UKRAINIAN forces are driving Russian troops put of areas “annexed” last week (Shutterstock).

Ukrainian forces won back several towns from the Russian invaders on Tuesday, leading to speculation that the war could be reaching a turning point.

USA Today reports that the Ukrainian counteroffensive is rolling back the front lines in areas that Russia is trying to annex.

“Fierce fighting continues in many areas of the front,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “More and more occupiers are trying to escape, more and more losses are being inflicted on the enemy army.”

Russia recently held “referendums” to annex four areas of eastern and southern Ukraine, but are having trouble maintaining military control of those region.

National debt hit record high

We now owe $31 trillion. The U.S. gross national debt topped that amount on Tuesday for the first time.

According to The New York Times, the long-standing policy of borrowing money to balance the books was relatively painless during times of low interest rates, but as those rates rise in an effort to curb inflation, the eventual bill could be more than expected.

Also in the news …. Loretta Lynn, a country music icon, died Tuesday at the age of 90.

Sports: Judge does it with 62nd homer

AARON JUDGE

New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge wrote his name deeper into the Major League Baseball record book with his 62nd home run of the season, making him the all-time American League homer champ. He broke the record of 61 set in 1961 by Roger Maris.

Some sports historians are calling for his record to be the official mark as higher numbers were achieved during the notorious “Steroid Era” in baseball.

The Los Angeles Angels and the Los Angeles Dodgers are both in action tonight. The results will be posted  later.

Weather: Sunny days, foggy nights

The forecast for the West Orange County area looks pretty consistent from now into the weekend. The National Weather service calls for sunny daytime highs in the low- to mid-80s with fog between 11 p.m. and 11 a.m. Wednesdays’s high should be 82 with a low of 65. Thursday looks like 82 (65) and Friday like 85 (66).