Israel’s military is told to prepare to defend a Druze community outside Syria’s capital

• March 2, 2025

JERUSALEM — Israel’s defense ministry on Saturday said the military has been instructed to prepare to defend a Druze settlement in the suburbs of Damascus, asserting that the minority it has vowed to protect was “under attack” by Syrian forces.

The statement, citing an order from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz, follows an Israeli warning last weekend that the forces of neighboring Syria’s new government and the insurgent group that led last year’s ouster of former President Bashar Assad should not enter the area south of Damascus.

Saturday’s statement indicates that Israeli forces could push farther into Syria as its new authorities try to consolidate control after more than a decade of civil war. Israeli forces recently set up posts in a buffer zone and on strategic Mt. Hermon nearby. There have been no major clashes between Israeli troops and Syria’s new forces.

“We will not allow the terrorist regime of radical Islam in Syria to harm the Druze. If the regime harms the Druze, it will be harmed by us,” the statement said.

There was no immediate response from Syria’s government.

The Druze are a religious minority who live in southern Syria and in Israel’s Golan Heights, where they navigate their historically Syrian identity while living under Israeli rule.

Israel’s statement followed the outbreak of unrest Friday in the Druze settlement of Jaramana, when a member of the security forces entered and started shooting in the air, leading to an exchange of fire with local gunmen that left him dead.

On Saturday, gunmen came from the Damascus suburb of Mleiha to Jaramana, where they clashed with Druze gunmen. That left one Druze fighter dead and nine other people wounded, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor.

The Israeli warning last Sunday to Syrian forces and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the main former rebel group, made clear that Israeli forces would stay in parts of southern Syria for an indefinite period.

“We demand the complete demilitarization of southern Syria in the provinces of Quneitra, Daraa and Sweida from the forces of the new regime,” that earlier statement said. “Likewise, we will not tolerate any threat to the Druze community in southern Syria.”

After the fall of Assad in December, Israel seized the U.N.-patrolled buffer zone on Syrian territory. The zone was set up under a 1974 ceasefire agreement. Syria’s new authorities and U.N. officials have called for Israel to withdraw.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu’s government has been under pressure to protect Israelis living near border areas in the north as it tries to return residents of the north to their homes.

​ Orange County Register 

Lawyers sue to block Trump administration from sending 10 migrants to Guantanamo Bay

• March 2, 2025

By John Hanna | Associated Press

Civil rights attorneys sued the Trump administration Saturday to prevent it from transferring 10 migrants detained in the U.S. to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, their second legal challenge in less than a month over plans for holding up to 30,000 immigrants there for deportation.

The latest federal lawsuit so far applies only to 10 men facing transfer to the naval base in Cuba, and their attorneys said the administration will not notify them of who will be transferred or when. Like a lawsuit the same attorneys filed earlier this month for access to migrants already detained there, the latest case was filed in Washington and is backed by the American Civil Liberties Union.

At least 50 migrants have been transferred already to Guantanamo Bay, and the civil rights attorneys believe the number now may be about 200. They have said it is the first time in U.S. history that the government has detained non-citizens on civil immigration charges there. For decades, the naval base was primarily used to detain foreigners associated with the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Trump has said Guantanamo Bay, also known as “Gitmo,” has space for up to 30,000 immigrants living in the U.S. and that he plans to send “the worst” or high-risk “criminal aliens” there. The administration has not released specific information on who is being transferred, so it is not clear what crimes they are accused of committing in the U.S. and whether they have been convicted in court, or merely charged or arrested.

“The purpose of this second Guantanamo lawsuit is to prevent more people from being illegally sent to this notorious prison, where the conditions have now been revealed to be inhumane,” said Lee Gelernt, an ACLU attorney and lead counsel on the case. “The lawsuit is not claiming they cannot be detained in U.S. facilities, but only that they cannot be sent to Guantanamo.”

The 10 men are from nations including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Venezuela, and their attorneys say they are neither high-risk criminals nor gang members. In a Jan. 29 executive order expanding operations at Guantanamo Bay, Trump said that one of his goals is to “dismantle criminal cartels.”

Their attorneys described their latest lawsuit as an emergency filing to halt imminent transfers and challenge the Trump administration’s plans. They contend that the transfers violate the men’s right to due legal process, guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

The latest lawsuit also argues that federal immigration law bars the transfer of non-Cuban migrants from the U.S. to Guantanamo Bay and that the U.S. government has no authority to hold people outside its territory, and the naval base remains part of Cuba legally. The transfers are also described as arbitrary.

The men’s attorneys allege that many of the people who have been sent to Guantanamo Bay do not have serious criminal records or even any criminal history. Their first lawsuit, filed Feb. 12, said migrants sent to the naval base had “effectively disappeared into a black box” and couldn’t contact attorneys or family. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, one of the agencies sued, said they could reach attorneys by phone.

In another, separate federal lawsuit filed in New Mexico, a federal judge on Feb. 9 blocked the transfer of three immigrants from Venezuela being held in that state to Guantanamo Bay. Their attorneys said they had been falsely accused of being gang members.

The migrant detention center at Guantanamo operates separately from the U.S. military’s detention center and courtrooms for foreigners detained under President George W. Bush during what Bush called its war on terror. It once held nearly 800 people, but the number has dwindled to 15, including 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who was assigned to Guantanamo when he was on active duty, has called it a “perfect place” to house migrants, and Trump has described the naval base as “a tough place to get out of.”

A United Nations investigator who visited the military detention center in 2023 said conditions had improved, but military detainees still faced near constant surveillance, forced removal from their cells and unjust use of restraints, resulting in “ongoing cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment under international law.” The U.S. said it disagreed “in significant respects” with her report.

​ Orange County Register 

Zelenskyy embraced by British prime minister a day after White House blowout

• March 2, 2025

By Brian Melley | Associated Press

LONDON — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer embraced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday and told him he had the nation’s unwavering support a day after the blowout at the White House with President Donald Trump.

Zelenskyy arrived to shouts of support from people who had gathered outside of 10 Downing St., where Starmer gave him a hug and ushered him inside.

“And as you heard from the cheers on the street outside, you have full backing across the United Kingdom,” Starmer told the leader of the war-torn country. “We stand with you, with Ukraine, for as long as it may take.”

Zelenskyy thanked him and the people of the U.K. for their support and friendship.

The meeting comes the day after an extraordinary diplomatic meltdown when Trump and Vice President JD Vance blasted Zelenskyy in the Oval Office on live television for not being grateful enough for U.S. support.

Zelenskyy had been poised to ink a deal to give the U.S. access to mineral riches as Trump pressures Ukraine to reach a deal to end the war with Russia. But he left town without signing anything.

Zelenskyy had been scheduled to meet with Starmer on Sunday before a summit with other European leaders to discuss Ukraine and shoring up defenses across the continent.

But the timetable for their bilateral meeting was apparently sped up in the aftermath of the Washington visit.

Zelenskyy will meet with King Charles III on Sunday before the summit that is being held at Lancaster House, a 200-year-old mansion near Buckingham Palace.

​ Orange County Register 

The Pentagon is sending about 3,000 more active-duty troops to the US-Mexico border

• March 2, 2025

By Lolita C. Baldor | Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is sending about 3,000 more active-duty troops to the U.S.-Mexico border as President Donald Trump seeks to clamp down on illegal immigration and fulfill a central promise of his campaign, U.S. officials said Saturday.

His defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has ordered elements of a Stryker brigade combat team and a general support aviation battalion for the mission, the Pentagon announced. The forces will arrive along the nearly 2,000-mile border in the coming weeks.

The Defense Department’s statement did not specify the size of the deployment, but it was put at about 3,000 by the officials, who were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Strykers are medium-armored wheeled personnel carriers.

Already, about 9,200 U.S. troops in total are at the southern border, including 4,200 deployed under federal orders and about 5,000 National Guard troops under the control of governors.

The new troops will “reinforce and expand current border security operations to seal the border and protect the territorial integrity of the United States,” the Pentagon said.

Trump is determined to expand the military’s role in his effort to shut down the border and send detained migrants back to their home countries.

Military personnel have been sent to the border almost continuously since the 1990s to help address migration, drug trafficking and transnational crime.

​ Orange County Register 

Sage Hill girls soccer edges La Mirada in penalty-kick shootout to win first CIF-SS title

• March 2, 2025

ORANGE — One hundred minutes of play on the field was not enough time to decide a winner between the Sage Hill and La Mirada girls soccer teams Saturday at El Modena High.

The contest would come down to penalty kicks, and even that came down to the final shot.

With the Matadores trailing 4-3 and down to the last of their five kicks, senior Kiersten Mahan’s shot hit the crossbar and Sage Hill prevailed in the shootout to win the CIF-SS Division 4 championship.

Sage Hill players and coaches began their jubilant celebration of the program’s first CIF-SS championship as soon as Mahan’s shot bounced away from the goal.

Sage Hill coach Isaac Sierra said his team was ready for the moment.

“Not just the experience in playoffs,” Sierra said, “but if I can be honest, I mean, it’s something we’ve been working on at the end of every practice from start to finish this season. It’s something that we preached about, you know, making sure we’re ready for all the little details in the game and understanding the importance of little details, because sometimes they go for granted. For us to be practicing them all season long and finally have to do it a couple times this year, it paid off.”

La Mirada (13-9-1) began the shootout by missing its first attempt as Giselle De Anda’s kick sailed over the crossbar.

Gisselle Barron, Keila Fukuda, Sydney Patel, Capri Hall all converted from the spot for Sage Hill (16-3), as did Zoey Santiago, Zoe Chang and Mia Carrillo for the Matadores.

When it came down to the last kicker for the Lightning, Jaden Rall’s shot was stopped by La Mirada goalie Mia Cook.

“She’s a special kid. She’s a freshman, but she’s special.” Sierra said of Rall. “It’s only a matter of time before we start to see her in bigger, better moments. But listen, I had all my faith in her and I still have all my faith in her. Nothing changes.”

Lightning goalkeeper Finley Maynard gave her account from in front of the net.

“It’s hard to predict where players are going to go,” she said, “or even for the shooters’ side, where I’m going to go. And it’s just a very high-pressure situation, and thank God it hit the crossbar because that secured the win for us.”

“She was disciplined, she knew how to make herself as big as she could,” Sierra said. “She didn’t necessarily have to get a piece on the ball, but I feel like she had the intimidation or played her role in making that moment that much bigger and more special.”

“I’m just feeling an immense amount of gratitude and pride for my school and my teammates,” Maynard added.

Sierra reflected on his team’s historic victory.

“I’m just so proud of them,” he said, “they dug so deep all season and for them to finally be rewarded for all the hard work that they’ve given us throughout the last five months has been special.

“I wish I could say more because there’s so much emotion that I’m feeling for them right now, but the best word is really just special.”

​ Orange County Register 

Lakers getting value out of two-way roster spots

• March 2, 2025

LOS ANGELES — After leading for most of the second quarter, the Lakers relinquished their advantage to the Clippers on Friday night when Kawhi Leonard’s 3-point attempt in transition bounced off the front of the rim and hit the backboard before falling into the basket to give the Clippers a 72-69 lead in the third.

And the Lakers still trailed after Luka Doncic’s layup on the ensuing possession.

But Jordan Goodwin helped flip the momentum moments later.

After Doncic’s layup, Goodwin stole the Clippers’ inbounds pass from James Harden to Leonard – typically an innocuous play, but Goodwin’s steal helped put the Lakers back in front. The layup gave the Lakers a 73-72 lead.

Goodwin recorded another steal on the Clippers’ next possession. And even though it didn’t result in points, Goodwin’s hustle plays helped turn the game back in the Lakers’ favor, showcasing the value they have gotten out of their two-way players lately.

The Lakers led for the remainder of the game after Goodwin’s pair of steals.

“They’re bringing more toughness to our group,” LeBron James said. “They’re already a tough group; they bring more toughness. Just those dog factors.

“They make plays – hustle plays, 50/50 balls, they get after it. They have definitely given us some great minutes in the minutes they’ve been out there for us.”

Goodwin (six points, five rebounds, two assists), along with two-way contract big man Trey Jemison (five points, six rebounds), stepped up in their increased opportunities in Friday’s win over the Clippers at Crytpo.com Arena, both standing out with hustle plays.

The Lakers will have a rematch at Crypto.com Arena on Sunday night.

“We’ve had a number of guys cycle through two-way contracts since the start of camp,” Redick said. “And I think Christian [Koloko] has really done well in that role, particularly with the layoff. And then to get Goodie, who we kind of foresee just being a part of the rotation – obviously we have to manage his games. And Trey as well.

“But those guys are just professional. And a lot of times with two-ways, you can err on the side of youth and development, and I think there’s a lot of merit and a lot of value in that. Trey and Goodie are older players by two-way standards. And so, to be able to have them both with experience and both having been in the league now for a couple of years – Goodie longer than that – but they know how to play and they can contribute to winning.”

Goodwin has had a significant role, especially for a player signed to a two-way contract, since signing his deal on Feb. 7.

He’s averaged 6.1 points and 3.8 rebounds in 18.4 minutes, playing in eight of nine games since signing a two-way deal. The Lakers are 7-1 in the games Goodwin has played.

Jemison, who joined the Lakers in mid-January after being waived from his two-way contract with the New Orleans Pelicans, praised the Lakers as an organization.

“I’m not saying this because I’m here and they pay me every 15 days: it’s elite,” Jemsion said. “From the coaching staff to the chefs, to the treatment – it’s elite.

“I’ve been with the Wizards, I’ve been with the Grizzlies, I’ve been with the Pelicans. They’re all great organizations. It’s a different level of basketball here, and they expect that from you. They give us everything we need and them some.”

CLIPPERS AT LAKERS

When: Sunday, 6:30 p.m.

Where: Crypto.com Arena

TV/radio: Spectrum SportsNet/710 AM

​ Orange County Register 

El Rancho 7th-grader spellers her way to represent OC in national bee

• March 2, 2025

With the correct spelling of obsecration, Orange County has a top speller for 2025.

Students representing schools from around the county battled it out in several rounds Saturday morning at the Orange County Department of Education headquarters, but with the right combination of consonants and vowels, Sydney Tran secured the win and her place in the Scripps National Spelling Bee this May.

Tran, 13, is a seventh-grader at El Rancho Charter School in the Orange Unified School District.

Aden Nunez, a seventh-grader from the San Juan Capistrano campus of the Fairmont Schools, spelled his way to second place, going several rounds with Tran before going out on par excellence.

Everett Lin, from Rancho San Joaquin Middle School in the Irvine Unified School District, took third.

Tran will be representing Orange County in the 100th spelling of the national bee, which begins May 27 in Washington, D.C. Students can compete through the eighth grade.

And to save a trip to the dictionary, obsecration is “a supplicatory prayer mentioning in its appeal things or events held to be sacred.”

​ Orange County Register 

Turkey’s Kurds wary of path to peace after PKK declares ceasefire

• March 2, 2025

By Mucahit Ceylan and Adnan Ahmad | Associated Press

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey — A momentous ceasefire declaration on Saturday stirred a mix of emotions in southeast Turkey and northern Iraq, where people bore the brunt of the 40-year conflict between Kurdish militants and the Turkish state.

The militants’ ceasefire announcement could mark a significant boost to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government, two days after their imprisoned leader called for the group to disarm.

On the streets of Diyarbakir, the largest city in Turkey’s Kurdish-majority southeast, some of those who had lost relatives fighting on the side of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, were wary of placing their faith in the Turkish government. Turkey has yet to make a detailed response to the PKK’s ceasefire announcement.

“We do not trust them, they said the same things before, nothing has changed. Twelve years ago they said peace, peace, peace. Then there was a ceasefire and then we saw what happened,” said Turkan Duman, 56, referring to a previous peace process that broke down in 2015.

She said her son is currently serving a 12-year prison sentence for PKK membership. He was jailed after crossing the Syrian border to fight with Kurdish forces against the Islamic State group at Kobani in late 2014.

Duman also lost two brothers who were killed fighting Turkish security forces in the mid-2010s near Lice, a town to the north of Diyarbakir where the PKK was founded in 1978.

Kiymet Soresoglu, who like Duman is part of the Peace Mothers’ Association, also expressed doubt over the government’s intentions. “Of course we want peace to be established. We are afraid because they make plans or (could) play a trick,” she said.

Soresoglu, 55, also has a son serving a prison term for being a member of the PKK, which is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies.

He was wounded in fighting in Diyarbakir’s downtown Sur district when the earlier ceasefire broke down 10 years ago. “There is not a single inch of land left in Kurdistan where the blood of martyrs has not been shed,” she said.

“If they tell us to lay down our weapons without expecting anything in return, we, the guerrillas and mothers of martyrs, will not accept this. We would be the ones that would take the weapons of our children and continue the struggle.”

Sitting alongside her friend, Duman added: “But we want peace. Peace so that no more blood is shed, it is a sin.”

Since the PKK launched its armed campaign against the Turkish state in 1984, tens of thousands have died. Exact casualties are difficult to calculate but the International Crisis Group says 7,152 have been killed since fighting resumed in July 2015, including 646 civilians, 1,494 members of the security forces and 4,786 PKK militants.

Saturday’s ceasefire announcement was preceeded two days earlier by imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan’s call for the group to disarm and disband.

Vahap Coskun, a law lecturer at Diyarbakir’s Dicle University, said this indicated how closely the PKK leadership based in northern Iraq was in step with Ocalan despite his 25 years behind bars.

“A very high threshold has been crossed in terms of disarmament,” he said, adding that he expected the PKK to move swiftly to hold a congress to dissolve itself.

“Unlike the last solution process, this solution process is being handled with utmost sensitivity regarding the use of time,” Coskun added.

Across the mountainous Iraqi border, which for years saw PKK insurgents slip into Turkey to stage attacks, Kurds in Sulaymaniyah welcomed the ceasefire with hopeful expectation.

Najmadin Bahaadin described it as a “historical moment” different from previous peace deals.

“It is not like the previous experiments where the PKK stopped the war several times and demanded peace but (Turkish President Recep Tayyip) Erdogan and Turkish policy were not convinced,” he said. “It seems they both reached to this conviction now.”

Sulaymaniyah, in northern Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region, is the city closest to the PKK’s headquarters in the Qandil mountains and many locals support the group.

Awat Rashid questioned whether Ocalan had been pressured by his captors to make the peace bid.

“If Mr. Ocalan was in the Qandil mountains, on top of his leadership council, would he make this peace decision? This is the question that should be asked,” he said. “To what extent you think this is reliable and it can be trusted?”

Ahmad contributed from Sulaymaniyah, Iraq

​ Orange County Register