Good morning, it's Monday, Aug. 24. California is grappling with historic wildfires while Louisiana is bracing for back-to-back storm systems. Have feedback? Let us know at [email protected].

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NEED TO KNOW

Bay Area Fires Rage

California's Bay Area is simultaneously experiencing three fires, including the second- and third-largest wildfires in the state's history. All three, which have consumed a combined 1,100 square miles, were sparked by a lightning storm (see 101) that swept through the region last week. 

The LNU Lightning Complex—named after the local fire unit and the cause of the fire—has burned through more than 341,000 acres just miles north of Napa and was 20% contained as of this morning. The SCU Lightning Complex has burned 340,000 acres east of San Jose and is at 10% containment. The CZU Lightning Complex has burned 74,000 acres north of Santa Cruz and is 8% contained, while forcing more than 60,000 people to evacuate. At least five people have died; see a live map of the fires here.  

The fires have charred mostly unpopulated land while blanketing Bay Area cities with smoke and ash. More lightning—spawned by Hurricane Genevieve—may be on the way. Watch harrowing video taken from a car driving through one of the blazes here.

Separately, four major fires are burning in Colorado.

Dual Storm Threat in Louisiana

Two storm systems are projected to hit Louisiana early this week, reaching the coast at or close to hurricane status and separated by just two days. Tropical Storm Marco, downgraded from a Category 1 hurricane, is expected to make landfall tonight (see trajectory). Tropical Storm Laura—which pounded Puerto Rico yesterday—is expected to arrive as a possible Category 2 overnight Wednesday (see trajectory). Two hurricanes have never been observed at the same time in the Gulf (records go back to 1900), and the last time two tropical storms appeared at the same time was 1959. The presence of two systems has made forecasting tricky, with a large degree of uncertainty in models.

The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season has been one of the most active on record, and forecasts estimate up to 25 named storms in total (the average is 12). Three to six Category 3 hurricanes are expected, with storm frequency peaking sharply between mid-August and mid-October.  

Prison Time in Varsity Blues Case

Actress Lori Loughlin will serve two months in prison while her fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli, will serve five months after the pair pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges as part of a massive college admissions fraud scandal. Prosecutors say Loughlin and Giannulli paid $500K to secure their two daughters' admission into the University of Southern California using fraudulent athletic achievements. 

Under the scheme (see overview), at least 33 parents paid a total of $25M to William Singer, CEO of college prep company The Key. Singer would then disburse funds to exam officials, coaches, and school administrators to fraudulently boost the accomplishments of undeserving students to improve their odds of admission into elite schools. Loughlin and Giannulli originally fought the allegations before prosecutors tacked on money laundering charges.

Read some of the case's more absurd details here.

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BONE BROTH FOR BETTER LIVING

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IN THE KNOW

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

> Bayern Munich tops Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 to win their sixth Champions League title, Europe’s biggest club soccer tournament (More) | Takuma Sato wins the 2020 Indianapolis 500 (More)

> Jack Sherman, former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist, dies at 64 (More) | Quiet Riot drummer Frankie Banali dies at 68 (More)

> Major movie theater chains AMC, Regal, and Cinemark reopened to the public in many parts of the US Friday after a five-month closure (More) | 2020 Tony Awards, originally scheduled for June 7, will be held digitally this fall (More)

Science & Technology

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> FDA issues emergency use authorization for convalescent plasma to treat COVID-19; therapy uses transfusions of antibody-rich blood plasma from recovered patients (More) | US reports 5.7 million coronavirus cases, with 176,808 deaths as of this morning; see stats here (More)

> Greenland's ice sheet lost more than 530 billion metric tons of ice in 2019, more than double the annual average since 2003; single-year melt estimated to raise global water levels by 1.5 millimeters (More)

> Florida approves 2021 plans to release 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes; effort aims to suppress disease spread by lowering the population of female mosquitoes (More) | How gene drives work (More)

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Business & Markets

> Sources say TikTok plans to sue the Trump administration this week over executive order banning popular social media platform (More)

> Robert Smith, private equity executive and philanthropist famed for paying off student loans of the 2019 Morehouse College graduating class, under investigation for potential tax crimes (More)

> Lambda School, provider of coding education that allows students to pay for courses after receiving a job, raises $74M (More) | What is an ISA (income share agreement)? (More)

Politics & World Affairs

> Wisconsin protests erupt after video of police-involved shooting surfaces; video appears to show Jacob Blake, a Black man, being shot in the back (More) | Police declare a riot in Portland, Oregon, after fire set at police precinct (More)

> Republican National Convention begins tonight, with President Trump being formally renominated; speakers include Trump, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, and others (More) | White House adviser Kellyanne Conway to depart role by end of month (More)

> House passes $25B boost to Postal Service funding in rare Saturday vote; Senate unlikely to take up stand-alone bill (More) | Audio from secret recordings between President Trump's sister Maryanne and niece Mary released (More)

WHOLE INGREDIENTS, NO BS

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ETCETERA

Washington, DC's National Zoo welcomes a "miracle" panda cub.

Track the Mars rover in real time with this interactive solar system map. 

COVID tests are the new party favors.

New American Girl dolls honor pandemic heroes. 

The Pacific Northwest's matriarchal apple tree dies. 

Trailer released for the next Batman reboot.

Tesla's dating app is just a joke (or is it?).

A fascinating visualization of the rise of Big Dairy.

Clickbait: Man protects house from a wildfire with cans of beer.

Historybook: Mount Vesuvius erupts, killing about 15,000 (79); Thomas Edison invents motion picture camera (1891); Amelia Earhart is first woman to fly nonstop across the US (1932); HBD Dave Chappelle (1973); Windows 95 released (1995).

"Genius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration."

- Thomas Edison

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