THE “HUSH MONEY” trial continues (Shutterstock).

The prosecution rested its case in Donald Trump’s “hush money” trial on Monday, a day in which the presiding judge threatened to throw a defense witness out for what he called “contemptuous” conduct.

Robert Costello, a witness for the defense and a one-time federal prosecutor, prompted Judge Juan Merchan’s ire for speaking even after an objection to his testimony had been sustained and muttered “jeez” after being silenced.

The press had been cleared from the courtroom at that point, but a transcript of the judge’s comments was made available to the press.

“I’m putting you on notice that your conduct is contemptuous,” he said. “If you try to stare me down one more time, I will remove you from the stand.”

Trump’s lawyers asked the judge to dismiss the charges against the former president. The defenses efforts to discredit Michael Cohen, the prosecution’s leading witness were accompanied by the revelation that Cohen had stolen money from Trump’s company.

Arrest warrants for Israeli, Hamas leaders

Warrants for the arrest of top leaders of Israel and Hamas for alleged “war crimes” were issued Monday by the International Criminal Court.

Named were Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyah, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and  from Hamas Yahya Sitar, Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri and Ismail Haniyeh for roles in both the Hamas attack on Israel and the Israeli response.

An estimated 1,500 Israelis died in the initial Hamas attack and over 35,000 Palestinians in the Israeli military response.

Sports: Angels go deep, beat Astros

The Los Angeles Angels hit three home runs – including a three-run shot by Nolan Schanuel – in the fifth inning, scoring seven runs en route to a 9-7 win over the Astros in Houston. The other homers in the inning were by Logan O’Hoppe and Zach Neto. 

With the win, the Halos are 19-29 and move up into fourth place in the American League West.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are hosting the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Weather: Heading south

Temperatures in our West Orange County area are heading south: that is they’re getting cooler. The skies will be partly cloudy Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, with Thursday projected to have clouds in the morning and sun in the afternoon. Tuesday and Wednesday are expected to have daytime highs of 70 dropping to 67 and 68 the next two days.