Zelenskyy challenges Trump to reveal plans for quick end to war

• July 4, 2024

Annmarie Hordern and Daryna Krasnolutska | Bloomberg News (TNS)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Donald Trump should come forward with his plan to quickly end the war with Russia, warning that any proposal must avoid violating the nation’s sovereignty.

“If Trump knows how to finish this war, he should tell us today,” Zelenskyy said in a Bloomberg Television interview in Kyiv on Wednesday. “If there are risks to Ukrainian independence, if we lose statehood – we want to be ready for this, we want to know.”

The former U.S. president, who leads in polls over President Joe Biden ahead of the November election, has boasted that he’ll end the war by the time he’s inaugurated in January. In the televised debate last week, Trump decried the billions of dollars spent on Ukraine’s defense, saying that Kyiv is “not winning the war.”

In a nearly hour-long interview, the Ukrainian leader lamented the delays in weapons deliveries from Western allies and said he was “potentially ready” to meet with Trump to hear his team’s proposals.

“They can’t plan my life and life of our people and our children,” he said. “We want to understand whether in November we will have the powerful support of the U.S., or will be all alone.”

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Zelenskyy pushed back on the notion that Ukrainian and Russian forces are in a deadlock on the battlefield, saying that the military is better positioned in terms of manpower than it was months ago and a new offensive is a matter of arming its brigades.

And while he lauded the $61 billion assistance package approved by the U.S. Congress this year — after a six-month long delay — he said the military equipment was taking too long to make it to the front.

“This is the biggest tragedy of this war, that between the decision and real fact, we have real long, long, long wait,” Zelenskyy said.

The Ukrainian leader also said China could play a “tremendous role” in resolving the conflict, since Moscow is so dependent on its market for exports. He suggested that the U.S. and China, should they put aside differences, could act together to end the war.

(With assistance from Volodymyr Verbianyi and Olesia Safronova.)

©2024 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

​ Orange County Register 

In blockbuster term, Supreme Court boosts its own sway

• July 4, 2024

Michael Macagnone | CQ-Roll Call (TNS)

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court closed out a term Monday full of blockbuster decisions on gun control, abortion and criminal charges against former presidents, but legal experts say the most impactful rulings may be those where the conservative majority flexed its influence over federal government actions and policies.

The justices extended their own power over other branches of government and the lower courts, even as they declined to go as far as some Republican-backed litigants and conservative lower courts, those experts say.

Aziz Huq a law professor at the University of Chicago, said the Supreme Court decided most issues in a way that gives them more sway over policies.

“What is distinctive here is that the consequence, the aftereffect, of these decisions is to dramatically increase the discretionary authority of courts, and in particular, the Supreme Court, at the cost of other constitutional actors’ authority,” Huq said.

In four decisions, the justices gave judges more power to review administrative agency decisions, forced certain Securities and Exchange Commission actions to be filed in federal court, allowed challenges to agency rules years after they are finalized and stepped in to pause a nationwide plan to reduce cross-state air pollution.

Clare Pastore, a law professor at the USC Gould School of Law, said the changes from those decisions will reverberate for years to come, encouraging constant lawsuits over both new and existing federal rules, with litigants shopping around for the friendliest judges.

“I think anyone who’s paying attention, can see that the court is engaged in a project of — some would say rolling back, some would say dismantling — the administrative state as much as possible, and the rulings that the court has just issued take us a kind of a stunning distance in that direction,” Pastore said.

Those cases emerged as part of a term filled with major decisions on the structure of federal agencies, abortion, Congress’ taxation power, gun regulation and former President Donald Trump.

In the cases where the court did not rule in favor of conservatives, they did so in a way that avoided a major decision on abortion or other contentious issues in an election year, or avoided a “calamity” such as a ruling that avoided sweeping changes to congressional power to tax, Huq said.

That includes decisions where the justices upheld regulations about the abortion drug mifepristone and chose not to rule on whether Idaho could ban abortions in emergency health care situations.

“The court saved the Republican Party from having, you know, particularly contentious abortion decisions being handed down before an election, but left it open for the court to come back to them a year or so later if a Democratic president wins. So it’s a bit of heads, I win, tails, you lose in those cases,” Huq said.

Administrative law

The court’s conservative majority, ruling 6-3 in three of the four cases, couched its decisions as a necessary step to reassert the judiciary’s responsibility to check the executive branch on Congress’ behalf.

In a decision overturning a 40-year-old precedent for courts to defer to agency interpretations of ambiguous laws, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote that federal law bars the justices from “disregarding” their responsibility to decide what the laws mean.

“Courts must exercise their independent judgment in deciding whether an agency has acted within its statutory authority,” Roberts wrote.

The decision means an uncertain and more difficult path for Congress to shape how the federal government carries out laws on major issues such as the environment, health, immigration and more, lawmakers and legal experts said.

The court’s Democrat-appointed justices have accused the conservative majority of a power grab. Justice Elena Kagan, dissenting in the administrative deference case, accused the majority of “judicial hubris.”

“In one fell swoop, the majority today gives itself exclusive power over every open issue—no matter how expertise-driven or policy-laden—involving the meaning of regulatory law,” Kagan said.

Overall, the decisions will likely mean more court fights over the past and future of administrative rules, according to University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School professor Kermit Roosevelt.

“These decisions work to take power away from the federal administrative agencies and shift power to judges,” Roosevelt said.

Kevin King, a partner at Covington & Burling, said those cases will combine to let judges decide more issues surrounding administrative law and could move many of those court cases out of Washington, D.C.

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Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, in her dissent in a decision that allowed challenges to agency rules years after they are finalized, wrote the that court’s decisions would combine to unleash a “tsunami” of lawsuits objecting to long-standing federal rules.

“Doctrines that were once settled are now unsettled and claims that lacked merit a year ago are suddenly up for grabs,” Jackson said.

Still, the justices declined to go as far as the conservative-leaning U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit had in several major issues.

The justices reversed decisions from that court that would have invalidated a federal law banning certain domestic abusers from possessing guns, restricted access to medication abortion, invalidated a part of the 2017 tax law and rendered unconstitutional the funding structure for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Those were some of the court’s most contentious cases, and Roosevelt said they showed the court’s intended focus.

“There are some things the Supreme Court is not willing to do, at least not yet, and maybe not ever,” Roosevelt said. “It is a question of how far they are willing to push it.”

Trump and election

The Supreme Court’s most prominent case this term dealt a serious blow to the criminal case brought by special counsel John L. “Jack” Smith alleging Trump attempted to overturn his loss in the 2020 election.

Monday’s decision almost ensured that Trump will not face trial in that case before the 2024 election, as it sent the issue back to the trial court to decide whether the indictment covers Trump’s “official” acts as president.

Even in the Trump case, where the justices said presidents have a broad immunity to federal charges, Jackson pointed out in her dissent that the justices had given themselves the role of “gatekeeper” to decide whether a president could face trial over official acts outside the “core” of his presidential duties.

Huq said the decision may have done long-term damage to the country and it is difficult to see how it would be rolled back. He pointed out that even in its decision, the justices did not engage with the consequences of presidential immunity, such as the implied ability to order political assassinations.

“It’s really striking how the majority, in that case, you know, an openly or a self-evidently partisan majority, responds to those concerns with essentially nothing,” Huq said.

For next term, the justices have already started taking controversial cases, including fights over access to gender-affirming care for minors, the Food and Drug Administration’s ability to regulate e-cigarettes, and access to pornography websites in Texas.

The justices could take up more contentious issues, such as gun regulation, the viability of Georgia’s state case against Trump and more in the coming months.

©2024 CQ-Roll Call, Inc., All Rights Reserved. Visit cqrollcall.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

​ Orange County Register 

Michelle Steel: Tax increases stifle California’s economy and harm working families

• July 4, 2024

California taxes continue to rain down on families thanks to a state government that thinks they know how to spend your money best. The latest hardship is yet another increase in the state gas tax, which now sits at a highest-in-the-nation 60 cents per gallon as families kickoff summer travel.

The increase is part of a years-old scheme to enlarge state government at the expense of taxpayers. After voters took the commonsense step in 2002 of requiring gas taxes to be used for actual transportation needs, liberal Sacramento politicians sidestepped voter wishes and swapped the traditional gasoline tax for a state excise tax on gasoline. They then set up a bureaucratic process to raise this tax annually, with proceeds propping up pet projects rather than solely supporting vital infrastructure.

It’s a shell game at its finest. Unfortunately, as is often the case in California, liberal politicians got their wish, and the tax continues to rise.

Southern California families deserve better. We already pay more in gas taxes than residents of any other state – a total of 78 cents per gallon when combined with federal taxes. And our current average price sits at $4.79 per gallon, compared to the national average of $3.50 per gallon.

As Governor, Gavin Newsom now owns this summer gas tax increase – and has the authority to stop it. But even in the face of California’s high state taxes and rampant inflation, he declined to suspend the gas tax hike that took effect on July 1.

Some of us tried to tell him. A May letter from California’s Republican delegation in Congress urged a suspension of the gas tax in light of the high cost of living already facing Californians. We also warned about an even higher increase in gas prices next year as anti-energy reforms from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) take effect.

These price increases come even as families struggle to afford basic necessities, with a recent report from the Joint Economic Committee finding that the average California household is spending $300 more per month than this time last year to maintain the same standard of living. This includes dramatic increases in food, housing, energy, and transportation-related expenses.

Californians are suffering enough under President Biden and Governor Newsom’s inflation. Now, Newsom’s tax hikes are making it unaffordable to drive, even as we already experience the highest retail gas prices in the nation. Rising gas taxes, along with high income and business taxes, continue to drive small businesses and middle-class Americans out of California.

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Unfortunately, the opportunity for voters to have their say on high taxes in has been silenced by Newsom’s allies in the judicial branch. Governor Newsom and legislative leaders successfully sued to remove the Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act from the ballot this fall, which would have required the Legislature to receive voter approval for any new or higher state tax.

Such a provision would have made it more difficult to implement new taxes, such as the excise tax on gasoline which now rises every year on July 1. It is telling that our state’s leaders are afraid to give voters a say on issues affecting their own pocketbooks, which are feeling increasingly strained in the current economic environment.

Relief at the pump is essential for Californians, and I will continue fighting harmful state policies which worsen the toll of inflation for my constituents. Out of fairness to working families, Governor Newsom must suspend the state gas tax now.

Michelle Steel represents California’s 45th congressional district and serves on the House Ways and Means Committee, the chief tax-writing committee of the U.S. House of Representatives.

​ Orange County Register 

Lifeguards, cameras, all that water: 6 things to know about Idaho’s Roaring Springs Waterpark

• July 4, 2024

Elena Gastaldo | (TNS) The Idaho Statesman

A giant tipping potato bucket called Tippin’ Tater that contains 750 gallons of water. A grumpy ram lifeguard keeping an eye on everyone. Two baby bears sliding down a log. Blue birds on a diving board.

Camp IdaH2O, the latest expansion of Roaring Springs Waterpark, is a celebration of life in the Pacific Northwest, says Tiffany Quilici, the water park’s chief marketing officer.

Meridian is the home of the Northwest’s largest water park. And it just turned 25 years old.

Here are six things to know about the park:

1. It employs hundreds of teens.

The Treasure Valley’s largest employer of young adults, Roaring Springs has 700 employees. About 200 of those are lifeguards, who rotate from one attraction to the next every 20 to 30 minutes. ‘‘That really helps to keep them alert and vigilant,’’ Quilici said.

Lifeguards show up around 9:30 a.m. and ride test every attraction to make sure they are all safe for visitors to go on.

Only 10 employees work full time year round.

Quilici said it’s a privilege for the park to be the first workplace for many teens in the Valley. ‘‘We get to teach them and mentor them in all the qualities they need to launch their future dreams,’’ Quilici said.

The water park is open mid May through mid September and has welcomed 6 million visitors in the past 25 years of operation.

Roaring Springs Waterpark in Meridian, Idaho, is the Northwest’s biggest water park. It requires 700 employees to operate. (Sarah A. Miller/Idaho Statesman/TNS)

2. It uses a lot of water that it must keep clean.

On a typical day, the park’s operations team starts working at 6 a.m. and includes a crew of pressure washers cleaning the concrete.

Roaring Springs uses 1.5 million gallons of Meridian city water that circulates through the water park all season long. That’s enough to cover a football field 3½ feet deep. Like all Meridian city water, it comes from the water-bearing soil and rock of the Snake River Plain aquifer that underlies Ada County.

A certain amount of water gets lost to evaporation and when people walk out of pools and rides, so additional water is used every day. Aaron Forsythe, the water park’s operations manager, said the park takes in 10,000 to 15,000 gallons of water every day but ‘‘it’s hard to measure’’ exactly how much gets lost.

Quilici said the staff is ‘‘extremely vigilant about any leaks from pools and from slides.’’

The water goes through massive sand filter tanks and a chemistry process to keep it clean. Quilici said that the park also has ultraviolet lights that ‘‘kill every bug’’ in the water.

When asked about the park’s efforts to promote sustainability, Quilici said that they ‘‘certainly have some advanced energy efficiency devices in place to operate the pumps and motors at their optimal rate.’’ Deck drains at the end of the slides collect and recirculate water too, Forsythe said.

3. It uses a network of security cameras.

Roaring Springs was the first outdoor water park nationwide to install the Ellis Aquatic Vigilance System, which is supported by artificial intelligence and video analytics, a technology that uses a special algorithm to analyze digital videos and provide security-related services.

Cameras are installed throughout the park. They can see under water. Roaring Springs has two command centers with operators who are alerted through radios when a danger is perceived by one of the cameras.

Forsythe said Roaring Springs uses the cameras as an ‘‘extra layer of security’’ on top of the lifeguards.

4. Those teen employees get free passes and parties.

Employees get a free season pass, numerous half-off tickets for friends and family, and get to attend work-related parties ‘‘to make it a really fun social experience,’’ Quilici said.

Roaring Springs also has a scholarship program for employees in college. Quilici said that about $30,000 in scholarships was awarded last year.

A seagull perches on top of a cameras from Ellis Aquatic Vigilance System at Roaring Springs Waterpark in Meridian, Idaho. The system uses artificial intelligence to help identify dangers in the park. The camera can see under water. (Sarah A. Miller/Idaho Statesman/TNS)

5. Missing your dentures or wedding ring?

The park employees find lost items daily. Some of the more unique findings include a hammer, dentures, and a wedding ring. To get their belongings back, guests fill out a form and have one week to collect them. The park donates unclaimed items, Quilici said.

6. New attractions are planned.

Roaring Springs recently opened Class 5 Canyon, the Northwest’s first wave action river, which simulates a whitewater experience.

Quilici and the CEO Pat Morandi travel around the country, and sometimes the world, to try out new rides, get inspired by other water parks and bring back new attractions’ ideas for Idaho.

Camp IdaH2O is just the first of seven phases of Roaring Springs’ plan to expand. A major new water attraction will be added every two to three years for the next 10 years, Quilici said.

________

©2024 The Idaho Statesman. Visit idahostatesman.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

​ Orange County Register 

Spanish label handling extensive Motown vinyl reissue campaign

• July 4, 2024

Motown was truly a sound that called out around the world.

So it’s perhaps appropriate that the most extensive vinyl reissue campaign of the legendary label’s catalog is coming from across the pond.

In May, Barcelona-based Elemental Music began rolling out new vinyl editions of Motown titles, with new albums coming each month for a total of 30 through March 2025. The series includes some of the label’s biggest names — the Supremes, the Temptations, Marvin Gaye, the Jackson 5, the Four Tops, Smokey Robinson and more — many in mono and some on colored vinyl.

And for many, it will be their first vinyl edition since the albums were originally released more than 50 years ago.

“As a rule of thumb, we always try to reissue the music that we love. That’s our priority,” explains Elemental’s Kevin Keeley. “With the Motown series, we wanted to take a deep dive into the label’s history and to reissue some more obscure titles. For a lot of the albums that we’ll be putting out, it will be their first reissue since their original release. It’s our way of showing some love to Motown’s legacy.”

Keeley adds that surging vinyl sales, especially among young music buyers, has also fueled Elemental’s sense of mission.

“When you’re reissuing vinyl, especially from a label as iconic as Motown, there’s a lot of considerations to make,” he says. “Ultimately, we want to respect Motown’s legacy. In doing so, it’s important that this series is accessible for all music/Motown fans and vinyl enthusiasts. We wanted to contextualize Motown for a contemporary audience.”

Elemental’s relationship with Motown began in May 2022, when the label reissued Rare Earth’s 1969 album “Get Ready,” which Keeley calls “an interesting nugget of Motown history that was deserving of a reissue.” Elemental primarily specializes in jazz titles, but the company felt Motown complemented that aspect of its catalog.

“It’s difficult to ignore the historical connection jazz and Motown have within popular music history,” Keeley notes. “Jazz and blues set the stage for Motown’s distinctive sound, and Motown, in turn, drew inspiration from jazz,” including members of the label’s famed session band, the Funk Brothers, who were recruited from the Detroit jazz clubs.

The “Get Ready” re-release went well, which led to a desire to more — and, as Keeley noted, get into some of the deeper catalog titles that had not been touched yet. Elemental negotiated with the Universal Music Group to select the titles it would re-release, making use of remasters commissioned during the late ’80s that are considered gold standard by Motown aficionados. Elemental also set a certain standard for the packaging of the new editions.

“We decided to leave each title as untouched/unmolested as possible,” Keeley says. “Each is presented in a reproduction of its original sleeve, including its original liner notes, on 140-gram vinyl — as close to how it would have been when you originally bought the album. All we’ve done is include a sticker outlining some more historical context and background to each album.”

Elemental’s next three Motown titles are due out July 12, including a mono edition of Marvin Gaye and Mary Wells’ “Together” (1964), the Temptations’ “Cloud Nine” (1969) and a green vinyl version of the Supremes’ “I Hear a Symphony” (1966). The latter is among Keeley’s personal favorites, an album he feels “embodies what the Motown sound was, and still is — never replicated.”

He’s also partial to Gaye’s 1968 set “In the Groove,” which featured his version of “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” and to former Temptations member Eddie Kendricks’ “People … Hold On” (1972). “There’s some great tracks on that album that predicted the disco genre,” Keeley notes, “and the drama of Kendricks’ life and departure from the Temptations is all part of Motown’s history.”

Listening sessions at Elemental’s headquarters, meanwhile, have been nothing but pleasurable, he reports, and validated the label’s decision to create the series — as if that were even necessary.

“When we started researching for this series and listening to the Motown catalog in the office, everyone knew at least one song or artist, everyone was tapping their foot and in the end, I think we realized just how universally loved Motown is,” Keeley says. “I don’t think ourselves here at Elemental, or anyone, really needs a personal connection to Detroit, the U.S.A, funk, soul, R&B or anything to do with Motown in order to enjoy it.

“I think that’s why Motown has had such an enduring legacy. When you hear the tambourine, the reverb, James Jamerson’s bass and the infectious vibe that Motown brings, I don’t think it matters where you’re from or who you are. Motown is like the Beatles or Coca-Cola — iconic.”

​ Orange County Register 

Los Alamitos horse racing consensus picks for Thursday, July 4, 2024

• July 4, 2024

The consensus box of Los Alamitos horse racing picks comes from handicappers Bob Mieszerski, Terry Turrell, Eddie Wilson and Kevin Modesti. Here are the picks for thoroughbred races on Thursday, July 4, 2024.

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​ Orange County Register 

Angels GM Perry Minasian will face tough decisions at trade deadline

• June 14, 2024

PHOENIX — Angels general manager Perry Minasian said it’s to early to talk about the trade deadline, which means it’s definitely too early to talk about 2025.

In reality, though, those two things are related.

The Angels have several players who will be free agents at the end of the season – like relievers Carlos Estévez and Luis Garcia – and any of those could be traded. The more difficult decisions for Minasian will be what to do with players who are still under control for 2025 and beyond.

Left-hander Tyler Anderson, infielder Luis Rengifo and outfielder Taylor Ward are all having good enough seasons to be attractive to some contenders. They could also help the Angels next season.

Minasian, not surprisingly, wouldn’t tip his hand as to how willing he will be to part with players who are under control before the July 31 trade deadline.

“Yes, the guys with expiring contracts are easier to talk about,” Minasian said. “The guys that will have control and can be part of this team going forward, that’s more difficult. We’ll take it case by case.”

Minasian must not only weigh the talent he could get back, but also the timeline of that talent making an impact in the majors. If, for example, the Angels are going to compete in 2025, they might be better off having Rengifo than having a prospect who won’t be in the majors for a couple of years.

As for the general timeline of competing again, Minasian wouldn’t bite.

“Obviously, there’s a lot of season left,” Minasian said. “To talk about next season and the season after that, for me doesn’t necessarily make sense. I believe we’ve played better of late. Hopefully we continue to do that, stay consistent. Do the small things, learn from our mistakes, which I think we have over the course of the last month and a half. Done a better job of correcting things quicker. We’ll see where it goes.”

The Angels were 26-41 heading into Thursday night’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, having played an ugly game on Tuesday and an impressive one on Wednesday.

That type of inconsistency is to be expected with such a young team, Minasian said.

“Obviously we’re not happy with the record, but, for me at least, the ability to let young guys play is important,” Minasian said. “We have to develop our own players to go where we want to go. We’ve got to develop young players. There’s some young players here that we’re excited about.”

ROTATION UPDATE

The Angels still don’t know who is going to start on the mound on Sunday in San Francisco. They still haven’t filled the spot vacated when left-hander Reid Detmers was sent to Triple-A.

Left-hander José Suarez, who gave up four runs in 2⅔ innings on Tuesday, is a candidate to pitch again. Suarez threw a bullpen session on Thursday afternoon.

“We are still working him like he’s going to get the start,” Manager Ron Washington said. “Right now I don’t want to say that Suarez is going to get it till it happens, because I don’t know.”

The Angels don’t have many options other than Suarez. They could start right-hander Carson Fulmer in a bullpen game.

In Triple-A, right-hander Chase Silseth still needs more time after he gave up six runs in his rehab start on Tuesday. Left-hander Kenny Rosenberg is now injured. Right-hander Andrew Wantz just came off the injured list and is building up by pitching in relief.

Right-hander Zach Plesac could be an option soon, although not Sunday. Plesac has allowed two runs in 15⅓ innings in his last two Triple-A starts. He now has a 5.42 ERA at Salt Lake.

“He’s improved,” Minasian said. “I think there’s some things there. He’s been working on execution of certain pitches, really getting ahead of hitters. Philosophically, similar to what we’re doing here.”

NOTES

Catcher Logan O’Hoppe picked up a hit from Sunday’s game because of a scoring change. The play had initially been scored an error by Houston Astros third baseman Mauricio Dubon. As a result, O’Hoppe had a career-high five-hit game. He is the first Angels catcher to have five hits in a game since Carlos Perez on July 2, 2016. …

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Minasian, per his usual practice, gave no hint as to when he is expecting Mike Trout to return. The three-time American League MVP is now about six weeks removed from meniscus surgery. He’s still not running with his full weight yet or doing any baseball activity. “When he’s healthy he’ll play,” Minasian said. “We have to get him healthy to where he can go out and play and be Mike Trout. As far as timeframes, I don’t give timeframes. I don’t think anybody wants to get back as bad as Mike does. It’s just a matter of him getting healthy and being able to do that.” …

Minasian had essentially the same comment on third baseman Anthony Rendon, who has at least begun some baseball activity. Rendon is rehabbing from a torn hamstring.

UP NEXT

Angels (LHP Tyler Anderson, 5-6, 2.63 ERA) at Giants (RHP Spencer Howard, 0-0, 2.03), Friday, 7:15 p.m., Apple TV+, 830 AM

​ Orange County Register 

Samuel Woodward, on trial for murder of Blaze Bernstein, takes the stand

• June 14, 2024

Samuel Woodward, a onetime Orange County School of the Arts student on trial for the 2018 killing of former classmate Blaze Bernstein, took the stand for the first time on Thursday afternoon, June 13 as his attorney seeks to counter allegations that the slaying was a hate crime.

A bearded Woodward — his long dark hair covering most of his face — testified for about two hours in a Santa Ana courtroom before his trial ended for the day, during which time he answered questions about his family background and his difficulties communicating with others.

The early testimony did not touch on many of the major issues in the case, including Bernstein’s killing, Woodward’s ties to a racially motivated hate group, Woodward’s creation of what prosecutors have described as a “hate diary” or what Woodward’s attorney has described as Woodward’s struggles with his sexuality.

Woodward appeared calm on the stand, though he often paused mid-sentence or before beginning his answers and at-times spoke in a near-mumble or seemed to jumble words together, leading both the judge and the court reporter to ask him to repeat himself. Several times Woodward’s attorney also reminded him to pull his long hair back so the jurors could see his face.

There was no repeat of any courtroom outbursts like the one that resulted in delays in jury selection leading up to Woodward’s trial.

The defense has acknowledged that Woodward killed Bernstein, whose body was discovered buried — with more than 20 stab wounds — at the edge of a Lake Forest Park after a headline grabbing six-day search in January 2018. The defense has denied the prosecution’s contention that the killing was a hate crime, which if found true by the jury would lead to a much longer prison sentence.

Assistant Public Defender Ken Morrison began his questioning of Woodward by asking about his relationship with his parents and his older brother. Some witnesses have alleged that the father and brother used homophobic comments aimed at Woodward and that he may have been abused.

During the testimony, Woodward described his brother saying “some things to me” and recalled fights between the two siblings but said he didn’t see it as unusual. He described his brother as “antagonizing” him when they were younger.

“What level of conflict, if any, do you remember being in the household growing up?” the defense attorney asked.

“Sometimes it felt like a lot,” Woodward replied. “Sometimes it didn’t feel like much at all. My memory varies.”

Woodward, who is on the Autism spectrum, acknowledged having trouble communicating with other people.

“It was an issue with how I came across to other people, how I spoke,” Woodward said. “I guess I just sounded different. I guess I just had certain issues, issues communicating.”

Woodward is accused of killing Bernstein while Bernstein, a student at the University of Pennsylvania, was home visiting his parents during winter break. A variety of forensic evidence — including a knife found in Woodward’s room with blood matched on it through DNA to Bernstein — helped investigators tie Woodward — the last person known to see Bernstein alive — to the killing.

Both the prosecution and defense have described Woodward growing up in a conservative, religious family that was not accepting of homosexuality. Both sides acknowledge he later dropped out of college to join Atomwaffen Division, a Neo-Nazi group.

The prosecution alleges that Woodward, then 20, was driven by anti-gay and antisemitic beliefs to kill 19-year-old Bernstein, who was gay. The defense has countered that Woodward struggled with his own sexuality and argued the killing has nothing to do with any deep-seated hate.

Woodward’s testimony is eventually expected to outline, in his words, what happened the night he killed Bernstein. At the outset of the trial, Woodward’s attorney while promising his client would take the stand also warned jurors that Woodward’s mental state has deteriorated during the more than five years he has spent in local lockup awaiting trial.

On Thursday, Woodward’s testimony ended with questions about a brief time he spent living in Texas before he moved back in with his parents in Newport Beach.

Other witnesses — including former Atomwaffen members — previously testified that Woodward moved to Texas to train with the extremist group. But in his own testimony on Thursday, Woodward didn’t mention Atomwaffen, instead saying he moved to Texas after a friend told him there were plenty of jobs available.

“Was that consistent with the opportunity you found?” the defense attorney asked.

“No, there were some places that would hold interviews that were hiring, but they seldom actually hired,” Woodward said. “Some of them just weren’t hiring easily.”

Asked why he moved back to California — months before killing Bernstein — Woodward said he “thought it was time to basically head back home, spend some time at home, recuperate, (and) make back any money I lost in Texas.”

Woodward in often explicit entries in an online “diary” described matching up with gay men on dating websites and “ghosting” or scaring them. In one entry he wrote “They think they are going to be hate-crimed and it scares the (expletive) out of them.”

Jurors have also been shown at-times-apparently-flirtatius online messages between Woodward and Bernstein. Bernstein told Woodward he would keep those messages a secret, though he shared them with other friends, according to testimony during the trial.

Woodward’s testimony is scheduled to resume on Monday morning.

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​ Orange County Register