WALL STREET was bullish on Friday, hitting a new Dow Jones high (Shutterstock).

Financial history was made on Friday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above the 40,000 mark for the first time .

The bellwether indicator jumped by 134.21 points and closed the day at 40,003.59.

The Dow Jones Average is often used as a indicator of national economic health along with the national unemployment rate. The S&P 500 also rose, but the Nasdaq Composite fell 12.35 points.

Among those firms doing especially well were Walmart, Caterpillar, Chubb and Valero.

While the number is generally symbolic, observers say its significant because some market watchers predicted a recession in 2024.

Samuel Alitos’s upside-down flag

SAMUEL ALITO

An upside-down American flag on the lawn of  Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Alito in the aftermath of the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol has created a controversy.

 A photo of the flag – generally associated with those who endorse the unsupported claim of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election – was obtained by The New York Times.

Alito claimed he was not involved in the flying of the flag and that it was his wife that did it in response to a neighbor’s anti-Trump lawn signs.

Critics said that Alito should recuse himself from any cases related to the 2020 election. Supporters say the story was an attempt to intimidate Alito.

U.S. pier is moving aid to Gaza

GAZA PIER (Defense Dept).

An American-built pier to bring supplies to the war-torn Gaza city of Rafah has begun to move food, water and medical aid to civilians but it’s not enough to make a major impact yet.

The floating pier, built by U.S. military engineers, is connected to the beach, and is intended to make it easier and safer to bring help to the area, but local relief officials say it can’t replace the capacity of land-based operations, typically performed by trucks.

The Pentagon emphasized that no U.S. troops have landed in Gaza, and that the only purpose of military personnel is to provide support for the delivery of supplies.

Angels and Dodgers each win

The Los Angeles Angels have a modest two-game winning streak going after defeating the Texas Rangers 9-3 on the road Friday. The Halos had two home runs and starter Tyler Anderson pitched well. Home runs were hit by Zach Neto (his fifth) and Taylor Ward (ninth) and Anderson (4-4) pitched seven innings and gave up just two hits and one earned run. He stuck out four batters and walked two.

With the win the team is 17-28 and is one game behind the fourth place Oakland A’s in the AL West.

The Los Angeles Dodgers celebrated “Shohei Ohtani Day” in LA with a 7-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds, a victory sweetened by a two-run home run by the two-way superstar. It was his 13th of the year. Others in the Blue Crew who went deep were Mookie Betts (eighth) and Jayson Heyward (first).

James Paxton pitched six solid innings, yielding seven hits and three runs, two of them on home runs. He struck out two batters and walked none.

The game was tied 3-3 until the Dodgers broke it open with two runs each in the seventh and eighth innings. The team is now 30-17 and leads the National League West by seven games. The two teams will play again on Saturday in Chavez Ravine at 6:10 p.m.

Weather: Almost the Seventies …

But not quite. The forecast for our West Orange County area is for temperatures in the mid-to-high sixties but not above. Saturday and Sunday are expected to have morning clouds and afternoon sun, with Monday and Tuesday highs ranging from 65 to 79 with lows from 55 to 57.