Monday, September 14, 2020

The Rundown: At Least 35 Killed By West Coast Wildfires


Red flag warnings for strong winds that could fan the burning wildfires have been extended through tonight for southern Oregon and northern California as the death toll from the wildfires in California, Oregon and Washington state has risen to at least 35 people. At least 10 people have died in Oregon, 24 in California and one person in Washington state, while thousands of homes and other structures have been destroyed and tens of thousands have had to evacuate from their homes. The governors of the three states, who are all Democrats, say the record-setting wildfires are a consequence of climate change. Numerous studies in recent years have linked bigger U.S. wildfires to global warming. President Trump, who will visit California today for a briefing on the fires, blamed them on inadequate forest management during a rally in Nevada last night.


➤SALLY TO BECOME HURRICANE EXPECTED TO AGAIN HIT LOUISIANA: Tropical Storm Sally is heading towards the Gulf Coast and is expected to hit southern Louisiana as a Category 2 storm, after Hurricane Laura also hit the Louisiana coast late last month. Forecasters say Sally will become a hurricane today and come onshore by early Tuesday, bringing dangerous conditions to an area ranging from Morgan City, Louisiana, to Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards urged people to immediately prepare for the hurricane, saying, "Based on all of the available information, we have every reason to believe this storm represents a significant threat." Mississippi officials warned that the hurricane was expected to coincide with high tide, leading to significant storm surge, and Governor Tate Reeves said that people in low-lying areas need to evacuate. 




➤TRUMP HOLDS INDOOR RALLY IN NEVADA, DEFYING STATE REGULATIONS, FEDERAL GUIDELINES: President Trump held an indoor campaign rally in Nevada last night, defying state regulations and his administration's health guidelines amid the pandemic. Most people in the packed crowd in a warehouse in Henderson weren't wearing masks, in what was Trump's first indoor rally since one in June in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Trump said the nation was, quote, "making the last turn" in defeating the virus, stating, "We will very easy defeat" it. Governor Steve Sisolak has limited in-person gatherings to 50 people since May, a recommendation based on White House reopening guidelines. Sisolak, who's a Democrat, condemned the rally in a statement before it began, charging Trump was, quote, "taking reckless and selfish actions that are putting countless lives in danger here in Nevada." The city of Henderson told Xtreme Manufacturing that the rally violated emergency directives for the pandemic and that penalties would be imposed. Trump said he'd support those at the rally, quote, "if the governor came after you."

➤GUNMAN WHO SHOT TWO L.A. COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPUTIES STILL AT LARGE: Police are continuing to search for a gunman who shot two Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies Saturday evening while they sat in their squad car at a Metro rail station in an ambush attack, critically wounding them. Both the 31-year-old female deputy and 24-year-old male deputy graduated from the academy 14 months ago. Sheriff Alex Villanueva said Sunday while speaking with local religious leaders, "God bless them, it looks like they’re going to be able to recover." The department released video that shows the shooter approach the parked squad car on foot and shoot through the passenger-side window. A $100,000 reward has been offered for information leading to the gunman's arrest.

➤SUSPENDED CORONAVIRUS VACCINE TRIAL RESUMED: The trial of a coronavirus vaccine candidate that's in the third and final stage of resting has resumed, days after being suspended because of a reported side effect in a person in the U.K. who volunteered to take the vaccine. Oxford University, which is developing the vaccine with pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, announced Saturday (September 12th) that the trial was resuming. Oxford said, "The independent review process has concluded and following the recommendations of both the independent safety review committee and the U.K. regulator . . . the trials will recommence in the U.K." AstraZeneca had said earlier this week that the volunteer had developed symptoms consistent with a rare inflammation of the spinal cord. Pauses in drug trials are common.

➤NFL GAMES PLAYED ON FIRST SUNDAY OF SEASON: After the NFL season kicked off with a Kansas City Chiefs win over the Houston Texans last Thursday, the first Sunday game day was held yesterday. Among the day's developments, quarterback Tom Brady's first game for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was a loss, with his team falling to the New Orleans Saints 34-23. Meanwhile, his former team, the New England Patriots, started off with a 21-11 win over the Miami Dolphins behind quarterback Cam Newton. The day also saw the first game for the Raiders after the franchise moved to Las Vegas, and they notched a 34-30 win over the Carolina Panthers.

➤RACIAL JUSTICE DEMONSTRATIONS BY MANY NFL PLAYERS: In what was the first game of the season for the NFL players following a summer of protests against racial injustice and police brutality, many of them performed demonstrations of some kind in support during their games yesterday. The Green Bay Packers, Philadelphia Eagles, Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, Jacksonville Jaguars and Arizona Cardinals all remained in the locker room during the National Anthem, and several players from the Baltimore Ravens, Carolina Panthers, Seattle Seahawks, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings took a knee during the anthem, as did Indianapolis Colts coach Frank Reich. During the Seahawks-Atlanta Falcons game, all the players on the field took a knee after the Seahawks kicked off to the Falcons. The only game that had fans in the stands was in Jacksonville for their game against the Colts because of the pandemic, but the Vikings hosted the family of George Floyd.

🏈NFL SCORES -- WEEK 1: Here are the results of this weekend's National Football League games (Home teams are listed in italics):
  • Seattle Seahawks 38, Atlanta Falcons 25
  • Buffalo Bills 27, New York Jets 17
  • Chicago Bears 27, Detroit Lions 23
  • Green Bay Packers 43, Minnesota Vikings 34
  • New England Patriots 21, Miami Dolphins 11
  • Washington Football Team 27, Philadelphia Eagles 17
  • Las Vegas Raiders 34, Carolina Panthers 30
  • Jacksonville Jaguars 27, Indianapolis Colts 20
  • Baltimore Ravens 38, Cleveland Browns 6
  • L.A. Chargers 16, Cincinnati Bengals 13
  • New Orleans Saints 34, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23
  • Arizona Cardinals 24, San Francisco 49ers 20
  • Los Angeles Rams 20, Dallas Cowboys 17

🏈Tonight's Monday Night Football games on ESPN:
  • Pittsburgh Steelers at New York Giants (7:15 p.m. ET)
  • Tennessee Titans at Denver Broncos (10:10 p.m. ET)

🏀NBA PLAYOFFS: Results from Conference Semifinals yesterday:
  • Denver Nuggets 111, L.A. Clippers 98 -- Series tied at 3-3 (West)

🏒NHL PLAYOFFS: Results from Conference Finals yesterday:
  • Tampa Bay Lightning 4, New York Islanders 1 -- Tampa Bay leads series 3 games to 1 (East)

➤THIEM, OSAKA WIN U.S. OPEN: Dominic Thiem mounted a big comeback after losing the first two sets to the win the U.S. Open championship Sunday  against fifth-seeded Alexander Zverev of Germany 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (6), becoming the first man in 71 years to win the final after dropping the opening two sets. It's the first Grand Slam title for Thiem, who was seeded second in the coronavirus-affected U.S. Open in Queens, New York. 


The 27-year-old Austrian's victory coming on a fifth-set tiebreaker was also the first time the event had ever been won that way. On Saturday, Japan's Naomi Osaka won the women's U.S. Open championship, defeating Victoria Azarenka 1-6, 6-3, 6-3. It was the second U.S. Open title for the fourth-seeded Osaka, after she won in 2018, and her third Grand Slam. 

➤MIRIM LEE'S WINS ANA INSPIRATION: South Korea's Mirim Lee won the ANA Inspiration, one of women's golf's majors, on Sunday at Mission Hills in Rancho Mirage, California. Lee got the victory in a three-way playoff against American Nelly Korda and Brooke Henderson of Canada, winning on the first extra hole to get her first major championship.


➤CUBS' MILLS PITCHES NO-HITTER: The Chicago Cubs' Alec Mills pitched a no-hitter against the Milwaukee Brewers Sunday in just the 15th start of his career. The 28-year-old struck out five and walked three in the 12-0 Cubs victory that was the second no-hitter of the coronavirus-shortened season.

➤PUJOLS HITS 660TH HOMER TO TIE WILLIE MAYS: The Los Angeles Angels' Albert Pujols hit the 660th home run of his career on Sunday to tie Hall of Famer Willie Mays at fifth place on the all-time list. The two-run homer came in the eighth inning of the Angels' 5-3 win over the Colorado Rockies. The 40-year-old Pujols is now behind only Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755), Babe Ruth (714) and Alex Rodriguez (696) on the career list.

➤D'ANTONI WON'T RETURN AS ROCKETS COACH: Mike D'Antoni told the Houston Rockets Sunday that he won't return as coach next season. The news came a day after the Rockets' season ended with a conference semifinals loss to the L.A. Lakers in Game 5. D'Antoni was Houston's coach for four seasons.
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