FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP (Photo by Michael Vadon).

The trial date of former president Donald Trump on charges of trying to block the results of the 2020 presidential election has been set for March 4, 2024.

According to the Associated Press, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan rejected a request by Trump’s legal team to postpone the trip until January 2026 on the grounds that the volume of evidence would make that necessary.

“The public has a right a prompt and efficient resolution of this matter,” she said.

In a related story, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows testified in court on Monday that the actions he took in assisting Trump to seek to overturn the election were part of his official duties, says the AP.

Trump and Meadows are among a group of 19 people accused of being part of a conspiracy to keep Joe Biden from assuming the office of president despite his victory in the 2020 presidential election.

Pope Francis slams ‘reactionary’ church

POPE FRANCIS

An interview in a Catholic publication quotes Pope Francis as criticizing what he called “reactionary” forces in the church, suggesting that conservative politics in the U.S. has replaced faith among some.

Reuters said that the pope was quoted as saying, “there, you can lose the true tradition and turn to ideologies for support. In other words, ideology replaces faith.”

He also said that there’s an “evolution” in faith, citing past church support for slavery.

Arrest made in college shooting

A suspect is in custody in the fatal shooting of a faculty member at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

The faculty member was not identified, except as male, and the name of the alleged shooter has not been revealed. The incident took place around 1 p.m. at the UNC Caudill Labs.

No one else was hurt.

Angels lose in Philly, Dodgers beat D-backs

The Los Angeles Angels continued their tour of National League East cities as they opened a series with the Philadelphia Phillies by losing 6-4.

After posting a 3-1 lead, the Halos (now 63-69) were outscored 5-2, even after outhitting the Phils 11-7.

Brandon Drury, Luis Rengifo and Mickey Moniak each had three hits, but the team batted for 4-for-13 with runners in scoring position.

Lucas Giolito (7-11) took the loss, giving up four hits and five earned runs – including three home runs – in 5.2 innings. He struck out six and walked four.

The Los Angeles Dodgers increased their lead in the National League West with a 7-4 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks at home. With the victory, the Blue Crew is 81-49 and leads the second place D-backs (69-63) by 13 games.

Four home runs – two back-to-back in the sixth – sparked the offense, allowing the Dodgers to overcome a 4-3 deficit. James Outman, Max Muncy, Jason Heyward and Freddie Freeman went deep for the home team.

Bobby Miller (8-3) got the win despite giving up seven hits and four earned runs in six innings. He struck outpour and walked two.

Weather: Hot days, then cooler times

Warm days will continue for a while in our West Orange County area but each one will be a bit cooler than the one before. The forecast for Tuesday is for a daytime high of 91 with an overnight low of 67. Partly cloudy skies will continue right into the coming weekend and Wednesday cools to 86 (66), followed by 82 (65) on Thursday and 78 (63) on Friday.