Violence Erupts at UCLA as Police Clear Protest Encampment [Full News Memo]
Second Boeing whistleblower dies, FDA new food labels, update on Haiti.
P.S. In this week’s memo:
Violence Erupts at UCLA as Police Clear Encampment
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Newsbites
Boeing Whistleblower: Joshua Dean, one of the first whistleblowers to raise safety concerns over the Boeing 737 jet, died on Tuesday at the age of 45. According to his family, he quickly fell into critical condition after being diagnosed with a MRSA bacterial infection. He is the second Boeing-connected whistleblower to die in recent months. John Barnett, another prominent whistleblower, died in March from what police said appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot. Dean’s mother told NPR, "This was his first time ever in a hospital…he didn't even have a doctor because he never was sick." She continued, "We're not sure what he died of…we know that he had a bunch of viruses. But you know, we don't know if somebody did something to him, or did he just get real sick."
More: Joshua Dean worked as a quality auditor at a Boeing supplier company called Spirit. He described the Boeing supplier as "a culture of not counting defects correctly." He was fired in April of 2023 and testified for a lawsuit against Spirit in recent months.
New Food Labels: The FDA is considering new requirements for nutrition labels on packaged food as a way to encourage more healthy eating habits. For example, it is exploring labels that would go on the front of products that could indicate if the food is part of a “healthy eating pattern”, or flag certain health risks such as high sugar, salt, or saturated fat levels. The use of similar labels has increased significantly in many other countries outside the U.S., such as Mexico (photo example). The FDA plans to propose new rules this summer.
More: In 2016, the FDA updated the nutrition labels on the back of products to display the calorie count in bigger font and list how many “added sugars” are present (image).
Orangutan: A wild Sumatran orangutan in Indonesia used a medicinal plant (Akar Kuning) to treat a wound on his cheek, marking the first time scientists have directly observed such a behavior. The orangutan, named Rakus, was seen chewing the plant leaves into a paste, and repeatedly applying it to the open wound. Within five days, the researchers said the wound had closed without an infection. While scientists have known for a long time that primates eat medicinal plants to help heal themselves, they had never directly observed one applying the plant to a wound.
Update on situation in Haiti: A new Prime Minister has been appointed in Haiti as a part of a transition government to regain control. Haitian gangs have overtaken the country and are currently running the majority of Port-Au-Prince, the capital city. In February, gangs launched a coordinated effort when they released 4,000 prison inmates and burned down police stations. The main airport in Haiti has been closed since March. It’s estimated that more than 90,000 people have fled Port-Au-Prince due to violence and homelessness. Since the new Prime Minister was announced, gang attacks have only increased in intensity.
More: Pope Francis asked for prayers for Haiti during a recent public address in Venice: “I am thinking of Haiti, where a state of emergency is in force and the population is desperate because of the collapse of the health system, the shortage of food, and the violence that drives people to flee.”
Main Stories
Violence Erupts at UCLA as Police Clear Encampment
Some context
Pro-Palestine protests increased in size and intensity this week across the U.S. Although mostly on campuses, universities and police have noted that “outside agitators” are also present at many of the demonstrations.
According to the Associated Press, more than 2,000 people have been arrested since April 18.
While there is no clear organizer of the protests, broadly speaking, students are demanding that their particular university divest from all companies or individuals that are connected to Israel in any way. This would include, for example, a university's endowment. Chants like, “Disclose, divest, we will not stop, we will not rest,” can be heard in videos at Columbia University.
UCLA protests get violent
On Thursday, police and students clashed in the most violent confrontation at any campus thus far. Protestors formed a barricade with plywood and occupied a significant portion of campus, including Royce Hall, one of the monumental buildings at UCLA. (photo) Police eventually broke through the barricade amid violent clashes and arrested more than 200 people. The rest of the crowd left before being arrested.
UCLA has made all classes remote and urged students (32,000 in total) to avoid campus. Parents are frustrated as some are paying up to $90,000 a year for their kid to attend high-end universities.
Here is a list of statements from UCLA on the situation.
Note: Anthony Cabassa is an independent journalist who was onsite for the entirety of Thursday night. We recommend you watch his videos that helped us understand what happened and what it looked like in real life.
Video: Tour of the entire UCLA pro-Palestine encampment on campus
Video: Police and protestors clash
Video: Protestors inside the encampment chanting, “we’re not scared” as police begin to break the barricade to begin clearing the encampment
Video: Police enter encampment and begin making hundreds of arrests
Video: Police gain control of the encampment
A couple other notable items
Colombia: At least 110 people were arrested on Tuesday as police broke up a pro-Palestine encampment in Hamilton Hall on campus. Police entered the hall through a window on the second-story. Intense damage can be seen inside the building, with furniture overturned and windows smashed. They also blockaded the doors and windows. (video)
Here is a list of the dozens of universities across the U.S. where protests and arrests have been made.
President Biden directly addresses protests for the first time
In his first time addressing the protests, President Biden said, "there's the right to protest but not the right to cause chaos.”
“In moments like this, there are always those who rush in to score political points. But this isn’t a moment for politics. It’s a moment for clarity. So let me be clear. Violent protest is not protected, peaceful protest is.”
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