Sand Fire Grows To 1,500 Acres In Santa Clarita
Smoke from the Sage Fire billows above a residential street. Courtesy Cal Fire
The Sage Fire, which has scorched about 1,110 acres west of Santa Clarita, was 85 percent contained Monday night, the Los Angeles County Fire Department announced.
The blaze was first noticed about 12:05 p.m. Saturday, and its cause has yet to be publicly identified. Three firefighters have been injured battling the flames and at least one building damaged.
A smoke advisory issued by the South Coast Air Quality Management District due to the fire was extended through 11:59 p.m. Tuesday.
Smoke is expected to move to the north and east today, but could settle in the area tonight and in the morning, depending on fire and weather conditions, according to the AQMD.
Air quality may reach unhealthy levels in areas directly impacted by smoke, according to the agency. Areas of direct smoke impacts at times and unhealthy air quality will likely include portions of the Santa Clarita Valley and the San Gabriel Mountains area.
People with respiratory or heart disease, older adults and children were urged to remain indoors, with windows and doors closed as a precaution.
After the fire was reported on Saturday, residents were evacuated from 700 homes but were told about 9:30 that night that they could go home.
About 700 firefighters worked today to douse the flames, and two aircraft were also deployed. Firefighters included personnel from Los Angeles County, the city of Los Angeles, the U.S. Forest Service and the Orange County Fire Authority.
This afternoon, the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced that it has authorized the use of federal funds to assist with the firefighting effort.
The state submitted a request on Saturday for a Fire Management Assistance Grant for the Sage Fire.
In response to the request, the Regional Administrator for FEMA Region IX Office determined that the Sage Fire threatened such destruction as would constitute a major disaster, according to FEMA. Californias request was therefore approved.
Fire Management Assistance Grants provide federal funding for up to 75 percent of eligible firefighting costs.
City News Service
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How Le"Veon Bell"s Possible 4-Game Suspension Could Impact the Steelers | NFL
A day after reports surfaced that Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le"Veon Bell faces a four-game suspension for missing a drug test, the NFL Network reported Saturday that Bell actually missed several.
Those missed tests violate the NFL"s substance-abuse policy.
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Friday, sources told ESPN that the suspension is the result of a missed drug test, not a failed one. Bell"s appeal is expected to be heard before the start of the season.
If the appeal is not overturned, Bell would miss the first four games of the season. Players are tested once for recreational drugs between April 20 and July.
Bell was suspended for the first three games last season -- which was later reduced to two games -- for violating the substance-abuse policy after he was arrested for DUI and marijuana possession in the summer of 2014.
Bell, who had right knee surgery last November, said recently he was on schedule for when the Steelers" camp opens on July 28. He suffered a torn MCL and PCL in Week 8.
The 24-year-old fourth-year running back played in six games last year and rushed for 556 yards with three touchdowns.
Bell, who is entering the final year of his rookie contract, was a Pro Bowl and First-Team All-Pro choice in 2014 after rushing for 1,361 yards and eight touchdowns, with 854 receiving yards and three TDs.
Breaking News Hillary Clinton Trump Live Coverage Analysis Reaction
For the third time in a row, Illinois Democrats are headed to their party"s nominating convention to help anoint a home-stater to the top slot on the ballot as Chicago-born, suburban-raised Hillary Clinton is poised to accept the presidential nomination.
But the mood at this Democratic National Convention is slightly different than at the past two, when the party"s nominee was Barack Obama, a Chicagoan and onetime state senator who launched his presidential campaign from the steps of the Old State Capitol in Springfield.
After the March 15 primary revealed a split between voters who preferred Clinton and those who favored Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Illinois delegation is hoping the party will be able to coalesce around its nominee and capitalize on what could be a turnout opportunity.
The stakes this year are high: Illinois Democrats have their sights set on a Republican-held U.S. Senate seat and are hoping to protect and perhaps build on supermajorities at the statehouse. The Senate seat, held by first-term Sen. Mark Kirk, is central to the party"s efforts to capture control of that chamber. The outcome of state legislative races will affect the way Democratic leaders in Springfield proceed in their power struggle with Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner.
All of it will rest on the party"s ability to boost enthusiasm and drive Democratic turnout at the polls. As the delegation heads to Philadelphia, it has some work to do.
"We have to unify," said Southeast Side Ald. Susan Sadlowski Garza, 10th, a Sanders delegate. "What I hope happened with the Bernie Sanders movement is they woke up the Democratic Party and said, "Hey, you better listen, because we"re going in the wrong direction." "
Unlike 2008, when Obama swept the Illinois Democratic primary, the decision this year was far less definitive. Clinton barely inched past Sanders with 50.6 percent of the vote compared with 48.6 percent for Sanders. Of the state"s 196 delegates, 83 are pledged to Sanders, meaning there will be a lot of the senator"s delegates looking for assurances that Clinton can satisfy the more liberal wing of the party.
The delegation"s mood on leaving Philadelphia could help set the tone for the campaign ahead, and represent an early indicator of whether Democrats can mobilize turnout in November. Much of that mood-shifting work will take place at morning breakfast meetings, where delegates will hear from party leaders and supporters, including organized labor.
"It"s generally what you might call a pep talk, but based in the individual"s own party or labor or whatever experience," said state Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie, a top deputy to House Speaker Michael Madigan.
On the larger convention stage, at least a couple of politicians who have spoken before aren"t expected in the national spotlight this time around.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who addressed the national convention four years, is not expected to speak on the big stage. He is, though likely to talk at a delegation breakfast, Currie said. Also not listed so far is U.S. Sen. d**k Durbin, the state"s highest-ranking member of Congress who had a slot on the speaking stage in 2012.
But Illinois will have at least three elected officials who are expected to address the entire national party assemblage.
U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth, a party favorite who is challenging Kirk for Senate, is expected to speak on the main stage, though it has yet to be officially announced. U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez is expected to use his bona fides as an immigration advocate to draw a contrast between Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump.
And then there"s President Obama whose speech Democrats are hoping will do much of the heavy lifting when it comes to energizing the party.
"I expect for the president to come out and give a speech that is stronger than anything he did coming in," said West Side Ald. Emma Mitts, 37th, a Clinton delegate. "This is his legacy he"s talking about and what the future should hold. His eyes are even more wide open now, so he can really give us something to be excited about so that we can come back and really campaign strong, because we"re going to need that energy."
Clinton delegate and South Side Ald. Carrie Austin said some Sanders supporters are dragging their feet, and that it"s time for them to get in line as Clinton has incorporated some of the senator"s ideas into her campaign and the party"s platform.
"What more do they want her to do? That"s the part that bothers me. I mean, c"mon. What more do you want her to give of herself to convince you?" said Austin, 34th. "She"s doing everything within the character of who she is. Why would she step outside the character of the person of who she is? You want me to do a jig? I don"t know how to dance. So, I think they"re overreaching and they just don"t like her. Period."
Plus for Illinois delegates, there"s the fact Clinton was born in Chicago and raised in Park Ridge. Never mind that the Cubs fan started donning a Yankees hat when she moved to New York to run for U.S. Senate.
"She"s from here, but not here. And it"s OK with us," Austin said. "I knew Sen. Clinton when she was just the wife and Bill was the president, so that"s why I"m supporting her. She"s a straight shooter. She"s not a bulls------. That"s what I like. Don"t give me no song and dance, because I know it"s a song and dance."
Still, there are some moves Clinton could drive at the convention to generate excitement from the Sanders crowd, Sadlowski Garza said, such as striking from the platform the Trans-Pacific Partnership a proposed trade deal Obama has backed but Sanders has strongly opposed. Clinton also has said she doesn"t favor the deal.
For her part, Currie said she was optimistic the party would be unified after a meeting of delegates in Springfield earlier this year.
"Party unity is already assured," she said. "I am sure that the enthusiasm will rise as the convention proceeds."
Pilsen Ald. Danny Solis, 25th, said he"s not too worried about the enthusiasm factor for Clinton. As a member of the party"s platform committee, he attended meetings in Orlando this month, and said Sanders supporters were helpful in creating what he called "the most progressive platform we"ve seen in the history of the party."
Solis, a Clinton supporter in the delegation, said he believes Sanders delegates will follow the liberal senator"s call for party unity, and he said the fresh perspective of his supporters will bring energy to the convention. Plus, Solis said, some pundits are underestimating the organic enthusiasm that the historic nature of the convention will create.
"The first woman to be nominated for president in the history of the United States, and I think she will be elected in November," said Solis, whose sister Patti Solis Doyle worked as a longtime aide to Clinton. "To me, it"s a historical moment in the life of this country and in my life, and we are going to show a great contrast to what the Republicans have been talking about and the vitriolic theme they had at their convention."
Still, there is some work to do with Sanders backers, some of whom point to the email scandal that has clouded Clinton"s campaign with questions about her use of a private server to send classified information while she was running the State Department.
Sadlowski Garza is in that camp, admitting she is grudgingly moving toward getting behind Clinton. Why so hesitant?
"I don"t think I have enough time to go through it all," she deadpanned. "Bernie has always stood for the working class his whole career. He"s always told the truth, he"s always done what he"s said he"s going to do. We don"t have to worry about him hiding emails or saying one thing and flip-flopping to another just to appease people. I just don"t really trust Hillary Clinton."
But in the end, she said, Trump, not Clinton, will be the most important motivating factor.
"We can"t let Donald Trump get elected. We just can"t. He"s a joke," Sadlowski Garza said. "I"ll be voting for Hillary."
While the whole point of playing Pokemon Go is supposed to be geared toward fans roaming around their local area, exploring to find the best Pocket Monsters, it was almost inevitable that new cheats would be found.
The latest would be Pokevision, a new Google Maps tool that allows you to find out what Pokemon are currently surrounding you.
The work was originally accomplished by developers pulling Pokemon Go data directly from the game, allowing for the tracking of Pokemon Gyms, Pokestops and where new Pokemon will pop up.
That has led to a new easy-to-use website launching, called Pokevision. There are many other projects that have been spawned from the original work and will likely pop up as new Pokemon Go mobile apps in the future.
Here is a step-by-step breakdown of the new Pokevision map now available for fans to use, be warned while there havent been reports of malicious content, you should always be careful when being asked to do anything while using a new tool.
The new Pokevision site displays a map with Pokemon nearby marked along with their appearance timer on the map, it currently only requires you to log onto the site.
The Pokevision site is also affected when Pokemon Gos servers go down, so be aware that it will sometimes requires several goes to log on.
What is Pokevision? Pokevision is a Pokemon tracker/locator for the mobile game Pokemon Go. It uses the Niantic API to grab the location of all Pokemon near your (or your selected location) and display them on the map in real-time; this means if it is displayed on the map, you can go out and catch them!
Note: Rarer pokemons have a shorter appearance time so they might despawn; make sure to be quick and keep an eye on their timers!
How do I track Pokemon using Pokevision? Click anywhere on the map to drop a location marker. After placing a marker, press scan to reveal Pokemon nearby.
Use the Search Bar to enter your location (or a location you wish to scan) and hit enter. You can then click Scan. If there are Pokemon nearby, they will display on the map along with their appearance time.
Are the Pokemon displayed actually there?Yes - as long as the timer has not reached 0, the Pokemon are actually there and in real time.
How come I see some Pokemon in game but not on your map: Pokemon that spawn due to lure/incense are not visible on our map since those pokemon are visible to only you.
Can I scan anywhere?As long as it is an area where Pokemon Go is serviced, yes. Please keep in mind we have a small delay between scans so that requests do not spam the servers. Scans take around 5-15 seconds depending on the density of the area.
I am receiving an error: The Pokemon Go servers are very overloaded during peak hours of the day, this also affects the API and results may take longer or stall. Please be patient and try again!
Brandon Ingram,Aaron Gordon,Zach Lavine,D"Angelo Russell USA Basketball Select Team ScrimmageHoopJab
Facebook and Twitters live video rivalry goes beyond Periscope and Facebook Live. Both social platforms are also duking it out over live sports broadcasts from major organizations.
Over the next two weeks, the NBA and USA Basketball will be live-streaming a mix of nine mens and womens exhibition games. Youll be able to watch Kyrie Irving, Maya Moore, Boogie Cousins, and Elena Delle Donne take on the likes of Argentina, China, and France, all from the comfort of your News Feed. The games will be streamed on the Facebook pages for USA Basketball and the NBA, and they may show up as promoted posts in your feed, too.
According to the NBA, the games will only be aired live; there wont be cached versions to watch later. And Facebooks stream will be simulcast straight from NBA TV, which should offer insight to how many people stream the games online versus on TV. The live streams will be available internationally. As for actual Olympic basketball games, those wont be streaming in the same place. The broadcast rights are owned by NBC.
Earlier this year, Facebook reportedly bid for the rights to live-stream NFL games. Twitter ultimately won out. But Facebook also launched Facebook Sports Stadium, a hub for real-time information and social sharing centered around live games.
This particular arrangement appears to be spearheaded by the NBA itself, so its hard to know what (if anything) it says about Facebooks future sports-streaming plans. Its definitely an area of interest, one with ample competition. Earlier this year, Twitter aired live Wimbledon coverage, though it was disappointing. There werent any live streams of matches, just press conferences and commentary. Previously, Yahoo had streamed a low-stakes NFL game, with mixed results.
All of which is to say, theres still plenty of room for someone to figure out how to do live sports on social media. That alone makes this Facebook-NBA partnership worth watching. The USA basketball streaming schedule on Facebook starts tomorrow (Friday, July 22) at 9pm ET with the US mens team going toe-to-toe against Argentina.
Batman: The Killing Joke Official Trailer 1 (2016) - Mark Hamill Movie
Before and after the Comic-Con International screening of "Batman: The Killing Joke," the film"s cast and crew talked about the process of adapting Alan Moore and Brian Bolland"s seminal DC Comics tale from page to screen. In particular, screenwriter Brian Azzarello and director Sam Liu spoke about the decision to introduce s*x to the relationship between Batman and Batgirl.
"The thing about this is that it"s controversial, so we added more controversy," explained Azzarello. "I think she is stronger than the men in her life in this story. She controls the men in her life in this story."
"They both make mistakes, but she"s the one who decides, "I have to stop. There"s a problem here, and I need to step away from this,"" Liu explained. "I think that comes from an emotional strength. I think she makes the decisions that strong people make."
"She comes off as a stronger character at the end of that arc," Azzarello agreed.
Warner Bros. Animation"s "Batman: The Killing Joke" stars Kevin Conroy as Batman, Mark Hamill as the Joker, Tara Strong as Barbara Gordon and Ray Wise as Commissioner Gordon. Directed by Sam Liu ("Justice League vs. Teen Titans"), the film comes from a script by Eisner Award-winning writer Brian Azzarello. Bruce Timm and Sam Register are executive producers, and Alan Burnett is co-producer.
"Batman: The Killing Joke" will be available for Digital HD download on July 26, and arrives on Blu-ray/DVD on August 2.
Discuss this story in CBR"s Batman forum.
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TAGS: sdcc2016, the killing joke (film), the killing joke, brian azzarello, sam liu, alan moore, brian bolland, batman, batgirl, warner bros animation, dc comics, dc entertainment
Taking a page from runway shows, Ivanka Trump took advantage of all the attention paid to the $138 dress she wore during her father Donalds speech at the conclusion of the Republican National Convention late Thursday to send out a tweet telling people where they could buy the garment.
It turns out where they can buy it is a retailer that has some bad blood with Donald Trump: Macys. m
That retailer has been the object of Donald Trumps wrath since it ended their relationship last year after the Republican candidate called some Mexicans rapists and murderers. Trump, who this week clinched the Republican nomination for the Presidential elections, has repeatedly taunted Macys in the last year, taking delight in the department store chains travails, and precipitous share price drop. (Last month, Macys announced that its CEO of 13 years was stepping down in 2017 as it looks to snap one of its worst spells ever.) Macys started selling Trumps menswear line including $70 dress shirts, $65 ties, and cuff links and watches in 2004. Trump has also appeared in Macys commercials.
While Ivanka was never dragged into that contretemps, some find it surprising she has maintained her relationship with a retailer her father has wished ill fortune upon. Its all the more surprising given that the dress is also sold at Nordstrom, a retailer that has never fought with Trump father, and she could have directed shoppers there instead.
And just like Donalds former line at Macys, Ivankas clothes are made in China, a contradiction of the presidential candidates desire to see more items Made in the U.S.A. Whats more, Donald has on a few occasions raised the specter of a trade war with China (including a 45% tariff on Chinese imports), something that presumably would hurt production of Ivankas apparel lines. A spokesperson declined to comment on the matter but Ivanka Trump has in the past indicated she would like to produce more of her clothes in the U.S. but the infrastructure for that is insufficient as of now. Still, American production would almost certainly lead to much higher prices.
Forbes this week reported that her clothing line did $100 million in revenues in the last fiscal year, citing G-iii, the maker of her apparel lines.
And that success appears to be continuing: the dress she wore Thursday night sold out quickly on Macys and Nordstroms site by mid-afternoon on Friday.
