Dems will be holding a resistance rally today, July 7, at the USC campus with politicians and their backers trying to galvanize a party movement against President Trump.
Daily News: "The Democratic National Committee will hold what it is billing as a “Resistance Summer” rally at USC today in a bid to engage, mobilize and organize voters to turn their grass-roots energy into electoral victories."
"Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minnesota, the DNC’s deputy chair, Vice Chair Maria Elena Durazo, Secretary Jason Rae, Assistant Treasurer Lorna Johnson, Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Torrance, and California Democratic Party Chairman Eric Bauman are set to speak at the 5 p.m. rally at United University Church on the campus."
Another violent mob robbery by a 2nd group of teens has shaken the BART/public relationship.
The Chronicle's STEVE RUBENSTEIN: "A BART director who was at an Oakland station when a pack of teenagers committed a violent robbery — the second such incident at the station in three months — said Thursday she was concerned both about crime on the system and BART’s recent decision to release less public information about crimes."
"Despite running a website and social media accounts and offering service alerts via email and text to its vast ridership, BART does not regularly publish details about crimes. A month ago, in the wake of the first teen mob robbery, it stopped providing daily summaries of crimes to the media."
"What Lopez has been through, when juxtaposed with who he is now, is not just a Horatio Alger story of overcoming hardship. It’s not just a story of a man who, a little more than four years ago, badly needed help and now has dedicated his life to helping others as a CHP officer."
Sacramento Bee's RICHARD CHANG: "UC Davis is scouring the globe to find its next students."
"Among the nine University of California campuses that enrolls undergraduates, UC Davis admitted the highest number of international students for the upcoming school year, according to admissions data released Thursday."
"Out of nearly 14,000 international applicants, UC Davis accepted 8,415 students, an admit rate of 60.4 percent. By comparison, 18,480 California residents were accepted from the 51,425 who applied – a success rate of 35.9 percent. The number of residents admitted was slightly down compared to 2016, in line with the overall trend at other campuses."
OP-ED: Limiting drug firms' gifts to doctors impedes education.
CW's MARCY ZWELLING-AAMOT: "The California Assembly is currently considering a bill, Senate Bill 790, which would put in place severe restrictions around gifts or other financial benefits that pharmaceutical companies can give to medical professionals as part of marketing activities."
"Not only will the bill limit physician access to important information about new treatments, but it also insults the integrity of every physician practicing in California and is a threat to the patient-physician relationship, which is the heart of effective health care."
Southern California could see a record shattering heat wave today.
Daily News: "The region’s latest heat wave will generate “dangerous and potentially life-threatening heat” across much of Southern California today and Saturday, with heat records expected to be set or matched on both days."
“Dangerous and potentially life-threatening heat is expected through Saturday, when high temperatures between 100 and 110 degrees are expected for many interior sections of southwest California,” warned a National Weather Service statement."
"The weather service attributed the heat wave to a “strong upper-level high-pressure system centered over the desert southwest” which is expected to strengthen and expand westward through Saturday. There is a chance the heat wave will continue into Sunday, especially away from the coast, the NWS said."
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The Hobby Lobby is now under scrutiny for an alleged antiquities-smuggling scandal.
AP: "Hobby Lobby, the arts-and-crafts chain whose devout Christian owners won a landmark Supreme Court ruling on religious freedom, is caught up in an antiquities-smuggling scandal that has opened the company to accusations of hypocrisy."
"The Oklahoma City-based business agreed to pay a $3 million fine Wednesday over its role in what federal prosecutors said was the smuggling into the U.S. of ancient clay tablets, seals and other Iraqi archaeological objects that might have been looted from the war-torn country."
"Online, many people piled on, with more than one saying things like: “I know Hobby Lobby’s big on the Ten Commandments, but how about ‘Thou shalt not steal’?” and “Hypocritical cretins. Preach one thing and practice another.”"