Good morning, I hope you all had a grand Thanksgiving. To start the week, I’m reading about how California’s top burger joint is right here in Los Angeles. Onto the five USC, LA and California stories you need to know for today.

1.

USC graduate student workers won’t strike this week thanks to a Sunday evening deal struck with the university. Negotiators now hold tentative agreements in every category of the contract. Broadly, the terms include a minimum stipend of $40,000; five days of sick leave and a separate five days of bereavement leave per academic year; and a pool of $250,000 to assist workers facing financial hardship.

2.

For the first time in decades, the California prison system plans to nearly double wages for incarcerated workers — resulting in a maximum hourly wage of 74 cents. Prison officials say the higher pay will help inmates pay damages they owe for their crimes and save money before leaving prison. Reform advocates are skeptical, noting that the change will only bump pay by a few dollars every day.

3.

A video showed two LA County deputies punching an amputee while restraining him in a chokehold last week. The family of Alejandro Hernandez, 34, said he was washing his truck when deputies suddenly pulled up and began harassing him. The sheriff’s department said East LA deputies recognized Hernandez as an active gang member and suspected he had a firearm hidden under his waistband. Authorities said Hernandez, an ex-felon, was arrested after deputies recovered a loaded handgun. The sheriff’s department is investigating use of force in the incident.

4.

A Northern California school board trustee was issued a retraining order after he claimed to be “the messiah chosen by God” to bring about the end of the world and threatened kill children in manifestos loaded with expletives and racial slurs. The Belleview Elementary School District in Sonora said it’s working with the state attorney general’s office to remove 50-year-old Jason Vassar from his elected post.

5.

It’s become something of a cliche to say that Californians are fleeing the state’s high prices and politics for Texas. But it turns out there’s a twist. Census data shows that 42,279 Texans moved to California in 2022, making the Lone Star State the biggest contributor of new California residents out of any state in the union — by a wide margin. Still, though, 102,442 Californians moved to Texas that same year.

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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