Yosemite National Park, Calif.
Hunter blamed: The devastating Rim Fire that has blackened an area the size of Dallas in and around Yosemite National Park was started by a hunter whose illegal campfire grew out of control, fire managers said last week. The monster blaze—the third largest in California’s history—has charred more than 255,000 acres since mid-August, destroying more than 110 buildings and causing $100 million worth of damage. This week, firefighters had the blaze at least 80 percent contained. Officials first suspected that the fire had started at an illegal marijuana cultivation site in the nearby Stanislaus National Forest, before tracing its origins to the campfire. This week, investigators were trying to determine the degree of the unnamed hunter’s neglect before deciding whether to press criminal charges.
Lake Mary, Fla.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Latest Videos FromThe Week
Zimmerman altercation: Police were considering this week whether to file domestic battery charges against George Zimmerman after his estranged wife accused him of punching her father in the face and threatening her with a gun. “I don’t know what he’s capable of,” Shellie Zimmerman told a 911 operator. “I’m really, really scared.” She later refused to press charges, but police could still decide to prosecute. Police said they found no gun when they arrived, but would examine an iPad containing video of the alleged confrontation, which George Zimmerman had allegedly tried to destroy. “Unfortunately, the iPad is in several pieces,” said Hudson. Shellie Zimmerman filed for divorce last week, saying her husband was verbally abusive, acting recklessly and was “all about George.’’ Zimmerman was acquitted in July in the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.
Atlanta
Acquittal in cheating case: A jury has found a former Atlanta school administrator not guilty in the first of a series of trials relating to one of the largest school-cheating scandals in U.S. history. In 2011, a state report found that cheating on standardized tests was rife in Atlanta public schools, and that teachers had allegedly erased incorrect answers in order to collect bonuses for higher scores. Tamara Cotman, who oversaw 21 schools, was one of 35 former educators indicted on racketeering and other charges. She had been accused of intimidating staff to prevent them from cooperating with state investigators, but was found not guilty last week of influencing a witness. She is still set to stand trial next year on racketeering charges, along with educators from 44 Atlanta schools.
Baltimore
Navy assault: A midshipman who has accused three Navy football players of sexually assaulting her at a party has filed a federal lawsuit against the Naval Academy and its superintendent, asking that he remove himself from the case. According to the complaint filed by Midshipman “Doe,” Vice Adm. Michael H. Miller personally intervened to seek retaliation against her for allegedly sullying the academy’s reputation, and allowed her to be subjected to 25 hours of hostile cross-examination in which she was asked what she wore and how she danced on the night of the alleged assault and how she performs oral sex. Under military law, Miller is tasked with deciding whether the case will go to court-martial. He can also dismiss the case entirely, regardless of the recommendations of an investigating officer also charged with reviewing the case.
New York City; Washington, D.C.; Shanksville, Pa.
9/11 remembered: Hundreds of families gathered at sites in New York City, Shanksville, and Washington, D.C., this week to mark the 12th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. At the National September 11 Memorial plaza at the World Trade Center, the names of the nearly 3,000 victims lost in 2001 were read aloud, with six pauses marking the times when the two hijacked commercial airlines hit the twin towers, when each of them collapsed, and when the crashes occurred at the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania. Dozens of relatives gathered at Flight 93’s crash site in Shanksville, while at a Pentagon ceremony, President Obama read from the Bible and saluted victims and their families. “My brother was never found, so this is where he is for us,” said Karen Hinson of Seaford, N.Y., at the World Trade Center. “No matter how many years pass, this time comes around each year—and it’s always the same.”
Columbus, Ohio
Drunk driver owns up: A man who belatedly confessed online to killing another driver in a crash in June appeared in court this week to face charges of aggravated vehicular homicide. “My name is Matthew Cordle, and on June 22, 2013, I hit and killed Vincent Canzani,” the 22-year-old says in an online video, which quickly went viral after he uploaded it last week. Cordle admitted that he was drunk when he drove the wrong way on I-670 and crashed into Canzani’s Jeep. Though the county prosecutor said Cordle’s blood-alcohol level was 0.19 percent after the crash—more than twice the legal limit—Cordle said some “high-powered attorneys” told him they could get his blood test thrown out. “But I won’t dishonor Vince’s memory by lying about what happened,” says Cordle in the video. If convicted, he faces up to eight and a half years in prison.
