CALIFORNIA National Guard soldiers in Los Angeles (Wikipedia).

In what’s considered by some people as an escalation of the deployment of military forces, some National Guard soldiers in Washington. D.C. are now carrying firearms.

According to the Associated Press, those soldiers are operating under “strict rules for use of force.”

Deadly force should “only be used as a last resort and solely in response to an imminent threat of death or serious bodily harm,” the AP was told.

Only certain soldiers on certain missions would be carrying guns, and that those working in transportation or administration “would likely remain unarmed.”

The White House has indicated that a deployment of troops to Chicago, New York and Baltimore is now being considered to cope with “rising crime rates,” a claim that local authorities say is not accurate and politically motivated.

Sports: Dodgers rise, Angels fall

The Los Angeles Dodgers are back in a tie for the National League West lead after an 8-2 win over the San Diego Padres. Both teams are now 74-57.

The Los Angeles Angels, however are in danger of falling into last place in the American League West after losing 4-3 to the Chicago Cubs, suffering defeat in three straight games.

The Angels are 61-69 in fourth place, two games ahead of the Athletics, at 60-72.

Weather: Cooler, then warmer

The cooling trend in the West Orange County area with reverse itself a bit later in the week. Monday is forecast to have a daytime high of 82 with an overnight low of 68 under mostly sunny skies.

Tuesday dips to 80 (65) with mostly sunny skies and then rises to 83 (66) on Wednesday and 83 (67) on Thursday.