Good morning. Before we start, I want to suggest that you subscribe to The New York Times’ “California Today” and CalMatters’ “WhatMatters” if you’re looking for more California-centric news in your inbox every morning.

We often link to similar stories, but it’s never a bad idea to have multiple takes. And now, here’s the news you need to know for today.

Rep. Karen Bass widened her lead over businessman Rick Caruso in the Los Angeles mayoral race, now ahead by 4.3 percentage points in the latest tally from the registrar’s office. Experts say that while it isn't impossible for Caruso to pull off a win, trends in vote-by-mail ballots indicate that Bass will continue to solidify her lead as the remaining 35% of the expected vote is counted.

Linh Tat / Los Angeles Daily News

The flu season is soaring in California, straining hospitals already contending with an onslaught of RSV cases and the still-lingering coronavirus. San Diego, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Imperial counties are feeling the brunt of the load.

Luke Money and Rong-Gong Lin II / Los Angeles Times

It’s Conquest Week, which means — beyond great Saturday night rivalry football and a collective Sunday morning hangover — it’s time for the Knights and Helenes to guard Tommy Trojan and Hecuba 24/7. Annenberg Radio News interviewed some of those vigilant sentinels.

Sophia Hammerle, Natalia Osuna and Donny Assefa / Annenberg Media

The Los Angeles Police Department is stopping far fewer motorists for minor infractions under a department policy implemented in March. Police officers have long been trained to use minor violations — expired registrations, air fresheners hanging from mirrors, etc. — as pretexts to search vehicles for drugs or weapons. But Black and Latino residents are disproportionately targeted in those pretextual stops, a debate ignited by the death of George Floyd that ultimately led the LAPD to change its policy.

Libor Jany and Ben Poston / Los Angeles Times

Jennifer Siebel Newsom, a documentary filmmaker and the wife of Gov. Gavin Newsom, told an L.A. courtroom that former movie mogul Harvey Weinstein raped her 17 years ago in an emotional testimony. Previously, Weinstein’s attorney sought to discredit Siebel Newsom and said she’d be “just another bimbo who slept with Harvey Weinstein to get ahead” if not for her prominent stature.

Andrew Dalton / Associated Press

Six residents in L.A. jails who can’t afford to pay bail sued the county, challenging the system that often keeps low-income people behind bars before they’ve been charged. The case is the first challenge of the county’s “bail schedule,” the document that dictates guidelines for bail amounts depending on alleged offenses.

Sam Levin / The Guardian

The La Brea Tar Pits museum is undergoing a rebrand, seeking to connect today’s climate change with the ice age fossils discovered on its grounds. The museum has more ice age fossils than any other institution in the world.

Soumya Karlamangla / The New York Times

Nation / world

A former University of Virginia football player fatally shot three current members of the team and injured two others. (The Washington Post)
Republicans are one seat shy of a House majority after a number of races were called in their favor on Monday. (The Wall Street Journal)
Four University of Idaho students were killed in what authorities have described as a “crime of passion” investigated as a homicide. (The New York Times)
Amazon is set to lay off around 10,000 employees, part of a broader trend of mass layoffs in big tech. (The Wall Street Journal)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made an appearance in Kherson on Monday after Russian forces surrendered the city. (Axios)

Other things we’re reading

Tomo’s picks:

“Republicans Blindsided That People Who Vote Believe in Democracy” (The New Yorker)
“Ron DeSantis’s God Complex” (The New York Times)
“Texas Democrats: It’s Time for a Celebrity Candidate!” (Texas Monthly)
“The tech CEO spending millions to stop Elon Musk” (The Washington Post)

Anna’s picks:

“Remaking the River That Remade L.A.” (The New York Times)
“How to Give Your Parents Advice That They Will Actually Listen To” (The Wall Street Journal)
“Joe Biden Was Right” (The Atlantic)

In case you missed it

Nearly 48,000 University of California academic workers are on strike, protesting alleged unfair labor practices on the part of the UC. The teaching assistants, postdoctoral scholars, student researchers, tutors and fellows are picketing across all 10 UC campuses.

Mark Alfred and Holly Rusch / Daily Nexus

Cities across California are attempting to curtail events in rodeos that activists say amount to animal abuse. Rodeo proponents say the push is just another manifestation of radical progressivism that’s seeking to outlaw American culture and tradition.

Susanne Rust / Los Angeles Times

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Morning, Trojan is an Annenberg Media product. Tomoki Chien is the founding editor, Anna Hsu curates weekday reporting and Chris Bibona writes the Monday sports section. Questions, concerns or feedback? Just reply to this email.

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