Good morning. It’s Wednesday, June 25.
- A vice mayor calls for gangs to step up against ICE.
- Long Beach congressman is chosen for powerful post.
- And Palm Springs bombing suspect is found dead in cell.
Statewide
1.
The vice mayor of Cudahy, a Latino suburb in southeastern L.A. County, called on local street gangs to step up in the face of immigration sweeps. “I want to know where all the cholos are at in Los Angeles — 18th Street, Florencia,” Cynthia Gonzalez said in a video posted online. She continued: “You guys are always tagging everything up, claiming hood, and now that your hood’s being invaded by the biggest gang there is, there ain’t a peep out of you.” The comments drew the attention of the FBI, but the agency declined to say whether an investigation was opened. Fox News | KTLA
2.
Active-duty soldiers can’t publicly comment on their orders. But people in contact with the National Guard members and Marines on the streets of Los Angeles say the troops view the deployment as overtly political. Some worry about their own family members, said Steve Woolford, a counselor for the GI Rights Hotline. “They don’t want to deport their uncle or their wife or their brother-in-law,” he said. “Some of the language people have used is: ‘I joined to defend my country, and that’s really important to me — but No. 1 is family, and this is actually a threat to my family.’” L.A. Times
3.
Nancy Urizar’s father, who came to the U.S. more than 30 years ago, was taken by federal agents while out delivering tortillas for work in Pico Rivera. She said a colleague took over his route so that he would not lose clients:
“That was a blessing, and, after that, just a lot of people started coming up to me, hugging me, praying for me, just telling me kind words. They drove by, or they had seen the videos, and I’m crying and they’re telling me all these things. I just felt so much support from the Latino community, you know? It was so beautiful.” New Yorker
4.
Maria, a freelance photographer, canceled all of her bookings.
Ana has been reading and tending her garden to pass the time.
Eiden took up painting.
The photographer Brandon Tauszik visited people too afraid to leave their homes for a photo essay called “Hiding from ICE in LA.” Mother Jones
5.
Other dispatches on the immigration crackdown:
- On June 12, Todd Lyons, the acting ICE director, told reporters in L.A. that his agency was targeting “gang members, human traffickers, violent drug dealers, and rapists.” But data for those arrested in the region from June 1 to 10 showed that 69% had no criminal conviction. L.A. Times
- The Santa Ana Unified school district suspended all summer field trips in response to immigration raids. Diana Lopez, a school psychologist, said students feared losing their parents: “They’re scared that they’ll come home to nobody.” O.C. Register
- “You’re a José. You’re a nothing, a nobody, a dirty Mexican.” The columnist Gustavo Arellano asked Josés how they took Vice President JD Vance calling Sen. Alex Padilla “José” last Friday. L.A. Times
6.
House Democrats chose California Rep. Robert Garcia, 47, to lead their party on the powerful Oversight Committee on Tuesday, elevating a second-term lawmaker as the party responds to demands for younger leadership. The pick of Garcia — a gay, formerly undocumented immigrant from Peru who served as mayor of Long Beach for eight years before his election to Congress in 2022 — was seen as a rebuke to the seniority system that Democrats have traditionally followed. He said the committee under his leadership would seek to restrain a “rogue” president. N.Y. Times | Washington Post
7.
As Republican Assemblymember Carl DeMaio was delivering remarks at the Capitol on Monday, the Democratic speaker pro tempore, Josh Lowenthal, interrupted three times to wish various lawmakers a happy birthday. “Members, you’ll have to forgive me, but on Thursday last week, I forgot it was Damon Connolly’s birthday,” Lowenthal said at one point, drawing applause. DeMaio described the interjections by the Democrats, who dominate the chamber, as “a bunch of bullying.” Other Republicans called it “shameful,” “disgusting,” and “juvenile.” KCRA
Northern California
8.
The boat that capsized in severe weather on Lake Tahoe over the weekend belonged to Josh Pickles, a DoorDash executive, who took a group of friends and family out to celebrate his mother’s 71st birthday, reports said on Tuesday. Pickles, 37, and both of his parents died, along with five of their guests. Pickles’ wife, Jordan Sugar-Carlsgaard, had stayed behind to care for their infant daughter. “No words can express the pain and anguish we feel knowing their lives were lost during what was meant to be a joyful time on the lake,” she said on Tuesday. N.Y. Times | S.F. Chronicle
9.
Stanford Medicine said on Tuesday that it has halted gender-related surgeries for patients under 19 years old as the Trump administration pushes to limit gender transition procedures for children. “This was not a decision we made lightly,” Stanford said in a statement. The move followed a similar one by Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, which began telling patient families earlier this month that there was “no viable alternative” that would allow it to continue offering transgender care. KQED | S.F. Chronicle
Southern California
10.
The man accused of helping to orchestrate the May 17 bombing of a fertility clinic in Palm Springs was found dead inside a detention facility in Los Angeles on Tuesday, officials said. Daniel Park, 32, was accused of shipping ammonium nitrate to Guy Edward Bartkus before the explosion, which killed Bartkus. Officials said Park and Bartkus bonded over the belief that procreation is wrong in a world riven by violence, overpopulation, and environmental decline. “They don’t believe people should exist,” an FBI official said. Authorities disclosed no cause of death. L.A. Times | A.P.
11.
Lab tests of samples from 56 homes that survived the Eaton fire found that nearly all had some level of contamination. A toddler’s dress was laced with lead. Surfaces, furniture, and drywall showed the presence of heavy metals, toxic gases, and other hazardous substances. But families say insurers are refusing to test for toxic substances or cover the true cost of remediation. “It’s not about the science. It’s about the money,” said Dawn Bolstad-Johnson, an industrial hygienist. “If they really follow the science, every single standing home would be toast.” N.Y. Times
12.
Hollywood is in crisis: employment is down 10% since 2019; sound stage usage has fallen to historic lows; and “shoot days” across all types of production fell for the third straight year in 2024. Yet CEOs are doing fantastic. Median compensation for those executives last year was $33.9 million, double the median compensation of CEOs at S&P 500 companies. This month, shareholders at Warner Bros. Discovery delivered a rare rebuke over its pay packages after CEO David Zaslav collected $51.9 million in 2024, up 4% from a year earlier. L.A. Times
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