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By Tomoki Chien

Good morning. It’s Thursday, and we’re getting excited for the Festival of Books this weekend. Onto the five USC, Los Angeles and California stories you need to know for today.

1.

Two USC students who were injured by a falling roof tile on campus in January 2022 sued the university for negligence. Caileigh Gold and Qiong Wu, both graduate students at the School of Cinematic Arts, were filming a project near the Leventhal School of Accounting when the tile fell, striking Gold’s head and Wu’s arm. The suit alleges the students sustained severe injuries from the incident.

Mateo Villalba-Mutis / Daily Trojan

2.

Richard J. Riordan, former mayor of LA, died Wednesday at 92. Riordan was a businessman who ran as an outside candidate in 1993 and led the city’s rebound from the Rodney King riots a year prior. The moderate was the last Republican mayor of what has now become a liberal stronghold, and made an unsuccessful gubernatorial run after his tenure as mayor ended.

Jean Merl / Los Angeles Times

3.

Anti-critical race theory fever has reached California, with six school districts passing measures that restrict instruction about race. “Critical race theory” is boogeyman of sorts in K-12 schools: Nobody’s teaching the college-level theory about policies that perpetuate racial injustice to first-graders, so it’s more of a vague term having something to do with teaching about race and racism.

Diana Lambert / EdSource

4.

The fallout over a series of racist text messages sent between police officers in the Northern California city of Antioch continues to grow. The City Council this week voted to audit the department’s internal affairs, hiring practices and culture; Rev. Al Sharpton called on the U.S. Department of Justice to protect the city’s mayor, who was the target of suggested violence in some of the texts; and angry residents continue taking to the streets to demand firings.

Judith Prieve and Rick Hurd / The Mercury News

5.

LA County could have to spend up to $3 billion to resolve claims of sexual abuse at its facilities, officials told the county Board of Supervisors. The estimated 3,000 claims stem from a state law that grants victims of childhood sexual assault additional time to file lawsuits, many of which originate from the infamous MacLaren Children’s Center.

Rebecca Ellis / Los Angeles 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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