From singing competitions to flower festivals, here’s some notable news of the past week.
May 11: News outlet Al Jazeera releases documentary following the USC Annenberg Media and the UC San Diego Guardian investigation regarding the respective institutions selling dead bodies to US Navy and Israeli military.
In a report published October 2025 by USC Annenberg Media, journalists found that, from as early as 2017, USC and UCSD were selling dead bodies from either the Keck’s Anatomical Gift Program or the Office of Decedent Affairs to the US Navy for surgery training for the Israeli Defense Forces, or IDF. The respective newsrooms, the USC Annenberg Media and the UC San Diego Guardian, teamed up with AJ+, a youth-focused outlet from Al Jazeera, to produce a documentary leading up to the investigation, featuring some of the families whose relatives donated to the program.
May 11: Former mayor of Arcadia resigns after being federally charged with acting as an illegal agent of the People’s Republic of China.
A press statement released on Monday by the United States Attorney’s Office stated, “Eileen Wang, 58, of Arcadia, is charged via information with one count of acting in the United States as an illegal agent of a foreign government.” According to an article by NPR, Wang made a plea agreement, facing up to 10 years in prison after she and Yaoning “Mike” Sun were accused of spreading “pro-China propaganda at the behest of PRC government officials while concealing their ties to the Chinese government from the public,” via a website called U.S. News Center from 2020 to 2022. According to an article by the LA Times, Sun was her campaign advisor and former romantic partner, who pleaded guilty to acting as a foreign agent in 2024. In a joint statement by Wang’s attorneys, Brian Sun and Jason Liang said, “she genuinely loves this city and is devoted to the people and the community within it.” They added, “her trust and love for apparently the wrong person … ultimately led her astray.”
May 14: AFSCME calls off strike as the union makes tentative agreement with UC.
Scheduled to begin on Thursday morning, the AFSCME strike was averted in an email sent by UCLA’s Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Darnell Hunt and Vice Chancellor for Campus Human Resources and Chief People Officer Christine Lovely. In a press release, AFSCME Local 3299 President Michael Avant announced the union had formed a tentative contract which would “give permanent employees a $1,500 payment and increase the union’s minimum wage to $30.10 by April 2029,” according to an article by the Daily Bruin. Union members will vote to ratify the contract from May 19 to May 21. According to the official announcement by the UC Press Room, AFSCME, representing over 40,000 patient care technical and service workers across the UC system, began contract negotiations in January 2024 and resumed bargaining in January 2026 after a nine-month pause.
May 14-15: President Trump and President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping meet in Beijing for a two-day summit.
After the meeting was delayed for over a month due to the war in Iran, Trump visited Beijing to discuss the relationship between the two countries. According to an article by CNBC, talks included Taiwan, oil negotiations, a “strategic stability” of a trade truce, the ordering of 200 Boeing jets by China and permission for Nvidia to sell chips to Chinese companies. Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, along with over a dozen US business leaders from companies such as Apple and Tesla, were also in China during this time to for meetings with other Chinese officials. Trump has invited Xi Jinping to the White House on September 24 before their trade truce expires in October.
May 15: 2025-26 USAC Election cycle concludes and sees low voter turnout.
On Friday evening, following the voting closure at noon, the winners of the 2025-26 USAC Election were announced outside of Kerckhoff Hall by current USA Elections Board chair and fourth-year physiology student Syed Tamim Ahmad. According to Ahmad, this year saw a 10.1% turnout, which automatically prevented this year’s three referendums — the Bruin Bash, Bruin Life and Undergraduate Experience and Student Success Referendums — from passing, as each required at least a 20% turnout. Only parliamentary adjustments to the USAC constitution, which did not involve changing student fees, were passed, requiring only a 10% turnout and two-thirds of the votes. During the voting period from May 8 to May 15, the USA Elections Board disqualified three Transfer Student Representative candidates — Max Brian Hernandez, Mario Malak and Dayanara Flores — due to campaign financing issues. Furthermore, Internal Vice President candidate Gabrielle Trujillo was found guilty of violating the USA Election Code social media guidelines and was unable to campaign. According to an article by the Daily Bruin, the election board had also banned Internal Vice President candidate Agrin Khatami, Transfer Student Representative candidate Khadijah Abdalla and General Representative candidate Omar Slayyeh from campaigning. The USA Judicial Board revised President candidate Siddharth Munjal’s case to a 36-hour campaign ban. The judicial board had also reinstated General Representative candidate Susie Turner after being initially disqualified for exceeding campaign finances. The full announcement event can be viewed on this livestream, and election results can be found here.
May 16: “All Roads Lead South” Day begins in Selma and Montgomery, Alabama.
The ruling of “Louisiana v. Callais” on April 29 stated that Louisiana’s redistricting violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965. As a result, this ruling weakened protections against racial discrimination as Southern states like Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee began redrawing their voting maps shortly after the decision, according to an article by the NCSL. The official NAACP website called the ruling “harmful” and encouraged people to join them and “more than 90 civil rights, voting rights, faith, labor and community organizations” to mobilize in Alabama. This Saturday, activists from nearby states — some of which were present in the Montgomery protests in 1965 — came to march in Montgomery and Selma, according to an article by NPR.
May 16: The Clarkia Flower Festival takes place at the UCLA Mathias Botanical Garden.
From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the Mathias Botanical Garden hosted a celebration of nature at the second annual Clarkia Flower Festival. Events consisted of tables by local environmental organizations, naturalist walks, guest speakers, food trucks, live music, arts, crafts and even a beer garden. In an article by the LA Times, UCLA professor Victoria Sork talked about the decision to make the Clarkia the headline of the festival last year. “This is an opportunity to educate people about the diversity of wildflowers,” Sork said.
May 16: The Student Alumni Association hosts annual Spring Sing.
This Saturday night, the annual music and talent show took place at Royce Hall. This year’s show featured 12 musical acts: the nine members of Company, which is a comedy group that regularly hosts Spring Sing and a celebration of Mark Foster, the 2026 Recipient of the George and Ira Gershwin Award. Celebrity judges included Kevin Michael Alejandro, Nina Lu, Mikey Reid, Stevie Mackey, Mike Vince, Asher Lieberman, Taran Killam and Vincent Martella. For official results, follow @uclaspringsing on Instagram or see the official website.
May 17: The WHO declares the Ebola outbreak an international emergency.
In a statement released by the World Health Organization, or WHO, the Director-General of WHO declared the Ebola disease caused by the Bundibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, or DRC, and Uganda to be a public health emergency of international concern. Additionally, it was decided that the disease does not fit the criteria for a pandemic emergency as described by the International Health Regulations, or IHR. As of Sunday, according to the CDC, there have been “10 confirmed cases and 336 suspected cases, including 88 deaths” in DRC in Ituri Province of the DRC. The emergency became international when two confirmed cases, including one death, were reported from Kampala, Uganda, after travel from the DRC. Although there is no vaccine for the virus, as it has historically had around a 25-50% death rate, the WHO, CDC and leadership of the DRC and Uganda are currently working together to control the outbreak.
May 17: Trump urges Iran leaders to act quickly.
In a post on Truth Social on Sunday afternoon, Trump wrote, “For Iran, the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST or there won’t be anything left of them. TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!” according to an article by the BBC. As of Sunday night, the conflict in Iran is on “shaky” grounds, said CBS News in an article. Earlier in the afternoon, Lebanon health ministry reported that Israeli strikes had killed five, including two children, and injured 11. Since Friday, Israel has launched over 100 strikes on Lebanon following their 45-day extension of the ceasefire, confirmed earlier that day.
