Good morning. It’s Friday. Onto the five USC, Los Angeles, and California stories you need to know for today.

Enjoy your long weekend. We’ll be back Tuesday!

1.

USC’s free Lyft program now starts at 7 p.m. rather than 6 p.m. at the University Park Campus. Hours remain unchanged at the Health Sciences Campus, and the program at both locations will still end at 2 a.m. The reduced hours came despite this year’s $29 increase in the Student Transportation Fee.

Colin Stillman / Daily Trojan

2.

USC made several key changes to employee healthcare benefits that include axing broadly popular Anthem plans and freezing enrollment in Kaiser Permanente plans. The changes for 2026 could effectively limit employees to USC healthcare plans, though the upshot may not be clear until additional details are released next month.

Senna Omar / Annenberg Media

3.

A liquid nitrogen leak at the Seaver Science Center prompted a fire department response and not one, but two news helicopters to roar over campus yesterday. The leak at least looked cool on video.

Staff / ABC7

4.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said he’ll deploy California Highway Patrol teams to major cities, including LA, in an effort to fight crime. He did not answer questions about whether the move is meant to discourage President Donald Trump from deploying troops to the state as he has done in Washington, D.C.

Julia Wick / Los Angeles Times

5.

San Francisco-based news site SFGATE launched a California-themed take on the popular mini crossword. I solved today’s puzzle in 32 seconds. If you beat my time, send me a screenshot, and I’ll give you a Morning, Trojan laptop sticker.

Grant Marek / SFGATE