10 things you need to know today: August 18, 2016

Kristi Castlin, Nia Ali and Brianna Rollins of the United States pose with the American flag

(Image credit: Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

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1. California fire burns 25,000 acres in less than a day
2. Brianna Rollins wins gold in historic U.S. sweep of 100-meter hurdles
3. Death toll rises as Louisiana floodwaters slowly recede
4. Trump lawyer questions Clinton's polling lead
5. Turkey freeing 38,000 prisoners to make room for post-coup detainees
6. Lequieu becomes first person sentenced over wildlife refuge takeover
7. Images of dazed 5-year-old survivor fuel outrage over Syria-Russia air campaign
8. U.N. admits role in starting deadly Haiti cholera epidemic
9. 3 new Harry Potter e-books coming out
10. 2 U.S. swimmers pulled off plane for Rio robbery questioning

published 18 August 2016

1. California fire burns 25,000 acres in less than a day

The Blue Cut fire in San Bernardino County, California, burned out of control through Wednesday and into Thursday, scorching more than 25,000 acres along Cajon Pass over just 24 hours. "It hit hard. It hit fast, with an intensity that we've never seen before," San Bernardino County Fire Chief Mart Hartwig said. More than 82,000 people have been told to leave their homes in the blaze's path. The Blue Cut is just one of several major wildfires burning in the drought-stricken state, and the annual wildfire season has not officially started yet.

American runners Brianna Rollins, Nia Ali, and Kristi Castlin won gold, silver, and bronze medals, respectively, in the women's 100-meter hurdles Wednesday night, the first time one country has swept the event at the Olympics. Rollins finished at 12.48 seconds, followed by Ali 0.11 seconds later. Castlin edged ahead of Britain's Cindy Ofili in a photo finish. Adding to a stellar day for the U.S. women's track and field team in Rio, two-time world champion Tianna Bartoletta won gold in the women's long jump with a lifetime best of 7.17 meters. Her fellow American and defending champion Brittney Reese took the silver medal.

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Floodwaters slowly dropped in southern Louisiana on Wednesday, giving emergency workers and residents an opportunity to shift their focus from rescue to recovery. "We are going to need volunteers to come and help individuals to muck out their homes, to get the mud out, to get wet drywall removed, to get carpets and ruined flooring out" so people can move back as soon as possible, said Gov. John Bel Edwards. The death toll from the storm rose to at least 12. The number of people rescued reached 30,000, with 40,000 homes damaged.

One of Donald Trump's lawyers, Michael Cohen, denied the Republican presidential nominee was behind Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in the polls on Wednesday. Cohen was asked whether Trump's hiring of Breitbart News Chairman Stephen Bannon as his campaign CEO was part of a shakeup because Trump is trailing, Cohen said: "Says who?" CNN's Brianna Keilar responded, "Polls, most of them, all of them?" National polls show Clinton leading, and a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday showed her with double-digit leads in Colorado and Virginia, a key battleground state.

Turkey said Wednesday that it was releasing 38,000 prisoners under a penal reform law aiming to make room in detention facilities for the tens of thousands of people rounded up following last month's failed coup attempt. The reforms were detailed in decrees issued under a state of emergency declared by the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after the coup attempt. Western allies have expressed concerns that Erdogan is weakening the country's democracy with the crackdown. The government rejects the accusation, saying it is trying to restore stability in the face of a clear threat.

Corey Lequieu has become the first defendant to be sentenced over the armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon. U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown sentenced Lequieu, 46, to two and a half years in prison, then three years of supervised release. Lequieu was the first of the defendants to plead guilty to conspiracy charges, admitting to using threats, intimidation, or force to prevent federal employees from performing their duties. The charges had a maximum sentence of six years, but prosecutors agreed to a leaner sentence and dropped several other charges under a plea deal.

Syrian activists have released photos and video showing a dazed 5-year-old boy pulled from the rubble of a building destroyed by an airstrike in Syria's divided second city, Aleppo. The images spread rapidly across social media, triggering outrage over an air campaign by Syria and Russia against rebels in the city. A new Human Rights Watch report said that Syrian government aircraft have hit opposition-controlled civilian areas in Aleppo and a Damascus suburb, Daraya, at least 18 times with napalm-like incendiary bombs over the past nine weeks, and there is "compelling evidence that Russian government aircraft are being used to deliver incendiary weapons," too.

The United Nations has admitted for the first time its role in starting a cholera epidemic in Haiti six years ago. The first victims lived along the Meille River, near a U.N. peacekeeper base housing 454 peacekeepers from Nepal, where cholera had broken out. Scientists have said waste from the base that leaked into the river almost certainly caused the outbreak in Haiti, which has killed at least 10,000 people. In a 19-page report, the office of Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the U.N. "needs to do much more regarding its own involvement in the initial outbreak," a shift after years of denial.

Author J.K. Rowling is releasing three new Harry Potter spin-off e-books in September, according to the official Harry Potter website Pottermore. The book series, called Pottermore Presents, aim to supplement the original Potter books, and include Short Stories from Hogwarts of Power, Politics and Pesky Poltergeists; Short Stories from Hogwarts of Heroism, Hardship and Dangerous Hobbies; and Hogwarts: An Incomplete and Unreliable Guide. The spin-off play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, published earlier this year, has set 2016 book sale records.

Brazilian authorities pulled two American swimmers, Jack Conger and Gunnar Bentz, off of their flight back to the U.S. on Wednesday so police could question them about their claim that they were robbed during the Rio Olympics. Earlier, a judge ordered two of their teammates, Ryan Lochte and James Feigen, to stay in the country and issued a warrant for the seizure of their passports, according to court papers. The judge, citing inconsistencies in the swimmers' accounts, wanted to give police more time to determine whether the men should be charged with filing a false police report. Lochte, a gold medalist, said the group was robbed by gunmen posing as police as they returned to the Olympic village in a taxi after a party.

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Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.