Senate wants to know why you suck at math
Tomo Chien
January 26, 2026
Good morning. It’s Monday, and these are the five USC, Los Angeles, and California stories you need to know for today.
1.
A U.S. Senate committee is investigating the declining math proficiency of college students, citing a UC San Diego report that found that 1 in 8 of its freshmen couldn’t meet middle school math standards. The committee asked 35 colleges, including USC, to share math placement data.
2.
A verbal confrontation escalated into a stabbing Friday night in the Village that left a male victim with minor cuts to his arm. The LAPD detained a woman at the scene outside Sweetgreen. Officials said the two were not USC students or employees.
3.
As federal paramilitary forces continue killing U.S. citizens in the streets of Minneapolis, their operations in Southern California are still ongoing, albeit with less media attention. Dozens of immigration raids were reported across the region just last week as agents targeted schools during morning drop-off hours.
4.
The LA Metro approved an ambitious project that would connect the Westside to the Valley via an underground rail line that burrows through the Santa Monica Mountains. The Sepulveda Transit Corridor could ease traffic on the infamously congested 405 Freeway — but it’s unclear where the $13.8 billion in funding will come from.
5.
California’s media scene got more crowded today with the launch of the Murdoch-owned California Post. The righty tabloid, sure to bring manufactured (and only mildly racist) outrage to the California masses, is nonetheless expected to inject a dose of fun into the state’s staid media ecosystem.
Several of my former colleagues work at The California Post, and I dig at the publication (mostly) lovingly.
