the president of sonoma state university is on leave. this is after sharing a campus wide message in response to pro-palestinian protests. president mike lee issued his statements tuesday night. this is after the school reached an agreement with demonstrators. was, among other things, he agreed to a new advisory council involving protesters, which cal state trustees never approved. he also promised to look into the school's investments and funding, and to halt study abroad programs with israel. now, in a statement, sonoma state's chancellor says i want to acknowledge how deeply concerned i am about the impact the statement has had on the sonoma state community and how challenging and painful it will be for many of our students and community members to see and read the heart and mission of the csu is to create an inclusive and welcoming place for everyone we serve, not to marginalize one community over another. now our ginger conejero saab. she is digging deeper into this. she's going to have a report for us in our next half hour. and to

sonoma state university's president mike lee. he's been placed on administrative leave after the chancellor of the california state university system said that the agreement. >> he made was made without appropriate approvals. kron four's rob nesbitt has reaction tonight from students and faculty. >> this is person field behind me at sonoma state university where students had set up their tent encampment. as you can see, no tense there now because of an agreement that president lee made with demonstrators in agreement that led to the president being placed on administrative leave. a dozen tents once occupied the campus of sonoma state university. all in protest of the ongoing war in gaza. now there are none after university president mike lee reach an agreement with demonstrators that included divesting from israel students. i spoke with thursday. we're frustrated to find out that the agreement led to president lee being placed on administrative leave. >> i support the president and i 3 months because against genocide, kind of craz

including that breaking news out of sonoma state overnight. sonoma state university being rocked.arcus as the university's president, is placed on leave. up ahead, we'll tell you about that controversial email that he sent that details his agreement with campus protesters. kpee did my legs shrink? i can move them. i mean, i knew alaska airlines' premium class had extra legroom but this... this feels different. okay. crazy idea. on the count of 3... i'm going to try and cross my... ohhhhhhhhhhh boyy that's nice. woooooo! ( ♪♪ ) a state where the university's president is stepping aside. the reason school leaders came to that sudden decision, plus cracking down on speeding drivers as we take a live look at that morning commute. we'll talk about that proposal aimed at increasing punishment for those driving over the limits and watching our coastlines evolve. the new technology scientists are using to track erosion caused by climate change. this is today in the bay a very good thursday morning to you. thanks for joining us. i'm laura garcia and i'm marcus washington. well, if you're h

the president of sonoma state university says he made a mistake. community making promises to the student protesters without getting the proper approval. ktvu james torres is at the sonoma state campus now, where the tent encampment is gone, and the president is temporarily off the job. good morning, james. >> dave, pam, good morning to you. and that word has certainly spread here at sonoma state university's campus. you can see behind me just outside of person theater here. some crews have come out. they're starting to scrub some of the chalk that has led up on the sidewalk here. part of it that reads just this for mike lee. here's what's been going on here. the sonoma state university campus is part of the california state university system. the system's chancellor called president mike lee insubordinate for making terms for an agreement with those student protesters. now he's on administrative leave. in a statement, csu chancellor mildred garcia wrote the message was sent without the appropriate approvals. i want to acknowledge how deeply concern

. >>> students and local leaders are reacting to the decision to place sonoma state university's president on administrative leave. it comes after president mike lee sent out an email announcing a deal with pro palestinian protesters on campus without approval according to cal state university chancellor mildred garcia. kevin coe is at sonoma state with more on the president's controversial message and the fallout. >> reporter: the encampment here at sonoma state university is now gone, but tensions remain high for a lot of students i talked to on campus today feeling unsafe, disappointment, a couple emotions students tell me they're feeling now after president mike lee was placed on administrative leave. >> it says just justice for mike lee and it has almost 900 likes. i think it's pretty representative how we feel. >> reporter: zack johnson is showing us fizz, a student only app at sonoma university. >> a lot of people have been saying we want mike lee to stay. we like mike lee. this he have hundreds and hundreds of likes. >> reporter: every student we spoke with on campus today says the

the president of sonoma state university says he made a mistake. he sent an email to the college community making promises to student protesters without the proper approval. ktvu james torres is live from sonoma state's campus, where the tent encampment is now gone and the president is temporarily off the job. james >> andre. well, behind me is where that tent encampment used to be, and it was there as of just about two days ago, there for almost three weeks. you see, the grass is now freshly cut. you can see some of the dead grass, actually, where those tents used to be. then there's a sidewalk right next to this field we're standing just outside of person theater here on sonoma state university's campus, and that sidewalk was covered in a bunch of different messages written in chalk, of course, with pro-palestinian messages and even some words of encouragement and some words of support for president mike lee, who is now on administrative leave. we saw as university employees came out and scrubbed off the chalk with water and brooms. this is all af

the president of sonoma state university says he made a mistake. sent an email to the college community making promises to student protesters. he said without the proper approval. ktvu james torres is live from the sonoma state campus, where the tent encampment is now gone and the president is temporarily off the job. james >> yeah. andre. those tents have been gone since about tuesday evening. but just a few moments before that, right next to this field here, outside of person theater on su's campus, you see that long sidewalk here that was covered and a bunch of chalk that had a lot of pro-palestinian messages, a lot of messages support ing university president mike lee, all of which was just scrubbed with water earlier this morning. we saw as employees from the university were cleaning that up, all of that after the california state university chancellor called lee insubordinate for making terms for an agreement with those student protesters, sonoma state university is part of the csu system, and in a statement, csu chancellor mildred garcia wro

i'm janelle wang graduation day is just two days away and some discord at sonoma state university. comes after the university's president was placed on leave after striking an agreement with student protesters. nbc bay area's jodi hernandez reports from campus. i think that they worked really hard on their demands and that they had really meaningful conversations with the president. student journalist olivia keeler describes the process she observed between student protesters and university president mike lee. we realized that we, the students, had been camped out at sonoma statesperson lawn since april 26th. but on monday, lee announced he reached an agreement with the protesters, pledging to seek divestment strategies and exchanges and other collaborations with israeli academic and research institutions, and call for a cease fire. they just felt like, wow, we really might get things done here. a bunch of them mentioned, like, i've been crying all day, things like that. but the protesters celebrations came to an abrupt end yesterday when the csu chancellor placed lee on leave. cha

we caught it any kind of student exchange between sonoma, state universities in israel. >> on social dia, protesters at an on the state applauded the agreement, calling it a win and that their demands were met. >> there are no 2 sides to a genocide. but the students have asked for and with the president is in green too. is the way forward cowardice that this >> president basically allowed this battle. >> minority to take over the administration exclude jewish and israeli its students, faculty from decision-making kron 4 reached out to sonoma state. they responded by saying that they have received many requests for comment about the president's letter and that they will be issuing a statement. >> theresa kron, 4 news. >> hundreds of jewish community leaders from across the state, including the bay area are in sacramento today for the annual j pack capital summit. the largest advocacy conference of its kind 500 people from some of the state's leading jewish community organizations and a coalition of diverse non jewish groups are taking part in this two-day conference organized by the je

in the meantime, the president of sonoma state university is on leave following a controversial email detailing a pact made with pro-palestinian campus protesters. nbc bay area's ginger conejero saab she's live for us over at sonoma state and ginger, so the president says that he was actually trying to reach an agreement with his students. but that's not how this is actually playing out. that is correct. marcus. laura, that is not how this is playing out. president mike lee says he was trying to find that agreement with student protesters who were camped out here at persons lawn on campus. those student protesters were here for weeks protesting the israel-hamas war. the encampments were cleared because president lee came to several agreements with the protesters. agreements that were detailed in this letter dated may 14th and sent to the school community there. lee said he joined discussions about students demands, and as a result of those discussions, he says the parties reached several points of agreement. those include establishing an advisory council of students for justice in pal

i'm grant lotus and i'm noelle bellow sonoma state university president mike lee has been placed on administrative leave after the school system's chancellor said the agreement he made with protesters came. >> without the appropriate approvals. kron four's rob nesbitt joining us live from sonoma state tonight with reaction from students and faculty rob. >> noel in grand, this is person field behind me where students had set up a tent encampment sonoma state. as you can see, no tense right now because of an agreement that president lee made with demonstrators in agreement that led to him being placed on administrative leave. >> a dozen tents once occupied the campus of sonoma state university. all in protest of the ongoing war in gaza. now there are none after university president mike lee reach an agreement with demonstrators that included divesting from israel. students like cameron, amber were frustrated to find out that the agreement led to president lee being placed on administrative leave. >> i just think it's like really stupid. this like he even makes it like it's kind of crazy how a statem

nbc bay area's ginger conejero saab has more from sonoma state university.students who were protesting the israel-hamas war on person's lawn. those students were camped out here for weeks. the encampments were cleared because president lee came to several agreements with the protesters. agreements that were detailed in this letter dated may 14th and sent to the school community. there president lee said he joined discussions about students demands and as a result of those discussions, he says the parties reached several points of agreement, including establishing an advisory council for students for justice in palestine, an academic boycott of israeli institutions, disclose and divestment of sonoma state university foundation investments and calls for a cease fire. now many are expressing issues with the letter, including the director of the college's center for the study of the holocaust and genocide, that professors tell the press democrat he was completely blindsided and finds the provisions made highly problematic. now, in a statement, csu chancellor mil

saying president mingtang mike lee has informed me of his decision to retire from his role at sonoma state university. i thank president lee for his years of service to the california state university. in the meantime, the university of california system is trying to get the state to stop what it claims is an illegal strike. a union for uc workers authorized the strike earlier this week over how the university system has handled pro-palestinian protests on campus. the uc system says the strike would be in violation of the united auto workers contract. uaw does represent uc employees. the college system is asking a state board to issue a cease and desist. uc santa cruz workers are set to be the first to walk off the job come monday. do stay with us for continuing coverage of the college campus protests in the bay area and nationwide. get the latest anytime at abc7 news.com. all right. >> this just in. it's the weekend and i want to look ahead to the weather. yes >> meteorologist sandhya patel has your 24 hour accuweather forecast. >> sandhya yeah and dan and ummah the forecast looks fabulous for any o

more than 2000 students will graduate from sonoma state university today. the university president was set to confer degrees at each ceremony, but he retired after an issue surrounding agreements he made with student protesters. let's go to ktvu. amanda quintana, who is live on campus with what led to mike lee's retirement. amanda >> yeah, well, this is all after mike lee put out a school wide announcement saying that he had come to an agreement with some of the pro-palestine student protesters here on campus, and he later said that he had made a mistake by putting that message out. he said he did not have the approval to make that agreement. but we are here now at the graduation that's going to start later today. there are three rounds of graduation today, so they're just getting set up. but i want to talk about some of those agreements that were included. they included disclosing university investments to a pro-palestinian student advisory council and promising an academic boycott of educational programs connected to israel. he also called for a cease fir

saying president mingtang mike lee has informed me of his decision to retire from his role at sonoma state universitythank president lee for his years of service to the california state university. in the meantime, the university of california system is trying to get the state to stop what it claims is an illegal strike. a union for uc workers authorized the strike earlier this week over how the university system has handled pro-palestinian protests on campus. the uc system says the strike would be in violation of the united auto workers contract. uaw does represent uc employees. the college system is asking a state board to issue a cease and desist. uc santa cruz workers are set to be the first to walk off the job come monday. do stay with us for continuing coverage of the college campus protests in the bay area and nationwide. get the latest anytime at abc7 news.com. all right. >> this just in. it's the weekend and i want to look ahead to the weather. yes >> meteorologist sandhya patel has your 24 hour accuweather forecast. >> sandhya yeah and dan and ummah the forecast looks fabulous for any outdo

the tents are still up at university encampments around the bay area, from san francisco state over to uc berkeley and stanford up to sonoma state. students steadfast in their protests of the israel-hamas war and calling on their schools to act. >> this right was really a moment in history, truly, i believe, at sonoma state university, the encampment is now entering its second week. >> students there making demands similar to other universities, including things like having their school divest from companies that do business with israel. right now, we're just listening. >> we want to hear clearly what they are and then think through how we can be responsive as a campus to that in contrast to scenes at other universities around the nation, encampments here in the bay area have remained largely peaceful at uc berkeley, protesters tell us they believe most of the encampments around the country are the same. >> they think it's the varying responses by universities that have caused the different outcomes the university has uh- to uphold this. >> kind of idea that they uphold, like free speech values. uc berkeley is known for it

men are taught criminology at sonoma state and santa clara university's. in the south bay. the man arrested after an assault at a vta station now faces an attempted murder charge. investigators released surveillance video of that assault. and we do want to warn you this video might be hard for some to watch. this was at the vta children's discovery museum station. investigators say andrew perez was wearing an armored vest when he attacked a man on the station platform. you can see perez going up to the man with a bike and immediately started to punch and kick him. the assault goes on for some time. perez, then eventually runs off and barricades himself inside a home before being arrested. the victim identified as a 45 year-old man was taken to the hospital to be treated for injuries, including some deep cuts. a jewelry store in the east bay is hit by robbers. newer police say at least a dozen people forced their way into been jewelers on new park mall road wednesday afternoon. the group shattered glass display cases and took off in multiple getaway cars. police are working

unlike most other university, sonoma state has not called in law enforcement to forcibly remove demonstrators. >> and with graduation season getting underway, there are still a lot of questions about if universities will carry on as planned, move their ceremony, or cancel them all together. amanda has that story. >> reporter: tensions escalating at the university of virginia. protesters are removed as police dismantle the encampment by force. an emergency alert posted by security calls the protest unlawful. a campus crackdown also at university of michigan with this overnight clash between police and demonstrators. that heavy security in stadium islis as well today for graduates at the university's commencement ceremony. pro-palestinian protesters paraded through the graduating class. amid all this campus unrest -- >> we're still here, we're still fighting, and we're going to be fighting until our demands are met. >> reporter: -- graduation season is underway with ceremonies at indiana university and yukon. but for many grads there may be no pomp and circumstance. columbia university's celebr

and now we are learning sonoma state university president, mike lee was taken off of the job after an agreement you made for pro-palestinian protesters. what the officials say was insubordination. among other things, lee agreed to a boycott of academic and research institutions with ties to israel. the csu chancellor said lee made the announcement in a campuswide email without approval . the move is under review wildly remains on leave. in another email, lee issued an apology and wrote, my attempt to find agreement with one group of students, i marginalized other groups of the student population and community. i realize the harm that this is caused and i take full ownership of it. i deeply regret the unintended consequences of my actions. in the meantime, the california legislative jewish caucus said they support the suspension saying, in a statement that his endorsement of an academic boycott was unacceptable and is evidence that he is unfit to lead the university. >>> uc berkeley protesters have taken over a condemned building on campus. the university says they appear to be separat

not received any response in berkeley, jana katsuyama, ktvu, fox two news the president of sonoma state university, mike lee, stepping down two days after he was put on administrative leave for insubordination. >> cal state university chancellor mildred garcia says lee informed her of his decision to retire. lee had sent an email to students and faculty laying out details of an agreement. he said he reached with pro-palestinian protesters, but he didn't have the appropriate approvals from the california state university system. in a statement, the chancellor said, quote, i thank president lee for his years of service to the california state university, starting at cal state university of sacramento and a higher education overall. i wish him and his family well. >> the white house says the first shipments of aid are arriving in gaza after the completion of a us built floating pier, the first trucks rolled into the gaza strip with 300 pallets full of aid from the united arab emirates and the united kingdom. once in gaza, the aid is being distributed by the united nations. no american troops went ash

meanwhile, up in the north bay, following a few days of controversy, sonoma state university president mike lee has decided to retire. >> this comes after csu administrators put him on administrative leave for insubordination after made a deal with protesters without checking with his bosses. so the chancellor, the csu system, says the president mike lee's agreement was made without the appropriate approvals. that agreement included an academic boycott. israeli universities. now we spoke with some students there on campus who support the former president's agreement. they think his punishment was unfair. >> i support the president and i 3 months against genocide, kind of crazy. how a statement about lake ending genocide is like. crazy, crazy thing that has put someone on leave. >> well, student activist groups said the agreement late out in a three-page letter was a win for them. but it was clearly controversial. there were others on campus who viewed portions of it as anti-semitic. >> the nature of the program being in southwest asia, north african studies was made without consulting

here will be checks of weather and more news to we've been talking about sonoma state university president likely deciding to retire. so we'll talk about that and what all goes into that decision that he controversy out there trying to decide what to do this weekend outside enjoy in the afternoons writing today in afternoons are good morning, sir. nice to to breakers. perfect jogging weather. yeah, it's looking pretty consistent we might actually get a little bored. hits like 70's every single afternoon. but 70's is a nice way. >> to spend a forecast and it is going to be that way all the way into next week. today, already brightening up more and more. you can see a few lingering clouds out there. we getting close to a couple of 70's kelsey value our first. but to get there as per the usual up to 73 later on today, temperatures 70's for most of us, even if you are inland, i'm going to be breaking down all the details on this weekend's forecast to head. back to you. thank you, john. 10. 0, one right now. and >> happening now, the sentencing begins for the man who used a hammer to attack pau

sonoma state university 36. that's impressive.iddle of the country about texas, oklahoma, kansas, nebraska a high level risk of severe weather today, new moon on monday. well, almost the noon moon will be tomorrow, so we're close a cold morning, some patchy fog. otherwise lots of sunshine. it'll be nice. slowly warming up. 60s today, but warmer weather is on the way once we get to wednesday. all right, south here. 631 he will begin with planet earth. it's flat. is that the breaking news? no, no, no, more specifically, the bay area. steve southbound 680. we're going to go back there because of 680. it is going to be a little bit slow this morning because of earlier slowdowns here, an earlier crash right near the bernal exit. and that freeway is always notorious for slow traffic. if something happens, it takes a while for it to unwind. that's what's happening this morning. also, if you're driving on the san mateo bridge, a little slowing there, no problems. on 280 in san jose, and we got to check with the bay bridge toll plaza, our

statement saying president mike lee has informed me of his decision to retire from his role at sonoma state university. i thank president lee for his years of service to the california state university. lee's sudden retirement comes one day after the chancellor put him on leave for in subordination. after lee sent this campus wide email announcing an agreement with pro-palestinian student protesters without proper approval, the students were seeking university divestment from israel. lee apologized, but in his original message, lee endorsed student activism, protest and dissent, saying none of us should be on the sidelines when human beings are subject to mass killing and destruction. >> i thought the letter was egregious. >> santa rosa rabbi george gittleman condemned lee's agreement with student protesters. >> there was no communication with the jewish community, with the with the jewish students, with faculty, it was as if we didn't exist. and to me, that just is the bigger picture. we're not talking to each other. we're not seeing each other. >> students for justice in palestine held a news confer

sonoma state. it's not clear if those student protesters will come back here to person lawn, though there are some reports that they may consider a demonstration during this weekend's graduation ceremonies reporting from sonoma state university's campus. i'm james torres, ktvu you fox two news. >> in an effort to calm political division on uc campuses, uc regents are set to approve a controversial plan to limit political speech on university websites. the regions are expected to vote on a plan today before wrapping up a three day meeting on the uc merced campus. the proposal would prohibit employees from posting personal views on prominent campus web pages. pro-palestinian activist who addressed the regents at the meeting opposed the plan. they call it a blatant attack on free speech. uc says the idea for the restriction was initiated in 2022, well before the israeli hamas war. governor gavin newsom is at the vatican today for a summit focused on fighting climate change, called by pope francis. as ktvu allie rasmus explains, there were long term climate goals and some personal political ones on full display at the summit. >> california is exceeding its audacious goal setting. >> governor gavin newsom spoke to an auditorium ful

saying president ming tung mike lee has informed me of his decision to retire from his role at sonoma state university. i thank president lee for his years of service to the california state university. lee's sudden retirement comes one day after the chancellor put him on leave for insubordination. after lee sent this campus wide email announcing an agreement with pro-palestinian student protesters without proper approval. all the students were seeking university divestment from israel. lee apologized, but in his original message, lee endorsed student activism, protest and dissent, saying none of us should be on the sidelines when human beings are subject to mass killing and destruction. >> i thought the letter was egregious. >> santa rosa rabbi george gittleman condemned lee's agreement with student protesters. >> there was no communication with the jewish community, with the with the jewish students, with faculty, it was as if we didn't exist. and to me, that just is the bigger picture. we're not talking to each other. we're not seeing each other. >> students for justice in palestine held a news con

we caught it any kind of student exchange between sonoma, state universities in this role. at an on the state applauded s - the agreement, calling it a win and that their demands were met. >> there are no 2 sides to a genocide. but the students have asked for and what the president is in green, too. is the way forward cowardice that this >> president basically allowed this battle. >> minority to take over the administration exclude jewish and israeli its students, faculty from decision-making kron 4 reached out to sonoma state. they responded by saying that they have received many requests for comment about the president's letter and that they will be issuing a statement. >> theresa kron, 4 news. >> student protesters at san francisco state. sharing their vision for progress today after more than 2 weeks of demonstrating there. >> our collaboration extended beyond arc and games and other universities. community groups intercept a spot the midst ice from the beginning. we want for the commitments from fsu leaders we need is community to continue organizing, shot rising and mo

protesters. >> in that letter, president mike lee wrote that sonoma state would participate in an academic boycott with israeli universities, including reassessing study abroad programs in israel. it also says the school will review its investments. the chancellor of the cal state university system saying the message was sent without the appropriate approvals. she added i want to acknowledge how deeply concerned i am about the impact the statement has had on the sonoma state community, and how challenging and painful it will be for many of our students and community members to see and read. the co-chairs of the california legislative jewish caucus, which includes state senator scott wiener from san francisco, said in a statement. president lee's endorsement of an academic boycott was totally unacceptable, and evidence that former president lee is unfit to lead one of our great state institutions. >> tonight, student protesters at san jose state heard from the artist who created an iconic sculpture on campus. >> this statue is has always been meant to be of service to you so that you could use use it for your advocacy, like

uc says the idea for the restriction began in 2022, while the president of sonoma state university has been put on administrative leave for insubordination after an agreement with pro-palestinian protesters, csu placed mike lee on leave yesterday for making an agreement without the appropriate approvals. >> protesters moved out of their encampment there at sonoma state after lee announced the agreement. it included an academic boycott of israeli institutions as well as divestment strategies. state senator scott wiener calls the deal between lee and the protesters horrifying. >> we can have whatever opinions we have about the war, i have strong opinions about the war, and i've criticized the israeli government. but regardless of one's view of the war, when you talk about let's do this like boycott and try to dismantle the israeli economy, that is one half of all jews on the planet. >> lee issued a statement today saying, quote, in my attempt to find agreement with one group of students, i marginalized other members of our student population and community. i realize the harm that this ha

sonoma state. my jaw drops absolutely unacceptable. what sonoma state is proposing to do is to basically block plus israeli academics. it's a complete academic. we caught it any kind of student exchange between sonoma, state universities in route. >> now, a day later, lee has been placed on leave and he released a new statement backtracking on his decisions. he said, quote, in my attempt to find agreement with one group of students, i marginalized other members of our student population and community. i realize the harm this has caused and i take full ownership of it. he goes on to say the initial letter was sent without the approval of the university system's chancellor and board leaders. the csu chancellor has put out a statement as well, saying the heart and mission of csu is to create an inclusive and welcoming place for everyone. in southern california. this is what is happening at uc irvine tonight. there is a heavy police presence on campus after pro-palestinian demonstrators overtook a building. >> and built a barricaded encampment. you see all the items, they're the signs, the conflict. they've been cleared out of the building, but many are still on campus tonight. the demonstrators are demanding the universi

right now we are following thousands of students at sonoma state university getting ready to walk the stage and graduate. this is a live picture. you see, the chairs are empty now, but in a few minutes here, we're going to start to see that stage filling up a lot of excitement. but it is coming amidst some controversy. the commencement services come one day after the school's president announced he's retired. mike lee was put on administrative leave wednesday for insubordination. lee received a controversial agreement with pro-palestinian student protesters without proper approval. he apologized, but in his original message, he endorsed student activism, protest and dissent csu chancellor mildred garcia issued the following statement, saying president mingtang mike lee has informed me of his decision to retire from his role. i thank president lee for his years of service to the california state university. now the university system is trying to get the state to stop what it calls an illegal strike. a union for uc workers authorized the strike earlier this week over how the university

the president of sonoma state university, mike lee, now stepping down just two days after he was put on administrative leave for insubordinate california state university chancellor mildred garcia says lee informed her of his decision to retire. lee had sent an email to students and faculty laying out details of an agreement that he said he reached with pro-palestinian protesters, but that he didn't have the appropriate approvals from the university system to make that agreement. in a statement, the chancellor said, quote, i thank president lee for his years of service to the california state university, starting at california state university, sacramento, and a higher education overall. i wish him and his family well. now to san francisco and the man who attacked then speaker of the house nancy pelosi's husband was sentenced today to 30 years in prison. this is the federal sentencing depapes attorneys had asked for 14 years. prosecutors pushed for 40. depape was convicted last november for assault and attempted kidnaping, the judge today saying that she was concerned apap didn't expr

now to the north bay, where a week of controversy at sonoma state university is culminating with commencement ceremonies today. it comes after the sudden retirement of president mike lee this week. the csu chancellor placed lee on leave after he made a deal with pro-palestinian protesters without proper approval. abc7 news reporter cornell bernard shows us the protests during graduation and has details on the fallout >> hundreds of sonoma state grads rocking their caps and gowns during commencement ceremonies after a dramatic week on campus involving former president mike lee. but alex can't think about that right now . >> today is about me. i'm glad to have my dad here to see me graduate, so that was more on my mind than the school. >> lee's retirement was announced friday by csu chancellor mildred garcia, a day after she put him on leave for insubordination because of an agreement lee made with pro-palestinian student protesters who had occupied an encampment. lee told them he would initiate an academic boycott of israel, among other things, which angered the jewish community. >> there was

the president of sonoma state university is on leave now following an agreement he made with pro palestinian protesters on campus. mike lee sent a campus-wide email calling for clarity in the university's investments and a ceasefire. csu chancellors say mike lee made the announcement without approval and the board is reviewing the situation. lee sent out a statement reiterating that everyone should insure that sonoma state is a safe and inclusive place for all and then said, "i stand by that statement. i realize now that my message has caused more fear, anxiety, and uncertainty. that was not my intent." the california legislative jewish caucus supports the suspension. they say lee's actions were totally unacceptable and evidence that he is unfit to lead one of our great state institutions. >>> meantime the uc board of regents continues to weigh whether to prohibit employees from posting their personal opinions on campus web pages. they postponed a vote for a third time today, could be taken up today at their july meeting. after things blew up yesterday at uc irvine, classes were held remotel

that'll wild situation at sonoma state university where students and faculty are sorting things out. >> after the university's president kind of went rogue and made a deal with protesters this week without checking with his bosses. first, he's now been placed on administrative leave. the chancellor of the csu system says president mike lee's agreement with the protesters was made without the appropriate approvals. the agreement included an academic boycott on israeli universities. some students at sonoma. think that the chancellor's reaction was unfair. >> i support the president and on the agreements against genocide. kind of crazy. how a statement about lake ending genocide is like. crazy, crazy thing that has put someone on leave. >> student activists groups said the agreement laid out in a 3 page letter was a win for them. but the whole thing is clearly controversial and is seen as anti-semitic by some. >> the nature of the program being in southwest asia, north african studies was made without consulting with subject matter. experts in the middle east of whom i consider myself.

also tonight, the president of sonoma state university has been placed on leave. this comes after he struck a deal with protesters on campus. the protesters had been camped out on campus since april 26th. they were demanding an end to the war and for the university to divest in companies linked to israel. on monday, the school's president, mike lee, announced he reached an agreement with those protesters that deal included pledging to seek divestment strategies, along with ending collaborations with israeli academic and research institutions. yesterday, the csu chancellor placed lee on administrative leave for insubordination. some faculty members were unhappy with president lee's actions, but others believe he deserves a second chance. i think there's a lot of repair work that needs to be done on our campus, and i hope that president lee can come back and facilitate that, and i hope that we can have some more open and safe dialogs about it in the fall, there were messages of support for president lee written in chalk on the university sidewalk. you see it right t

>>mcewan is the chair of political science at sonoma state university, he says that momentum will carry over to the fundraising. event in california. >>california is the atm of the nation when it comes to politics. >>california leans left. mcewen says. that's not what matters. >>it's not just a blue state red state. it's a green money state. it is. dollars. st helena musk. maybe here and all over the world and maybe intergalactic, but he and his friends give a lot of money. >>cash is king in a presidential campaign, donald trump needs to win over a key segment of voters, especially in swing states such as pennsylvania. michigan and wisconsin. it's the undecided that he is targeting. across the country. >>purple people we call them. the purple people are a little bit blew a little bit red. they're not sure what to do, and we know that there is a segment of the electorate that is what vote for a fellow >>while the money may be flowing in for now, it may be too early to tell how his conviction and possible sentence will affect fundraising in the long term, >>i think this gives you an idea

joining me live now is sonoma state university political science professor david mcewan. professor. thanks for being with us >>well, good afternoon. it's a pleasure >>to be with you. all right. so what do you make of president biden and former president trump's campaign strategy? at this? >>well, if you look at their strategy so so far, you're seeing a couple different things. one is your seen that joe biden has to put together what's called a base plus >>election. >>he has to get out the democratic >>base. >>he has >>to >>grab or if you will push a little bit higher than that to get base >>plus >>for donald trump. he's kept out at about 4647. 47%. so that means he has to have what's called a conversion >>election. >>he's got to convert some of those >>voters >>because of that overall number. obviously, it's you get to to 70. that's the place you need to be 276. liberal >>votes. >>but if you're tapped out at 4647 and you're in a conversion campaign, then you have to go negative. so expects negative. that's not a surprise for your viewers, but nonetheless we have 93 0 people who are

but i did my undergrad at san francisco state, then received an executive mba in wine at sonoma state university'm very passionate about wine, i grew up literally in the middle of our pinot noir vineyards. and so, for me it's a passion, and i'm so thrilled to be continuing the legacy with my familia. damian: and talk about that bottle next to you. we're talking ab-- when we talk about ceja vineyards, we're talking, again, about top-shelf wine that is not easy to find at the, you know, grocery stores because it's that exquisite. dalia: yes, this is our gorgeous, beautifully balanced merlot from the sonoma carneros agricultural zone, and this is one of our very first wines that we released, goodness, back in the early 2000s, but it is elegant, has a lot of finesse, very small production, but for us it really speaks of the birthplace, the vineyards, so when you taste a bottle of ceja vineyards's wine, it really speaks of the soils, the-- and, of course, the handcrafted quality that is touched by our family members. my tío armando ceja is still our winemaker. and so, for us it's all about familia fr

the president of sonoma state university announcing he is retiring after being placed on administrative leave at all comes after mike lee sent a campus wide email announcing a deal with pro palestinian protesters at the school without approval from csu chancellors. that deal included an advisory council for justice in palestine, a boycott of academic and research institutions sponsored by israel and calling for a permanent cease fire in gaza. marin county. this giant oak tree crashed into condos in nevada. this is on cinnamon teal lane, you're puffing. court witness says the oldest oak tree in the bottle, split in half and hit 2 homes and also caused a gas leak. no injuries are reported crews has reached a multimillion dollar settlement with a woman hit and dragged by 1 of the company's vehicles back in october. the autonomous car company is paying as much as $12 0 to settle the dispute. the california d m be suspended the driverless taxi license in san francisco cruz released a statement saying their hearts are with the pedestrian and hope for her continued recovery. a new trader joe's

and whether it's in oakland, san francisco, san jose or even in the north bay campuses like sonoma state university as this war just continues to go on. >> and so east where you are, it looks peaceful. all right. dan thorn reporting live for us from frank ogawa plaza in oakland. >> meantime, a southern california right now, a massive protest is taking place on the campus of ucla. this comes after violence broke out overnight between different groups of protesters. you can see here there are at least hundreds of people gathered on the campus last night for about 2 hours there was some violence, heated confrontations between different groups of students and police didn't actually lapd didn't get there for about 2 hours and finally stepped in to break up the violent acts that were taking place or there are fireworks being thrown. there were there was pepper spray. people were pushing down some taking time. there intense and so on and and of course, physical fist fights that were taking place. but finally, it was all broken up and there was not a single arrest that we're aware by lapd. things are much

now to the north bay, where a week of controversy at sonoma state university is culminating with commencement ceremonies today, it comes after the sudden retirement of president mike lee this week. the csu chancellor placed lee on leave after he made a deal with pro-palestinian protesters without proper approval. abc7 news reporter cornell bernard shows us the protest during graduation and has details on the fallout >> hundreds of sonoma state grads rocking their caps and gowns during commencement ceremonies. after a dramatic week on campus involving former president mike lee. but alex can't think about that right now. >> today is about me. i'm glad to have my dad here to see me graduate, so that was more on my mind than the school. >> lee's retirement was announced friday by csu chancellor mildred garcia, a day after she put him on leave for insubordination because of an agreement lee made with pro-palestinian student protesters who had occupied an encampment. lee told them he would initiate an academic boycott of israel among other things, which angered the jewish community. >> there was no

the president of sonoma state university is apologizing for an agreement that he struck with gaza protesters on campus that led to him being placed on administrative leave. the student protesters had been camped out on the university's person hall since april 26, demanding an end to the war between israel and hamas. on monday, university president mike lee announced that he reached an agreement with those protesters, pledging to seek divestment strategies and end collaborations with israeli academic and research institutions. yesterday, though, the csu chancellor placed lee on administrative leave for insubordination. some faculty members were unhappy with lee's actions, but others believe he deserves a second chance. i think there's a lot of repair work that needs to be done on our campus, and i hope that president lee can come back and facilitate that, and i hope that we can have some more open and safe dialogs about it in the fall. messages of support for president lee were written on in chalk on a university sidewalk, but those messages were washed away this morning. you see, academic wo

a lot of breaking news that we're actually getting to also breaking the president of sonoma state university, announcing his retirement this comes just days after being suspended. it all started with a controversial statement after the school reached an agreement with pro-palestinian protesters. csu chancellor mildred garcia says mike lee offered concessions. cal state trustees never approved, including divestment strategies and ending academic relations with israeli schools. in a statement, garcia says in part, i thank president lee for his years of service to the california state university, starting at california state university, sacramento, and to higher education overall. i wish him and his family well. it's not clear who will replace him now. breaking overseas a grim recovery in the middle east. israeli forces in gaza have recovered the bodies of three hostages killed by hamas attackers following a music festival on october seventh. in the meantime, trucks carrying humanitarian aid began moving ashore into gaza. today, using a temporary pier built by the u.s, those trucks are deliveri

the president of sonoma state university is retiring. this comes just days after president mike lee was put on administrative leave. earlier this week, president lee announced an agreement with student protesters on campus, which included a pledge to divest from israel. on wednesday , lee was placed on leave. the csu chancellor says lee offered concessions. cal state trustees never approved. and then late yesterday, the chancellor announced lee is retiring. she thanked him for his years of service. she says she will work with sonoma state's acting president and board of trustees during this transitional period. staying in the classroom, teachers and school administrators in contra costa county have reached a tentative deal to avoid a strike. members of the contra costa county school educators association rallied in pleasant hill yesterday. teachers say they don't make enough money to live in the district that they teach in. now, the contra costa county office of education has agreed to a two year deal. the agreement includes a 6% raise,

also, some confusion and controversy as the president of sonoma state university was suspended afterking with the gaza protesters. we have the very latest. but first, the gates are open. the contra costa county fair is kicking off right now with some tougher rules for teenagers. the news at six starts right now. good evening and thanks for being with us. i'm raj mathai and i'm audrey asistio for 88 years, the contra costa county fair has been a showcase for live music, raising livestock and of course, carnaval rides. but there is a big change at the fair this year. in response to a series of fights that broke out last year, nbc bay area sergio quintana has what that change is. it's opening day at the contra costa county fair, and for some who know this event well, this is the day to be here. why come opening day? because it's cheap, you know. dollar thursday. hello richard bell is here with lots of his family on the way into the fairgrounds, he read the signs spelling out the new entrance policy. everyone under 18 must have an adult chaperon who's at least 25. it's a policy adopted a

the president of sonoma state university is retiring this comes after he was put on administrative leave for his response to campus protests earlier this week. president mike lee announced an agreement with the protesters, which included a pledge to divest from israel. on wednesday, he was placed on leave. the csu chancellor says lee offered concessions to cal that the cal state trustees never approved. late yesterday, the csu chancellor announced that lee is retiring and then there's this uc academic workers across the state have authorized a strike to begin monday at uc santa cruz union members say they're striking because of the way universities have cracked down on pro-palestinian protests. we're now calling on the first uc campus to stand up on monday, may 20th. uc santa cruz will stand up on monday, may 20th at uc santa cruz will stand up on monday, may 20th. uc santa cruz will stand up. you see the post there. in the announcement on social media, the union members are demanding, among other things, amnesty for all students and faculty arrested or facing disciplinary action. the uc

meantime, sonoma state university president mike lee has decided to retire just days after he was placed on leave. csu administrators placed him on leave for insubordination after he made a deal with pro-palestine protesters. the chancellor of the csu system says president lee's agreement was made without the proper approvals. the agreement included an academic boycott of israeli universities. some students in sonoma think his punishment is unfair. >> i support the president and on the agreements against genocide. kind of crazy. how a statement about lake ending genocide is like. crazy, crazy thing that has put someone on leave. >> pro-palestine student activist groups say the agreement late out in a 3 page letter was a win for them. others saw it as anti-semitic. >> the nature of the program being in southwest asia, north african studies was made without consulting with subject matter. experts in the middle east of whom i consider myself. one of them is done a really good job up until now as president. i think that he did not handle this this situation. well, but i personally would hope

meanwhile, at sonoma state university, the president is retiring as students graduate today. earlier this week, president mike lee announced an agreement with the pro-palestinian campus protests, including a pledge for the university to divest from israel. wednesday. he was placed on leave. the csu chancellor says president lee had offered concessions that cal state trustees never approved. then late the next day, thursday, the chancellor announced lee's retirement a multi-million dollar budget shortfall for one bay area county could put the public at risk. that's according to the santa clara county district attorney. the county is facing a $251 million budget. deficit leaders released a proposed budget to deal with the shortfall, and in it, they suggest that several departments eliminate jobs. the da says he's being asked to cut 20 of his 62 detectives, a proposal he says could prove dangerous for people who live in the county. i think this is the first time that i have ever been as concerned about public safety as i am. if these cuts go through, there will be more guns on th

. >>> in the north bay, the president of sonoma state university was just put on leave a day after an agreement he made with pro-palestinian protesters on campus and their demands. lee had announced some of the terms of that deal, including establishing an advisory council of students, disclosing investments and divestment, and boycotting academic research institutions with ties to israel. the csu chancellor's office says lee made that announcement about an agreement in a campuswide email without their approval, and the board is actively reviewing the situation. the california legislative jewish caucus says it supports the suspension. it put out a statement saying that lee's endorsement of an academic boycott was unacceptable and is evidence that he's unfit to lead the university. at least a dozen pro-palestinian protesters were arrested on uc irvine's campus today as police took down an encampment there where hundreds had been protesting. police used zip ties to take several people into custody earlier. the school says protests turned violent, although demonstrators refute that. the