A 36-year-old single mom from California is on the road to recovery after being shot at point-blank range by a police officer who says the woman startled him.

Jennifer Orey of Spring Valley, CA is doing well after a Tuesday altercation in her own backyard that sent her to the emergency room.

San Diego County Sheriff’s Deputy Luke Berhalter shot Orey earlier in the week after the officer unexpectedly came across the woman. Deputy Berhalter was on Orey’s property, unannounced, investigating reports of a “suspicious male” in the neighborhood at the time of the incident.

“At some point, while in the backyard of the residence, there was contact between the deputies, who had their weapons drawn, and a female resident of the home,” Sheriff Lt. Larry Nesbit tells reporters.

James Morgan, the woman’s brother, says that the cop didn’t respond to his sister’s calls for him to identify himself.

“He fired without warning, saying freeze, or anything. Then just as she saw the black smoke coming out the barrel she turned her body,” Morgan tells Fox 5 San Diego. “When she got shot, her initial reaction was the pain and then she went to put her hand on the officer who shot her and he said, ‘Get your hand off me,'” he tells 10 News.

The brother adds to KSWB-TV that when his sister asked the officer why she was shot, he responded, “Well, I’m sorry, you startled me.”

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On the basis that there was zero reason to detain a retired Marine and commit him to a medical facility for psychiatric evaluation, a Virginia judge has demanded that Brandon Raub be released from custody immediately.

Raub, 26, had his home visited one week earlier by FBI, Secret Service and local law enforcement agents who expressed concern over a series of Facebook posts he had made on his public social networking profile. They detained him without charge and admitted him to a local hospital for evaluation.

“The petition is so devoid of any factual allegations that it could not be reasonably expected to give rise to a case or controversy,” reads a signed statement by Circuit Judge W. Allan Sharrett, which was provided to the Richmond Times-Dispatch Thursday afternoon.

Judge Sharrett adds that he was shocked to find that a magistrate did not include any grounds at all for holding Raub, who was placed in custody for a full week without any charges being pressed.

Earlier in the week, attorneys representing Raub from the Rutherford Institute attacked the mishandling of the case by suggesting that the entire ordeal was a war on their client’s constitutional rights.

“This is not how justice in America is supposed to work — with Americans being arrested for doing nothing more than exercising their First Amendment rights, forced to undergo psychological evaluations, detained against their will and isolated from their family, friends and attorneys. This is a scary new chapter in our history,” Rutherford Institute President John W. Whitehead says in a statement released on Tuesday this week. “Brandon Raub is no different from the majority of Americans who use their private Facebook pages to post a variety of content, ranging from song lyrics and political hyperbole to trash talking their neighbors, friends and government leaders.”

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is determined to launch an attack to prevent Iran obtaining nuclear weapons before the presidential election in November.

He believes President Barack Obama would have no choice but to back the Israeli decision in the weeks before he has to face the nation at the polls, according to a report in the Times of Israel.

“From the prime minister’s point of view, the time for action is getting closer,” the newspaper reported influential journalist Alon Ben-David as saying.

Ben-David said Netanyahu would not wait for a meeting with Obama at next month’s gathering of the United Nations General Assembly in New York to decide on a strike on Iran.

“In any case, I doubt Obama could say anything that would convince Netanyahu to delay a possible attack,” he said.

Ben-David is military reporter for Israel’s Channel 10 News and has been given extensive access to the country’s air force in its preparation for a potential attack on Tehran, said the Times.

The paper said President Shimon Peres, top generals, the intelligence community, opposition leader Saul Mofaz “and of course the Americans” were all opposed to an attack on Iran.

Urgent: Former CIA Director Gen. Michael Hayden and other top security experts have given a special Iran Crisis Briefing on a potential attack on Iran. To watch this online broadcast — Click Here Now

About 2600 years ago, the first person to step out in front of the traditional line of speaker/orators to deliver lines to an audience is credited to Thespis, a Greek poet/storyteller.  Thus the word “thespian” entered the lexicon.  The story may be apocryphal, but one cannot deny that a powerful art form was born as a result.

Fast forward, at warp speed to the 21^st century and the La Jolla Playhouse (LJP) founded in 1947 by Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire, and Mel Ferrer. The Playhouse has a long history of producing outstanding theatre.  They have created twenty-two productions over the years that have transferred to Broadway, earning thirty-five Tony Awards in the process.  In the last few years their transfer productions have captured four Best Musical or Best Play Tony Awards; the last in 2008 with “Memphis”, under current Artistic Director Christopher Ashley. So transfers are not unusual happenings at LJP.

I have a “transfer feeling” concerning the just opened production at the Mandell Weiss Auditorium. “An Illiad” is a co-written effort by actor/writer Denis O’Hare and Lisa Petersen, and directed by Petersen.  It’s an inspired production and is a strong candidate to move to Broadway in the future; extending the string of hits that have originated at the Playhouse.  In its present form it’s a co-production with Berkeley Repertory Theatre and savvy artistic director Tony Taccone.

Awhile back, Peterson and O’Hare put their heads together (as colleagues often do in the arts) and pondered what would it take to turn “The Illiad”, Homer’s classic, powerful, tale of war and waste, into a commercial venture?  After a few years of collaborating with O’Hare, Peterson, a formidable theatrical director of many years standing, now finds herself directing a re-imagined version of the Greek classic now titled “An Illiad”.  The result is an inspired piece of theatre worthy of Homer himself and a challenge for the lone actor who portrays “the poet/storyteller” in a ninety-five minute, breathtaking, tour de force performance.

Classically trained Shakespearean actor Henry Woronicz, simply dazzles and mesmerizes the audience with his complete command and understanding of Homer’s epic story.  In the O’Hare/Peterson version, all of the ancillary characters have been stripped away.  The story now centers on the two protagonists – the great Greek warrior Achilles and the Trojan leader Hector, and their respective houses, and of course, those  meddlesome, and capricious Gods of Greek mythology.

Challenging as it is, to play all of the characters, it’s also an actor’s dream come true.  Woronicz is absolutely riveting as he recreates the battle scenes, the rages and the retaliations that war engenders.  At one point he delivers an anguished litany of the names and titles of history’s wars right up to, and including the present global conflicts.  As a side bar note:  Someone actually took the time to count and document history’s wars with the result being that this planet has been without war for only eleven years since recorded history.  What a sobering and thought-provoking statistic.

Woronicz’s wonderful performance, however, is not restricted just to hand wringing and passionate outbursts, or anguished speeches.  His poet/storyteller has a comical side, as well.  And his comic timing and sly asides are just what is needed to keep the audience fully engaged.  Aiding Woronicz in this effort is musician Brian Ellingsen and his onstage playing of the standup Double Bass instrument.  In his creative hands the instrument becomes another actor in the piece.  His musical accompaniments highlight and underscore how the synergy between actor and musician is so integral to the production’s many emotional moments.

All of the above superlatives would not be possible without the insight, expertise, and  personal vision of director Lisa Peterson.  Her production, performed on an almost bare stage, is seamless in its direction, rich with many clever and spot-on directorial touches, and is an evening of relevant sheer brilliance on the part of Woronicz, Peterson, and the entire creative team.

I had an opportunity to chat with both Petersen and Woronicz at the after party.  When I asked Petersen if Woronicz is up to his emotionally and physically draining performance night after night she replied, “Oh, he’s very fit, so I don’t worry about that.  He’s also a fabulous actor, and a joy to work with”.  When I cornered Woronicz a little later, I relayed Peterson’s comments.  He smiled saying, “that’s very kind of her, but I haven’t done a full eight shows yet. I hope the voice holds out”.  He also mentioned that he and Brian (Ellingsen) “were really cooking out there tonight”.

The music and sound design by Mark Bennett is haunting, even eerie, at times in its evocation and role in validating how important music and sound are to a production.

“An Illiad” runs through September 9, 2012 at the Mandell Weiss Auditorium.  For reservations and ticket information call the Box Office at 858-550-1010.