Arizona Gov. vetoes anti-gay bill
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer was praised after vetoing Arizona’s anti-gay bill, according to CNN.
The SB1062 bill, an extension of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, would have allowed Arizona business owners to decline service to gay and lesbian customers on the grounds that they were doing so based “solely on their religious beliefs.” Alessandra Soler, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona, praised Brewer and said ACLU was “grateful” that the bill had been stopped. Additionally, businesses across the state put up signs reading “Thank you Governor Brewer” and “Arizona is open for business to everyone.”

U.S. defense military downsizes
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel plans to downsize the U.S. defense military, according to the New York Times. The cuts were proposed by the Obama administration as part of the Bipartisan Budget Act passed in December, which capped military spending at $496 billion for the 2015 fiscal year.   After the Afghanistan and Iraq war, the army was scheduled to drop down to 490,000 troops from 570,000. Under the new proposal, troops would be reduced to 440,000. Despite the Pentagon’s claim that the U.S. needs a military large enough to fight two wars at the same time, the proposed cuts would leave the U.S. with an army smaller than it was before World War II.

“El Chapo” gets Mexico’s support
Infamous Mexican drug cartel leader Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán Loera was captured on Feb. 15, but the Mexican community stands behind him as protests against his arrest arise, according to The Guardian. Hundreds marched on Feb. 26 as they asked Mexican authorities to free Guzmán. The demonstrators are against the possible extradition of Guzmán to the U.S., where he has been charged for crimes in Chicago, Miami, Brooklyn and Manhattan. One of the many signs in the crowd read, “We respect El Chapo more than any elected official.” Demonstrators said they support the drug cartel leader because he provides jobs in some of the poorest areas in the state of Sinaloa, while also keeping the streets safe. These are two things they said the Mexican government has failed to do.

Rainstorm is helping but hurting
The weekend rainstorm was thought to help the drought issue, but it also brought more problems to the people of Southern Calif., according to the Los Angeles Times. The rainstorm caused one man to get trapped by a rock slide in Malibu, a major traffic accident on Interstate 10 with a pileup of at least three tractor-trailers and it left hundreds without electricity. Meanwhile, hundreds of households from Azusa and Glendora communities were asked to evacuate their homes, as fire and rescue officials feared possible mudslides.
Although the Los Angeles area received more rain on Feb. 28 alone than it had received in the rest of the “rain year,” it was not enough to end the drought.

Echo wins at CCMA Awards
Kaitlyn Guilbeaux, The Echo news editor, put California Lutheran University’s student newspaper on the map when she won the first place prize for best headline writing, beating out student newspapers from California State University Chico and University of California San Diego. More than 150 students and advisors attended the California College Media Association awards banquet in San Diego, Calif. on March 1, where student journalists were recognized for their achievements, according to the CCMA website. “It was really exciting to travel to San Diego to attend journalism workshops, but the highlight of the weekend was definitely our news editor’s win at the awards banquet,” said Madison Jones, editor in chief. “It was an awesome experience for The Echo and we are definitely proud of Kaitlyn.”

Mayra Ruiz
Staff Writer
Published March 5, 2014