Russians pressing eastward

The struggle between Russian invaders and Ukrainian defenders continues in the eastern region of Donbas, with the attackers reportedly making progress toward taking control of the “industrial heartland” of the besieged country.

According to The New York Times, all three bridges into the city of Sievierodonetsk have been cut, although it’s not clear by whom. After Ukrainian forces repulsed attacks on other parts of the country, the Donbas region has been the focus of Russian efforts.

Not only is it a major hub of manufacturing, it also contains a large population of Russian-speaking citizens, many of whom may wish to ally with Russia.

The Ukrainian military states that if more long-range artillery and missile systems are supplied, they can still stop the Russian advance into the region.

Stocks continue to slide … more slowly

Wall Street’s wild ride continued on Tuesday, with most major stock indexes again closing with declines.

The S&P 500 declined by 14.15 points to 3,735.48 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by 151.91 points. However, Nasdaq gained 19.12 points.

Those fluctuations were less pronounced than Monday’s sharp changes,

Sports: Dodgers beat Angels, 2-0

The Los Angeles Angels and Los Angeles Dodgers collided today in a clash of two teams that have struggled in recent weeks and the hitters were overpowered by the pitchers.

Behind a strong performance by Tony Gonsolin, the Blue Crew (38-23) won 2-0 at Dodger Stadium. Gonsolin (8-0) pitched 6.1 innings and yielded just one hit. He struck out six Angels and walked two.

Noah Syndergaard (4-5) was almost as good for the Angels (29-34), working 4.2 innings and giving up just two hits and one run. He struck out five batters and walked three.

Mookie Betts hit a home run in the fourth and Justin Turner drew a walk in the eighth that brought in a run for the Dodgers. For the Angels, Shohei Ohtani was almost the entire offense, going 2-for-4. His ninth inning double led to the Angels loading the bases with one out, but two Halo batters struck out to end the game.

The two teams play again on Wednesday.

Weather:  Warmer but still cloudy

The sunny weather we’ve been promised in the West Orange County area keeps receding, but the forecast says it’s coming. The partly cloudy skies will continue Wednesday and Thursday with daytime highs of 81 and 79 degrees. The sunny skies are now expected to begin on Friday and continue through most of the month.