Good morning. Tomo here: Apologies for missing yesterday’s newsletter. I was in Vegas to speak at a journalism conference and had gotten much less sleep than anticipated after the late-night flight.

Salome had a migraine. Anna was just exhausted. The three of us were a bit of a mess — but we’re back now! Onto the five USC, Los Angeles and California stories you need to know for today.

1.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the trailblazing California politician, died Thursday. She was 90. Feinstein first rose to national prominence while on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, after a disgruntled former supervisor shot and killed one of his political opponents and the city’s mayor; Feinstein was praised for her dignified leadership through the tragedy. In the Senate, Feinstein most notably fought for a 10-year assault weapons ban — a battle which she won — and forced an investigation into the CIA’s use of torture.

2.

Striking actors and Hollywood studios will meet Monday to resume contract negotiations — their first meeting in 76 days. Developments this week have been a welcome relief for an industry that has for months been mired in dual strikes; on Wednesday, striking writers left the picket line and returned to work. The actors are seeking guardrails around artificial intelligence and higher royalties from movies and television shows on streaming services.

3.

The city of Santa Monica will pay residents who live in households with multiple cars a weekly stipend to use only one. The initiative, a partnership between LA Metro and Santa Monica, is a pilot program and will pay 200 residents a stipend of up to $119.80 per week for five weeks. Other bonuses include a Metro TAP card preloaded with $50 and up to 10 free rides on Metro Bike Share. If successful in Santa Monica, Metro officials said they could roll the program out elsewhere in LA County.

4.

A federal agency is suing Tesla for allegedly harassing Black employees and subjecting them to a hostile work environment at the automaker’s Fremont factory. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission cited the use of racial slurs, epithets and stereotyping since at least 2015. The agency’s officials said they previously tried and failed to settle the suit. CEO Elon Musk has expressed a willingness to bring the case to trial.

5.

Shasta County’s board of supervisors appointed Jon Knight — a hydroponics store owner and local far-right leader — to serve on the board of the county health agency that manages insects. Knight, of course, believes that we live in an “interesting sci-fi time” where Japanese scientists have created genetically modified mosquitoes to act as “flying syringes” and mass vaccinate populations. “This is not a conspiracy, this is a fact,” he said. The board gave the job to Knight over the county’s former public health director, who’s an epidemiologist.

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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