Fried chicken campaign promises broken
Tomo Chien & Matthew Royer
February 19, 2025
Good morning. It’s Wednesday, and we’re reading about the best brunch spots in Los Angeles. Onto the five USC, LA, and California stories you need to know for today.
1.
USC shot down any last hope that the Village will get a Raising Cane’s, in spite of dubious student government campaign promises to the contrary. The university, instead, is looking to add a new burger joint. The Sidechat masses are not pleased with the senator-turned-presidential candidate who promised them chicken.
2.
USC students living in cultural dorms fear that their living spaces may be removed after the Department of Education’s recent order. “To have to go through your entire college experience and not have someone to culturally connect with ... it’s very discouraging,” said one RA. USC hasn’t said if it plans to comply with the federal mandate.
3.
An alleged shoplifter had a wild Monday night, burglarizing the Smart and Final on Vermont Avenue then heading to the Village Target to zoom down the aisles on a motorbike, where he was “screaming, trying to fight people, throwing stuff,” a witness said. The entire store was evacuated, and the man was arrested.
4.
Did you see it? The Air Force launched an unarmed missile from Vandenberg Space Force Base around 1 a.m., and its flight path was visible as far as Oregon and Nevada. Video captured the Minuteman III blasting off from its Santa Barbara County silo, then carving a glowing arc in the Southern California skies.
5.
Season three of HBO’s hit “The White Lotus” is streaming now, and one of its wildest characters is a USC alum. Patrick Schwarzenegger — yes, son of that Schwarzenegger — plays Saxon Ratliff, who, in just one episode, has already gone nude, made sexual comments about his sister, and established a slightly incestuous relationship with his brother. Prestige television at its finest.