Good morning. We’re reading about how UC Berkeley will offer a Taylor Swift class next semester. Needless to say, Swifties won’t be leaving any “Blank Space” on their course plans. Onto the five USC, Los Angeles and California stories you need to know for today.

1.

The Highland fire in Riverside County exploded to over 2,487 acres on Tuesday, doubling in size since the previous day and putting some 4,000 people under mandatory evacuation orders. The blaze is 10% contained. Officials said Tropical Storm Hilary could partly be to blame for the fire, noting that the heavy rainfall encouraged new grass growth that has since dried up and started feeding the flames. That “green-up” effect, paired with this week’s Santa Ana winds, have turned an otherwise manageable fire into a behemoth.

2.

USC students posted flyers for Israelis kidnapped by Hamas Tuesday in front of Tommy Trojan, just days after a viral video showed two people tearing down similar posters around campus. It was a striking visual. The flyers included the names, ages and photos of the more than 200 hostages — many of them children — which students taped on the school’s busiest walkway next to blue and white balloons. “This isn’t a political statement,” said a student who organized the display. “Jewish people on campus are suffering, and Israelis are suffering.”

3.

Later Tuesday evening, a group of some 100 pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched through campus, calling on USC to denounce Israel’s ground invasion of Gaza as a genocide. The protestors at one point accused Annenberg Media and the Daily Trojan of spreading misinformation, stopping outside Wallis Annenberg Hall to make the point. Tuesday’s dueling demonstrations again underscored deep divisions at home as the war in Israel enters its fourth week.

4.

Tesla won a lawsuit that blamed its autopilot system for a deadly 2019 crash on a Southern California highway, a win for the automaker in the first case where its driver-assistance software was accused of causing a fatal accident. The decision could influence the outcome of similar pending cases and no doubt impact public perception of Tesla’s vehicles, which continue to dominate the U.S. electric car market. The company’s lawyers argued in that case that the driver — who had several drinks before driving, but not enough to make him legally intoxicated — was at fault for the sudden swerve that caused the crash.

5.

Right now, California prosecutors looking to convict suspected car break-in thieves must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the vehicle’s door was locked — something of a tough ask, especially considering that it requires victims, who often have work or are tourists, to testify in court. State Sen. Scott Wiener and San Francisco Mayor London Breed proposed a new law last week that would change that, allowing for convictions based only off evidence of forcible entry.

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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