July 4 top stories
Hello, it is July 4. Here are today’s top stories.
26,000 evacuate as northern California wildfire rages, with more heat expected
Firefighters lined roads to keep flames from reaching homes as helicopters dropped water on a growing wildfire Wednesday in northern California that has forced at least 26,000 people to evacuate.
California’s historic heat wave that began Tuesday looks more intense and longer-lasting than expected, potentially pushing it into all-time record territory. Nearly 90 million people are under heat alerts with temperatures set to exceed 110 degrees throughout much of the state this week.
The Thompson fire broke out before noon Tuesday about 70 miles north of Sacramento in Butte County. It sent up a huge plume of smoke that could be seen from space as more than 3,500 acres of grass and woodland have since been consumed by the blaze. There was no containment.
According to the Cal Fire, more than a dozen other blazes, most of them small, were active across the state. The state’s largest blaze, the Basin Fire, covered nearly 22 square miles of the Sierra National Forest in eastern Fresno County and was 26% contained.
Trump gets big post-debate boost in new polls after Biden’s botched performance
According to a New York Times/Siena College poll, former President Trump has expanded his lead over President Biden in the aftermath of last week’s debate to 6 points, up from 3 just a week prior.
The poll shows Trump leading Biden with 49 percent to Biden’s 43 percent among likely voters, holding the largest lead he has had in a Times/Siena poll since 2015, when he first ran for president. Among registered voters, Trump’s lead expands to 8 points, 49 percent to 41 percent.
A defiant Biden vowed Wednesday to keep running for reelection, rejecting growing pressure from Democrats to withdraw after a disastrous debate performance raised questions about his readiness to keep campaigning, much less win in November.
Pollsters found 74 percent say Biden is too old to serve as president, an increase of 5 points from before the debate.
But the poll actually does not show a major increase in the percentage who want Biden to be replaced.
Teen tech whiz nicknamed ‘God’s influencer’ will become 1st millennial saint
A video-gaming Italian teenager will become the Catholic Church’s first millennial saint after his cause for canonization was approved by church authorities.
Carlos Acutis, who died from leukemia in 2006 at the age of 15, was renowned for using his computer skills to spread awareness of the Catholic faith and earned the nickname “God’s influencer.”
Being recognized as a saint in the Catholic Church can take decades, but the cause of Acutis has moved swiftly, with the teenager developing a devoted following across the world.
Often depicted wearing jeans and trainers, his story is seen as helpful for the Catholic Church as it seeks to better connect with the younger generation in a digital age, and he’s become popular with Catholic youth groups.
The date for his canonization is yet to be set, but will be the moment where Acutis is formally declared a saint, meaning the Catholic Church across the world can name parishes and schools after the teenager and will remember him annually on a “feast day.”
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Tractor Supply ends DEI, climate goals fracturing customer base
The National Black Farmers Association called on Tractor Supply’s president and CEO Tuesday to step down after the rural retailer announced that it would drop most of its corporate diversity and climate advocacy efforts.
In a public announcement last week, the company said it would eliminate all of its diversity, equity and inclusion roles, end sponsorships of “nonbusiness activities” like Pride festivals, and withdraw its goals for reducing carbon emissions.
Tractor Supply, which sells products ranging from farming equipment to pet supplies, faces a deepening backlash over its decision. Their decision came after conservative activists spoke out against the company’s work to be more socially inclusive and to curb climate change.
Critics of the new position argue that Tractor Supply is giving in to hate and harming its consumers by abandoning crucial principles.
Tractor Supply declined to comment further when reached on Tuesday.
Wildlife agency plans to kill 450,000 barred owls to save spotted owls
To save the imperiled spotted owls from potential extinction, U.S. wildlife officials are embracing a contentious plan to deploy trained shooters into dense West Coast forests to kill almost a half million barred owls that are crowding out their cousins.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service strategy released Wednesday is meant to prop up declining spotted owl populations in Oregon, Washington state and California.
Documents released by the agency show up to 450,000 barred owls would be shot over three decades after the birds from the eastern U.S. encroached into the West Coast territory of two owls: northern spotted owls and California spotted owls.
The notion of killing one bird species to save another has divided wildlife advocates and conservationists.
It’s reminiscent of past government efforts to save West Coast salmon by killing sea lions and cormorants that prey on the fish, and to preserve warblers by killing cowbirds that lay eggs in warbler nests.
That’s all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light!
26,000 evacuate as northern California wildfire rages, with more heat expected
https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/03/us/thompson-fire-california-heat-wave/index.html
https://www.sfchronicle.com/weather/article/excessive-heat-warnings-oroville-fire-19549582.php
Trump gets big post-debate boost in new polls after Biden’s botched performance
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/03/us/politics/poll-debate-biden-trump.html
Teen tech whiz nicknamed ‘God’s influencer’ will become 1st
https://people.com/gods-influencer-first-millennial-saint-canonization-approved-8671865
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/carlo-acutis-saint-canonization-approved-by-pope-francis/
Tractor Supply ends DEI, climate goals fracturing customer base
Wildlife agency plans to kill 450,000 barred owls to save spotted owls