Wednesday Morning Scoop: Going to California

Jeff Sessions speaking in front of American flags

Feds Take the Immigration Battle to California 

Jeff Sessions speaking in front of American flags
Attorney General Jeff Sessions will speak in California this afternoon. (Image: Gage Skidmore, Flickr)

After nearly a year of the threats, the Trump administration finally took direct action against California’s immigration policies yesterday. 

CNN reports, “Late Tuesday evening the department filed a federal lawsuit against the state and its top officials to stop a cluster of so-called ‘sanctuary state’ bills — a move that puts the administration on offense but is nonetheless likely to generate heated litigation over the boundaries of immigration authority.”

The legislation in question makes it a crime for business owners to alert immigration officials to undocumented workers, prohibits local law enforcement from alerting immigration agents when detainees are released, and creates a state inspection program for immigration detention centers.

Trump and his administration have attacked sanctuary states, saying they harbor dangerous criminals, and indicated yesterday that states with laws similar to those in California could also face legal action. 

Another Thing About California: It Has a Big Student-Faculty Diversity Gap 

A recent report found that 69% of students enrolled in public colleges across California are ethnically or racially diverse, but more than 60% of college faculty and senior leadership on California’s campuses are white.

According to an analysis by the Sacramento Bee, in the University of California (UC) system, nearly 40% of undergraduates are Asian American, and Latinos account for more than 40% of enrollment at California State Universities (CSU) and community colleges.

We take a closer look at the study in our report.

Today in a Tweet

Could college students survive without cereal? Doubtful. 

Will and Jaden Smith Donating Clean Water to Flint, Michigan 

Will and Jaden Smith are helping to combat the ongoing clean drinking water crisis in Flint, Mi. Their eco-friendly company, JUST, is promising to donate clean water to public schools every month until lead levels return to EPA-approved limits. JUST has already sent 9,200 drinkable water bottles to Flint.

CMN’s Dani Matias has the whole story in her report.

Texas Basketball Player Taking Heat Over Apparent Blackface Snapchat

A Sam Houston State University (SHSU) basketball player is in hot water after a video of her in what appeared to be blackface makeup was posted on a teammate’s Snapchat account.

Sophomore guard Jenniffer Oramas is shown in the video posted to Snapchat by another SHSU player, Hannah Knight, “sitting on a bathroom countertop wearing blackface makeup, bobbing her head around before looking at the camera and saying ‘black girl Jenn,’ according to a description in the school newspaper, The Houstonian.

Get more details in CMN’s story. 

Last But Not Least: A Review of the witch doesn’t burn in this one

Amanda Lovelace’s much-awaited sequel to the princess saves herself in this one arrived in bookstores on Tuesday and CMN’s Nicole Masaki has a review

Read the whole review here, but we will tell you Nicole kind of likes it, writing that author Amanda Lovelace “will shock you, surprise you, inspire you, teach you about yourself, and might even help save you.”


This mid-week Morning Scoop was compiled by Natalia KolenkoNicole MasakiDani Matiasand the CMN Staff. If you’re on spring break right now, you have one more day before you can officially start worrying about going back to class. Enjoy.