USC parent says Netflix defamed him

Author

Tomoki Chien
August 28, 2024

Good morning. It’s Wednesday, and I’m reading about California’s most charming pizzeria. Onto the five USC, Los Angeles and California stories you need to know for today.

1.

A USC parent says Netflix defamed him and his son by falsely implying in a documentary that the two cheated to get into school as part of the Operation Varsity Blues scandal. Earlier this month, he scored a legal win when a judge tossed Netflix’s request to dismiss the case, ruling that the streaming giant plausibly slandered the family.

2.

State lawmakers passed a bill aimed at ending legacy admissions at private universities, though it’s unclear if Gov. Gavin Newsom will sign it. If enacted, the bill would withhold a significant amount of state funding from schools like USC if they continue to give preference to children of alumni and donors.

3.

Santa Monica officials are considering banning sleeping in public with blankets in an effort to crack down on the city’s homelessness problem. It’s the latest in a series of draconian measures that California cities have taken to curb the issue after the Supreme Court ruled they could criminalize homelessness.

4.

Lawmakers are calling on city officials to take action after a study found dangerous levels of lead in tap water across Watts, a South LA neighborhood. Residents say they’re not surprised; previous reports found that dust and dirt in the industrialized neighborhood was laced with lead.

5.

California will receive $150 million in federal funding to expand its network of electric vehicle chargers. The money is expected to add 9,200 charging ports to the state’s already largest-in-the-nation infrastructure, a potential boon for EV manufacturers whose sales have been dropping statewide.