Good morning. It’s Tuesday, and I’m watching what may be the first-ever glimpse of a newborn great white shark in the wild. Onto the five USC, Los Angeles and California stories you need to know for today.

1.

Environmental regulators slammed the operator of an LA County landfill for failing to notify nearby residents that its Castaic facility is spewing toxic, carcinogenic fumes into the air and water. Officials say a fire is burning deep in the Chiquita Canyon Landfill, causing a pressure buildup and “almost volcanic” hot liquid to burst through the site like geysers. Regulators mandated that the operator more frequently remove wastewater and provide real-time air quality data to nearby communities. 

Tony Briscoe / Los Angeles Times

2.

Neuralink, a company that’s developing computers to implant in brains, said it placed a device in its first human patient Sunday. The Fremont-based company owned by Elon Musk didn’t say who the patient was or whether the device is working. The company has in the past said it’d conduct its first clinical trials on people with limited use of their hands because of spinal cord injuries or neurological disorders, and the Food and Drug Administration approved human trials last May. The devices, Musk said, will let users control phones and computers “just by thinking.”

Ryan Mac / The New York Times

3.

It was a slow start to the winter, but a series of storms starting tonight are expected to bring the Sierra Nevada snowpack closer to its average levels. Already, a handful of storms in recent weeks brought the pack to 52% of its normal level, tempering talk of a “snow drought” and providing some relief to ski resorts. Experts expect California to be in “OK” shape water-wise this year — barring a complete shutoff of rain and snow in mid-February — in part because last year’s historic winter replenished reservoirs to levels not seen in years.

Paul Rogers / The Mercury News

4.

California lawmakers proposed a bill that would give parents the power to remove addictive algorithmic feeds from their kids’ social media apps, and instead force platforms to display posts in chronological order — which is proven to be less habit-forming. The bill would also let parents block all social media notifications and access to the apps during school hours. “Countless studies show that once a young person has a social media addiction, they experience higher rates of depression, anxiety and low self-esteem,” wrote one of the bill’s sponsors.

Will Shanklin / Engadget

5.

NASA’s retired space shuttle Endeavor was lifted into an upright launch position overnight by crews at the California Science Center just across the street from USC. It took a 450-foot-tall crane to lift the behemoth into a position that museum officials said had never before been accomplished outside of a NASA or Air Force facility. You won’t get to see the actual exhibit just yet: Construction of the building that’ll surround Endeavor is expected to take another 18 months. 

Mike Wall / Space.com

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