in the state after an audit allegedly found widespread fraud.
Those providers served nearly 30,000 patients.
But neither the public nor those accused have been able to see the actual audit because the state says an investigation continues. Now a partial release of the audit's findings have raised further questions about New Mexico's decision to go after the clinics.
For the Fronteras Desk, Tristan Ahtone reports.
Feral cattle threatening visitors and habitat in Chino Hills State Park
Chino Hills State Parks is having an unusual "wild" animal problem: Feral cows.
While it may seem to be not the scariest of beasts, remember that the animals can weigh up to 1,500 pounds and the males often have very sharp horns. The wild herds are breaking through fences, roaming the 14,000-acre state park, scaring hikers, mountain bikers and campers.
For more we reached out to Kelly Elliott, Chino Sector superintendent for the California State Parks department, and the person tasked with getting rid of these cows.
In new cookbook, French chef Daniel Boulud reveals many of his most-prized recipes
Twenty years ago, chef Daniel Boulud opened up a restaurant in New York City called simply Daniel.
Today the Upper East Side eatery is one of the few restaurants in the Big Apple with a prestigious Michelin 3-star rating. His dishes have awed and inspired critics and diners alike, and now you can make them in the comfort of your own home.
Daniel Boulud shares nearly 100 of his prized recipes in a new book is called "Daniel: My French Cuisine."
UC Riverside astronomers discover a new galaxy
Astronomers at UC Riverside have recently discovered a new galaxy, a galaxy which they say is the most distant one ever discovered.
Bahram Mobasher is an observational astronomy professor at UC Riverside and was part of the team that discovered this new galaxy. He and his team discovered the galaxy using infrared and deep optical images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope.
Mobasher joins us to talk about the discovery.
State Of Affairs: Gov transparency, ride sharing and more
It's Thursday, which means it's time for State of Affairs, our look at politics and government throughout California. To help us with that we're joined in studio now by KPCC political reporters Alice Walton and Frank Stoltze.
Yesterday the Los Angeles City Council debated whether to appeal the Public Utilities Commission's regulations on ride-sharing companies like Uber and Lyft. The Council was actually split on this. What happened?
Also at City Hall yesterday, Controller Ron Galperin launched a new website called Control Panel LA, and it's filled with the city's financial records on expenditures, revenue, payroll and audits.
This seems to go under Mayor Garcetti's umbrella of bringing more transparency to city government and to get people more involve, but is this going to work? Isn't just reaching out to people who are already dialed into local government?
The Fair Political Practices Commission is reportedly going to settle a case involving some Arizona groups that funding anti-Prop 30 campaigns. This case focused on disclosure.
It was announced this week that former Assemblyman Tom Calderon will drop his bid for the State Senate. He made news this year when the FBI and U.S. Attorney's Office raided businesses that contract for his consulting services. Is that what's behind this decision.
In the last week it's come to light that there are two pending sexual harassment lawsuits at City Hall. Now, Council President Herb Wesson wants to revamp the way the city does its sexual harassment training. What would change and would it make a difference?
We also learned this week that spiritual guru Marianne Williamson is planning to run for Henry Waxman's seat in Congress. What are her chances?
Former Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced his new job with the PR firm Edelman. He's also working with Herbalife. Is there a conflict here?
Is a Southern California desert town unfair to minority voters?
The U.S. Supreme Court struck down part of the federal Voting Rights Act last June. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority, "Our country has changed."
He was writing about the distance the nation has traveled since the battle over civil rights in the South first shocked, then compelled, the federal government to act. But the fight over civil rights and voting continues to play out across the country. It has simply changed form.
Here in California, the fight is over the structure of local elections, and whether they deliver fair representation to minority communities. The California Report's Steven Cuevas has the story from Palmdale.
Should we panic over reports of a Great White shark off the coast of California?
In a recent video posted by surfer Brad Coder, viewers are able to see a giant Great White shark underneath his surfboard. The video was shot close to shore, right off the coast of El Porto beach in Southern California.
We'll talk to shark expert Chris Lowe about Great Whites off the coast of SoCal.
Why do people look (and act) like their dogs?
You've seen it. Someone with a few extra pounds, walking a dog that's a little obese. Or a woman with long, strawberry blonde hair, walking a golden retriever.
That we often look like our dogs is a well-documented phenomenon, but believe it or not, there are actually scientists who research this.
In a piece in the current issue of The Atlantic, Sarah Yager notes that there is an often-repeated experiment where subjects are shown pictures of dogs, and then of people. They are asked to match the canine with the human, and they consistently do much better than chance would predict.
And it's not just looks. Dogs can take on the behavior of the humans they live with. Our earnest co-host, A Martinez, confesses that he's a bit of a neat freak. He reveals that his dog exhibits similar behaviors, using her nose to carefully line up her toys in a nice, neatly spaced row.
It's fairly clear that this 'look like your dog' thing works both ways. Researchers say we may select animals that reflect our physical and emotional characteristics. Or, as in the case of the tough guy with a pit bull, we may select a pet that mirrors the image we try to project.
But our dogs also take on our behaviors, exhibiting what scientists call “automatic imitation." For example, if you yawn, your dog may yawn with you.
And here's something for Mr. Martinez, who also admits to full-on smooching with his pooch, to consider: According to Yager, researchers measured microbes on dog owners who were also parents. They found germs from the subjects' children on their skin, but not near as many as they found from their dogs.
RELATED: Check out KPCC listeners and their pets!
How are you and your pets alike? Snap a photo and share it with us on Facebook or on Twitter using the hashtag #KPCCzoo
Dinner Party Download: Morbid search engine, gold trees and more
Every week we get your weekend conversation starters with Rico Gagliano and Brendan Newnam, the hosts of the Dinner Party Download podcast and radio show.
On Tap This Week:
Did Someone Die In Your House?
There's a new website for checking to see if someone died in your house called diedinhouse.com. We double dare you to search your address.
Gold Really Does Grow On Trees
The roots of eucalyptus trees ‘mine’ gold and other minerals, which are brought up into the leaves.
Olympic Athletes Warned Not To Shampoo
Don’t use this shampoo before the Olympic trials…you might fail the doping test.