A fast-moving wildfire in central California became the largest in the state this year after exploding in size overnight as hot temperatures and dry conditions increased the wildfire risk ahead of the Fourth of July holiday.

The Madre Fire broke out on the afternoon of July 2 in a remote area of central California near Highway 166, according to Cal Fire. The fire rapidly spread to over 35,000 acres overnight as it burned through grasslands in a section of the Los Padres National Park.

By 5 p.m. PT on July 3, the fire grew to more than 52,000 acres and was only 5% contained, according to Cal Fire data. Evacuation orders and warnings were issued for small communities near Highway 166 as the fire moved toward the Carrizo Plain National Monument, about 69 miles southeast of San Luis Obispo, California.

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The Supreme Court voted to lift temporary blocks on President Donald Trump’s order ending birthright citizenship for the children of parents who were in the country temporarily or without legal authorization.

The court ruled 6-3 that District Court rulings temporarily blocking Trump’s order "likely exceed the equitable authority that Congress has granted to federal courts." It did not decide whether the order is constitutional - a question that is being argued in lower federal courts.

In other decisions on the last day of the court's term, the justices ruled against a challenge to an Obamacare provision that forces health insurers to cover certain medicines and services, like HIV-preventive medication and cholesterol-lowering drugs; allowed parents to remove their elementary school children from classes where the books include gay characters; and upheld a Texas law requiring age verification for users of pornographic web content.

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When the Trump Organization announced its cellular brand earlier this month, it touted that the devices would be “made in the USA,” keeping in line with Trump administration policies. Now, just 10 days later, the company is quietly erasing those claims.

The website for the device has removed all language indicating the phone would be manufactured in the U.S. Instead, it opts for language that still leans toward isolationism, but is much more vague now, saying it was “designed with American values in mind” and it was “brought to life right here in the USA.”

The EU may take action to increase pressure on Israel unless there are “concrete” improvements for the inhabitants of Gaza, its foreign policy chief has said.

After meeting the bloc’s foreign ministers in Brussels, Kaja Kallas said it was “very clear” that Israel had breached its human rights commitments in Gaza and the West Bank.

She said if the situation for Palestinians did not improve, the EU could discuss “further measures and come back t\\]]s in July”.

But Kallas declined to spell out details: “The concrete question is what then we [the EU] are able to agree?

“But right now, the most important thing is to improve the situation on the ground, improve the lives of people in Palestine and stop the suffering and also human toll that we see there every day.”

TVNL Comment: How much more suffering must Palestinians endure to get the EU to acknowledge the devastation that Gazans experience every day?  This 'warning' is shameful.

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Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russia sent Ukraine at least 20 of its own dead soldiers in recent exchanges with Kyiv, describing it as a result of Moscow’s disorganisation in carrying out large swaps of wounded PoW’s and remains of troops.

Zelenskyy said that an “Israeli mercenary” fighting for Moscow was among the dead Ukraine had received. Officials did not disclose the identities of the bodies: “They threw the corpses of their citizens at us. This is their attitude toward war, toward their soldiers. And this is already documented. Sometimes these bodies even have Russian passports,” he said. He said the Russian side insisted the dead were all Ukrainians.

Zelenskyy has also accused western firms of supplying Russia with “machine tools” used to make weapons, in remarks made public Saturday. He said companies from Germany, the Czech Republic, South Korea and Japan were among them, as well as one business “supplying a small number of components from the United States.” He said most of the companies supplying tools to Russia were from China, but that dozens of western firms were also culpable: “We have passed on all this information to all countries, our partners, everyone … We strongly urge everyone to impose sanctions on these companies,” the Ukrainian leader added.

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A SpaceX rocket being tested in Texas exploded Wednesday night, sending a dramatic fireball high into the sky.

The company said the Starship "experienced a major anomaly" at about 11 p.m. while on the test stand preparing for the tenth flight test at Starbase, SpaceX's launch site at the southern tip of Texas.

"A safety clear area around the site was maintained throughout the operation and all personnel are safe and accounted for," SpaceX said in a statement on the social platform X.

CEO Elon Musk 's SpaceX said there were no hazards to nearby communities. It asked people not to try to approach the site.

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