FIRE AND ICE: Seven hundred US Marines are being deployed to Los Angeles and President Trump said it wouldn’t be a bad thing to arrest California Gov. Gavin Newsom following a fourth day of protests against immigration roundups in the city. Trump also doubled the deployment of National Guardsmen to 4,000 in what is clearly a show of force out of proportion to the situation.

  Amidst some of the chaos a couple of journalists were clearly targeted to be hit with rubber bullets. Australian reporter Lauren Tomasi said “ouch” and kept broadcasting.

  Events yesterday were not so violent as Saturday when protesters called in Waymo driverless taxis then burned them as police used gas and rubber bullets. The demonstrations spread to San Francisco and the city of Santa Ana. 

  Gov. Newsom called the deployment of federal troops illegal and sued to block them. Trump had invoked the insurrection act to mobilize the troops. Responding to questions about a threat by Border Czar Tom Homan to arrest Newsom, Trump said, “I think it’s great. Gavin likes the publicity, but I think it would be a great thing.” Then he called Newsom incompetent.

 Asked by ABC News Correspondent Karen Travers what crime Newsom had committed that would warrant his arrest, Trump responded, “I think his primary crime is running for governor because he’s done such a bad job.”

  Newsom responded on Twitter/X saying, “The President of the United States just called for the arrest of a sitting Governor.” He said, “These are the acts of a dictator, not a President.” 

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE: 

— Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. a vaccine skeptic,  fired all 17 members of the advisory committee on immunization to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, claiming the move would restore the public’s trust in vaccines.  Insurance companies and Medicaid are required to cover the vaccines recommended by the panel.

— Lindsey Burke, who called for closing down the federal Department of Education and was the author of the education chapter of the conservative Project 2025 blueprint for government, has joined the education department as deputy chief of staff for policy and programs. Burke had spent 17 years at the conservative Heritage Foundation. 

STAR CROSSED: A federal judge dismissed the $400 million lawsuit that actor Justin Baldoni brought against his former movie co-star Blake Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, as well as The New York Times. Judge Lewis Liman in Manhattan said in particular that Lively had not defamed Baldoni other than in legally protected accusations in her own lawsuit against the actor. 

  This is the latest plot twist in the war of words and lawsuits between Lively and Baldoni that you can read about most days in the tabloids. Lively had sued Baldoni, the lead actor and director for the movie “It Ends With Us,” accusing him of harassment on set and mounting a retaliatory smear campaign after she complained. Following a story in The NY Times, Baldoni countersued Lively and sued the newspaper for its reporting.

  The judge ruled that the Times reporting was protected because it was based on Lively’s  legal filing. All this as the result of a mediocre movie.

ON ICE: The Florida panthers devoured the Edmonton Oilers 6-1 yesterday to lead the Stanley Cup playoffs 2-1. Game four is Thursday.

PAY TO PLAY: Catching up on a story … A federal judge on Friday approved a settlement that will allow universities to directly pay their athletes. 

  The settlement allows universities each to distribute a maximum $20.5 million a year and distribute $2.7 billion over the next 10 years to thousands of former players who were previously barred from being paid.

  Most of the money is likely to go to football and basketball players even though the lawsuit making it possible was brought by a swimmer.

THE OBIT PAGE: Sly Stone, the leader of the 1960s rock and funk band “Sly and the Family Stone” that played to the masses at Woodstock, has died at age 82. The group’s big hits included “Stand!, “Everyday People,” “Dance to the Music,” “I Want to Take You Higher,” “Family Affair,” and “Hot Fun in the Summertime.”

  Stone was known for his colorful “fly” style of dressing, including big floppy hats and giant platform shoes.

— Frederick Forsyth, the author of such geopolitical thrillers as “The Day of the Jackal” and “The Dogs of War,” has died at age 86. 

  Forsyth wrote 24 books, including 14 novels. “I don’t even like writing,” he told The Chicago Tribune in 1978. “The action of it is very tiring, then you’re shut away like some damn monk, on a glorious day, with the sun shining.”

THE SPIN RACK: At least eight people are dead including the gunman following a mass shooting today at a high school in the city of Graz, Austria. — Firearm deaths of children and teenagers rose significantly in states that loosened gun laws following the 2010 Supreme Court decision that limited the ability of  local governments to restrict gun ownership, according to a new report. Deaths in more restrictive states were stable. Guns are the leading cause of death in the US for people under 18. Many are intentional shootings and suicides rather than accident. — Fifteen states and the District of Columbia filed suit to prevent the Trump administration from returning to their owners thousands of seized devices that effectively convert an automatic rifle into a machine gun. The devices were made legal by a Supreme Court ruling striking down a ban.

BELOW THE FOLD: The leaders of the OneTaste “orgasm cult” were found guilty in federal court in Manhattan yesterday of grooming their wellness company’s members to have sex with clients and investors. Some reporters said witnesses described sex acts probably never previously mentioned in a courtroom, but they weren’t covering the trial of “Diddy” Combs.

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