THAAD BATTERY to be sent to Israel (U.S. Army photo).

An American advanced air defense system will be sent to Israel, along with troops to operate it, despite warnings from Iran of escalation.

According to the Associated Press, the THAAD battery (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) will be sent to Israel on the authorization of President Joe Biden.

Prompting the deployment is the Oct. 1 firing of rockets into Israel by Hezbollah in support of Hamas militants, backed by Iran.

On Sunday, Biden said the U.S. was deploying the THAAD battery “to defend Israel.” Previously, the U.S. had sent such a device to Israel in 2019 and 2023 “for training.”

The device is said to be able to hit targets at distances of 93 to 124 miles, destroying short range and medium range missiles and “limited” intermediate range missiles.

Biden tours Florida; pledges $612 million

A pledge of $612 million to bolster the electrical grid in the Southeast was made by President Joe Biden on Sunday as he toured flood-drenched areas of Florida.

“This funding will not only restore power, but will make the region’s power system stronger and more capable and reduce the frequency and duration of power outages while extreme weather events become more frequent,” Biden said, according to United Press International.

The area has been hit by two hurricanes – Helene and Milton – in a two-week period. Over 230 people died from the effects of Helene and at least 17 from Milton. An estimated 800,000 customers remain without electrical power.

Dodgers open NLCS with 9-0 win

The Los Angeles Dodgers opened the National League Championship Series on Sunday with a 9-0 win over the New York Mets at Dodger Stadium.

In doing so, the Blue Crew tied the modern league record of 33 consecutive shutout innings, a mark set by the Baltimore Orioles in their sweep of the Dodgers in the 1966 World Series.

Jack Flaherty pitched seven stellar innings and the bullpen was just as good. At bat, the Dodgers combined nine hits and seven walks. The Dodgers got two-hit games from Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy and Enrique Hernandez.

Mookie Betts had the biggest at-bat of the night, driving in three runs with a based-loaded double in them eighth.

Game Two will be on Monday, followed by a travel day on Tueesday. The series will resume on Wednesday in New York.

The Los Angeles Chargers defeated the Denver Broncos 23-16 in Colorado to improve to 3-2 on Sunday.  The Bolts led 23-0 after three quarters and withstood a late rally by the home team. Cameron Dicker kicked three field goals, Justin Herbert passed for a touchdown and J.K. Dobbins ran for a 4-yard score.

Weather: Cooler, maybe rain

It’s really starting to look like autumn in our West Orange County cities. Monday through Wednesday will have daytime highs of 69 or 68 (overnight lows of 61 or 60). Mornings will have clouds with afternoon sun. Monday has an estimated 16 percent chance of rain.