LA Student Arrest Sparks Outcry, Trump Targets Museums, Voting Machine Scandal, Menendez Brothers Case Developments

Headlines From The Times

L.A. Times Studios

News, Daily News, Society & Culture, The Times, California

4.1 • 544 Ratings

🗓️ 21 August 2025

⏱️ 8 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Educators and activists rally for the release of an LA high school student detained by immigration agents, while President Trump escalates his push against the Smithsonian and other museums he accuses of promoting “woke ideology.” In Los Angeles, election technology firm Smartmatic faces federal corruption charges tied to alleged bribery schemes and misuse of taxpayer funds. Meanwhile, new developments emerge in the Menendez brothers’ case. In business, Tesla comes under mounting legal pressure over its self-driving technology and California braces for the closure of its last beet sugar factory.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is an LA Times Studios podcast.
0:08.0	Hi, I'm Faith Pino, and this is headlines from LA Times Studios.
0:12.0	Here are some of today's top headlines from the Los Angeles Times.
0:16.0	Controversy over immigration arrests in Southern California continues, with activists and educators taking a stand.
0:24.6	The people united will never be divided.
0:29.6	Reporter Howard Bloom says demonstrators rallied outside the Los Angeles School District headquarters Tuesday afternoon,
0:36.6	calling for the release of a
0:38.5	Recita High School student.
0:40.3	18-year-old Benjamin Guerrero Cruz took his dog out for a morning walk nearly two weeks
0:45.7	ago before masked immigration officers seized the teen who was still wearing his pajamas
0:51.7	and slippers.
0:53.2	A former teacher says the student told her he overheard the masked men who grabbed him,
0:58.0	joking about getting $1,500 for his arrest.
1:02.0	In response to the claims, Homeland Security denies the use of bounty hunters, calling the allegations false.
1:09.0	Guerrero Cruz is being held at an Adalanto detention center
1:12.6	after overstaying his visa, which expired two years ago.
1:16.6	Since arriving from Chile as a ninth grader, he'd become a standout on his school's soccer team
1:21.6	and an active member of the Navy ROTC program.
1:24.6	In an interview with the Times, Guerrero Cruz's former teacher said he asked
1:29.4	her to share this message, saying, quote, I'm not a criminal. We're here to work and go to school.
1:35.9	I want to finish high school. President Trump is escalating his fight on what he calls woke ideology,
1:43.6	taking aim at the Smithsonian and other museums
	...

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