Sheriff: 2 dead in Northern California wildfire
A sheriff says two people have died in a blaze that ripped through a Northern California town. shared the news of the fatalities Sunday afternoon during a community meeting held at an elementary school north the town of Weed. The blaze sparked Friday in the rural Northern California community and forced thousands of people from their homes. LaRue did not immediately provide names or other details including age or gender of the two people who died. Cal Fire had previously reported that three people were injured in the fire. It’s unclear if those injuries are related to the deaths.
As midterms near, election rule raises dilemma for Trump inquiries
As the midterm elections near, top Justice Department officials are weighing whether to temporarily scale back work in criminal investigations involving former President Donald Trump because of an unwritten rule forbidding overt actions that could improperly influence the vote, according to people briefed on the discussions. Under what is known as the 60-day rule, the department has traditionally avoided taking any steps in the run-up to an election that could affect how people vote, out of caution that such moves could be interpreted as abusing its power to manipulate American democracy.
Plan to blare propaganda meets resistance in Vietnam
During the Vietnam War, loudspeakers warned people in Hanoi, Vietnam, about American B-52s approaching on bombing runs. For decades afterward, they blared Communist Party propaganda and updates on pension payments, power outages and other municipal minutia. The city government suspended regular broadcasts in 2017 but said recently that it planned to reinstate them and expand the loudspeaker network. Critics say that the plan reflects old-fashioned thinking by the ruling Communist Party and that the speakers no longer have a place. “I don’t like them anymore because they’re too intrusive,” said Nguyen Lap, who for most of his life listened to scratchy announcements.
New Titanic footage heralds next stage in deep-sea tourism
New footage of the Titanic wreckage released last week by a commercial exploration company shows the doomed ship in vivid detail and highlighted that the world for wealthy tourists extends not only to space but the deep sea. The one-minute clip was shared by OceanGate Expeditions, a company that takes paying tourists in submersibles to shipwrecks and underwater canyons. For the Titanic expedition this summer, guests paid $250,000 to take a submersible down about 2.4 miles to where the wreckage rests. Since the hulking ship was found upright and split in two sections in 1985, off Newfoundland, it has captivated historians, archaeologists and others.
Stabbings in Canada kill 10, wound 15; suspects at large
A series of stabbings at an Indigenous community and at another town nearby in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan has left 10 people dead and 15 wounded, Canadian police say as they search for two suspects. The stabbings took place in multiple locations on the James Smith Cree Nation and in the village of Weldon, northeast of Saskatoon. Rhonda Blackmore, the Assistant Commissioner of the RCMP Saskatchewan, said some of the victims appear to have been targeted by the suspects but others appear to have been attacked at random. She couldn’t provide a motive. She said there are 13 crime scenes where either deceased or injured people were found.
Military reserves, civil defense worry Taiwan as China looms
Chris Chen, a former captain in Taiwan’s military, spent a lot of time waiting during his weeklong training for reservists in June. Waiting for assembly, waiting for lunch, waiting for training. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has underscored the importance of mobilizing civilians when under attack, as Ukraine’s reserve forces helped fend off the invaders. Nearly halfway around the world, it has highlighted Taiwan’s weaknesses on that front, chiefly in two areas: its reserves and civilian defense force. Even before the invasion of Ukraine in March, Taiwan was working on reforming both. The question is whether it will be enough.
Energy problems in Ukraine and Europe take center stage
Energy problems have plagued Ukraine and Europe as much of the Russian-occupied region that’s home to a largely crippled nuclear power plant was reported temporarily in blackout. Only one of six reactors at the Zaporizhzhia plant was connected to the electricity grid And Russia’s main pipeline carrying natural gas to Germany remained shut down on Sunday. The fighting in Ukraine and related disputes over pipelines lie behind the electricity and natural gas shortfalls that have worsened as Russia’s war in Ukraine grinds on for a seventh month. U.N. nuclear agency inspectors are scheduled to brief the Security Council on Tuesday about their visit to the Zaporizhzhia power plant. European Union energy ministers will meet Friday to discuss the bloc’s troubled electricity market.
By wire sources