Politics
'I got a job, I got class': Why Cal State L.A. isn't roiling with protest
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.”
While their numbers are relatively small, the students occupying the pro-Palestinian encampment at Cal State L.A. are ardent about their cause.
(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
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.
Politics
Congress eyes rare bipartisan housing win with or without Trump’s help
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
The House has officially shipped a colossal bipartisan housing package to President Donald Trump, and lawmakers are hoping that, at the very least, he doesn’t veto it.
Trump was supposed to sign the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act last week, but his last-minute decision to ghost the signing ceremony with House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., put into question whether the bill was dead.
His refusal to sign the bill, which passed with overwhelmingly bipartisan support in both chambers, was to leverage the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, which doesn’t currently have the votes to succeed in the Senate.
WARREN TELLS TRUMP TO ‘SIGN THE DAMN BILL’ AS BIPARTISAN HOUSING PACKAGE REMAINS STALLED IN WASHINGTON
Trump has refused to sign the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act. (Shawn Thew/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Trump appears to be in no hurry to sign the bill, despite Republicans who are hungry for a win in the affordability fight ahead of the midterm elections.
“It’s so unimportant … compared to the SAVE America Act,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday. “I think the SAVE America Act is exactly what it says. It’s saving America from crooked elections.”
“Here’s what I would like to sign, much more than a bill that — big deal, it’s a yawn,” he continued. “Some people say it’s wonderful. To me, compared to the SAVE America Act, just about everything is a big yawn.”
GOP INFIGHTING OVER TRUMP’S VOTER ID BILL ERUPTS AS TOP SENATOR CALLS STRATEGY ‘FANTASY’
It’s legislation that is loaded with nearly 60 provisions from both sides of the aisle in both chambers that’s designed to make it easier for homes to be built and for younger Americans to buy their first home. It also includes a ban on hedge funds buying up housing stock that Trump pushed Congress to include during the State of the Union earlier this year.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., one of the architects behind the bill in the upper chamber alongside Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., charged that Congress handed the bill to Trump “on a silver platter.”
“When you ask me what happens next, if he cared about the American people, he’d have already signed the damned thing, and we’d be underway,” Warren said on WCVB’s “On the Record” on Sunday.
But Trump doesn’t have to put his signature on the bill for it to become law.
IRATE REPUBLICANS ACCUSE TRUMP OF HANDING DEMOCRATS A WIN AFTER BLOWING UP HOUSING PACKAGE
The Senate advanced a massive, Trump-backed housing package geared toward lowering the costs of homes and supercharging the housing supply. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., pitched it as legislation to prevent America from becoming a “nation of renters.” (Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Protect Borrowers; Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
The Constitution grants presidents the ability to veto a bill within 10 days of it being transferred over to the White House. In that scenario, Congress could override a veto of the housing package.
It’s happened before under the Trump administration. In early 2021, Congress overrode Trump’s veto of the annual National Defense Authorization Act — a massive Pentagon funding authorization package that some House Republicans are trying to use as a vehicle to pass the SAVE America Act.
But during that 10-day period, if Trump doesn’t sign the bill, it would automatically become law. That’s unless Congress completely adjourns, in which case a “pocket veto” could happen. The Senate is currently in recess and the House is scheduled to leave town by week’s end, but neither count as a full adjournment.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Johnson, who spent the last few days meeting with Trump at the White House about the housing bill and the SAVE America Act, said: “I hope he does sign it.”
“If he doesn’t, it’s still law,” Johnson said. “We’ll still celebrate it, but he’s trying to make a point, and I think he’s making it very effectively. And the fact that you all ask me every three steps down the hallway illustrates that he has achieved the desired objective, and that is to make SAVE America the number one thing, because if we don’t get that right, everybody’s concerned about what happens next.”
Politics
British regulator may challenge Paramount takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery
Britain’s culture minister may challenge Paramount Skydance’s takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery — presenting a potential speed-bump to David Ellison’s plan to wrap up his $111-billion deal by September.
Earlier this month, Paramount secured the U.S. Justice Department’s blessing to buy the Warner assets, which include CNN, HBO, Cartoon Network, Animal Planet and the Warner Bros. film and TV studios in Burbank.
Paramount also must win the approval of British and European regulators, who are known for drilling deeply into media matters because of their influence on society.
Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority took a preliminary step this month by opening an investigation into Ellison’s proposed merger.
On Tuesday, Lisa Nandy, Britain’s Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, notified Parliament that she was inclined to intervene in the blockbuster deal.
In a written statement, Nandy cited her ability to weigh in on “public interest grounds,” due to concerns about maintaining a competitive media market in Britain.
“The UK’s move to intervene in the Paramount–WBD deal confirms what we’ve been saying for months. The real regulatory risk was never in the US — it’s in Europe,” Forrester VP Research Director Mike Proulx said Tuesday in a statement.
While Nandy cautioned she has not made “a final decision on intervention at this stage,” she has invited Paramount and Warner Bros. to respond to her concerns by July 6.
June 2026 photo of Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Lisa Nandy arriving at Downing Street for the weekly Government cabinet meeting in London.
(Alishia Abodunde/Getty Images)
Paramount did not offer immediate comment.
The company owns CBS News, children’s channel Nickelodeon and Channel 5, one of the largest over-the-air television broadcasters in the United Kingdom.
Warner Bros. Discovery owns CNN, Cartoon Network and TNT Sports, which broadcasts the Olympics, Champions League and Premier League soccer matches.
“I am conscious that the proposed acquisition is global in nature,” Nandy wrote in her statement. “In reaching this decision, my focus has been, and will remain, on the UK public interest and the range of services available to UK audiences, including Channel 5, TNT Sports, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, and CNN International, as well as Paramount+ and HBO Max.”
If Nandy decides to intervene, the Office of Communications, known as Ofcom, would launch an assessment of the deal. Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority also would determine how the merger might reshape the competitive landscape.
Teams from the two companies have been huddling for months to plan for the melding of the two operations as soon as Paramount receives all of its regulatory approvals.
Australia, New Zealand, China, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, Serbia, France and Italy have already given their approvals to the deal.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is planning to contribute $10 billion to help the billionaire Ellison family pull off the merger, which would make the Saudi royal family a significant, although passive, equity owner. In addition, the royal families of Qatar and Abu Dhabi have agreed to each contribute $7 billion in equity financing.
The Federal Communications Commission must evaluate the foreign ownership stakes due to Paramount’s holding of CBS broadcast licenses. U.S. antitrust regulators already have concluded the combination would not violate federal anticompetition laws.
Approval had been expected because President Trump — who has friendly ties with Ellison and his father, tech billionaire Larry Ellison — favors the deal.
Trump has been eager for changes at CNN.
The U.S. government stopped short of asking Paramount to make concessions or divestitures. Many expect that Paramount may have to reconfigure its children’s television holdings abroad due to the proposed combination of two large players — Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network.
Nandy suggested that Britain also should scrutinize the impact of combining two major streaming services HBO Max, a Warner property, with Paramount+.
HBO programming, including “Game of Thrones,” “Boardwalk Empire,” and “Succession,” has long been popular in Britain.
A coalition of state attorneys general, led by California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta, also is expected to challenge the deal, in part, due to concerns about news media consolidation. Bonta’s office has said the matter remains under review.
Opposition to the deal has been building in the U.S. for months. A group of Hollywood activists — led by actors Jane Fonda and Mark Ruffalo — have spearheaded a “block the merger” campaign that now has support from more than 5,000 entertainment workers.
The group’s open letter calls on Bonta to take action to thwart the Ellison expansion effort. Paramount’s Chief Legal Officer Makan Delrahim has blasted the campaign, calling it “fear-mongering” and a partisan distortion of antitrust law.
Forrester’s Proulx noted differences in attitudes toward the deal among the various constituencies.
“For US consumers, this merger has become a proxy fight about political influence and control of media,” Proulx said. “In the UK, it’s being treated as a structural competition issue where regulators, not consumers, will decide how this deal plays out and how long it takes.”
Politics
Fetterman unleashes on ‘dirtbag’ wing of Dems after far-left victories: ‘Orgy of socialism’
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., unloaded on his own party on Sunday evening, blasting a series of victories for progressives he called “anti-America.”
“Big night for the dirtbag left,” Fetterman said, referring to New York’s recent primaries, where two members of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) won primaries.
“I’ve said the party is becoming an orgy of socialism. Clearly anti-America, anti-Western Civilization,” Fetterman said.
Fetterman’s striking calls give a rare look at how some moderates may view the developments on their far-left flank that have dominated the party’s momentum in recent months, sparking concern that their high visibility is dragging the party further and further left.
FETTERMAN WARNS DEMOCRATS ‘DRIFTING FIRMLY INTO COMMUNISM’ AFTER SOCIALIST PRIMARY WINS
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., speaks to reporters outside the Senate Chamber during votes on Nov. 10, 2025, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
His comments come on the heels of a handful of key progressive victories.
In Maine, Graham Platner, a controversial Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, has attracted controversy for denying knowledge of the meaning behind a Nazi-linked tattoo, for off-color comments about race and calling himself a “communist” in a deleted Reddit post.
In New York, one DSA member, Claire Valdez, won a primary on a platform of abolishing ICE and a Green New Deal-style approach to climate change. Similarly, Darializa Avila-Chevalier, another DSA candidate, beat out incumbent Rep. Adriano Espillat, D-N.Y., a high-ranking Democrat and the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
WINNERS AND LOSERS EMERGE AFTER SOCIALIST EARTHQUAKE ROCKS NYC PRIMARIES
Graham Platner, Democratic Senate candidate for Maine, speaks at a primary election night event at the Blue Hill YMCA in Blue Hill, Maine, on June 9, 2026. Platner won the party’s Senate primary after a campaign marked by accusations of past misbehavior and voter concerns. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Both Chevalier and Valdez had the backing of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, himself a socialist.
The wins have captured national attention and drawn criticisms from Republicans who have pointed to their success as emblematic of the direction of the Democratic Party.
Fetterman, who has not shied away from confrontations, has been one of the few Democrats to express alarm about the kind of candidates carrying the party’s banner.
“I mean, you look at some of the things that people have said. Abolish prison, abolish the border, abolish ICE, I mean these crazy people — I have colleagues in my caucus that refuse to even call this out,” Fetterman said.
FETTERMAN REACTS TO MAMDANI’S REFUSAL TO ACCEPT SUPREME COURT’S IMMIGRATION RULING
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., walks through the Senate Subway during the Senate War Powers vote on April 22, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
“Between P-hustle in Maine and some of the other winners in New York, they should form their own party and run on all the things that they’ve had to delete on social media,” Fetterman said, referring to Platner.
“That’s where our party has moved,” he added.
-
World9 minutes agoWorld’s oceans experience hottest June ever, scientists say more heat ahead
-
News36 minutes agoWhat the Supreme Court did on the final day of its term
-
Los Angeles, Ca2 hours agoLos Angeles County man convicted of sex trafficking, abusing woman he was dating
-
Detroit, MI2 hours agoDetroit Tigers tee off on New York Yankees with 5 homers in win
-
San Francisco, CA2 hours agoPopular brewery shutters San Francisco location amid industry woes
-
Dallas, TX2 hours agoEight arrested after repeated attempts to enter World Cup matches without tickets
-
Miami, FL3 hours agoReports: Heat add potent bench scorer in Tim Hardaway Jr.
-
Boston, MA3 hours agoBoston Pops gearing up for major July 4th celebration: ‘You only turn 250 once’ – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News