A 26-year-old man has been accused of igniting a destructive California wildfire in early July by throwing a firework from a car window during hot, dry and windy weather.

The National Weather Service says that around 134 million people in the U.S. are under alerts as an extremely dangerous and record-breaking heat wave broils much of the country.

Authorities say a 21-year-old man opened fire on a Greyhound bus in Northern California, killing a 43-year-old woman and wounding four others before he was arrested, naked, inside a nearby Walmart.

A panel planning a permanent memorial at the Las Vegas site of the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history is focusing on stories about the more than 58 people killed and thousands left wounded and emotionally scarred, as well as on lessons learned.

California is racing to spend more than a half-billion dollars before this year's wildfire season gets going in earnest.

Flames lick above vehicles on Highway 162 as the Bear Fire burns in Oroville, Calif., on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020. The blaze, part of the lightning-sparked North Complex, expanded at a critical rate of spread as winds buffeted the region. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:1. WILDFIRES RAVAGE U.S. WEST Wildfires in heavily populated northwest Oregon were growing, with hundreds of thousands of people told to flee while the death toll in a Northern California wildfire rose to at least 10, making it the deadliest of the year. AMERICA COMMEMORATES 9/11 In New York, a dispute over virus-safety precautions is leading to split-screen remembrances while both Donald Trump and Joe Biden will pay respects at the same memorial in Pennsylvania without crossing paths.

The blaze, part of the lightning-sparked North Complex, expanded at a critical rate of spread as winds buffeted the region. In California, winds stoked unprecedented numbers of fires that have forced rescues and evacuations. Diminishing winds were possible by Thursday, bringing some relief to the ongoing fires and fire weather threat, forecasters said. Helicopters have been used in recent days to rescue hundreds of people stranded in the burning Sierra National Forest, where a fire has destroyed 365 buildings, including at least 45 homes. In Southern California, fires burned in Los Angeles, San Bernardino and San Diego counties.