Good morning. Tomo here: Please forgive us for missing Friday’s newsletter. I woke up feeling quite sick.


I’m pleased to share that we’re bringing on a new writer, Alia Noll, who will rotate with Salome throughout the week. I’m hoping that expanding our team will mean we miss fewer newsletters. Onto the five USC, Los Angeles and California stories you need to know for today.

1.

Sen. Laphonza Butler said she won’t seek a full term next year, ending any speculation that the interim senator would take on the formidable Reps. Katie Porter, Adam Schiff and Barbara Lee in the hotly contested race for the late Dianne Feinstein’s seat. Butler, traditionally a behind-the-scenes power player in labor and fundraising efforts, didn’t say whether she’d seek another public office in the future. Rumors were already underway in Sacramento that she might consider a 2026 run for governor.

2.

Striking actors and Hollywood studios will resume negotiations on Tuesday, nearly two weeks after management froze talks, saying the two sides were too far apart. The news coincided with the strike’s 100-day mark, making it the longest industry-wide actors strike in recent memory. Internal pressure has been mounting within the actors union, epitomized by an alternative proposal that A-lister George Clooney suggested that indicated that actors are growing restless.

3.

The owner of an unlicensed lab in the Central Valley was arrested Thursday for illegally manufacturing hundreds of thousands of COVID-19, pregnancy and HIV tests. The FDA launched an investigation into Jia Bei Zhu, a Chinese national, after city officials discovered 1,000 white mice in his warehouse — sparking internet conspiracy theories that Zhu was making biological weapons. Zhu has been charged with failing to obtain permits to produce the tests, mislabeling kits and making false statements.

4.

People love to drag San Francisco — and maybe rightfully so. A majority of its own residents bash the city in polls for its homelessness and open air drug use, but a new ad campaign is looking to fix that. Funded by the tech billionaire sons of Gap Inc.’s founders, the “It All Starts Here” campaign is promoting the city’s history — cable cars, Levi’s jeans, Harvey Milk, the Summer of Love — on billboards and internet ads. There’s precedent for this: In the 1970s, suffering a similar poor perception, New York City hired the esteemed Milton Glaser to help. He created the iconic “I Love NY” logo.

5.

A Bay Area high school football game devolved into an all-out brawl Friday. The game between Vallejo and Kennedy high schools started off well enough until officials were late to blow their whistles on a tackle. Then, both teams cleared the bench and were throwing punches. Then, during a 10-minute delay while officials consulted with the schools’ athletic directors, another skirmish broke out — but this time between the coaches, who ended up strewn on the field. And then, of course, fighting erupted between players and spectators in the bleachers.

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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