On a recent Wednesday afternoon, the Cal State L.A. student union buzzed with people eating lunch. Outside, students took graduation photos wearing caps and gowns beside a yellow sign that read, “We are L.A.”

Not far away, a small group of student protesters continued their weeks-long encampment in solidarity with the people of Gaza.

On May 1, organizers established a Gaza Solidarity Encampment on a patch of grass beneath the “Olympic Fantasy” tile mural near the heart of campus. The encampment barrier, fortified with blue tarps and plywood, displays artwork decrying the bloodshed as Israel continues its military offensive in Gaza. Graffiti on a campus building behind the encampment trumpets “Free Gaza” in bold, colorful letters.

The campers’ demands on university leaders are much the same as those from protest organizers at USC, UCLA, Pomona College and other campuses across the country. They are asking the university to disclose its financial investments in companies that supply weapons to Israel and to divest from those funds. They want the Cal State L.A. president to issue a statement supporting a cease-fire in Gaza.

But there are also notable differences in the protest scenes as the encampment enters its fourth week.

The vibe here has been much quieter than the raucous events that unfolded at UCLA and USC, where police in riot gear moved in to clear encampments. Cal State L.A.’s president has said she would let the peaceful demonstration continue without law enforcement intervention. While some encampments have drawn many hundreds of students, the members of Cal State L.A.’s encampment could be counted in the dozens.

Part of that difference is sheer size: Cal State L.A. enrolls 23,000 students, about half the enrollment of UCLA and USC. And unlike those schools, Cal State L.A. is a commuter school. Only 1,000 to 2,000 students live on campus.

The demographics at Cal State are also markedly different from schools such as UCLA and USC. About 75% of Cal State’s student body is Latino, and many of the students are working-class and older than traditional college populations. Just more than 2% of students come from other countries.

By contrast, Asians and whites make up more than 60% of the undergraduate student body at UCLA, where 9% of undergraduates and 17% of graduate students hail from other nations. At USC, a private school, 27% of students are international.

But perhaps the greatest distinction involves free time: Most students at Cal State L.A. are juggling schoolwork with jobs and pressing responsibilities at home.

Shawna Andrews, a nursing student at Cal State L.A., said she hadn’t heard much about the Israel-Hamas war until she saw the encampment. The 29-year-old appreciates the message the protesters are sending. But Andrews, who is graduating, said she simply hasn’t had the bandwidth to pay close attention to the Gaza war between being a full-time student and caring for a family member in the early stages of dementia.

“There are other things that just grab my focus that are here, that are next to me, surrounding me, versus something that’s going on overseas,” Andrews said.

Brian Hernandez, an information systems major, echoed those sentiments. “You do need a little bit of privilege to actually protest … that type of way. To sit in a random place and just hang out,” the 25-year-old said. “I can’t spend days sleeping on a campus. … I got a job, I got class.”

Though their numbers may be smaller than at some other Los Angeles-area schools, the students who raised the Cal State L.A. encampment are ardent about their cause. They vowed this week to stay until their demands were met, even as the semester wound down and commencement ceremonies took place.

“In terms of demographics, the people who are in there, they may not be related to the Palestinians in that way, but we deeply, deeply care because it’s the most devastating thing ever,” said one organizer, who provided only her first name, Sarah, for fear of being harassed online. “We’re students and we’re community, and we still care. Those are the values that our families have instilled in us.”

Last week, Cal State L.A. President Berenecea Johnson Eanes and other administrative leaders met inside the encampment with the protesters to discuss their demands. Eanes reaffirmed her commitment to allowing the students to continue their encampment as a form of free speech. She agreed to disclose Cal State L.A.’s foundation and auxiliary investments, which campus leaders have control over, and to recommend revisions to its investment policies “by adding a human rights-based approach” and reviewing current investments to align with that policy.

Eanes did not agree to issue a statement supporting a cease-fire in Gaza.

“I want to emphasize and I understand, again, that this has been a traumatic experience for many people and many people are suffering pain. It is not lost on me at all,” Eanes said. “I hope that you see my conversation with you as my ongoing commitment to staying in collaboration and staying in communication.”

Many Cal State L.A. students live off campus and hold jobs. “I can’t spend days sleeping on a campus,” says one student not involved in the Gaza war protests.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

Leda Ramos, a professor of Chicana(o) and Latina(o) Studies, was also at the encampment last week, helping students monitor who entered. They welcomed passersby to stop in and ask questions, which some did. Ramos’ two daughters are also participating in the encampment, she said.

“This is a demographic that — it’s amazing — that commutes for the most part and really struggles with economic security, and … [there is a] huge number of first-generation students,” Ramos said. “So we’re aware of how this is such a sacrifice.”

One student organizer said she was maintaining a work and class schedule while also staying at the encampment.

“We’re not only working-class students going to work, having jobs, but we also know what’s going on the world and we’ve taken it upon ourselves to be here,” said Red, who like many of the protesters declined to give her full name for fear of harassment. “It’s not that we’re unaware. I think the system has made it so that we don’t focus on those things.”

The community, Ramos noted, has been supportive with donations of food and other items. As Ramos spoke, a woman stopped by to hand one of the organizers a $20 bill. Moments later, a student appeared with a donation of two large jugs of water and offered two thumbs up.

Another student, wearing cap and gown, took a break from graduation photos to chat with the protesters. “Thank you for standing up,” the student told them. The photographer, also a student, shared her gratitude as well.

“I’m Lebanese; this has been my reality for my entire life,” the student said. She promised to stop by later.

IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley said he was told he “could no longer pursue” Hunter Biden “sugar brother” Kevin Morris as a witness due to information provided by the CIA, according to an affidavit released Wednesday. 

Fox News Digital first reported earlier this year that a whistleblower claimedthe CIA “stonewalled” an IRS interview with Morris, who provided millions of dollars to pay the first son’s tax debts. Those whistleblowers said the CIA “intervened to stop the interview” with Morris in August 2021. 

The CIA told Fox News Digital those allegations were false. 

Shapley’s affidavit, released Wednesday, shed further light the CIA’s alleged interference in the attempted interview with Morris.

WHISTLEBLOWER CLAIMS CIA ‘STONEWALLED’ IRS INTERVIEW WITH HUNTER BIDEN ‘SUGAR BROTHER’ KEVIN MORRIS: HOUSE GOP

“In and around August 2021, discussions were ongoing within the prosecution team on the Hunter Biden investigation concerning witnesses who needed to be interviewed in furtherance of the investigation,” Shapley said in his affidavit. 

Shapley said that Assistant U.S. Attorney Lesley Wolf told the team that she and DOJ Tax Attorney Jack Morgan “had recently returned from the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters in Langley, Virginia, where they had been summoned to discuss Kevin Morris.” 

Shapley said “Wolf stated that they were provided a classified briefing in relation to Mr. Morris and as a result we could no longer pursue him as a witness.” 

“Investigators probed AUSA Wolf, but since her briefing was classified and she was apparently sanitizing it to an unclassified form to share over an open phone line, she did not elaborate with more information,” Shapley said, adding that Wolf “reiterated more than once that they were summoned to the CIA in Langley concerning Mr. Morris, and that because of the information provided there, he could not be a witness for the investigation.” 

Shapley recalled that Wolf “proudly referenced a CIA mug and stated that she purchased some CIA ‘swag’ at the gift shop while she was there.” 

“It is unclear how the CIA became aware that Mr. Morris was a potential witness in the Hunter Biden investigation and why agents were not told about the meeting in advance or invited to participate,” Shapley said. “It is a deviation of normal investigative processes for prosecutors to exclude investigators from substantive meetings such as this.” 

The CIA told Fox News Digital last month that allegations it stonewalled the interview with Morris were “false.” 

“Without confirming or denying the existence of any associations or communications, CIA did not prevent or seek to prevent IRS or DOJ from conducting any such interview,” James Catella, the CIA’s director of the Office of Congressional Affairs, wrote in a letter to Jordan and Comer. “The allegation is false.” 

The CIA said that, as a general matter and “without specific reference to the issue about which you have inquired, CIA facilitates the Department of Justice’s access to national security information in the context of investigations and prosecutions in a variety of circumstances.” 

CIA DENIES WHISTLEBLOWER ALLEGATION THAT AGENCY ‘STONEWALLED’ IRS INTERVIEW WITH HUNTER BIDEN ‘SUGAR BROTHER’

“For example, CIA engages with DOJ to enable prosecutors to understand national security information that may arise in the course of an investigation and to assess their discovery obligations,” Catella wrote. 

A spokesperson for the CIA previously denied preventing the IRS to interview Hunter Biden’s friend Kevin Morris. (Reuters)

“CIA cooperates with law enforcement partners and does not obstruct U.S. law enforcement investigations or prosecutions,” he continued. “To the extent your letter seeks information about any ongoing federal law enforcement investigation or prosecution, the Department of Justice is the responsible agency.” 

Morris loaned Hunter Biden approximately $6.5 million — over $1 million more than initially estimated. 

Morris, who was subpoenaed to testify as part of the impeachment inquiry, said that he loaned Hunter Biden at least $5 million and began paying his tax liability. Morris and his attorney were estimating during the interview, a source told Fox News, and promised to follow-up with exact figures loaned to the first son. The attorney followed up to note an additional $1.6 million Morris had given Hunter Biden. 

Morris, on Oct. 13, 2021, gave Hunter Biden a loan for approximately $1.4 million. According to the letter, Hunter Biden was to repay the loan, with $500,000 paid by Oct. 1, 2026 and the remaining $417,634 by Oct. 1, 2027, plus interest.

A few days later, Morris loaned Hunter Biden $2.6 million, with directions to repay the loan by Oct. 1, 2029. That loan, according to Morris’ lawyer, “was used to pay, among other debts, Mr. Biden’s tax debt to the IRS.”

Hunter Biden, center, and his attorneys Abbe Lowell, right, and Kevin Morris, left (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

On Oct. 17, 2022, Morris loaned Hunter Biden $640,355 to be repaid by Oct. 15, 2027. In December 2022, Morris loaned Hunter $685,813.99, to be repaid by Oct. 15, 2027.

A year later, Dec. 29, 2023, Morris loaned Hunter approximately $1.2 million to be repaid by Oct. 15, 2028, with all interest paid by October 2029.

Special Counsel David Weiss charged Hunter Biden with nine federal tax charges, which break down to three felonies and six misdemeanors for $1.4 million in owed taxes that have since been paid. 

Weiss charged Hunter in December, alleging a “four-year scheme” in which the president’s son did not pay his federal income taxes from January 2017 to October 2020 while also filing false tax reports.

Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The tax trial for the first son is set for Sept. 5. 

As lawsuits play out in courts across the state over student privacy when it comes to gender identity, a bill introduced in the California Legislature on Wednesday aims to unilaterally end parental notification policies — and protect teachers caught in the fray.

Assemblymember Christopher M. Ward (D-San Diego) is carrying legislation that would shield teachers from “any retaliation” for supporting transgender student rights and would prohibit school policies that require “forced disclosure” of youth gender decisions to their families.

The bill is the latest attempt by Democrats to rein in Republican-backed school board policies, including those that seek to notify parents if their child changes their name or pronouns, or requests to use facilities or participate in programs that don’t match their gender on official records.

Such moves are being touted by conservatives nationwide in the name of parental rights. LGBTQ+ advocates have called the policies an attack on transgender children who don’t feel safe expressing themselves at home.

Ward called the measures “forced outing” policies, and said the new legislation is meant to reaffirm and clarify California’s stance on the issue, and would provide guidance to families of LGBTQ+ students to help them navigate the sensitive topic.

“Nothing ever was infringing on the parent-child relationship. Nothing is today, and nothing would be with this bill enacted,” Ward said ahead of a news conference in Sacramento on Wednesday. “But that’s not the job of teachers — to be the gender police.”

Since school boards in conservative pockets of California started engaging in culture wars over LGBTQ+ student rights last summer, a series of lawsuits have followed, and conflicting rulings have further complicated the debate over the constitutionality of minors’ right to privacy.

California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit last year against the Chino school district, alleging its parental notification policy was discriminatory and violated civil rights and privacy laws.

A San Bernardino County Superior Court Judge ruled in a preliminary hearing that the policy was discriminatory because it specifically targeted transgender students. That led the Chino Valley Board of Education to revise the policy to expand it to all students seeking any changes to their records.

Bonta filed a new motion against the district last month seeking a final judgment to ensure that school board members do not attempt to reenact the policy, as they have continued to voice support for it.

A Temecula teachers union also sued school officials there over a similar policy. In that case, A Riverside County Superior Court judge allowed the policy for now. And in Chico, a parent lost a legal battle over allegations that the school district did not inform her about her child’s gender-identity issues.

“We do need statutory guidance,” Ward said. “The lack of it is contributing to confusion.”

Meanwhile, anti-transgender activists are backing a ballot measure that would not only require schools statewide to notify parents about student gender changes, but also ban some transgender healthcare for minors and enact new rules about school bathrooms and sports teams. The long-shot ballot measure has yet to acquire enough signatures to make it on the ballot in November.

If that measure passes, it could void the law that Ward is trying to pass.

Republicans were quick Wednesday to call the legislation an overreach by California Democrats into family matters.

The bill would “cut parents out of their kids’ education,” Assembly Minority Leader James Gallagher (R-Yuba City) said on social media.

“If something is going on with a child’s health or wellbeing, parents have a right to know,” he said.

It remains unclear what the law requires of teachers amid ongoing legal debates over parental notification and student privacy.

A Riverside County school district agreed to pay $360,000 last week to settle a lawsuit from a former teacher who said she was fired for refusing to comply with a requirement to use students’ preferred pronouns and in some cases withhold that information from parents. She said the policy violated her free speech and religious rights.

The focus of Wednesday’s Democratic-packed news conference in Sacramento, though, was the alternative possibility of teachers being forced to violate student privacy to alert their families about their gender expression.

“To have a blunt policy like a forced outing policy that requires a teacher to undermine that trust puts up a wall to be able to provide that education,” said Jeff Freitas, president of the California Federation of Teachers. “You tell me your pronoun, I’ll use it, we move forward, and I’ll teach.”

State Supt. of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, who has announced plans to run for governor in 2026, stood alongside Ward and members of the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus in support of the bill, and pointed to laws already on the books that protect transgender students, including gender-neutral bathroom requirements in schools.

“California students know who they are and who they are becoming. No one else should attempt to define for any of our students who they are,” Thurmond said. “This is a personal matter. This is a matter of safety. This is a matter of privacy.”

Times staff writer Howard Blume contributed to this report.