Good morning. It’s Friday, and this is the 200th edition of Morning, Trojan. It’s hard to believe we’ve written so many of these.

This is the last newsletter of the calendar year: We’re pausing production now through winter break and will return in January. If you’re looking for a similar newsletter to read in the meantime, I’d highly recommend the California Sun.

I believe there’s a one-month free trial for new subscribers, and the format is pretty similar to Morning, Trojan — you just won’t get the USC-specific angle.

Stay tuned for an email later today with some big updates to Morning, Trojan. Onto the five USC, Los Angeles and California stories you need to know for today.

1.

Gov. Gavin Newsom and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis largely resorted to name calling and accusing each other of lying in Thursday night’s debate on Fox. The two discussed little of substantive policy but did throw some zingers: At one point, Newsom quipped that “neither of us will be our party’s nominee in 2024.” The only winner of the night might’ve been “unhinged male rage,” Emily Hoeven wrote in the San Francisco Chronicle.

2.

Millions of people in Northern and Central California will see their utility bills soar by as much as $600 next year, thanks to a Pacific Gas & Electric rate hike approved by a state commission. There’s no cap to what PG&E and other utility giants can seek in rate increases: The only regulating body is the Public Utility Commission, which, for its part, said it “substantially” cut PG&E’s initial request for additional revenue from $15.4 billion to $13.5 billion. PG&E’s rates have consistently outpaced inflation, rising 51% over the last three years compared to an only 18% increase in consumer prices over the same time period.

3.

Multiple Republican lawmakers expect former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to leave Congress before the end of the year. The Bakersfield Republican’s potential exit could narrow the GOP’s already razor-thin majority in the House and present a problem for party leadership until a special election could be held. “I mean, why the hell would he stay?” one lawmaker said, referring to McCarthy’s bitter ouster from the speakership.

4.

Hate crimes in LA County soared to their highest levels in two decades last year, a county report found. The annual report, which covered the 2022 calendar year — before the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war — found that anti-Jewish hate crimes spiked by 59% and anti-Black crimes rose by 34%. Nearly three-quarters of the crimes were violent.

5.

Solano County residents were quick to heckle a project looking to build a new city from scratch on the rural outskirts of the San Francisco Bay Area in a town hall meeting. The crowd of around 100 at the event featuring Jan Sramek, chief executive of the private company responsible for the proposed project, seemed largely skeptical of anything the executive had to say. “If not here, where?” Sramek said, touting the project’s plans to build middle-class homes. “Not here!” an audience member shouted back.

You’re all caught up. Thanks for reading Morning, Trojan, and good luck on your finals! Anna Hsu copy edited this newsletter.

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