HAMAS vs. Israel (Shutterstock).

Protests against Israel’s bombing of Gaza are being staged all across the world. The death toll continues to climb as the impact of the war with Hamas militants appears to be felt largely by civilians, some of them fleeing Israel’s ground offensive into the Gaza Strip.

The latest estimate of Palestinan deaths is now at 9,448. In Israel, those killed are “over 1,400”, principally during the beginning of the war on Oct. 7.

President Joe Biden and the United Nations have called for a “humanitarian pause” to allow aid to go into Gaza and refugees to leave, but to no avail, so far.

Judge upholds ban on “assault” guns

A FEDERAL APPEALS court upheld an Illinois gun control law (Shutterstock).

An Illinois law that banned “assault-style weapons” and high-capacity magazines was upheld on Friday.

A federal appeals court overturned a lower court ruling that the law violated the Second Amendment.

They voted two to one that  “even the most important personal freedoms have their limits.”

The law was signed into law in January after being approved by the state legislature.

Sports: Huskies outlast the Trojans

In an epic battle between two teams with powerful offenses, the Washington Huskies and USC Trojans traded touchdowns at the Coliseum on Saturday until the visitors pulled away to a 52-42 victory.

Washington is now 9-0 while Southern Cal fell to 7-3. Dillion Johnson rushed for 256 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Huskies. Caleb Williams passed for 332 yards and four touchdowns for USC.

UCLA lost 27-10 to Arizona. Both teams are now 6-3.

Weather: Be patient for a while …

If you can hold on for a few more days, you’ll see some serious sunshine  in our West Orange County area. The forecast for Sunday is for partly cloudy skies with a daytime high of 77 and an overnight low of 57. Monday will be similar but a bit cooler at 74 (59). On Tuesday we can expect morning clouds followed by sun in the afternoon with a high of 72 (55). Wednesday – finally – will bring sunny skies and a high of 73 (52).