Dec 5, 2017

Southern California hit with wind-whipped wildfire

Erica Pandey

Northern California was hit with a bout of deadly wildfires earlier this year. The Thomas fire is burning in the southern part of the state. Photo: Noah Berger / AP

Flames from the Thomas fire have burned 45,500 acres and forced 27,000 people to evacuate the city of Ventura in southern California as of late Tuesday morning, the LA Times reports. The fire has already destroyed 150 buildings, and there are 1,000 firefighters on the scene.

The backdrop: California is already facing a months-long recovery process after a string of deadly wildfires hit the northern part of the state in October, killing 42 people and destroying 8,400 structures, including parts of the city of Santa Rosa.

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Mark Cuban criticizes "arrogant" 3M on respirator production

Photo: Axios Events

Businessman and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said during an Axios virtual event Friday that 3M is "arrogant" for not speaking up about respirator production in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak.

What he said: Cuban criticized the company for "making more globally than domestically," echoing a similar line from President Trump now that the U.S. is the epicenter of the pandemic. "You can't ghost the American people," he told Axios CEO Jim VandeHei from Dallas.

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Coronavirus puts ambitious plans for self-driving cars on the shelf

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

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