THE JAN. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol (Shutterstock).

A federal prison sentence of 18 years was levied on one of the leaders of the Proud Boys right-wing extremist group that attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. 2021.

The Associated Press is reporting that Ethan Nordean was one of five members of the group who led the assault on the Capitol in a failed attempt to stop the certification of the results of the 2020 presidential election won by Joe Biden.

Five people died as a result of attack and hundreds were injured. Over 1,100 people have been arrested.

Also sentenced was Dominic Pezzola, who received 10 years in federal prison. He said, “Trump won!” as he left the courtroom.

Nordean was convicted of leading the group and helping to tear down a fence that allowed rioters to advance and battle police.

‘Notable progress’ by Ukraine forces

FLAG OF UKRAINE

The counteroffensive by Ukrainian armed forces to drive invading Russian troops out of the country has made “notable progress” in the past three days, the White House said on Friday.

According to The New York Times, Ukrainian troops have pierced a second line of Russian fortifications. They are moving against enemy positions in the south, held by the invader since last year.

Some of that land has also been a battleground between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists in areas with large Russian-speaking populations.

U.S. added 187,000 jobs in August

The U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday that employers have added 187,000 new jobs in August.

MORE JOBS added in August (Shutterstock).

United Press International reports that the unemployment rate edged up to 3.8 percent as more people entered the work force. Traditionally, 4 percent has been considered “full employment.”

President Joe Biden spoke about the jobs report at the White House, saying that 13.5 million jobs have been added since he took office in January 2021.

August’s numbers are lower than the monthly average of 271,000 new jobs added over the past year, according to UPI.

Pac-12 about to say goodbye?

With the departure of Stanford and Cal, the venerable Pac-12 Conference is left with just two members: Washington State and Oregon State.

The Cardinal and the Golden Bears, along with Southern Methodist University of Texas, will become the newest additions to the Atlantic Coast Conference starting in the fall of 2024.

While most observers think there’s no future for the Pac-12, there is some discussion about merging the remnants of the league with the Mountain West Conference and possibly adding other Pacific coast schools like San Diego State.

The conference started to come apart when USC announced its departure to the Big-12 quickly followed by arch-rival UCLA. Washington and Oregon joined the departure from the conferences.

Braves battle the Dodgers

In another clash of the two of the best teams in Major League Baseball, the Los Angeles Dodgers are hosting the Atlanta Braves again. The Braves won 8-7 on Thursday night.

The Los Angels Angels are in Oakland to play the A’s, arguably the worst team in the MLB.

Check later for results in our Sports Final.

Weather: Highs in the Seventies

Temperatures in our West Orange County area are continuing cool. The forecast for Saturday is for mostly cloudy skies and  daytime high of 79 with an overnight low of 68. Sunday will drop to 85 (63) with morning clouds and afternoon sun. Monday will warm to 77 (62) and partly cloudy skies;  Tuesday will be similar at 78 (62).