USC grad builds 'brainrot' study tool

Good morning. It’s Friday, and I’m reading about how Americans need to party more. Onto the five USC, Los Angeles, and California stories you need to know for today.

1.

A recent USC grad built a hilarious “brainrot” study tool. It’s pretty simple: Enter PDF notes into Memenome’s website. The AI tool then spits out a narrated video laden with internet slang that summarizes your notes — which are, of course, superimposed on Subway Surfers or Minecraft gameplay. The viral demos are absolutely unhinged.

2.

Billionaire Rick Caruso is positioning himself as a major player in the effort to rebuild Pacific Palisades, forming a nonprofit to shepherd recovery efforts. The move puts the mall magnate — and prominent USC trustee — on a crash course with city officials. Caruso opposes building new dense, affordable housing; the city has not ruled it out.

3.

LA County officials delayed dozens of water infrastructure upgrades proposed over the last decade that experts say could’ve helped battle the Palisades fire. Residents are irate. But the county’s public works chief in part blamed residents’ anti-development efforts and unwillingness to increase water rates for the delays.

4.

In yet another LA environmental disaster, Rancho Palos Verdes has spent $33 million since July shoring up a massive, slow-motion landslide that’s sending homes into the ocean. That figure is almost as much as it takes to run the rest of the city for an entire year.

5.

Suspected cartel bandits robbed and shot two hikers near the U.S.-Mexico border in San Diego, Border Patrol officials said. The attack, which left an American citizen with a bullet in the leg, bolsters claims of lawlessness at the border as active duty troops begin to reinforce Border Patrol agents under President Donald Trump’s orders.

Nick Miroff / The Washington Post