News
On Sunday night, in a court victory for California, a federal judge blocked the Trump Administration’s attempt to deploy 300 California National Guard soldiers to Portland, Oregon – an effort the judge called an improper effort to “circumvent” her ruling on Saturday that Oregon National Guard members could not be federalized and deployed.
Judge Karin Immergut, a Trump appointee, granted the state of California’s request for a temporary restraining order, which halts any federalization, relocation or deployment of any guards members to Oregon from any state.
“The rule of law has prevailed — and California’s National Guard will soon be heading home,” said Gov. Gavin Newsom. “This ruling is more than a legal victory, it’s a victory for American democracy itself. Donald Trump tried to turn our soldiers into instruments of his political will. While our fight continues, tonight the rule of law said ‘hell no’.”
“The Trump Administration’s flagrant disregard for the courts was on full display when it sought to circumvent Judge Immergut’s order blocking the federalization of the Oregon National Guard by redeploying troops from Los Angeles to Portland,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. “This disrespect for the rule of law cannot stand — and I’m glad the court agreed. The president’s move to deploy the National Guard of one state over the objections of a governor to another state over the objections of a second is well outside of the norms or practices of any president in recent history. But this President is determined to take as much power as the courts will give him. This fight isn’t over, but today’s rebuke of the President’s illegal actions is a step in the right direction.”
Earlier on Sunday, Gov. Newsom announced the state’s intention to sue the Trump Administration after the White House sought to deploy 300 California National Guard personnel into Portland — a move Newsom called illegal — the day after a federal district court blocked the attempted federalization of Oregon’s National Guard.
California joined Oregon’s suit in the Oregon federal court.
Trump tries to send California troops to Oregon
Despite a federal court order finding no legal basis to deploy state National Guard troops to the streets of Portland and ordering that control of the Oregon National Guard be returned to state command, the Trump Administration tried to send 300 federally controlled members of the California National Guard to Portland to take their place.
The troops originally had been federalized months ago in response to what Newsom’s office called “unfounded claims” that unrest in Los Angeles — conditions that never necessitated their deployment in the first place, and have long since subsided anyway.
Courts rebuke Trump for deployment
In her Saturday ruling, Judge Immergut rejected the Trump Administration’s justification for deploying federalized troops, writing in her order, “This historical tradition boils down to a simple proposition: this is a nation of Constitutional law, not martial law. Defendants have made a range of arguments that, if accepted, risk blurring the line between civil and military federal power — to the detriment of this nation.”
The court found that the president’s own statements regarding the deployment of federalized National Guard were not “conceived in good faith” and were “simply untethered to the facts.”
- Details
- Written by: LAKE COUNTY NEWS REPORTS
JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, HAWAII, UNITED STATES — For most people, a bullet in the heart means certain death.
But for a World War II Sailor and his nurse, the precariously located bullet marked the start of an enduring love story symbolizing the resilience of the greatest generation.
During the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, Fire Controlman Dean Darrow was serving aboard the USS West Virginia (BB 48) when it was struck by torpedoes.
He was flung into the harbor’s oily, burning water. After Darrow was rescued and his wounds were treated, he was cleared for duty. But health complications kept him from returning to combat.
Darrow was transferred to Mare Island Naval Hospital in California where an X-ray revealed a bullet lodged in the muscle of his heart.
As he was being prepped for surgery, Darrow asked the nurse that had been assigned to him, Alice Beck, to go on liberty with him if he made it through the procedure. Beck agreed but wasn’t sure if the young Sailor would survive.
Fortunately, the bullet was successfully removed from Darrow’s heart and he and Beck went on their date. The two fell in love and later married. They raised four children: two sons, and two daughters. The bullet became a cherished keepsake of survival and the couple’s decades-long love story.
The Darrows later made their home in Lake County, California. Dean Darrow died in 1991 and Alice held on to the bullet, which meant everything to them.
Despite her attachment to the memento, Alice, now 106 years old, made the decision to donate the bullet so others could understand its significance — as a symbol of their love and to honor all who served and sacrificed.
Darrow and her family traveled to Hawaii where she gave the bullet to a museum technician from the National Park Service which manages the Pearl Harbor National Memorial on Sept. 18, 2025.
Alice said donating the bullet was bittersweet. She was saddened to part with the memento that brought her and her husband together but was also happy that the bullet could serve as a reminder of the devastation caused by war.
“This is the right place for it to be, where it can be displayed, and other boys can see it. Youngsters can see it, and realize what war is like,” she said, flanked by Navy Sailors from the Arizona Detachment and National Park Service rangers who were on hand for the transfer of a piece of World War II history.
“The heart that she has to have to be able to pass down something that she cherishes so much is a big deal,” said Damage Controlman 3rd Class Paul Esposito, a Sailor from the Arizona Detachment, the unit that ferries over 4,000 visitors daily to the Arizona Memorial. “And it shows the respect and appreciation that she has for the Navy.”
“We are honored to receive this piece of history,” said Mikael Fox, the museum technician with the National Park Service, who accepted the bullet and is working with the Darrow family to collect historical information about Dean and Alice Darrow for the Pearl Harbor National Memorial’s website and for a future exhibit.
In a short biography of her father’s life, Becky Mitchell recalled her parents’ fond memories of how the bullet brought them together.
“Dean would sometimes say: ‘The best thing I ever got out of the Navy was my nurse’. Alice would then reply: ‘After the surgery, it left a hole in his heart. I was able to fill that hole with my love.’”
Museum technician Fox said the Darrows’ story of love and resilience in the aftermath of Dec. 7 is representative of the powerful transformation depicted in the Tree of Life monument at the Arizona Memorial Visitors Center. The Tree of Life design is also featured on both side walls in the USS Arizona Memorial’s shrine room, allowing natural lighting to illuminate the names of fallen service members.
“The idea behind that sculpture is that even in the darkest moments under the darkest clouds, you can always find these bits of light filtering through, and I think the Alice and Dean story really embodies that,” Fox said. “This idea that in the aftermath of this tragedy so many had died and with Dean’s life at risk they found each other, and they continued to have each other for nearly 50 years.”
Editor’s note: Alice Darrow, formerly a Lake County resident, now lives in Contra Costa County with her daughter, Becky Mitchell.
Kyler Hood is a public affairs specialist with the Navy Hawaii Region at Pearl Harbor.
- Details
- Written by: Kyler Hood
How to resolve AdBlock issue?