Carol Folt shot USC in the damn foot
Tomo Chien
April 17, 2024
Good morning. It’s Wednesday, and I’m reading about a new fast food chain coming to Los Angeles. Onto the five USC, LA and California stories you need to know for today.
1.
USC President Carol Folt personally decided to bar this year’s valedictorian from speaking at graduation, a USC official said, meaning she’s responsible for what may be one of the university’s biggest PR blunders of all time. Other developments: USC doubled down on its claim that it canceled the speech because it received threats over the valedictorian’s online pro-Palestinian — or, as critics say, antisemitic — rhetoric. But it’s yet to share details. The valedictorian, Asna Tabassum, said she hadn’t even written her speech before it was abruptly canceled. Every major national news outlet picked up the story. Oh, and everybody’s pissed, for one reason or another.
2.
A man who allegedly went on a three-hour shooting rampage from the roof of a Marina del Rey apartment on Saturday could face life in prison. Authorities said Victoryloc Nguyen, 41, fired some 90 rounds with two assault rifles and a handgun at sheriff’s deputies and residents during the incident. Nobody was injured. Nguyen, who was photographed flashing a heart symbol with his hands during a court appearance, has no prior criminal record and pleaded not guilty.
3.
A federal judge found that LA officials altered evidence to defend the city from a lawsuit that accused it of illegally seizing the property of homeless people during encampment-clearing operations. The city created and modified bogus legal documents and papers tallying what workers seized from encampments years after the cleanups occurred — and sometimes just days before handing them to plaintiffs. “Suffice it to say that the City’s credibility has been damaged significantly,” the judge wrote.
4.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said the pro-Palestinian protestors who blocked the Golden Gate Bridge on Monday need to be “held to account” as local prosecutors weigh whether to charge the 38 people arrested by authorities. Demonstrators locked themselves to parked cars, making for a multi-hour protest that trapped motorists on the way to work, school and doctor’s appointments. Newsom remarked that he has “respect” for free speech and cease-fire calls, but that he thinks “there’s a better way of expressing it.”
5.
Disneyland could soon expand massively. The Anaheim City Council greenlit Disney’s plans to develop empty spaces on its existing plot of land over the next four decades, paving the way for a dramatic increase in rides, shopping, hotels and dining at the Southern California theme park. Disney officials have also teased an “Avatar” themeland, and said they’ll spend at least $1.9 billion developing the park over the next 10 years.
