More — yes, more — blazes in California

Wildfires are still burning in California; India grapples with multiple crises.

Tonight's Sentences was written by Benjamin Rosenberg.

TOP NEWS

Wildfires continue to burn throughout the West Coast

Samuel Corum/AFP via Getty Images

The West Coast wildfire season is not letting up. Northern California, which saw several devastating fires in August, is now dealing with two more major blazes — the Glass Fire in Napa and Sonoma counties and the Zogg Fire in Shasta County. [NYT / Tim Arango, Johnny Diaz, and Carly Stern]
As of Wednesday morning, the Zogg Fire was just 7 percent contained and had burned more than 50,000 acres and caused four deaths. Cal Fire said the cause of the fire is still being investigated. [Redding Record Searchlight / Michele Chandler and David Benda]
Hot and dry weather has helped the fire spread. Temperatures in Shasta County on Tuesday were in the 90s, and nearly 1,000 firefighters were sent to respond to the fire. "Every area of this fire is a concern," a spokesperson for Cal Fire said. [Sacramento Bee / Dale Kasler]
The Glass Fire, meanwhile, has forced the entire northern Napa County town of Calistoga to evacuate. It grew to more than 48,000 acres by Wednesday morning, fueled by low humidity and above-average temperatures. [San Francisco Chronicle / Sarah Ravani, Michael Cabanatuan, Roland Li, and Jill Tucker]
The wine-growing region in Napa and Sonoma counties has been hit especially hard. Several wineries, restaurants, and other businesses were affected, and one fine-dining establishment was fully destroyed. [San Francisco Chronicle / Justin Phillips]
California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for Napa, Sonoma, and Shasta counties; he also sent President Donald Trump a letter on Monday "requesting a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration to assist state and local wildfire response and recovery efforts." [Newsweek / Soo Kim]
During Tuesday's presidential debate, Trump falsely blamed poor forest management for the fires, saying "the forest floors are loaded up with trees, dead trees that are years old, and they're like tinder … you drop a cigarette in there and the whole forest burns down." [PolitiFact]
New evidence has emerged that climate change is worsening the fires. By suppressing controlled burns and naturally occurring fires — not to mention building closer to fire-prone areas — humans have helped create prime conditions for major wildfires to thrive. [Vox / Umair Irfan]

India deals with political turmoil on top of a public health crisis

Amnesty International has halted its operations in India after accusing the country's government of "an incessant witch-hunt" against human rights organizations. The group learned that India's government froze its bank accounts on September 10. [NPR / Lauren Frayer]
In the past few months, Amnesty International has focused its efforts on the role of India's national police in instigating anti-Muslim violence in the disputed Kashmir region. [NYT / Sameer Yasir and Hari Kumar]
India's federal home ministry responded by saying that Amnesty International had engaged in "illegal practices" by going around the country's foreign exchange rules. The ministry also called Amnesty International's processes for securing funds for its projects "dubious." [Bloomberg / Bibhudatta Pradhan]
Protests have also broken out in India over the death of a 19-year-old woman two weeks after she was allegedly gang-raped and tortured. The victim was a Dalit, from the lowest caste in Indian society, and the suspects belonged to a higher caste, which her family said meant the police did not take the case seriously until the media began to cover it. [Guardian / Hannah Ellis-Petersen]
On top of all that, India has been one of the countries hit hardest by the Covid-19 pandemic. Indian health authorities said more than 63 million people in the country may have contracted the disease, even though India has reported "only" around 6.1 million Covid-19 cases and 96,000 deaths. [CNN / Jessie Yeung and Esha Mitra]

MISCELLANEOUS

After a chaotic first debate Tuesday night, the Commission on Presidential Debates has said it will consider changing the format of the remaining two debates between Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden.

[NBC News / Lauren Egan]

Germany's far-right political party Alternative for Germany fired a former spokesperson, Christian Lüth, earlier this week after he was caught on tape suggesting migrants could be gassed or shot. [CNN / Stephanie Halasz, Claudia Otto, and Fred Pleitgen]
A kindergarten teacher in China was sentenced to death this week for poisoning 25 of her students with sodium nitrite in March 2019, killing one. The teacher, Wang Yun, had allegedly previously poisoned her husband in 2017. [USA Today / Joshua Bote]
Former FBI Director James Comey defended the importance of the Russia investigation at a Senate hearing Wednesday, saying "it was essential that it be done" and there "were parts of it that were concerning." [ABC News / Alexander Mallin]
"At some point, yes, we will be putting humans into space": The US Space Force plans to eventually put troops into orbit, a high-ranking operations official said Tuesday. [Air Force Magazine / Rachel S. Cohen]