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By Tomoki Chien
NEWSLETTER EDITOR

Good morning. Here are the five USC, Los Angeles and California stories you need to know for today.

1.

City Hall is at another boiling point. Embattled Councilmember Kevin de León exchanged assault charges with an activist after a physical altercation on Friday as chaotic council meetings continue to be marked by expletive-hurling officials, disruptions from protestors and council member walkouts.

Clara Harter / Los Angeles Daily News

2.

USC’s sophomore quarterback Caleb Williams won the Heisman Trophy, an award that annually crowns the most outstanding player in college football. Though the Trojans will still have to watch the College Football Playoff from the sidelines, the Heisman capped an otherwise stunning one-season turnaround for the team led by Williams and Head Coach Lincoln Riley.

Antonio Morales / The Athletic

3.

Karen Bass was sworn in as LA’s first female mayor on Sunday in a ceremony featuring appearances from Vice President Kamala Harris, Stevie Wonder and the poet Amanda Gorman. Bass’ first order as mayor will be to tackle the homelessness crisis that her predecessor Eric Garcetti is largely seen to have failed to address.

Julia Wick, Benjamin Oreskes and Dakota Smith / Los Angeles Times

4.

Roughly 12,000 of the striking University of California academic workers return to work today, bringing a partial end to the strike as it enters its fifth week. Still, the university system’s teaching assistants remain on the picket line, throwing finals week into chaos even as the UC and labor representatives agreed to private mediation.

Shawn Hubler / The New York Times

5.

The Port of Los Angeles has lost its crown as the busiest container port in the United States as the supply chain shifts to the East Coast. Fears of a dockworkers strike stemming from still-unresolved labor negotiations are the likely culprit for the shift despite reassurances from labor parties that that won’t happen.

Vanessa Yurkevich / CNN

You’re all caught up. Thanks for reading Morning, Trojan, and have a good day. Anna Hsu copy edited this newsletter.

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