USS Iowa in San Pedro (Wikipedia).

The U.S Navy hasn’t had an operational battleship for decades. President Donald Trump wants to change all that.

On Monday he announced plans for a “Golden Fleet” that would include a new generation of battleships.

According to the Associated Press, the president said, “They’ll be the fastest, the biggest and by far 100 times more powerful than any battleship ever built.”

The first in the series will be called the USS Defiant. It would be bigger than any of the World War II battleships such as the Iowa and Missouri.

Armaments would include hypersonic missile, nuclear cruise missiles, rail guns and high-powered lasers.

The new ships would begin construction in the early 2030s.

Another reason for ship seizures?

The seizures of Venezuelan oil tankers which the U.S. claims are connected to the illicit drug trade may have another purpose.

In an interview with Fox News on Monday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said, “We’re not just interdicting these ships, but we’re also sending a message that the illegal activity that [President Nicolas] Maduro is participating in cannot stand, He needs to be gone.”

Two ships have been “detained,” but a third has refused to stop.

Weather: A wet Christmas

The West Orange County will be Wet Orange County soon with rain forecast for Wednesday through Friday.

The outlook for Tuesday is for cloudy skies with a 24 percent chance of rain. The high is expected to be 64 with an overnight low of 59.

The rain should arrive on Wednesday(Christmas Eve) with a daytime high of 65 and a low of 56 overnight. The chance of rain is 99 percent.

Christmas Day (Thursday) will be slightly cooler at 66 (54) with a 91 percent of rain. The wet stuff will continue through Friday at 61 (46) with a 73 percent chance of rain.