Good morning, it’s Wednesday, and I need your help. Have you been enjoying Morning, Trojan? I’m looking for a few brief testimonials we can use to promote the newsletter.

You can submit one here — I’d really appreciate it! Onto the five USC, Los Angeles and California stories you need to know for today.

1.

The family of a slain LA County deputy plans to sue the sheriff’s department for putting officers at risk by making them work excessive overtime hours. The family’s attorney said Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer, 30, had logged 69 hours of overtime in the two weeks before he was shot and killed while waiting for a traffic light change in Palmdale in September. “Had he not been fatigued and exhausted, he would have responded safely; he’d be here today,” said his father.

2.

A fire tore through a South LA city block early Tuesday morning, leaving three hurt and 17 homeless. The blaze started at an apartment building that was under construction in Central-Alameda, and the LA Fire Department said the open-sided wooden frame helped the fire spread quickly to other properties. Arson investigators were on the scene as per city protocol, but the cause of the fire is still unknown.

3.

Two Jewish groups are suing UC Berkeley and the University of California over what they called a “longstanding, unchecked spread of anti-Semitism” since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war. The suit alleges that at least 23 Berkeley Law student groups exclude members and guest speakers if they identify as Zionists or refuse to disavow Israel, and that campus leaders have failed to protect Jewish students from physical violence and threats during protests. Berkeley leaders slammed the suit as inconsistent with the First Amendment and “stunningly inaccurate.”

4.

Oakland’s city council passed a resolution calling for a cease-fire in Gaza after hours of impassioned rhetoric Monday evening. The council shot down an amendment that would’ve specifically condemned killings and hostage-taking by Hamas, to the boos of the packed chamber. “It raises an interesting question on where they are getting this mandate to speak for the people in their city when nobody elected a city council person because of their stance on Middle East peace,” one expert said.

5.

A San Francisco nonprofit is looking to give elected officials and political candidates “Asian scores” to rate their performance on issues it claims Asians prioritize — like public safety and education. Volunteers will vote “basically colorblind” on legislation and voting track records to determine the scores. Because, of course, Asians all care about the same things. And should all vote the same way. Asians are a monolith.

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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