ALASKA AIRLINES owns Horizon Air (Wikipedia).

Under the influence of psychedelic mushrooms, an off-duty pilot   tried to turn off the engines of a Horizon Air flight on Sunday and now faces 83 counts of attempted murder.

Jospeh David Emerson, 44, pleaded not guilty in court on Tuesday in Portland, Oregon.

Emerson reportedly told authorities he was depressed, had not slept in 40 hours before the incident and had taken the mushrooms before boarding the flight.

He was in the plane sitting in an extra seat in the cockpit  used for pilots needing to connect to flight assignments. The plane’s crew subdued him and turned him over to authorities when the plane landed in Portland.

Russian navy in trouble in Black Sea?

RUSSIA VS. UKRAINE (Shutterstock).

Russian naval forces are “gradually retreating from Crimea,” claimed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday, calling it “a historic achievement.”

Missile and other attacks on Russian ships and bases in the Black Sea have inflicted much damage, Ukraine insists.

Success there would make it easier for Ukraine to push Russia out of Crimea, which Russia illegally invaded and seized in 2014.

Russia made no public comment on Zelensky’s claims.

Emmer out, Johnson in as Speaker candidate

KEVIN McCARTHY was Speaker of the House.

UPDATE: In a late development on Tuesday night, the House Republican Conference nominated Rep. Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) for the speaker post, but the question of whether he could attract enough votes to become Speaker of the House remained.

The deadlock over who would be the next Speaker of the House of Representatives continued on Tuesday as Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minnesota) dropped his plans to seek the post.

Emmer was selected by a majority of the Republican members of the House, but enough announced they would not support him in a floor vote for the final selection that Emmer backed away.

He’s the third person to be driven from the process after Kevin McCarthy (R-California) was ousted from the Speaker’s post. The small-but influential Freedom Caucus – along with recommendations from former president Donald Trump – are enough to deny some candidates approval because the GOP only holds a narrow majority in the House, and the Democrats vote unanimously for their leader.

700 killed in Gaza conflict?

HAMAS vs. Israel (Shutterstock).

A total of 704 people – including 3-5 children – were killed in a  day in Gaza, according to a spokesman for the Palestinian Ministry of Health. The complete toll of those killed in Gaza since the outbreak of hostilities between Hamas and Israel over three weeks ago was set at 5,791.

Over 400 positions in Hamas were hit overnight by the Israeli forces which President Benjamin Netanyahu described as “the hardest blow” inflicted in Gaza in one day. Also attacked were Hezbollah positions in Lebanon. 

A “new phase” – possibly the announced ground offensive into Gaza – was promised to begin soon.

Sports: Lakers lose opener in Nuggets

The Los Angeles Lakers began their 2023-24 season and suffered an opening game loss on Tuesday, falling 119-107 to the Denver Nuggets.

LeBron James led the Lakers with 21 points. He snagged eight rebounds and had five assists.

The Los Angeles Clippers will have their season opener on Wednesday to host the Portland Trailblazers.

Weather: More time in the Seventies

Our West Orange County area can expect more of the same: daytime highs in the 70s and some clouds above every day. The forecast for Wednesday is for a daytime high of 71 with an overnight low of 61. There should be clouds in the morning and sun in the afternoon. Thursday will be similar at 72 (56), and Friday at 72 (54) under partly cloudy skies.