Court upholds consumer agency

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau survived a major legal challenge on Thursday, as the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that its funding mechanism did not violate the Constitution.

Associate Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the majority opinion and was joined in the majority by Chief Justice John Roberts and associate justices  Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Karan, Amy Coney Barrett, Brett Kavanaugh and Ketanji Brown Johnson.

Unlike most government agencies, the CFPB is funded not though the Congressional Budget process but directly from the Federal Reserve.

The bureau was created in 2008 to address complaints about allegedly predatory lending practices.

 NATO training for Ukrainian troops?

The possibility of sending American and European  troops to train Ukrainian recruits in the war against Russian invaders appears to be increasing.

“We’ll get their eventually, over time,” said Gen. Charles Brown, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

So far the U.S. has refused to consider a direct involvement in the war, but as Russian forces score some small victories, some NATO nations – France and Estonia – have expressed a willingness to take some role, such as soldiers to take over rear echelon roles to allow more Ukrainian troops to go the front lines.

Lithuania has expressed interest in training Ukrainian soldiers in Ukraine.

Sports: Angels idle, Dodgers host Reds

The Los Angeles Angels have the day off and will resume play on Friday, visiting the Texas Rangers.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are hosting the Cincinnati Reds.

Weather: Still in the Sixties

Our West Orange County cities will enjoy pretty predicable conditions into the weekend. Skies will be partly cloudy Friday through Monday with daytime highs ranging from 67 to 69 degrees and overnight lows from 56 to 58.