NEWS OF THE DAY
From Across the Nation
1 Wildfire: The nation’s largest wildfire has forced more than 1,500 people from their homes and cabins in a southern Utah mountain area home to a ski town and popular fishing lake. The fire near the Brian Head Resort has grown to 72 square miles and burned 13 homes. It was ignited June 17 by someone using a torch tool to burn weeds. Investigators know the suspect, but have not yet identified the person or disclosed what charges may be filed. About 175 people were briefly allowed back to their homes near Panguitch Lake under escort, said Denise Dastrup with the Garfield County Sheriff ’s Office.
2 Climate change: A bipartisan group of mayors from across the country on Monday unanimously backed an ambitious commitment for U.S. cities to run entirely on renewable sources such as wind and solar in two decades. As the U.S. Conference of Mayors wrapped up in Miami Beach, leaders from more than 250 cities voted on symbolic resolutions pushing back against President Trump on climate change and immigration. Most mayors also signed a deal to do their part to uphold the terms of the Paris climate accords, even after the Trump administration pulled out of the agreement.
3 Bribery scandal: While he was stationed in Singapore, a U.S. Navy commander ate suckling pigs worth $400 apiece, attended a Gucci fashion show with his wife and enjoyed the services of prostitutes — all courtesy of a defense contractor, Navy prosecutors alleged Monday at a hearing in Norfolk, Va. Cmdr. David Alexander Morales is the latest Navy official to be charged in a wide-ranging bribery scandal in which officers allegedly provided ship schedules and important access to Singapore-based businessman Leonard Francis. Francis was determined to maintain his firm’s market share in servicing American warships in Asian ports. The Department of Justice has already filed charges against 25 people, including Francis.
4 Immigration arrests: A federal judge on Monday suspended the deportation of 1,400 Iraqi nationals in the U.S. while he determines whether his court is the proper place to consider their fears of physical harm if they’re kicked out of the country. U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith took a decision from last week, affecting 114 mostly Iraqi Christians rounded up in the Detroit area, and stretched it across the U.S. for the next 14 days. The Justice Department insists a U.S. District Court judge doesn’t have jurisdiction in the immigration matter. Goldsmith is not certain, so the 14-day freeze will give him more time to decide.
5 Pool crash: Eight people were injured when an SUV crashed into a motel swimming pool in Los Angeles, police said. The driver lost control of his vehicle Sunday night in front of the Vagabond Inn in the San Pedro neighborhood, crashed through a brick wall and landed in the swimming pool. The driver was taken to a hospital, where he was in stable condition, police said. Children between the ages of six and 10 were in the pool. They weren’t seriously hurt.