Erin Michaels: Hi,I'm Erin.I’m coming of age with a quinceanera, and Channel One News starts right now!
Emily: All right,Erin is ready to celebrateand let us follow her through her very important Mexican custom — quinceanera.Hey guys, I am Emily Reppert. Here we go!
For the second time in less than a week, a nor'easter slammed the East Coast, bringing along with it snow, rain and heavy wind.
Whiteout conditions made driving hazardous in several states from New Jersey toNew York and Pennsylvania to Massachusetts. It was awful.Many areas got hit with a foot of snow.Some were not that impressed.
Man: Just another snowstorm here in Albany in March – second in two weeks.
Emily: Along the coast in Connecticut and Massachusetts, residents are now worried about more flooding.
Schools were closed in several states, but not NYC. Class there was still in session.
Airlines up and down the East Coast canceled 3,000 flights, and the roads — well, they were no better.
Next up,there is a battle brewing between the federal government and state officials. Tom Hanson is in California to break it all down.
Tom: Ever since President Trump stepped into office, he has pushed to crack down on illegal immigration in the country, but in order for the federal government to do that, it needs the help of state and localgovernments too. And not every major city is exactly on board with this.
Especially here in California, where, last year, the state passed “sanctuary laws," which restrict when and how law enforcement can cooperate with federal immigration enforcement officers.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions: California absolutely, it appears to me, is using every power it has, powers it doesn'thave,to frustrate federal law enforcement. So you can be sure I'm going to use every power I have to stop them.
Tom: YesterdayAttorney General Jeff Sessions,the United States' top legal officer, announced a lawsuit against the state of California, arguing sanctuary laws violate the Constitution and don't follow federal laws.
California Governor Jerry Brown also fired back at the lawsuit.
Governor Jerry Brown: For the chief law enforcement of the United States to come out here and engage in a political stunt, make wild accusations, many of which are based on outright lies — that's unusual.
Tom: Under sanctuary laws, in cities like Los Angeles or Oakland, police officers will not ask people about their immigration status — whether they are in the U.S. legally. State officials say it keeps cities saferbecause people are more willing to call the police and cooperate when they arenot worried about getting deported, or sent back home.
President Donald Trump: We will cancel all federal funding to sanctuary cities.
Tom: President Trump says these laws give undocumented a free pass. During his campaignTrump often mentioned the killing of Kathryn Steinle by an illegal immigrant in San Francisco, a sanctuary city.
Those who support protections for immigrants are promising a fight.
Man: He can make the announcement that he wants.We will make the stand that we need to.
Woman: I think it should be up to a state because they are the ones that have to deal with how many people are coming in.
Tom: But some say it is about time.
Arthur Schaper: It's a punch back to the lawlessness that's been rampant here in the state of California,not just in the initial steps with the Trump administration but during the eight years of the Obama administration that didn't enforce immigration law.
Tom: Jean Reisz is a professor at USC's law school and runs its immigration clinic.
Professor Jean Reisz: I think it's going to be a hard-fought case. I know that the California legislative really made a lot of compromises to make sure that this law would stand up in court and that it wouldn't be found to be a violation of federal law.
Tom: California may not be the only target.There are more than 300 U.S. cities and counties that limit their cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
Tom Hanson, Channel One News.
Emily: Today is International Women’s Day, a time to celebrate achievements by women. But Keith,I don’t know — maybe we should be calling it the Year of the Woman?
Keith: Yeah, Emily, it is looking that way, because on Tuesday,Texas held the first primary vote in the 2018 elections. More than 160 women competed in local and congressional primaries — a new record, part of a nationwide wave of women going after political careers.
Julie Johnson: To be a candidate, you blow open your comfort zone.
Jaimy Blanco: Being the person, you know, actually running is a lot different.
Keith: Julie Johnson and Ana-Maria Ramos are Democrats, and Jen Sarver and Jaimy Blanco are Republicans. All four women ran for office for the first time this year on Tuesday, seeing their names on the Texas primary ballot. Althoughonly Johnson and Ramosare moving on, they all agree: It is time for a different approach to politics.
Jan Sarver: People want somebody to solve problems and get things done. And I think that's a characteristic you hear about women running.
Johnson: All that is happening is bickering and fighting. You know, we have kids that bicker and fight, and we solve that every day.
Keith: Nearly 500 women are likely running for Congress — a new record — and roughly 200 more are exploring bids for other statewide offices. Nearly 70 percent are Democrats.
Debbie Walsh: We saw this increase start to happen almost immediately after the 2016 presidential election. And I think much of this has been in response to the election of Donald Trump.
Keith: For Johnson and Ramos,Hillary Clinton's defeat felt personal.
Ana-Maria Ramos: I didn't immediately decide I needed to run. I just knew that I needed to bump it up a notch.
Johnson: The Women's March was really instrumental — march after march of cities all across the country and this outpouring of women saying, "Enough is enough.”
Keith: While the increase in Republican women running has been much smaller, Blanco and Sarver also found inspiration in 2016.
Sarver: I don't like the tone of our party right now. Do I step back and wait? Or do I dive in and try to make it better?I want to stand next to the president and praise the policies I agree with when he's governing with conservative principles but also be willing to call out the politics and the rhetoric.
Blanco: The Republican party has so many Republican women clubs everywhere, and they are actually the heartbeat of everything.
Johnson: If we sat down and had coffee together, even though we're Republicans and Democrats, we could come up with some very meaningful solutions. I think that's exactly why you're seeing so many women run.
Keith: Keith Kocinski, Channel One News.
Emily: Thanks, Keith.
And that brings us to Words in the News: rhetoric, which is the art of speaking or writing effectively and persuasively — definitely a good skill for you to have.
All right, after the break, coming of age with a fiesta.
Emily: It is a big moment: making the transition from adolescence to adulthood. Arielle Hixson has been following American teens from different cultures as they mark that important journey. Andtoday we take a look at a Hispanic tradition celebrating a young woman's 15th birthday in our series Coming of Age in America.
Arielle: You can hear this coming-of-age ceremony from a mile away.
Erin: A quinceanera is like a small wedding, kind of. It's like a coming-of-age party where you, like, celebrate a girl being 15 years old.
Arielle: Erin Michaels is about to make a momentous transitionfrom girl to woman.
Do you feel like you are about to become a woman right now?
Erin: Yeah. I've been preparing,I guess.
Arielle: In Hispanic culture a quinceanera is a celebration marking adulthood. In the past young women were ready for marriageat age 15, and “quinceanera” means “15-year-old” in Spanish.
The event signified a teen was ready to engage in womanly customslike wearing makeup, jewelry or high heels.It also meant she was of age to fully commit to her religion.
Erin: As soon as I, like, knew what a quinceanera was,I always wanted one. So now that I'm having one,I'm excited.
Arielle: For Erin, she wants her quinceanera to highlight Mexican culture and the importance of her Christian religion.
Erin: I know,like, me having this would probably influence my future kids to probably have it one day.
Arielle: As the big day arrives, Erin gets prepped with hair and makeup, followed by putting on her pink dress, one of the traditional quinceanera colors.She heads to the reception, where guests are greeted by a mariachi band right before the religious ceremony begins.
At the Catholic mass, Erin receives the traditional quinceanera gifts:a bible, encouraging her to stay true to her faith; a tiara, signifying that she is a princess before God;and a purity ring, a symbol of her promise to stay abstinent until marriage.
Next up is the reception.
The time has come, and Erin is about to make her grand entrance into her quinceanera.
After she makes her entrance, followed by a ceremonial toast, comes the father–daughter dance. Next,Erin's father changes her shoes from sneakers to heels, a tradition that has huge significance in Hispanic culture.
Erin: When he takes off my sneaker and he puts on the heel, it signifies me transitioning from a kid to a woman, so yeah.
Arielle: As the party winds down, and Erin and her friends dance the night away…
Kevin Magana: Just seeing her fully grown, basically, it's really nice.
Arielle: …her family glances at her with pride.
Arielle Hixson, Channel One News.
Emily: Awesome story. Thanks, Arielle.
And to see how coming-of-age ritualsbecame part of our culture, just head to ChannelOne.com. Arielle breaks it down for you.
All right, it is time for us to wrap this party up.We will see you back here tomorrow.
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