CNN – National

By Bill Weir, CNN Chief Climate Correspondent On a ridge overlooking the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, it would have been possible to see the first flickering flames of the Oak Fire and then how it engulfed its surroundings. It took just 24 hours to mushroom to 10,000 acres and become California’s biggest wildfire

By Stella Chan and Zoe Sottile, CNN Authorities have been forced to intermittently close Los Angeles’ iconic 6th street bridge four times in five days for various illegal activity, including street takeovers, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The viaduct, built in 1932, was closed in 2016 for upgrades to the seismically deficient structure.

By Eric Levenson and Melissa Alonso, CNN Alabama inmate Joe Nathan James Jr. was executed Thursday night for the 1994 murder of Faith Hall Smith, the state’s top attorney said, despite pleas from the victim’s family not to do so. “Justice has been served. Joe James was put to death for the heinous act he

By Dakin Andone and Kevin Conlon, CNN For months leading up to the Parkland massacre, Nikolas Cruz searched the internet for information and videos about mass shootings, leaving behind YouTube comments expressing his desire to “kill people,” according to testimony in the penalty phase of his trial. Broward County Sheriff’s Office Detective Nick Masters, an

By Judson Jones, Monica Garrett and Payton Major, CNN Flash drought conditions intensified in the Northeast and across the southern Plains, causing agriculture concerns across the regions, according to the latest US Drought Monitor released Thursday morning. “Temperatures across the region were generally 2-8 degrees warmer than normal, with the warmest readings occurring in Oklahoma,

By Alexandra Meeks, CNN There was a time not long ago when no one paid the full sticker price when buying a new car, but with vehicle inventories limited due to supply chain problems, retail car prices are through the roof. And while that’s bad news for buyers, some automakers have seen their earnings and

By Jamiel Lynch, CNN A 7-year-old girl from Georgia camping with her family in Great Smoky Mountains National Park was killed Wednesday when a tree fell on their campsite, park officials said. Rangers responded to an emergency call at the Elkmont Campground in Tennessee at 12:30 a.m. Wednesday, the park said in a news release.

By Ed Lavandera and Ashley Killough, CNN It’s a hot July day and a horse rolls around in a patch of dust on Wade Maierhofer’s farm in central Texas. A year ago, that same sandy spot was buried under 8 feet of water — a drinking pond for the rancher’s cattle in normal times. But

By Michelle Watson, CNN A New Jersey family says the wrong body was in their mother’s casket, which had to be lifted out of the ground during the funeral service, according to a lawsuit that was filed Monday in Bergen County. Kummi Kim, Yoonsung Kim, Jungmi Kim Walder and Kummi’s husband, Taichul Kim, are suing

By Amir Vera and Mark Morales, CNN The man accused of killing a young mother as she pushed their baby in a stroller was indicted for murder Wednesday, according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. Isaac Argro, 23, appeared in the New York Supreme Court on Monday and was charged with second-degree murder and two

By Rob Frehse and Christina Maxouris, CNN It’s been nearly a month since an Indiana doctor helped a 10-year-old Ohio rape victim undergo an abortion and was thrust into the national spotlight. In the weeks since, the US vice president called to thank the doctor for raising awareness around the issue while Indiana’s Republican attorney

By Jennifer Henderson, CNN A man suspected of starting two fires in remote southwest Oregon was arrested, after reportedly being tied to a tree by three people until police arrived, Curry County Sheriff John Ward said in statement posted on Facebook. The sheriff’s office thanked those who assisted with controlling the fire and detaining the

By Lauren del Valle, CNN A Black family, who says Sesame Place Philadelphia character performers racially discriminated against them, filed a class action civil rights lawsuit against the amusement park’s parent SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment in Pennsylvania federal court Wednesday. The lawsuit filed on behalf of Quinton Burns and his child says that during their

By Amir Vera and Stella Chan, CNN The US Department of Education has opened an investigation into the University of Southern California after a student accused the university of allowing antisemitism to fester on campus, which led her to resign from her post as student government vice president, according to a Tuesday news release from

By Jamiel Lynch and Carolyn Sung, CNN A grand jury in Lake County, Illinois, has returned 117 felony counts against Robert E. Crimo III, the man accused of shooting into a crowd during a July 4th parade in Highland Park, killing seven people and woounding dozens of others. Crimo, 21, is charged with 21 counts

By Rosa Flores and Ray Sanchez, CNN Robb Elementary Principal Mandy Gutierrez defended herself Wednesday against criticism about her handling of school security before the massacre that left 19 children and two teachers dead. In an exclusive interview with CNN, Gutierrez was asked whether she agreed with a legislative report that cited a “culture of