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Morning, Trojan

Seven stories with Tomoki Chien.

📰 Editor’s note

  • Hope you had a good long weekend. I’ve included 10 stories in today’s newsletter rather than the usual seven, just to make up for some of the news I missed over the fall break. See you around!

📍 On campus

  1. Monday marks the start of USC’s inaugural “Sex Week.” Check out this quick guide to the… festivities. (Staff report / Annenberg Media)

  1. Still need your bivalent booster or flu shot? Consider stopping by “Vaxchella” at the Engemann Student Health Center. The walk-in vaccination clinic runs 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays through Oct. 21 on the first floor. Students must be enrolled in the USC Health Insurance Plan to qualify. (Sam Bitman, MJ Newsom and Steven Tran / Annenberg Media)

🌴 In L.A.

  1. L.A. City Councilmember Nury Martinez resigned from her post Wednesday, succumbing to mounting pressure from constituents and influential politicians to step down after a leaked audio recording showed her making racist remarks in a private meeting with two other council members and a labor leader. (Christine Mai-Duc / The Wall Street Journal)

  1. Much of the outrage following the leaked council recording has centered around the council members’ racist remarks — but the bigger questions are now about the redistricting process. Here’s why. (Jon Healey / Los Angeles Times)

  1. A former L.A. County Sheriff's Department psychologist is suing the department and county, alleging that she suffered backlash — which included coworkers leaving dead animals in her parking space and home driveway — for complaining about gender discrimination. (City News Service)

  1. A report found that low-income residents in L.A. County often pay more for the same or worse internet service than their neighbors in higher-income areas. Spectrum, specifically called out in the report, disputed the findings as “intentionally misleading,” and said the report focused on short-term promotional discounts that change regularly. (Samantha Masunaga / Los Angeles Times)

🌅 California

  1. Authorities arrested a man they believe is the Stockton serial killer on Saturday, intercepting 43-year-old Wesley Brownlee at 2 a.m. when he may have been “out hunting” for another victim. (Nora Mishanec / San Francisco Chronicle)

  1. California drivers can now get digital license plates under a new law. The screens display a plate number and allow motorists to renew their registration automatically and make aesthetic modifications. (Joe Hernandez / NPR)

  1. State health officials have repeatedly failed to regulate health conditions in indoor gun ranges. Each time a gun fires a lead bullet, fragments and dust of the neurotoxin become airborne. That hazardous material can be safely disposed of with proper ventilation and cleaning, but officials have routinely failed to regulate ranges and follow through on violations, leading hundreds of gun range employees to contract lead poisoning over the last two decades. Thousands of customers have visited ranges with airborne lead levels that far exceed federal standards, though no public agency tracks lead poisoning cases among those customers. (Joe Rubin / San Francisco Chronicle)

  1. The California Coastal Commission green-lit a $140 million desalination plant in Orange County, indicating that state regulators see a place for seawater desalination plants in the California’s effort to bolster water supplies. (Rachel Becker / CalMatters)

🏆 The Sports Corner

Mondays with Chris Bibona

  • USC football (6-1) dropped its first game of the season 43-42 against Utah on Saturday. Utes quarterback Cameron Rising scored five total touchdowns, three of which came on the ground. Caleb Williams matched his counterpart’s touchdown total, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Trojans undefeated. Utes tight end Dalton Kincaid wreaked havoc on the USC secondary. On 16 receptions, the 6-foot-4, 240-pound senior muscled a career-high 234 receiving yards and a touchdown. Rising moved the ball downfield in the air with ease, but the most crucial conversions the junior made were on the ground. On 4th-and-goal on the USC 1-yard line, Rising took the ball in himself to bring the game within one point with just 48 seconds left. Risking the game on a 2-point conversion rather than tying with an extra point, Rising again scrambled for the score, shedding two defenders and scoring the go-ahead points for Utah. After 1,118 yards of total offense between the Pac-12 rivals, Utah ultimately played spoiler and its fans were able to storm the field in celebration. USC dropped to No. 12 on the AP Poll, behind both No. 9 UCLA and No. 10 Oregon. The Trojans rest this Saturday with their week eight bye.

  • In volleyball, the Women of Troy (15-4, 7-1) extended their winning streak to six games with a 3-1 victory over Oregon State on Sunday. Senior outside hitter Skylar Fields continues to lead the USC offense, this time with a team-high 23 kills. Sunday was the eighth consecutive game the transfer from University of Texas, Austin finished with over 20 kills. As of Oct. 14, Fields is seventh in the nation in kills per set. Looking forward, USC will embark on a four game road trip, starting with a match against Berkeley on Friday.

  • In a highly anticipated clash between two men’s water polo titans, No. 2 Berkeley defeated No. 5 USC on Saturday. USC battled from behind the entire game, and even came as close as 11-10 with 1:55 left to play, but Cal rallied late to win 14-10. Graduate driver Massimo Di Martire led the Trojans with three goals, while graduate goalie Kyle McKenney covered with nine saves. In its next matchup, USC faces Pepperdine on Saturday in Malibu.

  • In the world of pro sports: With a 5-3 win on Saturday, the San Diego Padres eliminated the Los Angeles Dodgers from the MLB postseason. A brief scroll of Dodgers Twitter will blame manager Dave Roberts, or maybe even GM Andrew Friedman. The fans want heads to roll — but the latest LA postseason breakdown just might fall on the star-studded roster worth roughly $333 million. With the exception of recent addition Freddie Freeman, who hit .357 in the NLDS, several starters failed to contribute offensively. Mookie Betts was just two for 14, Will Smith hit three for 16, while Trayce Thompson and Justin Turner only managed two for 13 in the playoffs. The Dodgers were embarrassed by ‘little brother’ San Diego, and the team’s scrappy, energetic roster. The Padres, led by MVP-candidate third baseman Manny Machado and outfielder Juan Soto, will play against the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLCS starting on Tuesday.

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Morning, Trojan is curated and edited by Tomoki Chien. Chris Bibona writes The Sports Corner. Questions, concerns or feedback? You can reach me by replying to this email.

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