Good morning. It’s Monday, and I’m reading about the best old-school restaurants in Los Angeles. Onto the five USC, LA, and California stories you need to know for today.

The newsletter will be off tomorrow while I tackle an out-of-town reporting assignment.

1.

Donald Trump ordered federal agencies to stop reviewing all public research grant proposals until February. Though temporary, the moratorium has spooked academia. Universities rely heavily on generous government funding, and worry this could portend a calamitous four years. “I’d summarize it as: fuck,” said one U.S. university administrator.

Ian Bogost / The Atlantic

2.

A brief rainstorm broke downtown LA’s 264-day dry spell and brought chaos to parts of the region. Cars were trapped in mud in Woodland Hills; snow indefinitely closed the I-5 through the Grapevine; all of Malibu’s public schools are closed; and the Eaton and Palisades fire areas are under flash flood watches.

Staff / Los Angeles Times

3.

The DEA’s LA division said it’s enforcing a nationwide immigration crackdown alongside other feds. It’s unclear what LA neighborhoods agents started targeting yesterday or how many arrests they’ve made. Still, be wary of unconfirmed reports of raids on social media: Many have turned out to be false.

Staff / FOX11

4.

A USC researcher developed a supercomputer model that could help deep-space probes travel farther. Electric thrusters, which power the probes, have a nasty habit of damaging themselves with their own ion discharge. The USC team modeled exactly how that damage happens, which could help produce more efficient thrusters.

Keith Cooper / Space.com

5.

The founder of a cultish California wellness company says she plans to keep preaching the virtues of “orgasmic meditation” despite her felony labor trafficking charges. Nicole Daedone, 57, built a bizarre empire on a supposed female “trauma” treatment that involves large groups of nude women being “stroked” by fully clothed men.

Corinne Ramey / The Wall Street Journal