Good morning. It’s Friday, and I got a chuckle out of this quip from UCLA’s satire paper. Onto the five USC, Los Angeles, and California stories you need to know for today.

1.

USC’s most asinine department might well be Campus Activities, whose delay and “bureaucratically insane” policies have left hundreds of student clubs unable to renew their certification — and unable to start activities or even withdraw their money. In at least once instance, USC officials threatened students with suspension for holding club activities before being approved.

Lalou Ratsimihah / Annenberg Media

2.

A USC student who cops shot with a rubber bullet at a pro-Palestinian protest last semester is suing the city of LA, arguing that the police department used excessive force and violated his rights. Boston Moreland, a senior game development student, said he presented no danger to police at the time and was merely filming them with his phone.

Kate Stuzin / Annenberg Media

3.

Mass dog breeders from the Midwest are shipping puppies in squalid conditions to California fraudsters who resell them and claim to be small, local home breeders. Meanwhile, state officials unfamiliar with California regulations are destroying the only vet records with key details about the dogs’ origin.

Alene Tchekmedyian and Melody Gutierrez / Los Angeles Times

4.

Prosecutors accused a 34-year-old man from Norco of intentionally starting the explosive Line fire in San Bernardino County — and trying to light two others that have since been extinguished. His mother is adamant that “my baby boy … did not light that fire.”

Jessica Madison / Big Bear Grizzly

5.

This has been the most active year in over six decades for moderate earthquakes in Southern California, as evidenced by the jolt yesterday morning and another today. It’s a good reminder that LA has been in a relatively quiet seismic period since the 1994 Northridge earthquake that killed 57 — and that it’s worth stocking up on supplies.

Staff / Los Angeles Times