Common Core State Standard L.CCS.1/2/3/4 Grades 6-12: Video of a current news event is presented for discussion to encourage student participation, but also inspire the use of evidence to support logical claims using the main ideas of the video. Students must analyze background information provided about a current event, draw out the main ideas and key details, and review different opinions on the issue. Then, students should present their own claims using facts and analysis for support.
06/16/2025
U.S. senator forcefully removed from press conference
U.S. Senator Alex Padilla, D-Calif., was forcefully removed from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's news conference and handcuffed in Los Angeles last week. The incident occurred as he tried to ask about the immigration raids that have sparked protests across California and other states. “If this is how this administration responds to a senator with a question … you can only imagine what they’re doing to farm workers, to cooks, to day laborers,” Padilla said after the incident.
■Class discussion: Did Padilla try to identify himself as a senator to the federal agents dragging him out of the press conference? Did the agents overreact? Did Padilla appear to pose a threat to Noem? Was it right for an agent to stop the video recording of the incident? Have U.S. politics become so divisive that public officials – including lawmakers, judges, governors, and members of the executive branch – face violent attacks? Is political violence a new phenomenon or something that only occurs here?