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Onto the five USC, Los Angeles and California stories you need to know for today.

1.

An atmospheric river swept through California yesterday, spurring widespread flooding, mudslides and road closures. In Long Beach, which felt some of the strongest effects, streets were submerged in water up to the base of many parked cars’ doors, and officials had to rescue a number of people trapped in their vehicles. Meteorologists say a second, stronger storm system that threatens “life-threatening” flooding could hit the LA area as early as tomorrow night and continue through Monday.

Grace Toohey and Ruben Vives / Los Angeles Times

2.

A 200-person prison riot in Riverside County left eight guards and one inmate with serious injuries. The riot at Ironwood State Prison triggered a statewide prison lockdown, which calls for inmates across the state to be confined to their cells for 24 hours while officials conduct a “threat assessment.” It’s been a turbulent few months for state prisons, including a number of homicides and the sexual assault of a female staffer at one facility earlier this month.

Nate Gartrell / The Mercury News

3.

Caltrans declared a state of emergency over a San Clemente landslide that has indefinitely shuttered Metrolink and Amtrak lines running through Orange County. The declaration will allow the local transit authority to access $10 million in immediate emergency funding to repair the tracks. A Metrolink spokesperson said rail service hasn’t resumed because the slope above the tracks is “still moving,” but that crews were working to brace the hillside ahead of this week’s storms. Officials still haven’t offered a repair timeline.

Karen Garcia / Los Angeles Times

4.

California will spend at least $2 billion to remedy pandemic-related learning loss as part of a settlement in a lawsuit that accused the state failing its constitutional obligation to provide equal education to lower income, Black and Latino students during the pandemic. Roughly 1 in 5 California students didn’t have sufficient access to online classes, the suit claims. The settlement will call for school districts to identify students who have fallen behind and target them with measures like small-group tutoring and extra learning time on school breaks. 

Sarah Mervosh / The New York Times

5.

A Torrance man is at the center of a high-end brothel network that federal authorities are investigating as a potential Korean spy sting. When James Lee, 68, was busted in November for running the East Coast-based sex ring, authorities said the network’s clientele included elected officials, tech executives, military officers and government contractors. Now, they say, the paper trails shows that an “astounding amount of money” went directly to South Korea — and that’s raised potential national security concerns. “This could be a foreign adversary garnering intel on powerful people,” one investigator said. 

Michele McPhee / Los Angeles Magazine

And now, a new semi-weekly segment that I’m calling “Thumbs up, thumbs down.”

Thumbs up for: State Sen. Scott Wiener, who told Politico he “wasn’t expecting” this much backlash over his proposal to physically restrict cars from going more than 10 mph over the speed limit. I respect it. He’s an optimist. 👍

Thumbs down for: The guy detained for shoplifting at the USC Bookstore. Could he not find a better place to steal from? 👎

Thumbs up for: This lady, who clung to the hood of a car while thieves ran off with her French Bulldog in downtown. 👍

Thumbs down for: The federal government, which is still trying to prosecute a guy who opened a medical marijuana dispensary in Morro Bay 17 years ago. Weed is legal now, ICYMI. 👎

Have a nomination for next week? Just reply directly to this email.