A public art and climate change action dubbed "The Herds" led life-size puppet animals on a more than 12,400-mile trek from the Congo Basin to the Arctic Circle.
Why it matters: The effort symbolized animals' retreat from climate disaster.
A Southern California wildfire forced thousands in Los Angeles and Ventura counties to evacuate and a local emergency proclamation was issued after it ignited and exploded in size during a searing heat wave on Thursday.
The big picture: The Canyon Fire near Lake Piru, a reservoir some 60 miles northwest of downtown LA, was first reported just before 1:30pm local time to be around 30 acres, per Cal Fire. It had grown to more than 1,000 acres in a few hours and was still burning out of control into the evening.
