Viterbi professor wants your vote
Tomo Chien
March 12, 2026
Good morning. It’s Thursday, and these are the five USC, Los Angeles, and California stories you need to know for today.
1.
An adjunct professor at USC’s engineering school is running to be a judge at the LA County Superior Court. Benny Forer, a deputy district attorney, describes himself as a “crusader for truth and justice and the American way” in his Strava bio. “I’ve done a lot of cool stuff,” he told student journalists. “I feel that I’m judicious."
2.
A little more than a year after the Trump administration launched its all-out war on higher education, universities have found their footing amid a string of court victories. “Trump has certainly left his mark on America’s universities,” The Atlantic argued. “But he has not broken them.” (The New Yorker had a very different take.)
3.
Grammarly is facing a class-action lawsuit over an AI editing feature that let users work with avatars of leading writers and academics — most of whom didn’t consent to being included. The suit, which claims damages in excess of $5 million, came soon after Grammarly disabled the feature in reaction to the blowback.
4.
The FBI warned that Iran once “aspired to conduct” surprise attacks on the U.S. West Coast in retaliation for American airstrikes. But people with knowledge of the FBI’s intelligence downplayed the warning sent to California police, saying it was purely cautionary and that there is no credible evidence that Iran is planning an attack.
5.
Harvey Weinstein, the disgraced Hollywood mogul whose sex crimes sparked the #MeToo movement, remained shockingly defiant in his first major interview behind bars. In his telling, the dozens of women who accused him of rape and harassment were liars seeking payouts. “I’m not a victim,” he said in one stunning exchange. “I’m a survivor.”
