San Francisco police can deploy killer robots, city supervisors vote

Good morning. Here are the five USC, Los Angeles and California stories you need to know for today.

San Francisco police can now deploy robots armed with lethal weapons in emergency situations, city supervisors voted Tuesday. The police department said it doesn’t plan to arm robots with guns, but instead suggested it could arm the machines with remotely detonated explosives.

J.D. Morris and Annie Vainshtein / San Francisco Chronicle

USC skateboarders are rallying behind a growing movement to build an on-campus skate park. The university currently allows skateboards for transportation — but not stunts — on campus.

Hali Mecklin, Salome Nebiyu and Shane Dimapanat / Annenberg Media

Stanford is investigating allegations of scientific misconduct against its own president, Marc Tessier-Lavigne. The move came a day after the campus newspaper, The Stanford Daily, published allegations that Tessier-Lavigne manipulated data in papers he authored in prominent scientific journals.

Theo Baker / The Stanford Daily

Big tobacco is looking to stop California from enforcing a ban on flavored products approved by nearly two-thirds of state voters. The companies contend that the authority to ban flavored tobacco products — a ban which proponents have argued is crucial to tamping down on teen smoking — rests in federal law.

Julie Watson / Associated Press

The California State University system’s most selective campus enrolled just 146 Black undergraduates this fall. Those students make up less than 0.7% of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo’s student population.

Mikhail Zinshteyn / CalMatters

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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