Good morning. It’s Monday, and I’m reading about how a golden retriever came to be mayor of a California town. Onto the five USC, Los Angeles and California stories you need to know for today.

1.

The shuttered portion of the Interstate 10 reopened Sunday night, far ahead of initial estimates that said repairs could take weeks or even months. Officials said there was less structural damage than inspectors originally thought and repair crews worked around the clock. Police are still looking for the suspected arsonist who was caught on surveillance video after setting the storage yard under the freeway ablaze.

2.

OpenAI’s board of directors said its former CEO, Sam Altman, won’t return to his post, days after his shocking ouster and attempted comeback. Altman’s firing from the company responsible for ChatGPT and DALL-E underscored a rift in the artificial intelligence community, where some, like Altman, believe the technology is the most important thing since web browsers, and others warn that moving too fast could be dangerous.

3.

A Moorpark professor was arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of a Jewish protestor in Thousand Oaks earlier this month. Authorities are yet to detail how they believe Loay Abdelfattah Alnaji, 50, caused the death of 69-year-old Paul Kessler, who ultimately died from wounds he sustained after falling and striking his head on the ground. It’s unclear whether Alnaji made physical contact with Kessler before his fall from publicly available evidence.

4.

Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters forced an early halt to the first day of the California Democratic Convention in Sacramento this weekend, overwhelming security guards and streaming into the convention center. Earlier in the day, activists disrupted a forum of candidates running for U.S. Senate, shouting down Reps. Katie Porter and Adam Schiff, who refused to back a ceasefire in Gaza. They didn’t interrupt Rep. Barbara Lee, who has been a vocal ceasefire advocate — another reminder of the party’s split on the issue.

5.

Tommy Trojan was egged this weekend, adding insult to injury after USC’s 38-20 loss to UCLA in the Coliseum. Luckily, the statue was covered in a protective layer of duct tape, as it traditionally is ahead of the rivalry game. “What can you expect from a school like UCLA?” one student said. “They’re not known for being respectful or honorable.” Personally, I wouldn’t be shocked if a disgruntled USC fan was to blame.

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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