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Morning Briefing: Celebrating Independence A Different Way
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This weekend is the 4th of July, but overwhelming sentiment on social media says that the holiday is essentially canceled as protests against our country’s deeply entrenched racism continue. The news that an American soldier, 21-year-old Vanessa Guillen, was brutally murdered on base after family members accused Army officials of dragging their feet on an investigation has only added fuel to the fire.
In California, there’s not much we can or should be doing anyway, as the official recommendations are to stay home this weekend. So, maybe now is a good time for some serious self-reflection.
We're halfway through 2020, one of our country's most tumultuous years in recent history. What do you want to see change in the second half of the year and in the years ahead? Independence, as any adult (hopefully) knows, comes with responsibility. So let’s celebrate this Independence Day by figuring out what ours is – and how we’re going to put it into action.
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Keep reading for more on what’s happening in L.A. today, and stay safe out there.
Coming Up Today, July 3
Darren Fung is Chinese Canadian. His wife was born in Ghana. Lately, they’ve been at a loss to explain to their six-year-old son what’s happening in the world around him, and how people will see him as he matures.
Erick Galindo writes about the disappearance, death and discovery of missing soldier Vanessa Guillen, and why there’s typically less attention paid when women or girls who go missing are non-white.
More than a week after the Supreme Court upheld the DACA program, there is still no guidance from the feds on next steps, reports Josie Huang.
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During a recently convened special meeting by the OC Board of Education, an "expert panel" made the following recommendation: "Requiring children to wear masks during school is not only impossible to implement but not based on science and could be potentially harmful. It’s therefore unacceptable." Kyle Stokes looks into who was on the panel, and whether there really is any science to that effect.
Every week, Larry Mantle, host of AirTalk, spends an hour talking with KPCC film critics about new releases. This week, it's Hamilton (yes, that Hamilton), The Truth, and more.
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The Past 24 Hours In LA
Reopening L.A.: The Rose Bowl Aquatics Center is making its pandemic comeback with appointment-only swimming, mandatory pre-swim showers, and fewer people per lane. Many workers are being called back in after months of furlough, but some don't want to return.
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L.A. Schools: Deputy Chief Leslie Ramirez will serve as Interim Chief of the L.A. School Police department.
Coronavirus Updates: The governor used his last coronavirus press conference before the Fourth of July weekend to encourage everyone to wear masks and to avoid gathering with people outside their households. Private labs contracted by the county to conduct COVID-19 tests are not turning them around in a timely fashion.
A Pirate Party: In this week’s L.A. Diary, a previously-planned pirate party for a 5-year-old in West Covina was converted into a Zoom celebration, bringing together family from the Philippines and across the U.S., and a parade of well-wishers driving by the house.
Here’s What To Do: Join a watch party with Hannibal Burress, celebrate the 4th of July virtually with Grand Park and the Music Center, and more in this week’s best online and IRL events.
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Photo Of The Day
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LAist visual journalist Chava Sanchez captured this moment of two young people chatting at a distance in Little Tokyo.
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