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California’s largest active fire has exploded in size, growing rapidly amid bone-dry fuel and threatening thousands of homes as firefighters scramble to meet the danger. The Park Fire’s intensity and rapid spread Friday evening led fire officials to make unwelcome comparisons to the monstrous Camp Fire, which burned out of control in nearby Paradise in 2018, killing 85 people and torching 11,000 homes. More than 130 structures have been destroyed by this fire so far, and thousands more remain threatened. Communities elsewhere in the U.S. West and Canada were under siege Friday, from a fast-moving blaze in rural Idaho to a new blaze that was causing evacuations in eastern Washington.

A day after California Gov. Gavin ����ʦappom issued an executive order directing state agencies to start clearing homeless encampments on state land, including lots under freeways, the homeless people living in these encampments are wondering where else they could go. Many have experienced sweeps before that destroy their makeshift shelters and take away their belongings. But most of the time, the people living in those encampments just return after officials leave. For those who accept help from outreach workers, it may take weeks to months to get into a shelter. ����ʦappom and supporters of his order say the encampments cannot be left to exist because they pose health and safety issues both for homeless people and residents who live nearby.

Marvel Studios is returning to the famed Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con for its iconic Saturday night panel, which is expected to feature big announcements and surprise guests. After Marvel skipped out on the convention last year due to the Hollywood strikes, which prevented writers and actors from speaking on panels, anticipation for its panel is palpable among fans. The studio is expected to announce news teasing their upcoming titles in its “Phase 5” plan and beyond, with Marvel president Kevin Feige as the only confirmed speaker on the Saturday panel. He will be joined by several special guests, who may include stars of upcoming Marvel titles like “Captain America: Brave New World,” “Thunderbolts*” and “The Fantastic Four.”

Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada has eluded the reach of U.S. enforcement for decades as the top leader and co-founder of Mexico’s powerful Sinaloa cartel. Under his watch the criminal organization evolved into the world’s biggest manufacturer and smuggler of illicit fentanyl pills and other drugs into the U.S. The 76-year-old Zambada long ran the cartel in partnership with the flashier and better-known kingpin Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán Loera. Guzmán is serving a life sentence in a U.S. prison. Zambada and one of Guzmán’s sons were arrested in Texas on Thursday after they arrived on a private plane.

California’s largest active fire has exploded in size, growing rapidly amid bone-dry fuel and threatening thousands of homes as firefighters scramble to meet the danger. The Park Fire’s intensity and rapid spread Friday evening led fire officials to make unwelcome comparisons to the monstrous Camp Fire, which burned out of control in nearby Paradise in 2018, killing 85 people and torching 11,000 homes. More than 130 structures have been destroyed by this fire so far, and thousands more remain threatened. Communities elsewhere in the U.S. West and Canada were under siege Friday, from a fast-moving blaze in rural Idaho to a new blaze that was causing evacuations in eastern Washington.

Scores of wildfires across the United States and Canada have scorched swaths of land in California, Oregon, Idaho, Alberta and beyond, forcing evacuations and road closures, as well as destroying and threatening structures. The Durkee Fire near the Oregon-Idaho border remained the largest blaze in the U.S., scorching 444 square miles. The Park Fire in California prompted evacuations and had destroyed more than 130 structures.  Air quality advisories and alerts have been issued in some affected areas.

The federal government is giving more than a half-billion dollars to coastal communities to help them use nature-based preventative measures to address climate-related flooding and other disasters. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is allocating $575 million to 19 resiliency projects in several states. There's a particular emphasis on Native American, urban and traditionally underserved communities that suffer repeated floods, wildfires and other weather-related disasters. The projects include more than $72 million for so-called “living shorelines” in New Jersey, using native plants, oyster reefs and other natural materials to restore and protect waterfronts.

Wood pellet production has skyrocketed across the U.S. South to feed the European Union’s push for renewable energy to replace fossil fuels. But many people who live near manufacturing plants believe they make air dustier and residents sicker. President Joe Biden's landmark law to combat climate change has made billions available for these facilities. The administration is also weighing whether to open up tax credits for burning pellets. Environmentalists want an end to these incentives, saying it's a misguided attempt to curb emissions that pollute communities of color and warm the atmosphere. Supporters say wood pellets are an innovative long-term solution to the climate crisis that supports forest owners.

Wildfires are continuing to scorch the West, and authorities say one major blaze started with a burning car being pushed into a gully. A 42-year-old man was arrested Thursday on suspicion of starting a wildfire that has become California’s largest this year. The flames exploded a day earlier into what is now the Park Fire, which has scorched more than 195 square miles near the city of Chico, California. As evacuations continued there, some Oregon residents were cleared to return home after a thunderstorm dropped welcome rain but also potentially dangerous lightning on the biggest active blaze in the United States.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” has swept through Comic-Con, with its hordes of Marvel fans, with a surprise screening and the film's stars and thousands of fans. Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, who play the titular superheroes, joined director Shawn Levy in the San Diego Convention Center’s famed Hall H Thursday for a session celebrating the film's release and a surprise screening of the movie. Although Marvel is anxious for a hit following box-office underperformance in late 2023, the film is tracking to open in the $160 million range, which would make it the biggest opening of the year.

A U.S. Army Air Force engineer was laid to rest in southern California after being killed in action 80 years ago in Germany. Sgt. Donald V. Banta, of Los Angeles, was brought home Thursday and honored en route from the Ontario International Airport to a burial home in Riverside, California. Banta was killed when his plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire and crashed to the ground. Donald Banta’s niece was present at the planeside honors ceremony at the Ontario airport coordinated by Honoring Our Fallen.

California Gov. Gavin ����ʦappom has issued an executive order directing state agencies “to move urgently to address dangerous” homeless encampments and clear them from state land while giving local governments the authority to do the same. The order comes a month after a Supreme Court ruling allowing cities to enforce bans on sleeping outside in public spaces. City and county officials are not legally bound to follow the executive order, though it says they are “encouraged” to adopt the same policies. Some local officials say they will continue to clear homeless encampments as they have been doing since the Supreme Court ruling.

Justice Elena Kagan says the U.S. Supreme Court should bolster its new ethics code by adding a way to enforce it. She is the first justice to publicly call for a way to enforce the rules. Kagan made the remarks at a judicial conference in Sacramento on Thursday. She spoke to a crowd of attorneys, judges and court personnel. The court adopted the ethics code after justices came under scrutiny for engaging in partisan activity. Democrats, including President Joe Biden, have renewed talk of Supreme Court reforms. Public confidence in the court has decreased dramatically in recent years.

California Gov. Gavin ����ʦappom ordered state agencies to start removing homeless encampments on state land Thursday. The order comes a month after a Supreme Court ruling allowing cities to enforce bans on sleeping outside in public spaces. ����ʦappom’s order is aimed at the thousands of tents and makeshift shelters across the state that line freeways, clutter shopping center parking lots and fill city parks. The order makes clear that the decision to remove the encampments remains in local hands. While ����ʦappom cannot order local authorities to act, his administration can apply pressure by withholding money for counties and cities.

Comic-Con International, the comic book and pop culture extravaganza, is kicking off in San Diego. The convention, which draws over 130,000 fans annually, opens for a preview night Wednesday and runs through Sunday. Actors, filmmakers, comic book authors and illustrators and more are making their way to the San Diego Convention Center and the several official (and unofficial) event locations for a weekend brimming with programming. Fans can expect the weekend to be centered around Marvel, given this week's release of the highly anticipated “Deadpool & Wolverine” movie. Several celebrities will make appearances and speak on panels, including Chris Hemsworth, Christian Slater, Lupita Nyong’o, Quinta Brunson and more.

Rangers at California's Death Valley National Park say a European visitor got third-degree burns on his feet while briefly walking barefoot on blazing hot sand dunes at the park. The rangers said Thursday that because of language issues they were not immediately able to determine whether the 42-year-old Belgian’s flip-flops were somehow broken or were lost at Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes during a short walk on Saturday. The ground temperature would have been much hotter than air temperature that day, which was around 123 degrees Fahrenheit. The rangers say the visitor was rushed to a hospital in nearby Nevada.

Dozens of wildfires are blazing across several western states, with some areas under air quality alerts or advisories. The Durkee Fire in Oregon, the largest active blaze in the U.S. and one of 31 fires in the state, covered nearly 400 square miles and an air quality warning was in effect for the entire region on Wednesday. Areas in Washington and Idaho were also under air quality alerts or advisories. In Canada, there are nearly 180 wildfires just in Alberta, and authorities issued an air quality advisory for Calgary, Alberta due to the wildfire smoke.

A record 17 California condor chicks have hatched during this year’s breeding season for the endangered birds at the Los Angeles Zoo. Officials say Wednesday that all the chicks will be candidates for release into the wild as part of the California Condor Recovery Program. Zookeepers say the 17th and final bird of the season hatched in June and is thriving. The previous record was set in 1997 when 15 California condor chicks hatched at the zoo. The recovery program's goal is to propagate the iconic bird that decades ago was on the brink of extinction from habitat loss and lead poisoning.

John Mayall, the British blues musician whose influential band the Bluesbreakers was a training ground for Eric Clapton, Mick Fleetwood and many other superstars,  has died. He was 90. He is credited with helping develop the English take on urban, Chicago-style rhythm and blues that played an important role in the blues revival of the late 1960s. A statement on Mayall's official Instagram page says he died Monday at his home in California. Though Mayall never approached the fame of some of his illustrious alumni, he was still performing in his late 80s, pounding out his version of Chicago blues.

Firefighters in the West are scrambling as wildfires threaten communities in Oregon, California and Washington. A stretch of Interstate 84 connecting Oregon and Idaho in the area of one of the fires was closed indefinitely Tuesday. I-84 between Ontario and Baker City closed as flames from the Durkee fire moved toward the roadway in multiple locations. In central Washington, new fires prompted mandatory evacuations and threatened a natural gas plant. New lightning-sparked wildfires in the Sierra near the California-Nevada border forced the evacuation of a recreation area, closed a state highway and were threatening structures Tuesday.

As areas across the U.S. continue to experience extreme heat, employers have taken steps to protect workers from high temperatures. UPS has added more cooling equipment to its vehicles and facilities. Some organizations are preparing frozen towels for employees to keep them cool. And one Texas-based company is using technology that detects when a worker is overheating. In the absence of federal heat rules as proposed recently by the Biden administration, some employers are setting up worker protections as summers grow hotter, longer and more extreme due to climate change.

Sparks flew as a Nevada judge rebuked a defense attorney and a former Los Angeles-area gang leader lashed out against prosecutors during his renewed effort to be freed from jail to house arrest ahead of his trial in the 1996 killing of hip-hop legend Tupac Shakur. The judge last month rejected a hip-hop music figure's attempt to underwrite Duane “Keffe D” Davis’ $750,000 bail bond. The judge on Tuesday called for more documentation by next week. She also accused defense lawyer Carl Arnold of shaping media attention about the case, which Arnold denied. Davis has been jailed since his arrest last September. He has pleaded not guilty to murder and is due for trial in November.

At least half a dozen homes are in ruins after one of many dangerous wildfires in the West suddenly swept into a Southern California neighborhood during a blistering heat wave. Six homes were ravaged when the fire sparked by fireworks erupted Sunday in Riverside, east of Los Angeles. Seven other structures were damaged. More than two dozen fires are also burning in the Pacific Northwest and Idaho including a new one moving fast in high winds on the Oregon side of the Columbia River Gorge. Authorities also evacuated the eastern Oregon town of Huntington, and temporarily closed a stretch of Interstate 84 late Sunday after thunderstorms caused a massive smoke column to collapse.

A Silicon Valley-backed initiative to build a green city for up to 400,000 people in the San Francisco Bay Area on land now zoned for agriculture won’t be on the Nov. 5 ballot after all. Organizers suddenly withdrew the measure Monday and said they would try again in two years. The California Forever website describes the city as an “opportunity for a new community, good paying local jobs, solar farms, and open space.” The campaign qualified for the ballot in June. A Solano County report released last week raised questions about the project and concluded it may not be financially feasible.

Moviegoers ran toward the tornadoes this weekend, propelling “Twisters” to a blockbuster opening. The standalone sequel to the 1996 hit made $80.5 million in ticket sales from 4,151 theaters in North America, according to studio estimates Sunday. That’s about $30 million more than analysts expected initially. It opened last weekend in some markets internationally and continued its expansion this weekend. Universal also had the No. 2 movie in the country with “Despicable Me 4,” now in its third weekend. It added $23.8 million, bringing its domestic total to $259.5 million. Third place went to “Inside Out 2."

As allegations of sexual abuse built up at the largest housing provider for unaccompanied migrant children in the U.S., officials continued placing children in their care in a system that advocates say has lacked adequate oversight and transparency for years. A lawsuit filed Wednesday by the Justice Department alleges employees of Southwest Key Programs Inc. sexually abused and harassed children in their care for at least eight years. The nonprofit amassed billions of dollars in government contracts during that time. It remained unclear Friday how many children are housed in their shelters or what actions federal officials might take in response.

Arrests of Americans in Russia have become increasingly common with relations sinking to Cold War lows. U.S. citizens jailed on various charges in the country include a vacationing corporate security executive and a dual national visiting her family in Tatarstan. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was convicted of espionage Friday and sentenced to 16 years in prison in a trial that his employer and the U.S. government denounced as a sham. Washington accuses Moscow of using U.S. citizens as bargaining chips, but Russia insists they all broke the law. While high-profile prisoner exchanges have occurred in the past, the prospects of further swaps are unclear, and so is the overall number of those in Russian custody.

A Christian homeless shelter is challenging a Washington state anti-discrimination law that would require the charity to hire LGBTQ+ people and others who don't share its religious beliefs. Lawyers for Union Gospel Mission in Yakima asked the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday to revive a lawsuit dismissed by a lower court. Judges on the panel pressed lawyers for Washington state to disavow enforcement against Union Gospel Mission. The AG's office said it was not investigating the mission. Washington’s anti-discrimination law exempts religious nonprofits. But in 2021, the state Supreme Court said the religious hiring exemption should only apply to ministerial positions.

A judge has tentatively scheduled Harvey Weinstein’s planned retrial on rape and sexual assault charges to begin on Nov. 12. Weinstein wore an American flag pin on his jacket during a brief court appearance in Manhattan on Friday. The former Hollywood mogul’s pretrial hearing was delayed over 90 minutes because of disruptions to court and corrections computer systems from a global technology outage. New York’s highest court threw out Weinstein’s 2020 conviction earlier this year. Weinstein has denied wrongdoing. Prosecutors say they are still actively pursuing new claims against Weinstein, though they concede that they hadn’t yet brought findings to a grand jury.

Rapper and singer Sean Kingston and his mother have been indicted in South Florida on federal charges of committing more than $1 million worth of fraud. Court records show that 34-year-old Kingston and his 61-year-old mother made their first appearances Friday in federal court. A Miami grand jury returned an indictment earlier this month accusing Kingston and Janice Turner of participating in a scheme to defraud victims of high-end specialty vehicles, jewelry and other goods through the use of fraudulent documents. Kingston was booked into the Broward County jail on similar state charges last month following a May 23 arrest in California. Turner was arrested the same day as her son, when a SWAT team raided his rented mansion in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Saturday marks the 55th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. The cosmos is providing a full moon, and there are plenty of other events to honor the first lunar landing on July 20, 1969. Now 94, Aldrin is the last surviving member of the Apollo 11 crew. He headlines a gala at the San Diego Air and Space Museum. Cape Canaveral, Houston and other space towns are also throwing bashes, and a new moon movie is out. If nothing else, soak in the full moon Saturday night into Sunday morning.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Bob Newhart, the deadpan accountant-turned-comedian who became one of the most popular TV stars of his time after striking gold with a classic comedy album, has died at 94.

Bob Newhart has died at age 94. Jerry Digney, Newhart’s publicist, says the actor died Thursday in Los Angeles after a series of short illnesses. The accountant-turned-comedian gained fame with a smash album and became one of the most popular TV stars of his time. Newhart was a Chicago psychologist in “The Bob Newhart Show” in the 1970s and a Vermont innkeeper on “Newhart” in the 1980s. Both shows featured a low-key Newhart surrounded by eccentric characters. The second had a twist ending in its final show — the whole series was revealed to have been a dream by the psychologist he played in the other show.

Former co-stars and famous fans are paying tribute to comedian and actor Bob Newhart, who died Thursday at age 94. Actors including Carol Burnett, Mark Hamill, Kaley Cuoco and Jamie Lee Curtis took to social media to share tributes to Newhart, making note of his comic greatness, generosity and kindness. Directors Judd Apatow and Paul Feig also wrote statements about the late comedian. Several of the tributes call attention to Newhart's personality, including Apatow's, in which he calls him “the kindest soul.” Newhart died Thursday at age 94.

Shannen Doherty finalized her split with husband, Kurt Iswarienko, just hours before her death at age 53. Doherty, the star of “Beverly Hills, 90210” and “Charmed,” died Saturday after years with breast cancer. In an agreement with Iswarienko filed Friday, Doherty got to keep the couple’s Malibu home, a Salvador Dali painting, several cars and all earnings from her acting. A Los Angeles County judge signed off on the agreement Monday, two days after her death. Doherty had no children, and it’s not yet clear to whom her assets will go. Doherty and Iswarienko married in 2011. She filed for divorce last year.

The University of California Board of Regents are banning employees from posting political statements on the homepages of university websites, saying such comments could be interpreted as the university’s official view. The UC Board of Regents voted for the policy on Thursday. Political statements and personal opinions will be allowed on secondary pages and must include a disclaimer saying they don’t represent UC’s official views. The policy allows university employees to post political opinions on their personal university webpages or social media accounts. Faculty members, students and members of the community have criticized the policy, saying it restricts free speech.

The whistleblower who exposed the Tuskegee syphilis study that left hundreds of Black men untreated has died at age 86. Peter Buxtun died in May of Alzheimer's disease in California. Buxtun was a federal public health employee in the 1960s when he heard about the Tuskegee study. Rebuffed in his efforts to call attention to the experiment, he provided documents to The Associated Press. The news agency's reporting led to a public outcry that ended the study in 1972. The government later put in place new rules about how it conducts medical research.

One of the few moments of levity in “Longlegs” — the Neon horror film in theaters now about a Satanist serial killer — happens when Maika Monroe’s character, Lee Harker, meets her co-worker’s young daughter. It’s obvious the analytical FBI agent doesn’t spend a lot of time around kids. Her stoic, awkward personality is comically heightened by this interaction with the child. Critics have praised the 31-year-old’s performance in “Longlegs.” But her calculated, offbeat character is even more impressive given Monroe’s affable, almost whimsical personality. Her approachability is perhaps somewhat attributable to the fact that she has always kept Hollywood at arm’s length.

The latest agricultural census shows the number of greenhouse and nursery workers in the U.S. has grown by 16,000 in recent years. But there are no federal heat rules even as greenhouses become more popular and the number of workers in them has risen. There is also minimal research on the experiences of workers and their broader working conditions, nor on how to protect people who labor inside their often hot and humid environments. Some experts hope more research will emerge as indoor, climate-controlled growing environments likely become more popular as climatic conditions become less predictable and more extreme.

The U.S. military is celebrating an all-Japanese U.S. Army unit that was key in liberating Italy’s central Tuscan region from Nazi-Fascist forces in July 1944, even while their family members were interned at home as enemies of the state following Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor. Descendants of the Nisei soldiers traveled from different parts of the United States – California, Hawaii and Colorado – to attend the commemoration at the U.S. military base of Camp Darby, ahead of the 80th anniversary Friday of the liberation of nearby Livorno, in Tuscany.

Kali Reis was so taken aback by her historical Emmy nomination that she was almost at a loss for words. The “True Detective: Night Country” actor said she felt “numbingly grateful” after learning she and Lily Gladstone made history as the first Indigenous women to earn acting Emmy nominations. Tyler James Williams said he’s happy to once again join his “Abbott Elementary” nominees on the Emmy journey. Nikki Glaser won’t allow imposter syndrome to take over her joyous nomination moment for “Nikki Glaser: Someday You’ll Die.” They and other nominees including Lamorne Morris and Eric André spoke to The Associated Press on Wednesday after hearing their big news.

A former Syrian military official who oversaw a prison where human rights officials say torture and abuse took place has been arrested in Los Angeles on suspicion of immigration fraud. Court documents show that Samir Ousman al-Sheikh was arrested last week at Los Angeles International Airport. The 72-year-old was charged with immigration fraud, specifically that he denied in his U.S. visa and citizenship applications that he had ever ordered any political killings or carried out abuse in Syria. He was in charge of Syria’s infamous Adra prison from 2005 to 2008.