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    Trump administration reportedly suspends $200m in grants to UCLA

    The Trump administration is suspending some research grants to the University of California, Los Angeles, claiming “antisemitism and bias”, the school announced in a statement on Thursday.“UCLA received a notice that the federal government, through its control of the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other agencies, is suspending certain research funding to UCLA,” Julio Frenk, the university chancellor, said in a letter to the campus. The move means “life-saving research” will be defunded, he said.“It is a loss for Americans across the nation whose work, health, and future depend on the groundbreaking work we do.”Frenk did not say the value of the grants, but the Los Angeles Times reported that roughly 300 grants amounting to nearly $200m were suspended.The federal government has moved to pull billions of dollars from prominent universities across the US after accusing the institutions of failing to adequately respond to antisemitism during pro-Palestinian protests, and referred some to the Department of Justice. In recent weeks, the Trump administration has reached agreements with Brown University and Columbia University to restore funding and close investigations into the schools.The agreement with Brown requires the institution to commit to nondiscrimination in admissions and programs, and allow the administration access to admissions data. Meanwhile, Columbia’s controversial deal requires it pay more than $220m, expand its Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies, review Middle East curriculum and cut programs promoting “unlawful efforts” related to diversity. Harvard remains in a legal fight with the federal government over its move to freeze billions in federal funds.The news out of UCLA comes days after the school reached a nearly $6.5m settlement in a lawsuit by Jewish students and a professor who said the university allowed antisemitic discrimination to take place on campus during protests last year.Earlier this week, the Department of Justice notified the University of California that its investigation found that UCLA’s response to a protest encampment in spring 2024 was “deliberately indifferent to a hostile environment for Jewish and Israeli students” and that students experienced “severe [and] pervasive” harassment.In his statement about the grant cancellations, Frenk said the university had taken steps to combat antisemitism, and ensure the school is safe and welcoming for all, including the creation of a new Office of Campus and Community Safety and an Initiative to Combat Antisemitism.He also highlighted the university’s history of research, including planetary scientists who search for asteroids that could pose a threat to Earth, a Valley Fever Center and the role researchers played in helping create the internet.“This far-reaching penalty of defunding life-saving research does nothing to address any alleged discrimination,” Frenk wrote. More

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    Kamala Harris announces she will not run for governor of California

    Kamala Harris, the former vice-president and 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, announced on Wednesday that she will not run for governor of California – a highly anticipated decision that leaves the contest to lead the country’s largest blue state wide open.“For now, my leadership – and public service – will not be in elected office,” Harris said in a statement, ending months of speculation about her political future after losing the 2024 presidential election to Donald Trump.“I look forward to getting back out and listening to the American people, helping elect Democrats across the nation who will fight fearlessly, and sharing more details in the months ahead about my own plans,” she added.Harris, 60, who previously served as California’s attorney general and US senator, had been exploring a run for the state’s top job since leaving the White House in January. But, she said in the statement, “after deep reflection, I’ve decided that I will not run for governor in this election”. The decision does not rule out a future run for public office, including a third bid for the White House, after unsuccessful campaigns in 2020 and 2024.Among the other possibilities Harris is exploring is starting a non-profit or leading a policy thinktank, said a personal familiar with her thinking. Allies said she would be a sought-after surrogate and fundraiser ahead of the 2026 midterms.“I think we can expect her to continue to invigorate the younger generation who really vibed off of her energy, her authenticity, and, you know, her willingness to talk about things that you don’t normally talk about when you’re on the campaign trail,” said the California congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove, one of the Democrats Harris spoke with in recent months as she weighed a run for governor.Harris’s looming decision had in effect paralyzed the race to replace Gavin Newsom, the term-limited Democratic governor, with early polling suggesting she was Californians’ top choice. The Harris-less race to lead California will now take place in a political landscape dramatically reshaped by her loss to Trump in November, which plunged the party into a period of paralysis and soul-searching.In the months since, the Democratic base has grown increasingly furious with its old guard, demanding fresh leadership and a more combative approach to what they view as Trump’s increasingly authoritarian agenda.In a nod to the discontent roiling her party, and the country, Harris said: “We must recognize that our politics, our government, and our institutions have too often failed the American people, culminating in this moment of crisis. As we look ahead, we must be willing to pursue change through new methods and fresh thinking – committed to our same values and principles, but not bound by the same playbook.”While the decision was disappointing to supporters eager to see Harris square off again with Trump during the final years of his term, Harris had given few signals that she was deeply excited by the prospect of leading the state from the governor’s perch in Sacramento. The months-long slog to next year’s contest would have forced Harris to grapple with her role in Democrats’ losses in November, which has already drawn criticism from corners of the party eager for leaders to step aside and make space for a new generation of candidates.The crowded field of Democrats running for governor in California is so far made up of long-serving or well-known political leaders, including Xavier Becerra, the former attorney general of California who served with Harris in Biden’s cabinet as the secretary of health and human services; Antonio Villaraigosa, the former Democratic mayor of Los Angeles; the state’s lieutenant governor, Eleni Kounalakis, who is close friends with Harris; and the former representative Katie Porter.The most prominent Republicans in the race are Chad Bianco, the sheriff of Riverside county, and Steve Hilton, the former Fox host and former adviser to then UK prime minister David Cameron. Ric Grenell, a longtime Trump ally, has also toyed with the idea of running.In a statement, Villaraigosa commended Harris’s leadership and said that her decision “reflects her continued commitment to serving at the highest levels of government”.Becerra described Harris’s decision as an “important turning point for her and our state” that would reshape the “race for governor, but not the stakes”.“California needs a governor who will treat the cost of living crisis like the emergency it is, and who will stand up to the chaos and corruption of the Trump White House,” he said in a statement.Meanwhile, Newsom, who came up in San Francisco politics with Harris, also praised the former vice-president. “Kamala Harris has courageously served our state and country for her entire career,” he said.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotion“Whether it be as a prosecutor, attorney general, senator, or vice-president she has always kept a simple pledge at the heart of every decision she’s made: For the People. Grateful for her service and friendship – and looking forward to continuing the fight in whatever the future might hold for her.”Republicans – some of whom had been eager to elevate Harris as the face of the Democratic party – nevertheless touted her decision as a political victory for the president.“Kamala Harris’s political career is over thanks to President Trump,” said Kollin Crompton, a spokesperson for the Republican Governors Association, adding, perhaps prematurely: “Americans across the country can sigh in relief that they won’t have to see or hear from Kamala Harris any longer.”Harris had maintained a relatively low profile since she returned home to Los Angeles, offering few clues about her political future. She remained mostly out of view as protests erupted in response to the Trump administration’s immigration raids in Los Angeles earlier this summer. In a statement issued after Trump ordered national guard troops deployed Los Angeles, she said that protest was “a powerful tool” and said she supported the “millions of Americans who are standing up to protect our most fundamental rights and freedoms”.She has been selective about when to weigh in against the Trump administration’s actions. Earlier this year, Harris delivered a sharp speech in which she warned that the US was witnessing a “wholesale abandonment of America’s highest ideals” by the US president.On Wednesday, Harris vowed to remain politically engaged.“We, the People must use our power to fight for freedom, opportunity, fairness, and the dignity of all,” she said. “I will remain in that fight.”Dani Anguiano contributed to this report More

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    How Trump has supercharged the immigration crackdown – in data

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.content–interactive-grid .content__standfirst,#feature-body .content–interactive-grid .content__standfirst{padding-bottom:0}#article-body >div .content–interactive-grid figure.element–immersive figcaption,.content–interactive >div .content–interactive-grid figure.element–immersive figcaption,#comment-body .content–interactive-grid figure.element–immersive figcaption,[data-gu-name=body] .content–interactive-grid figure.element–immersive figcaption,#feature-body .content–interactive-grid figure.element–immersive figcaption{padding:4px 0 0}#article-body >div .content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=lines],#article-body >div .content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=meta],.content–interactive >div .content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=lines],.content–interactive >div .content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=meta],#comment-body .content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=lines],#comment-body .content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=meta],[data-gu-name=body] .content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=lines],[data-gu-name=body] .content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=meta],#feature-body .content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=lines],#feature-body .content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=meta]{grid-area:2/1/5/2}#article-body >div .content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=lines],.content–interactive >div .content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=lines],#comment-body .content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=lines],[data-gu-name=body] .content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=lines],#feature-body .content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=lines]{height:-moz-max-content;height:max-content;margin-top:5px}#article-body >div .content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=meta],.content–interactive >div .content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=meta],#comment-body .content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=meta],[data-gu-name=body] .content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=meta],#feature-body .content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=meta]{margin-top:18px}}@media (min-width: 81.25em){#article-body >div .content–interactive-grid,.content–interactive >div .content–interactive-grid,#comment-body .content–interactive-grid,[data-gu-name=body] .content–interactive-grid,#feature-body .content–interactive-grid{grid-template-columns:219px 1px 620px 80px 300px}}body.ios .article__header .standfirst__inner p,body.android .article__header .standfirst__inner p{font-family:Guardian Headline,Guardian Egyptian Web,Guardian Headline Full,Georgia,serif;font-weight:500}body.ios .article__header .article-kicker__section,body.android .article__header .article-kicker__section{display:block}body.ios .article__header .article-kicker__section:first-letter,body.android .article__header .article-kicker__section:first-letter{text-transform:uppercase}body.ios .article__header .keyline-4,body.android .article__header .keyline-4{padding-top:12px!important}body.ios .article__header .meta__misc .byline__author,body.android .article__header .meta__misc .byline__author{font-family:Guardian Headline,Guardian Egyptian Web,Guardian Headline Full,Georgia,serif;font-weight:700}body.ios .article__header .meta__misc .byline__author a,body.android .article__header .meta__misc .byline__author a{font-weight:700}body.ios .article figure.element-image .figure__inner,body.android .article figure.element-image .figure__inner{height:auto!important}body.ios .article figure.element-atom+p,body.android .article figure.element-atom+p{margin-top:0}:root{–gv-custom-color-dark: #121212;–gv-custom-color-active: #ff4e36;–gv-custom-color-light: #606060;–gv-custom-color-border: #333333;–gv-custom-text-light: #999999;–article-background: var(–gv-custom-color-dark);–article-meta-lines: var(–gv-custom-color-border);–straight-lines: var(–gv-custom-color-border);–article-text: #fff;–headline-colour: #fff;–subheading-text: #fff;–standfirst-text: #fff;–textblock-text: #fff;–mobile-color: var(–gv-custom-text-light);–sub-meta-label-text: var(–gv-custom-text-light);–dateline: var(–gv-custom-text-light);–series-title-text: var(–gv-custom-color-active);–byline: var(–gv-custom-color-active);–byline-anchor: var(–gv-custom-color-active);–article-link-border: var(–gv-custom-color-border);–article-link-text: var(–gv-custom-color-active);–article-link-border-hover: var(–gv-custom-color-active);–article-link-text-hover: var(–gv-custom-color-active);–sub-meta-text: var(–gv-custom-color-active);–share-button: var(–gv-custom-color-active);–standfirst-link-text: var(–gv-custom-color-active);–standfirst-link-border: var(–gv-custom-color-border);–share-button-border: var(–gv-custom-color-border);–sub-meta-background: var(–gv-custom-color-dark);–share-button-hover: var(–gv-custom-color-dark);–interactive-block-background: var(–gv-custom-color-dark);–caption-text: var(–gv-custom-text-light);–article-section-background: #fff;–section-background: #fff}article,main >section:nth-child(3),main >section:nth-child(4){–article-border: var(–gv-custom-color-border)}#maincontent{margin-top:0}#maincontent h2{padding-bottom:10px;max-width:620px}#maincontent hr{background-color:var(–gv-custom-color-border);max-width:620px;width:100%}#maincontent figcaption{margin-top:10px}#maincontent figcaption span:has(svg){display:none}#maincontent hr+h2+p{font-family:Guardian Text Sans Web,Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Lucida Grande,sans-serif;font-size:15px;margin-bottom:20px}[data-gu-name=media] >div{max-width:100%}[data-name=placeholder] >div{background-color:var(–section-background)}[data-gu-name=lines]{margin-top:20px}@media (min-width: 61.25em){[data-gu-name=lines]{margin-top:0}}@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark){article,main >section:nth-child(3),main >section:nth-child(4){background-color:var(–gv-custom-color-dark)!important}article #maincontent figure{background-color:var(–gv-custom-color-dark)}}@media (min-width: 71.25em){#article-body >div .content–interactive-grid .content__standfirst,.content–interactive >div .content–interactive-grid .content__standfirst,#comment-body .content–interactive-grid .content__standfirst,[data-gu-name=body] .content–interactive-grid .content__standfirst,#feature-body .content–interactive-grid .content__standfirst{padding-bottom:14px}}[data-link-name=”Across the Guardian”] div,[data-link-name=”Across the Guardian”] span{–article-text: #121212}[data-link-name=”Across the Guardian”] h4{color:var(–article-text)}[data-link-name=”most popular”] span{–article-text: #121212;color:#121212}
    /**
    * Data font stack
    *
    * @group typography
    */
    /**
    * Serif font stack
    *
    * @group typography
    */
    /**
    * Headline font stack
    *
    * @group typography
    */
    /**
    * Sans serif text font stack
    *
    * @group typography
    */
    /**
    * Sans serif headline font stack
    *
    * @group typography
    */
    /**
    * Default font scale settings
    * See font-scale.html and font-scale.png for visual representations
    *
    * @group typography
    */
    /**
    * Grab all levels of a font the font-scale
    *
    * @param {String} $name – Name of the font-scale matrix (eg: headline)
    * @param {Map} $font-scale ($font-scale)
    *
    * @example
    * font-size: get-scale(header);
    *
    * @requires {variable} $font-scale
    *
    * @return {Map}
    *
    * @group typography
    */
    /**
    * Grab info for a particular level of a font-scale
    *
    * @param {String} $name – Name of the font-scale in the matrix (eg: headline)
    * @param {Number} $level – Level in the matrix
    * @param {Map} $font-scale ($font-scale)
    *
    * @example
    * font-size: get-scale-level(header, 1);
    *
    * @requires {variable} $font-scale
    * @requires {function} get-scale
    *
    * @return {Map}
    *
    * @group typography
    */
    /**
    * Get a font-size for a level in the font-scale matrix
    *
    * @param {String} $name – Name of the font-scale in the matrix (eg: headline)
    * @param {Number} $level – Level in the matrix
    * @param {Map} $font-scale – Configuration
    *
    * @example
    * font-size: get-font-size(header, 3);
    *
    * @requires {variable} $font-scale
    * @requires {function} convert-to-px
    * @requires {function} get-scale-level
    *
    * @return {Number}
    *
    * @group typography
    */
    /**
    * Get a line-height for a level in the font-scale matrix
    *
    * @param {String} $name – Name of the font-scale in the matrix (eg: headline)
    * @param {Number} $level – Level in the matrix
    * @param {Map} $font-scale – Configuration
    *
    * @example
    * font-size: get-line-height(header, 3);
    *
    * @requires {variable} $font-scale
    * @requires {function} convert-to-px
    * @requires {function} get-scale-level
    *
    * @return {Number}
    *
    * @group typography
    */
    /**
    * Turn any value into pixels
    *
    * @param {Number} $value
    *
    * @example
    * font-size: convert-to-px(14); // 14px
    *
    * @return {Number}
    *
    * @group typography
    */
    /**
    * Default typography settings, to be included as soon as possible in the HTML
    * 1. Make type rendering look crisper
    * 2. Set relative line spacing to 1.5 (16px * 1.5 = 24px)
    *
    * @param {String} $font-family ($f-serif-text) – Default global font
    *
    * @requires {variable} $f-serif-text
    *
    * @group typography
    */
    /**
    * Font-size and line-height shorthand
    *
    * @param {Number} $size
    * @param {Number} $line-height ($size)
    *
    * @example
    * @include font-size(18, 24);
    *
    * @requires {function} convert-to-px
    *
    * @group typography
    */
    /**
    * Font styling shorthand
    * Note: prefer the usage of the font-scale mixins to stick to the font scale
    *
    * @param {String} $family
    * @param {String} $weight
    * @param {Number} $size
    * @param {Number} $line-height ($size)
    *
    * @example
    * @include font(arial, bold, 18, 24);
    *
    * @requires {mixin} font-size
    *
    * @group typography
    */
    /**
    * Header family and weight properties.
    *
    * @requires {variable} $f-serif-headline
    *
    * @group typography
    */
    /**
    * Header typography settings.
    *
    * @param {Number} $level
    * @param {Boolean} $size-only
    *
    * @example
    * // Output all properties (font-size, line-height, family, weight)
    * @include fs-header(3);
    *
    * // Output font-size and line-height only
    * @include fs-header(3, $size-only: true);
    *
    * @requires {function} get-font-size
    * @requires {function} get-line-height
    * @requires {mixin} font-size
    * @requires {mixin} f-header
    *
    * @group typography
    */
    /**
    * Healdine family and weight properties.
    *
    * @requires {variable} $f-serif-headline
    *
    * @group typography
    */
    /**
    * Headline typography settings.
    *
    * @param {Number} $level
    * @param {Boolean} $size-only
    *
    * @example
    * // Output all properties (font-size, line-height, family, weight)
    * @include fs-headline(3);
    *
    * // Output font-size and line-height only
    * @include fs-headline(3, $size-only: true);
    *
    * @requires {function} get-font-size
    * @requires {function} get-line-height
    * @requires {mixin} font-size
    * @requires {mixin} f-headline
    *
    * @group typography
    */
    /**
    * Body Heading family and weight properties.
    *
    * @requires {variable} $f-serif-text
    *
    * @group typography
    */
    /**
    * Body Heading typography settings.
    *
    * @param {Number} $level
    * @param {Boolean} $size-only
    *
    * @example
    * // Output all properties (font-size, line-height, family, weight)
    * @include fs-bodyHeading(3);
    *
    * // Output font-size and line-height only
    * @include fs-bodyHeading(3, $size-only: true);
    *
    * @requires {function} get-font-size
    * @requires {function} get-line-height
    * @requires {mixin} font-size
    * @requires {mixin} f-bodyHeading
    *
    * @group typography
    */
    /**
    * Body Copy family property.
    *
    * @requires {variable} $f-serif-text
    *
    * @group typography
    */
    /**
    * Body Copy typography settings.
    *
    * @param {Number} $level
    * @param {Boolean} $size-only
    *
    * @example
    * // Output all properties (font-size, line-height, family)
    * @include fs-bodyCopy(3);
    *
    * // Output font-size and line-height only
    * @include fs-bodyCopy(3, $size-only: true);
    *
    * @requires {function} get-font-size
    * @requires {function} get-line-height
    * @requires {mixin} font-size
    * @requires {mixin} f-bodyCopy
    *
    * @group typography
    */
    /**
    * Data family property.
    *
    * @requires {variable} $f-data
    *
    * @group typography
    */
    /**
    * Data typography settings.
    *
    * @param {Number} $level
    * @param {Boolean} $size-only
    *
    * @example
    * // Output all properties (font-size, line-height, family)
    * @include fs-data(3);
    *
    * // Output font-size and line-height only
    * @include fs-data(3, $size-only: true);
    *
    * @requires {function} get-font-size
    * @requires {function} get-line-height
    * @requires {mixin} font-size
    * @requires {mixin} f-data
    *
    * @group typography
    */
    /**
    * Text Sans family property.
    *
    * @requires {variable} $f-sans-serif-text
    *
    * @group typography
    */
    /**
    * Text Sans typography settings.
    *
    * @param {Number} $level
    * @param {Boolean} $size-only
    *
    * @example
    * // Output all properties (font-size, line-height, family)
    * @include fs-textSans(3);
    *
    * // Output font-size and line-height only
    * @include fs-textSans(3, $size-only: true);
    *
    * @requires {function} get-font-size
    * @requires {function} get-line-height
    * @requires {mixin} font-size
    * @requires {mixin} f-textSans
    *
    * @group typography
    */
    /**
    * Headline Sans family property.
    * Is not currently integrated into our font scale matrix,
    * hence no `fs-` mixin; currently we’re just using it as a
    * replacement font in a few places.
    *
    * @requires {variable} $f-sans-serif-headline
    *
    * @group typography
    */
    @font-face {font-family:”Guardian Headline Full”;src:url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Light.woff2”) format(“woff2”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Light.woff”) format(“woff”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Light.ttf”) format(“truetype”);font-weight:300;font-style:normal;
    }
    @font-face {font-family:”Guardian Headline Full”;src:url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-LightItalic.woff2”) format(“woff2”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-LightItalic.woff”) format(“woff”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-LightItalic.ttf”) format(“truetype”);font-weight:300;font-style:italic;
    }
    @font-face {font-family:”Guardian Headline Full”;src:url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Regular.woff2”) format(“woff2”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Regular.woff”) format(“woff”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Regular.ttf”) format(“truetype”);font-weight:400;font-style:normal;
    }
    @font-face {font-family:”Guardian Headline Full”;src:url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-RegularItalic.woff2”) format(“woff2”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-RegularItalic.woff”) format(“woff”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-RegularItalic.ttf”) format(“truetype”);font-weight:400;font-style:italic;
    }
    @font-face {font-family:”Guardian Headline Full”;src:url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Medium.woff2”) format(“woff2”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Medium.woff”) format(“woff”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Medium.ttf”) format(“truetype”);font-weight:500;font-style:normal;
    }
    @font-face {font-family:”Guardian Headline Full”;src:url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-MediumItalic.woff2”) format(“woff2”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-MediumItalic.woff”) format(“woff”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-MediumItalic.ttf”) format(“truetype”);font-weight:500;font-style:italic;
    }
    @font-face {font-family:”Guardian Headline Full”;src:url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Semibold.woff2”) format(“woff2”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Semibold.woff”) format(“woff”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Semibold.ttf”) format(“truetype”);font-weight:600;font-style:normal;
    }
    @font-face {font-family:”Guardian Headline Full”;src:url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-SemiboldItalic.woff2”) format(“woff2”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-SemiboldItalic.woff”) format(“woff”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-SemiboldItalic.ttf”) format(“truetype”);font-weight:600;font-style:italic;
    }
    @font-face {font-family:”Guardian Headline Full”;src:url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Bold.woff2”) format(“woff2”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Bold.woff”) format(“woff”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Bold.ttf”) format(“truetype”);font-weight:700;font-style:normal;
    }
    @font-face {font-family:”Guardian Headline Full”;src:url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BoldItalic.woff2”) format(“woff2”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BoldItalic.woff”) format(“woff”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BoldItalic.ttf”) format(“truetype”);font-weight:700;font-style:italic;
    }
    @font-face {font-family:”Guardian Headline Full”;src:url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Black.woff2”) format(“woff2”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Black.woff”) format(“woff”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Black.ttf”) format(“truetype”);font-weight:900;font-style:normal;
    }
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    Newsom ready to pursue lawsuit against Fox News host despite on-air apology

    The California governor, Gavin Newsom, and Fox News host Jesse Watters have locked into a political tit-for-tat after the network figure admitted to mistakenly claiming that Newsom lied about a phone call with Donald Trump during June’s anti-immigration enforcement protests in the state.On Thursday, Watters issued an apology on his program stemming from a $787m defamation lawsuit filed by Newsom against the host and Fox News, as the Los Angeles Times and other outlets reported. Newsom’s lawsuit claimed that Watters lied on air about the timeline of the governor’s conversations with the president during the peak of the anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) protests across Los Angeles.Newsom contended that Watters intentionally manipulated his reporting to make it seem as though the governor had lied about a phone call he had with Trump.On 10 June, Trump publicly said that he had spoken to Newsom “a day ago”, adding that he had called the governor to tell him “you’ve got to do a better job, you’re doing a bad job”. Trump’s comments implied that the two leaders had spoken to each other on the same day that the president ordered several hundred US marines to be deployed to Los Angeles – a decision that was met with widespread opposition from California leaders.After Trump’s comments, Newsom pushed back on social media against the president’s narrative. Newsom had publicly said that he spoke to Trump after midnight on 7 June, during which there was no discussion of deploying any marines.In a post on X, Newsom wrote: “There was no call. Not even a voicemail. Americans should be alarmed that a president deploying marines onto our streets doesn’t even know who he’s talking to.”Trump in response sent a screenshot of his 7 June call log to the Fox News anchor John Roberts. Watters then proceeded to show the screenshot on his program, as well as a video clip of Trump’s comments on 10 June about his call with Newsom. In the video clip, the part where Trump said he had spoken to Newsom “a day ago” was omitted, the Los Angeles Times reported.The outlet, which reviewed the clip, further added that the bottom of the screen said: “Gavin lied about Trump’s call.”View image in fullscreenAs part of the defamation suit Newsom subsequently filed against the network, the governor’s lawyers said that they would dismiss the case if Fox admitted to falsely misrepresenting the timeline of the phone call with Trump.“We expect that you will give the same airtime in retracting these falsehoods as you spent presenting and amplifying them,” Newsom’s lawyers said in a letter to Fox, which the Los Angeles Times reviewed. “Further, Mr Watters and Fox News must issue a formal on-air apology for the lie you have spread about Governor Newsom.”On Thursday, Watters issued a lukewarm apology on air, saying: “‘Not even a voicemail’ – we took that to mean there was no call ever … We thought the dispute was about whether there was a phone call at all when he said without qualification that there was no call.“Now Newsom’s telling us what was in his head when he wrote the tweet,” Watters added. “He didn’t deceive anybody on purpose, so I’m sorry, he wasn’t lying. He was just confusing and unclear. Next time, governor, why don’t you say what you mean.”In response to Watters’s comments on air, Newsom provided a statement to the Los Angeles Times suggesting he would forge on with his lawsuit.“Discovery will be fun,” the statement reportedly said. “See you in court, buddy.” More

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    Newsom threatens to redraw California House maps in protest at Texas plan

    Seeking to offset a Republican plan to pick up congressional seats in Texas, California Democrats say they are prepared to redraw the state’s 52 congressional districts in a longshot and controversial effort to pick up Democratic seats.Governor Gavin Newsom, seen as a likely presidential candidate in 2028, has been leading the threat in recent days. And Democratic members of California’s delegation in the US House appear to be on board.“We want our gavels back,” Representative Mark Takano, a California Democrat, told Punchbowl News. “That’s what this is about.” Democrats hold 43 of California’s 52 seats and reportedly believe they can pick up an additional five to seven seats by drawing new maps.Newsom is pushing the plan as Texas Republicans are poised to redraw its 38 congressional districts in a special session that begins next week. Texas’s governor, Greg Abbott, put redistricting on the agenda at the request of Donald Trump, who wants Republicans to add five seats in Texas as he seeks to stave off a loss in congressional seats next year. The effort has been widely criticized by Democrats as an anti-democratic ploy to make Republicans unaccountable to their voters.Newsom’s plan in California is unlikely to succeed. More than a decade ago, California voters approved a constitutional amendment that stripped lawmakers of their ability to draw congressional districts and gave it to an independent redistricting commission. Newsom has only offered vague ideas for how to get around that requirement. He has suggested the legislature could call a quick voter referendum to potentially strip the commission of its power. He also said on Wednesday there was a possibility of the legislature trying to enact new maps on its own – a novel legal theory.“It’s not lawful in any way,” said Dan Vicuña, a redistricting expert at the watchdog group Common Cause. “It was clear that this was meant to be done one time after the census, through a public and transparent process that centers community feedback, and then to be not touched again until the next decade.”He added: “It’s not an invitation to them to circumvent the independent process and gerrymander maps in the middle of a decade. That would completely undermine the purpose of the independent process voters approved.”California’s independent commission has long been considered a model for making the process of drawing district lines fairer. There has been a bipartisan push in recent years to get more states to adopt commissions such as California’s, where ordinary citizens – Democrats, Republicans and unaffiliated – have the power to draw district lines. After the 2020 census, four states – California, Arizona, Michigan and Colorado – used independent commissions. Democrats sought to require all states to use independent redistricting commissions in federal legislation that stalled in the US Senate during Joe Biden’s presidency.Russell Yee, a Republican who served on California’s commission, said that while he understood Newsom’s frustration, the only solution is redistricting reform at the federal level.“To abandon a commitment to fair and equitable election districts for partisan advantage is to sell family treasures at a pawn shop for a wad of quickly spent cash,” he said.Newsom has noted he supported creating the commission, but frames his willingness to redraw maps as the type of hardball Democrats should be more willing to play as Trump and Republicans have openly defied the law.“They’re playing by a different set of rules. They can’t win by the traditional game so they want to change the game,” Newsom said on Wednesday. “We can act holier than thou. We can sit on the sidelines, talk about the way the world should be. Or we can recognize the existential nature that is this moment.”Alex Lee, a state assemblyman who chairs his chamber’s progressive caucus, rejected that argument. “CA independent citizen redistricting (imperfect) is model for the nation,” he wrote in a post on X. “[Republicans] resort to cheating to win. We win by running clear platform for the working class and delivering.”Trying to push through a redrawing of California’s map could also undermine efforts by Democrats to convince voters of the grave dangers of Trump’s attacks on the rule of law. More

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    Trump officials tour Alcatraz in bid to reopen prison amid outcry from California leaders

    A delegation of US officials toured Alcatraz on Thursday as part of Donald Trump’s pledge to reopen the shuttered federal prison and tourist attraction in the San Francisco Bay, amid an outcry from California leaders who have called the plan “lunacy”.Doug Burgum, the interior secretary, who visited the island prison with attorney general Pam Bondi, said the federal government was beginning “the work to renovate and reopen the site to house the most dangerous criminals and illegals”.The president’s proposal to reopen Alcatraz, which closed in 1963 due to steep operating costs and is now a National Park Service museum with 1.4 million visitors a year, has attracted fierce criticism from local leaders, California Democrats and the state governor.“With stiff competition, the planned announcement to reopen Alcatraz as a federal penitentiary is the Trump administration’s stupidest initiative yet,” said Nancy Pelosi, the former House Speaker and San Francisco congresswoman, ahead of the delegation’s visit. She described it as a “diversionary tactic” from the recently passed budget and “lunacy”.“It remains to be seen how this administration could possibly afford to spend billions to convert and maintain Alcatraz as a prison when they are already adding trillions of dollars to the national debt with their sinful law.”In May, Trump said his administration would reopen and expand Alcatraz to “house America’s most ruthless and violent offenders”. This week, as the administration continued to deal with the outcry over the decision not to release additional files related to Jeffrey Epstein, Bondi and Burgum traveled to the site.“Alcatraz is the brand known around the world for being effective at housing people that are in incarceration, so this is something we’re here to take a look at,” Burgum told Fox News on Thursday. “It’s a federal property – its original use was a prison. So part of this would be to test the feasibility of returning it back to its original use.”But reopening the prison would be an enormous logistical and financial undertaking. The facility, known for its brutal conditions and escape attempts, closed because its operating costs were three times more than any other federal prison due to its physical isolation – and million of dollars were needed for restoration. While in operation, nearly 1m gallons of water were transported to the island each week, according to the Bureau of Prisons.The site later became a symbol of Indigenous resistance when Indigenous American activists began a 19-month occupation of Alcatraz in 1969, and opened to the public for tours in 1973. Officials have said it is in no condition to serve as a detention center.“There is no realistic plan for Alcatraz to host anyone other than visitors,” Daniel Lurie, San Francisco’s mayor, said on Thursday. “If the federal government has billions of dollars to spend in San Francisco, we could use that funding to keep our streets safe and clean and help our economy recover.”In response to news of tour, Gavin Newsom’s press office said: “Pam Bondi will reopen Alcatraz the same day Trump lets her release the Epstein files. So … never.” More

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    Trump rescinds $4bn in US funding for California high-speed rail project

    Donald Trump said on Wednesday the transportation department is rescinding $4bn in US government funding for California’s high-speed rail project.The department said there was no viable path forward for California’s high-speed rail project and it was considering potentially clawing back additional funding related to the project.The Federal Railroad Administration issued a 315-page report last month citing missed deadlines, budget shortfalls and questionable ridership projections.One key issue cited is that California had not identified $7bn in additional funding needed to build an initial 171-mile segment between Merced and Bakersfield, California.The California high-speed rail system is a planned two-phase 800-mile (1,287km) system with speeds of up to 220mph that aims to connect San Francisco to Los Angeles/Anaheim, and in the second phase, extend north to Sacramento and south to San Diego.The California High-Speed Rail Authority said previously it strongly disagrees with the administration’s conclusions “which are misguided and do not reflect the substantial progress made to deliver high-speed rail in California”.It noted California governor Gavin Newsom’s budget proposal before the legislature extends at least $1bn per year in funding for the next 20 years “providing the necessary resources to complete the project’s initial operating segment”.The authority noted in May there is active civil construction along 119 miles in the state’s Central Valley.Transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, said: “Newsom and California’s high-speed rail boondoggle are the definition of government incompetence and possibly corruption.”Newsom responded on social media: “Won’t be taking advice from the guy who can’t keep planes in the sky.”Voters approved $10bn for the project in 2008, but the costs have risen sharply. The transportation department under former president Joe Biden awarded the project about $4bn.The entire San Francisco-to-Los Angeles project was initially supposed to be completed by 2020 for $33bn, but has now jumped from $89bn to $128bn.In 2021, Biden restored a $929m grant for California’s high-speed rail that Trump had revoked in 2019 after the Republican president called the project a “disaster”. More

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    Trans youth fight for care as California clinics cave to Trump: ‘How can this happen here?’

    Eli, a 16-year-old Los Angeles student, is spending his summer juggling an internship at a natural history museum, a research project, a physics class and cheer practice – and getting ready to apply for college.But in recent weeks, he has been forced to handle a more urgent matter: figuring out how he is going to access vital medical treatments targeted by the Trump administration.Last month, Eli was stunned to get an email alerting him that Children’s hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) was shutting down its Center for Transyouth Health and Development, which had provided him critical healthcare for three years. The center, which has served transgender youth for three decades, offered Eli counseling and helped him access gender-affirming hormone therapy that he said allowed him to live as himself and flourish in school.CHLA said it was shuttering the center due to the federal government’s threats to pull funding, part of the president’s efforts to eradicate trans youth healthcare. The move has forced Eli and his mother to scramble for alternatives, taking time out of his busy summer to contact new providers and ensure he doesn’t run out of medications.California became the first sanctuary state for trans youth healthcare in 2022 and has long positioned itself as having the strongest protections for LGBTQ+ children. Now, for families like Eli’s, it feels like that safety is rapidly disappearing.View image in fullscreen“I was always worried for people in conservative states and had a lot of fear for my community as a whole. But I never thought it would directly affect me in California,” Eli said on a recent afternoon, seated with his mom at a Latino LGBTQ+ organization in Boyle Heights. “I wish people understood they’re doing so much more harm than they could possibly imagine – that so many lives will be hurt and lost and so many people torn apart.”Eli is one of nearly 3,000 patients who learned on 12 June they would be abruptly losing their healthcare at CHLA, one of the largest and most prominent centers in the nation to treat trans kids. Then, on 24 June, Stanford Medicine revealed it had also paused gender-affirming surgeries for trans minors and 18-year-olds, with reports that some families had appointments suddenly canceled and leaving other patients fearful it was the beginning of a wider crackdown on their care.Families across California told the Guardian they were exploring options to stockpile hormones, researching how to get care outside the US, growing increasingly fearful that parents could face government investigations or prosecutions, and discussing options to permanently flee the country.CHLA, in a letter to staff, said its decision to close the trans center was “profoundly difficult”, but as California’s largest pediatric safety net provider, it could not risk losing federal dollars, which makes up a majority of its funds and would affect hundreds of thousands of patients. Stanford said its disruption in services followed a review of “directives from the federal government” and was done to “protect both our providers and patients”.“This is Los Angeles – how can this be happening here?” said Emily, Eli’s mother, who is an educator; the Guardian is identifying them by only their first names to protect their privacy. “My parents left their Central American countries for a better life – fleeing poverty and civil war, and I cannot believe I’m sitting here thinking: what would be the best country for my family to flee to, as so many immigrant families have done? I never thought I might have to leave the US to protect my son.”‘This care gave me my life’Katie, a 16-year-old film student who lives two hours outside Los Angeles, started going to CHLA for gender-affirming care in 2018 when she was nine. For several years, the care involved therapy and check-ins, but no direct medical interventions. Throughout that time, Katie was consistent about her identity as a girl, which CHLA providers supported.“It was so meaningful and incredible for them to say: ‘We see you for who you are, but also you can be who you are,’” recalled Katie, who asked to go by a pseudonym to protect her privacy. “It was like, I have a future. I’ll get to have my life.”In gender-affirming care, young children may first socially transition by using new names, pronouns and clothes. When youth are persistent about their gender, doctors can consider prescribing puberty blockers, which pause puberty, and eventually hormone therapies that allow for medical transition. Trans youth surgeries are rare.View image in fullscreenThe treatment has for years been considered the standard of care in the US, endorsed by major medical groups, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association, and linked to improved mental health. In recent years, Republicans have passed bans on gender-affirming care in more than 25 states, and Trump has called the treatments “chemical and surgical mutilation”. There has also been a growing international backlash against the care, including in the UK, which has banned puberty blockers for trans kids.Last month, the US supreme court upheld Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth. Families and civil rights groups have argued the bans are discriminatory, as cisgender children can still receive the same treatments; cis boys with delayed puberty may be prescribed testosterone, for example, while trans boys cannot.Katie, who was eventually prescribed puberty blockers and hormones, broke down crying recounting how the care saved her. “Sometimes I think: What would my life be if I never got this?” she said. “And I just don’t see myself here. I can’t see myself at 16 if I didn’t come out and transition … Losing this now would destroy my life.”Sage Sol Pitchenik, a 16-year-old CHLA patient, who is non-binary, said the care helped them overcome debilitating depression caused by their severe gender dysphoria: “Every day, I couldn’t even get up because I just didn’t want to see myself, not even my reflection in the window. I was so terrified to look at my body.”They compared the care to the essential treatment their twin brother had earlier received at the same institution: a liver transplant. “CHLA saved my life, just like they saved my brother,” they said.Eli, who came out as trans while in middle school during pandemic lockdowns, said it was hard to return to school when he felt so uncomfortable in his body. At the start of high school, he avoided making friends: “I’m really sociable. I love talking to people and joining clubs, but I felt restricted because of how embarrassed I felt and scared of how people would react to me.”The testosterone therapy helped restore his confidence, he said, recounting “euphoric moments” of his transition: growing facial hair, his voice deepening, staying in the boys’ cabin at camp. His friends celebrated each milestone, and his mom said the positive transformation was obvious to his whole family: “It was like day and night – we are a traditional Latino Catholic family, but they were all loving and accepting, because he is such a happier kid.”View image in fullscreen‘Treating our kids as disposable’CHLA started treating trans children around 1991, and that legacy was part of its appeal for parents. “It’s not just the best place in LA to get care, it’s also one of the most important research centers in the country,” said Jesse Thorn, a radio host who has two trans daughters receiving care there.Critics of gender-affirming care have claimed that vulnerable youth are rushed into transitioning without understanding treatment consequences, and that there is not enough research to justify the care. CHLA, Thorn said, countered those claims; families have appointments and build long-term relationships with doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists and social workers. The process is slow and methodical, and the center was engaged in extensive research on the effects of treatments, he said.“The youth most in danger with the clinic closing are those with parents who aren’t sure about this care,” Thorn added. “That’s a lot of parents. They’re not hateful bigots. They’re overwhelmed and scared, and the institution means a lot.”View image in fullscreenOne LA parent, who requested anonymity to protect her trans son’s privacy, said she knew parents who traveled from Idaho to get CHLA’s care: “It really was a beacon of the entire western United States. It is a remarkable loss.”Parents told the Guardian that they were putting their children on waitlists at other clinics and beginning intake processes, but remained worried for families who have public health insurance and fewer resources.Like CHLA, Stanford has long researched and championed trans youth healthcare. The prestigious university’s recent pullback on care only affects surgeries, which are much more rare than hormone therapy and puberty blockers. But families whose care has remained intact, for now, say they are on edge.“There’s a constant feeling of not knowing what you need to prepare for,” said one mom of a 17-year-old trans boy, who said her son waited six months to first be seen by Stanford. “We all understand the pressures the doctors and institutions are under. But ceding the surgeries doesn’t mean the pressure will end. It’s just showing us our kids are seen as disposable.”Parents and advocates say they fear that other institutions could follow CHLA and Stanford, particularly as the White House significantly escalates attacks in ways that go far beyond funding threats.Fears of prosecutionTrump’s focus on California trans youth and gender-affirming care has been relentless. The president has directly attacked a 16-year-old trans track runner, with the US justice department and federal Department of Education fighting, so far unsuccessfully, to force the state’s schools to ban trans female athletes and bar trans girls from women’s facilities. Trump has threatened to withhold billions of dollars in education funding over a state law meant to prevent schools from forcibly outing LGBTQ+ youth to their parents.Perhaps most troubling for families and providers, the FBI has said it is investigating providers who “mutilate” children “under the guise of gender-affirming care”, and the DoJ said this week it had issued subpoenas to trans youth clinics and doctors.This has led to growing fears that the US will seek to prosecute and imprison clinicians, similar to efforts by some Republican states to criminally charge abortion providers. Many parents say they worry they could be targeted next.“There’s an outcry of terror,” said another LA mother of a trans child. “It feels like there is a bloodlust to jail any doctor who has ever helped an LGBTQ+ kid. There’s this realization that the world is constricting around us, and that any moment they could be coming for us.”Some families hope that California will fight back, but are wary of how committed the governor, Gavin Newsom, really is. Newsom faced widespread backlash in March when he hosted a podcast with a conservative activist and said he agreed with the suggestion that trans girls participating in sports was “deeply unfair”.California’s department of justice, meanwhile, has repeatedly emphasized that when institutions withhold gender-affirming care for trans youth, they are violating the state’s anti-discrimination laws.A spokesperson for Rob Bonta, the state’s attorney general, said Trump was “seeking to scare doctors and hospitals from providing nondiscriminatory healthcare”: “The bottom line is: this care remains legal in California … While we are concerned with the recent decisions by CHLA, right now we are focused on getting to the source of this problem – and that’s the Trump administration’s unlawful and harmful threats to providers.”A CHLA spokesperson shared a copy of its staff letter, noting that Trump’s threats to its funding came from at least five federal departments, and saying it was working with patients to identify alternative care and would “explore” reassigning affected employees to other roles. A Stanford spokesperson did not answer questions about how many patients were affected by its recent changes, but said in an email it was “committed to providing high quality, thorough and compassionate medical services for every member of our community”.Kush Desai, a White House spokesperson, said in an email that Trump has a “resounding mandate” to end “unproven, irreversible child mutilation procedures”, adding: “The administration is delivering.”Katie’s mother said she expected the state’s leaders to do more: “The quiet from the governor and others on trans rights is very unsettling. My husband and I grew up in California, went to public schools here, and always thought we’d be safe here and that the state would hold the line. It’s hard to tell right now if that’s true.”Izzy Gardon, Newsom’s spokesperson, defended the governor, saying in an email that his “record supporting the trans community is unmatched”.“Everyone wants to blame Gavin Newsom for everything. But instead of indulging in Newsom-derangement syndrome, maybe folks should look to Washington.”‘We can’t be quiet’Affected youth are increasingly speaking out. Since the news broke, protesters have organized weekly demonstrations in front of CHLA to call for the healthcare to be restored.At one recent evening rally, organized by the LA LGBT Center, families and supporters marched and chanted outside the busy hospital on Sunset Boulevard, holding signs saying “Trans joy is resistance” and “blood on your hands”, and at one point shouting: “Down with erasure, down with hate, shame on CHLA!”View image in fullscreen“We can’t be quiet any more. We’ve been polite for too long and taken so much bullshit from people who hate us,” said Sage, who spoke at an earlier rally. “I didn’t stand up just for myself or the people affected by this, but also for the trans people who came before us who still have incorrect names on their graves, who don’t have a voice.” Sage, who is now in a creative writing program, said they hoped to become a journalist.Katie, who aspires to be a television writer in LA, said she could not be silent as anti-trans advocates force families to consider fleeing: “How dare you try to drive me out of the place where I was born, where my best friends are, where the job I want to do is, where I’ve experienced my whole life? This is my home.”Eli said he didn’t feel as if he was being an activist. He was simply asking for the “bare minimum”: to be left alone and able to access basic healthcare. “Trans services like hormone therapy truly saves lives,” he said. “We just want people to be able to live their lives. I’m just asking for what is commonsense.” More