Flooding wreaks havoc in Southern California

Good morning, I hope you’re staying relatively dry in the rain. Here are the five USC, Los Angeles and California stories you need to know for today.

Heavy rain and flooding forced mass evacuations in Montecito and other coastal communities north of LA. A 5-year-old boy was swept away by floodwaters in San Luis Obispo County while swamped streets left people trapped in their cars in LA.

Staff / Los Angeles Times

The LA Police Commission will soon decide whether to reappoint Chief Michel Moore to a second term. Moore has said he’d only serve two or three years of the five-year term in order to build a succession plan and help prepare for the 2028 Summer Olympics.

Frank Stoltze / LAist

Gov. Gavin Newsom is expected to unveil a tight budget plan Tuesday that’ll cover the multi-billion dollar deficit the state is staring down. The shortfall is a remarkable turn of fortune for California, which has benefited from a booming tech industry for the better part of the last decade.

Adam Beam / Associated Press

Georgia put on a dominating performance over TCU at Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium to secure the College Football Playoff title, making a strong case that the Bulldogs have established the next college football dynasty. Georgia set a new record for most points scored in a championship game, and the 65-7 victory made for the most lopsided margin in a national title game in college history.

Adam Grosbard / Los Angeles Daily News

It’s a La Niña year. So why is it this rainy? During La Niña, trade winds move warm water toward the coast of Asia which typically makes for drier weather in California (as opposed to the more famously wet El Niño). But La Niña essentially loads the dice in favor of a dry season, rather than guaranteeing it — which is why you’ll be walking to class in the miserable rain today.

Jill Cowan / The New York Times

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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