The San Bernardino County DA announced charges for Refugio Manuel Jimenez Jr. and Angela Renee Jimenez on Tuesday. The couple have been accused of sparking the deadly El Dorado Fire by setting off a smoke bomb during a gender-reveal party near Yucaipa, CA, on September 5, 2020.
Charlie Morton, squad boss of the San Bernardino National Forest's Big Bear Interagency Hotshot Squad, was killed while battling the wildfire 12 days later.
'He's fighting a fire that was started because of a smoke bomb. That's the only reason he's there,' said San Bernardino County DA Jason Anderson.
The wildfire that the couple allegedly sparked ended up burning for 23 days and scorching 22,000 acres. In addition to taking Morton's life, the fire also injured 2 others and destroyed 5 homes, as well as dozens of other structures.
According to CNN, the couple faces charges of one felony count of involuntary manslaughter, three felony counts of recklessly causing a fire with great bodily injury, and four felony counts of recklessly causing a fire to inhabited structures.
The couple also faces 22 misdemeanor counts of recklessly causing fire to property. They both pleaded not guilty. In total, the two could each face up to 20 years in prison.
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Kentaro Kobayashi, the director of the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony, has been fired one day before the event itself. Kobayashi was reportedly fired because of a Holocaust joke he performed during a comedy show in 1998.
'We found out that Mr. Kobayashi, in his own performance, has used a phrase ridiculing a historical tragedy,' organizing committee president Seiko Hashimoto said in a statement.
'We deeply apologize for causing such a development the day before the opening ceremony and for causing troubles and concerns to many involved parties as well as the people in Tokyo and the rest of the country,' the statement continued.
The last 30 years were the hottest ever in the U.S.
Every decade, the U.S. recalculates normal temperatures and the new normal is warmer than the last.
On May 4, 2021, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released its new ‘climate normals.’ Instead of using average values from 1981 to 2010, the agency will now use average values from 1991 to 2020.
The average temperature across the contiguous U.S. went from 52.8°F between 1981 and 2010 to 53.3°F between 1991 and 2020.
The urban heat island effect is a phenomenon affecting more than 100 cities across the U.S. — here’s how it works and why it disproportionately impacts communities of color
Rapid city expansion and scorching summers have made Phoenix, AZ, one of the deadliest urban heat islands. Maricopa County had 323 heat-related deaths in 2020.
The Nature Conservancy found areas across Phoenix, home to lower-income communities of color, were 10+ degrees hotter than more affluent suburbs.
'It never occurred to me after three highly effective vaccines were developed in under a year we'd have difficulty getting Americans to take the shots.'
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, supported by other GOP lawmakers, urged Americans to get vaccinated 'as rapidly as possible,' in order to avoid an even greater surge in COVID-19 cases similar to what the country saw last fall.
However, the GOP figurehead stopped short of criticizing specific conservative voices and members of his own party who've espoused dangerous anti-vaccine rhetoric in the past.
Initial soccer matches for the Tokyo Olympics began on Wednesday, and members of the British and Chilean women's teams set a precedent for the games by taking a knee before the competition.
Women's players for the U.S., Sweden, and New Zealand followed suit later in the day.
The IOC has said kneeling gestures of that sort will not be considered a violation of its Rule 50, which prohibits any 'demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda' in the Olympics.