UPDATE: Two Louisville police officers were shot in the violence after the grand jury’s report. They are expected to survive and a suspect is in custody.

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A grand jury in Louisville, Kentucky declined Wednesday to bring charges against the police officers who fatally wounded Breonna Taylor during a tragic raid. The decision brought an angry reaction from many Black residents of the area and across the nation.

The grand jury did issue three counts of wanton endangerment against Officer Brett Hankison – now fired – for shooting into an occupied adjacent home according to the Associated Press.

On March 13 police executed a warrant at Taylor’s home, looking for drugs and a suspect. As police came in the door, Taylor’s boyfriend fired at them – believing they were intruders – and the officers returned fire, hitting Taylor three times. The suspect was not found, nor were any drugs.

The grand jury accepted the argument that the officers were justified in protecting themselves by shooting. It’s still possible that an investigation by the FBI could result in charges against the officers for violation of civil rights. The decision led to scuffles between protesters and police, who dispersed the crowd. There were no reported injuries.

Trump: “Continuation,” no transfer of power?

President Donald Trump refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the Nov. 3 election to Democratic nominee Joe Biden. At a press conference on Wednesday, he said, “We’re going to have to see what happens. The [mail-in] ballots are a disaster. Get rid of the ballots and you’ll have a very peaceful – there won’t be a transfer, frankly, there’ll be a continuation.” The president maintains – without evidence – there is widespread fraud in voting by mail.

In the news: Vaccines for all by April?

Infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci testified before Congress on Wednesday and said that the U.S. should have enough coronavirus vaccine doses for every American by April.  An effective vaccine could be ready for late October or early November. • The coronavirus has led to the postponement of the college football game between the University of Houston and North Texas State because four players from the latter school tested positive for COVID-19. It’s the fourth planned season-opener postponed or cancelled this year for Houston because of the virus. • The stock market dipped down again on Wednesday. The Dow fell by 525.05 points, and the S&P 500 by 78.65. Nasdaq declined by 299.33 points.

Weather: Same old, same old, same old

The skies over West Orange County are settling into a familiar pattern: patchy fog in the morning, followed by sun and highs in the 80s in the afternoon.  Thursday’s high is forecast by the National Weather Service at 86, with and overnight low of 62. Friday is similar with a high of 80 and a low of  61. Saturday? 83 and 61. Temperatures near the coast should be seven to 10 degrees cooler.

Sports Today: Angels homer past Padres

Here is the schedule for area pro sports teams. Times are Pacific Daylight. Results will be posted as they are available.

• Angels 5, San Diego Padres 2. Continuing their late season sprint, the Halos slammed three home runs and posted the road win to defend their position in third place in the AL West with a 26-31 mark. Going deep were Justin Upton, Shohei Ohtani and Anthony Bemboom. The win went to Patrick Sandoval (1-4), who worked three innings, yielding two hits and striking out five batters.
• Oakland A’s 6, Dodgers 4. A two-run homer in the top of the ninth by Ramon Laureno lifted the A’s to the win in LA. The Dodgers rallied from on deficits of 3-0 and 4-2. They got home runs from Max Muncy, Cody Bellinger and Edwin Rios. The Dodgers, NL West champions, are now 39-17 with three games to go in the regular season.