The week at a glance...United States

Eagar, Ariz.

Rampant wildfire: More than 2,300 firefighters were unable this week to contain a massive blaze stoked by 45 mph winds amid kindling-dry conditions. The Wallow Fire, already the second biggest in Arizona’s history, has consumed more than 300,000 acres of forest in the White Mountains in just over a week and prompted health warnings as far away as Colorado Springs, 400 miles to the northeast. The wildfire forced the evacuation of 3,000 people in several mountain hamlets and was advancing at 8 miles a day toward the 6,000 residents of nearby Springerville and Eagar, where further evacuations were ordered. “The sky is just black,” said Eagar resident Nancy Golightly, 66. “It’s been raining down ashes, and the smoke has been bad for days. And the sun is red—blood red.” Fire official Brad Pitassi said some wildfires were too big to extinguish. “You stop them, you contain them, and when the monsoon season comes, the water puts them out.”

New Square, N.Y.

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Religious dispute triggers attack: A father of four is recovering from life-threatening burns suffered when a neighbor attacked him for his refusal to worship at the local synagogue. Aron Rottenberg, 43, confronted a man carrying fuel-soaked rags behind his house at around 4 a.m. on May 22 in the village of New Square, whose 7,000 residents belong to a strict Orthodox sect, the Skverer Hasidim. The man, Shaul Spitzer, 18, was one of many residents angry that Rottenberg worshipped in a nursing home about a mile from the town. New Square’s spiritual leader, Rabbi David Twersky, has condemned the assault, which was allegedly carried out by Spitzer, his live-in butler. But Michael Sussman, an attorney representing Rottenberg, claimed that Twersky tacitly encouraged the violence by his failure to denounce earlier attacks. Both Rottenberg and Spitzer remain hospitalized with severe burns.

New York City

Polar bear goes solo: Zookeepers at the Central Park Zoo are closely monitoring the behavior of Gus, a 25-year-old polar bear, after his sole companion, Ida, had to be put down last week. Polar bears don’t mate for life—Gus has already outlived another partner, Lily, who like Ida suffered from liver cancer—but as social animals they are likely to feel “some sense of loss,” said bear expert David Shepherdson. And Gus has already shown neurotic tendencies that some say are typical of Manhattan residents. In a bout of depression in 1994, he swam incessantly from end to end in his pool. Zookeepers came up with a $25,000 therapy plan, which included having him chase down live trout, to pull him out of his funk. So far, said zoo official Dr. Robert Cook, Gus “seems to be fine” without Ida, but more than one zoo visitor this week said he looked bored.

Trenton, N.J.

Public broadcasting ended: Gov. Chris Christie announced he has made a deal to sell the state’s taxpayer-funded radio and TV stations, bringing to a close a 43-year history of public media in New Jersey. Casting government-sponsored media as a typical practice of the former Soviet Union, he said, “It’s ending here in New Jersey a little later than the fall of the wall in Berlin. But we’re getting there.” New Jersey’s NJN public television network will be acquired by New York’s public television station, WNET. Four of the state’s radio stations will become part of New York Public Radio, and five will join WHYY, a public radio station in Philadelphia. The deal still faces scrutiny from state lawmakers, the FCC, and the New Jersey Public Broadcasting Authority. It’s expected that some 130 employees will lose their jobs and will have to reapply for them.

Washington, D.C.

Merkel comes to town: German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrived in Washington this week for an official visit highlighted by talks with President Obama on Europe’s debt crisis and combat in Libya. Both leaders denied their relationship was strained, despite Germany’s abstention from the U.N. vote authorizing a no-fly zone over Libya and Merkel’s refusal to send troops to join the NATO force. Hailing her “pragmatic approach to complex issues,” Obama said that “it’s just fun to work together.” The president welcomed Merkel with a 19-gun salute and hosted a state dinner the following evening. Obama, Merkel, and guests dined on White House–grown greens and petite filets and were entertained by singer-songwriter James Taylor, who, in keeping with the visit’s theme, sang Carole King’s “You’ve Got a Friend.”

Key Largo, Fla.

Saving the whales: Volunteers are working around the clock to save three pilot whales that stranded themselves off the lower Florida Keys last month. The whales are the last captive survivors in a pod of 23 that swam ashore or were trapped in shallows for unknown reasons. Two made quick recoveries and were returned to the ocean. The remaining whales, in great physical distress, were transported to a bayside pen at the Marine Mammal Conservancy, where they are being fed, treated with antibiotics, and given physical therapy. At least one of the three is too young to be returned to the wild, and will be placed in a “captive display community” like Sea World, said Erin Fougères of Florida’s Fisheries Service. In four-hour shifts, wet-suit-clad volunteers, including Olympic gold-medalist Steve Lundquist and Titanic producer Jon Landau, cradle the 12-foot, 1,300-pound whales in their arms in the waist-deep waters of the pen to keep them from drowning. “It’s very calming, very soothing, very Zenning,” said volunteer Adela Faxas, 47.