Monday Scoop: California Wildfires
The big story…
Wildfires Continue to Ravage California
Powerful winds are sweeping through California, worsening the wildfires ravaging both northern and southern ends of the state, stretching firefighting resources thin. The Camp Fire in the north and the Woolsey and Hill fires in the south have caused record amounts of damage and claimed at least 31 lives with over 200 people still missing. Hundreds of thousands of California residents have evacuated their homes and many will not have homes to return to, including many celebrities such as Miley Cyrus, Gerard Butler, and Robin Thicke.
California Governor Jerry Brown has requested that President Trump declare a major disaster so that the state can receive more federal emergency funds. However, Trump is blaming the fires on poor forrest management and refusing to give any more funds.
The smallest of the fires, the Hill Fire, is 75 percent contained. The Camp Fire, the most destructive and deadly in the state’s history, has burned through 111,000 acres and is about 25 percent contained, while the Woolsey Fire is 10 percent contained. Firefighters made progress in containing the fires Saturday, but the return of powerful winds and continued dry conditions are threatening their efforts.
In global news…
Trump Visits France for Anniversary of WWI
President Trump made a trip to Paris for the centennial anniversary of the end of World War I, joining world leaders such as French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. During the trip, Macron gave a foreboding speech about the dangers of nationalism and Trump took a rain check on honoring the U.S. soldiers of WWI.
In global health…
The Congo Is Suffering Its Worst Ebola Outbreak
The Democratic Republic of Congo is suffering its worst Ebola outbreak of the ten outbreaks in the country’s history. There have been almost 200 deaths since August with about 300 other probable or confirmed cases. About 25,000 people have been inoculated through a vaccination program, which, unfortunately, will not be enough to help the hundreds of people already infected.
In technology…
Vine Is Coming Back (Sort Of)
The creators of vine have announced a new video looping app called Byte. The app will be launching in Spring 2019 and Byte’s twitter account already has almost 74,000 followers.
In national news…
RBG Is Out of the Hospital and Back at Work
After enduring a fall that left her hospitalized with fractured ribs, 85-year-old Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is out of the hospital and back at work.
In music:
- Harry Styles won the LGBTQ Advocate award at the second annual Gay Times Honours.
- The Korean Boy Band BTS canceled performances after a band member was seen wearing a t-shirt depicting the bombing of Nagasaki.
- Iron Maiden is returning to North America for their 2019 Legacy of the Beast Tour.
- Check out more CMN album reviews.
Trending today…
The Best Michelle Obama Fangirl
With the release of Michelle Obama’s new memoir Becoming, we’re revisiting one of our favorite fangirls — Parker Curry, who dressed up as the former first lady’s portrait for Halloween.
Happy #Halloween! Can you guess who I am? pic.twitter.com/LZA95MT9rl
— Parker Curry (@_parkercurry) November 1, 2018
Last but not least…
University of Georgia Sophomore Creates Online Jewelry Company
Read about one college student’s hand-crafted jewelry business in Lindsay Wigo’s report for CMN.
Monday’s Morning Scoop was made possible by Natalia Kolenko, Lindsay Wigo, Lizzie Goodfriend, Daysia Naima Cornish, Kevin Ashley, Duane Paul Murphy, and the CMN Staff. Veterans Day was officially yesterday, but it’s never too late to thank a veteran for their service.