The week at a glance...United States

Colorado Springs

Deadly wildfires: Colorado officials have said that human action likely caused last week’s Black Forest wildfire, the most destructive in the state’s history. The 22-square-mile blaze killed two people and destroyed at least 500 homes near Colorado Springs. Authorities said that while three subsequent wildfires were probably caused by lightning strikes, lightning had been ruled out as the source of the Black Forest fire, which broke out amid record-breaking heat. Marc and Robin Herklotz, identified this week as the fire’s sole casualties, were packing up their belongings in the garage of their Colorado Springs home when it collapsed on them. Their deaths have been classified as homicides pending investigation of the fire’s origin. Meanwhile, firefighters continued to battle wildfires in New Mexico and a wind-whipped blaze in California, where residents near Yosemite National Park were forced to evacuate.

Minneapolis

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War criminal? Polish and German prosecutors are considering requesting the extradition of a Minneapolis man who allegedly commanded a Nazi unit accused of murdering civilians during World War II. An Associated Press investigation presented evidence that Michael Karkoc, 94, was the commander of the SS-led Ukrainian Self-Defense Legion during World War II, and lied to U.S. immigration officials about his military service in 1949 in order to gain entry to the country. Karkoc has been living in Minnesota ever since. The Ukrainian Self-Defense Legion is accused of numerous atrocities in Poland during the war, including carrying out orders to “liquidate the residents” of a village in retaliation for the killing of an SS officer. Karkoc’s son, Andriy, denies his father ever had a “direct hand” in war crimes. “My father was never a Nazi,” he said.

Boston

Bulger on trial: Testimony began this week in the long-awaited trial of notorious Boston mobster James “Whitey” Bulger, charged with 32 counts including murder, extortion, money laundering, and drug dealing. The 83-year-old underworld boss was arrested in 2011 in Santa Monica, Calif., after being on the run for 16 years. He shared top billing on the FBI’s most-wanted list with Osama bin Laden, drawing a reward of $2 million. Fellow mobster John Martorano told the court this week that he’d decided to testify after hearing reports that Bulger was an FBI informant. “It broke my heart,” said Martorano. “It broke all loyalties.” Bulger’s alleged links to the FBI have prompted accusations that the bureau abetted his crimes. “You can’t prosecute Whitey for these murders without prosecuting the FBI, the big elephant in the room,” said Bulger biographer Dick Lehr.

New York City

Chinese pressure: A blind Chinese dissident who sought refuge at New York University claims he is being kicked out of the school after “unrelenting pressure” from Beijing. Chen Guangcheng, a forceful critic of China’s one-child policy, escaped house arrest in Beijing in April 2012 and fled to the U.S., where he took up a visiting scholar post at NYU Law School. Last week, the university confirmed that Chen would be leaving his position at the end of June—a decision that NYU spokesman John Beckman said had nothing to do with the university’s imminent opening of a Shanghai campus. Chen said that “as early as last August and September, the Chinese communists had already begun to apply great, unrelenting pressure” on the school. Beijing’s influence “within academic circles in the United States is far greater than what people imagine,” he added.

New York City

Crash cover-up? Several former federal investigators now say that a missile likely caused the 1996 crash of TWA Flight 800, in which all 230 people aboard were killed, and that the official explanation for the disaster was intentionally falsified. The National Transportation Safety Board determined after a four-year investigation that a fuel tank explosion had caused the crash, which occurred shortly after the Paris-bound flight took off from JFK International Airport. But in a documentary set to air on July 17, a former senior NTSB accident investigator and others cite evidence that an external detonation brought down the plane, and claim that they were barred from contradicting the official report. They have petitioned the NTSB to reopen the probe. Skeptics have long speculated that the plane may have been the target of a terrorist bombing or missile attack.

Washington, D.C.

Voter ID law blocked: The Supreme Court this week struck down an Arizona law requiring that people registering to vote provide proof of citizenship. While U.S. citizenship is a requirement to vote in any federal election, the court ruled that states cannot impose ID requirements beyond those set out in an existing federal law, the 1993 National Voter Registration Act, which allows individuals to register simply by signing a form attesting their eligibility. On behalf of the court’s 7–2 majority, Justice Antonin Scalia wrote that that law “forbids states to demand that an applicant submit additional information beyond that required by the federal form.” Voting-rights advocates hailed the ruling, but Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said he would seek an amendment to the immigration bill now before the Senate that would “close this hole” and allow states to demand proof of citizenship.