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Clear skies. Low 46F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph..

Clear skies. Low 46F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph.

LOS ANGELES — It was a nightmare fire season that California won’t soon forget.

As more than 9,000 wildfires raged across the landscape, a canopy of smoke shrouded much of the state and drifted as far away as Boston.

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A home for Cheech Marin’s collection of Chicano art has debuted in Southern California. The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture opened Saturday in Riverside, east of Los Angeles. The Press-Enterprise reports that Marin rolled up in a blue 1962 Chevy Impala lowrider, hopped out and unlocked the doors for opening day of what's being called “The Cheech.” The museum is located in the city’s former main library, adjacent to the historic Mission Inn Hotel & Spa. The center houses hundreds of paintings, photographs, sculptures and other works from Marin’s collection, which the actor and comedian began building in the 1980s.

The Stanley Cup Final between the Colorado Avalanche and Tampa Bay Lightning shows the value of hitting on top picks in the NHL draft. Each team has a No. 1 selection in Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos from 2008 and Colorado's Nathan MacKinnon from 2013. Norris Trophy finalist defensemen Victor Hedman and Cale Makar were each taken in the top four. Potential 2022 top pick Shane Wright and other prospects will be on hand for Game 2 of the final Saturday. Wright hopes one day to play on this stage like Stamkos and MacKinnon.

COVID-19 vaccines for infants and toddlers from Moderna Inc. and Pfizer Inc. won support from a panel of U.S. health advisers, a crucial step in making the shots available to children under 5.

The christening of a Navy destroyer is highlighting the sacrifices of two generations — the ship’s namesake killed in World War II and another Marine who died more than 60 years later. The future USS Basilone bears the name of Marine Gunnery Sgt. John Basilone, who was awarded the Medal of Honor for actions in Guadalcanal and later died on Iwo Jima. Breaking a bottle of sparkling wine on the ship’s bow for good luck was one of the ship's sponsors, who lost a brother in Iraq. The event took place Saturday at Navy shipbuilder Bath Iron Works in Maine.

The price of bitcoin has fallen below $20,000 for the first time since late 2020, in a fresh sign that the selloff in cryptocurrencies is deepening. Bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrency, fell below the psychologically important threshold on Saturday. It dropped by as much as 9% to less than $19,000 and hovered around that mark, according to cryptocurrency news site CoinDesk. The last time bitcoin was at this level was in November 2020, when it was on its way up to an all-time high. Bitcoin has now lost more than 70% of its value since reaching that peak. It’s the latest sign of turmoil in the cryptocurrency industry amid wider turbulence in financial markets.

LOS ANGELES — Authorities at San Francisco International Airport took one person into custody after an incident Friday evening that left three people injured.

President Joe Biden said he’ll be talking to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping “soon” and is weighing possible action on U.S. tariffs on China that were imposed by the Trump administration.

LOS ANGELES — For a few hours last week, drivers in Northern California found a surprise respite from rising prices — a Shell station selling fuel for $0.69 a gallon. But the deal of a lifetime was the result of a misplaced decimal point, and the manager responsible has been fired.

LOS ANGELES — As California prepares to enter the heart of wildfire season amid drought and historically dry conditions, Pacific Gas & Electric Co. said Friday that it has expanded its instant power line shutoffs to cover more high-risk areas.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says he's pushing airlines to hire more customer-service agents and take other steps to help travelers this summer. Buttigieg tells The Associated Press his department could take enforcement action against airlines that fail to meet consumer-protection standards, although he thinks that won't be necessary. Buttigieg says he wants to see how the airlines do over the July Fourth holiday weekend and the rest of the summer. He held a virtual meeting on Thursday with airline executives where they described steps their companies are taking to avoid a repeat of the Memorial Day weekend, when about 2,800 flights were canceled.

Behind the raw public frustration and anger over election security that has played out this week in New Mexico was a hint of something deeper — a growing divide between the state’s Democratic power structure and conservative rural residents who feel their way of life is under attack. In the state’s vast, rural stretches, frustration over voting and political representation has been building for years. Residents have felt marginalized and overrun by government decisions that have placed limits on their livelihoods. Tensions have been mounting for years as Democrats in New Mexico have consolidated control over every statewide office and the Supreme Court.

Britain’s biggest train strike in 30 years is set to upend travel Tuesday as the world’s oldest railroad struggles to redefine its role in a commuting landscape transformed by the coronavirus crisis.

LOS ANGELES — A mountain lion was struck and killed by a vehicle Friday in the Santa Monica Mountains, not far from where her mother was killed in a 2018 crash, the National Park Service said.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Florida reached a grim milestone this week: More than 75,000 people in the state have died of COVID-19.

A senior European Union official says breakaway Turkish Cypriots on ethnically divided Cyprus must assume their share of the burden in stemming the arrival of asylum-seekers whose numbers have shot up significantly so far this year. European Commission Vice President Margharitis Schinas said Saturday that Turkish Cypriot authorities should also be held accountable for curbing migrant arrivals. Cyprus was split along ethnic lines in 1974 when Turkey invaded following a coup aimed at union with Greece. Cypriot government authorities say the overwhelming majority of migrant arrivals occurs via Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot north through a loosely regulated student visa system. Many then cross a porous U.N.-controlled buffer zone to seek asylum in the Greek Cypriot south.

U.S. health advisers have recommended COVID-19 vaccines for infants, toddlers and preschoolers — the last group without the shots. The panel to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention unanimously decided Saturday that coronavirus vaccines should be opened to children as young as 6 months. The final signoff was expected later in the day from CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky. The Biden administration has been gearing up for the start of the shots early next week. Millions of doses have been ordered for distribution to doctors, hospitals and community health clinics around the country.

EXPLAINER: How did Russia-Ukraine war trigger a food crisis?

Aldrich Potgieter of South Africa is the British Amateur champion. The 17-year-old from South Africa raced out to a 7-up lead through 18 holes at Royal Lytham & St. Annes. Then it was a matter of holding off Sam Bairstow of England. Bairstow rallied to cut the deficit to 2 down with four holes to play. But a double bogey on the 15th all but ended his chances. Potgieter's victory gets him into the British Open next month at St. Andrews, along with next year's Masters and U.S. Open. He's only the third South African winner in 127 years.

Katie Ledecky has started the United States’ medal collection at the world swimming championships with a gold by reclaiming her title in the women’s 400 meters. Ledecky clocked 3 minutes, 58.15 seconds on the first day of racing for her fourth world title in the 400 freestyle after 2013, 2015 and 2017. Ariarne Titmus pipped Ledecky to the title in 2019 and took her world record last month but the Australian has skipped the worlds in Budapest to focus on the on the Commonwealth Games. Canada’s 15-year-old Summer McIntosh finished 1.24 seconds behind Ledecky for the silver. Both were well ahead of the competition.

A pair of Colorado residents repeated as winners of the 61st annual Mount Washington Road Race, which had to be cut in half because of the treacherous weather conditions at the summit of New England’s highest peak. Joseph Gray, of Colorado Springs, topped the men’s field for the sixth time on Saturday with a time of 27 minutes, 33 seconds, on the 3.8-mile course from the start to the halfway point of the Mount Washington Auto Road. Kim Dobson, of Eagle, Colorado, topped the woman’s field for a record seventh time, finishing in 31:59. The race is normally 7.6 miles.

This month marks the 50th anniversary of the Title IX law that requires equitable treatment  of men and women in educational programs that receive federal assisstance. The ripple effects of the 1972 law have been acute in college athletics. An Associated Press series of stories from 1974 looked into the unfair and unequal treatment of female athletes, who often had to fund-raise to pay for their own expenses while male athletes had the full support of their schools.

LOS ANGELES — The rookie and his training officer knocked on the door of an El Monte motel room, where they’d been called to investigate a report of domestic violence.

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has increased the Port of Morrow’s groundwater contamination fine to $2.1 million following additional wastewater violations. Oregon Public Broadcasting reports the agency added $800,000 to the Port’s original $1.3 million fine Friday for over-applying nitrogen-rich wastewater on agricultural fields in the Lower Umatilla Basin. The area is burdened with groundwater pollution and is the primary drinking water source for Morrow and Umatilla counties. A DEQ spokesperson says the agency knew about additional violations but needed further documentation. The Port's executive director says the company recognizes groundwater contamination has been a serious problem but says it’s also a community problem that will require a community solution.

An anonymous bidder has shelled out a record $19 million for a private lunch with billionaire Warren Buffet at a steakhouse in New York City. The meal with the Berkshire Hathaway CEO was offered on an eBay auction to benefit the San-Francisco based charity GLIDE. The winner can bring up to seven guests. This year’s event will be the first private lunch offered with the 91-year-old billionaire since the previous record-setting bid of $4.5 million in 2019. The past two auctions were called off due to the pandemic. Buffett, who says this will be the last charity lunch, has raised $53 million for GLIDE since the auction began in 2000.

Top-ranked Daniil Medvedev has beaten Oscar Otte 7-6 (3), 6-3 to advance to the final of the Halle Open. Otte had set point at 5-3 in the first set but Medvedev broke back before forcing the tiebreaker. Medvedev's opponent in the final on Sunday will be Hubert Hurkacz after the Pole beat Nick Kyrgios 4-6, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4). Hurkacz’s semifinal win over Kyrgios was a festival of power serving as he hit 27 aces against 30 for Kyrgios. Kyrgios lost despite holding in every one of his service games.

A coalition working to connect a dozen local, state and private parks along South Carolina’s Black River has released a plan. Now all they need is $45 million to complete the 70-mile-long project. The Open Space Institute says the Black River Water Trail and Park Network would start in Kingstree in Williamsburg County and wind along the dark, slow-moving river to where it meets the Pee Dee River just north of Georgetown. They say it would promote tourism, history and business, and that keeping the area undeveloped could mitigate catastrophic flooding expected to become more frequent as the Earth warms.

The race for Alaska’s U.S. House seat is taking shape. Republican Sarah Palin is seeking a return to elected office 13 years after she resigned as governor. Two of her rivals, Republican Nick Begich and independent Al Gross, are trying to paint her run as unserious and self-serving. The fourth candidate running, Democrat Mary Peltola, says negative campaigning is one of the most unsavory parts of U.S. politics. Palin, Begich, Gross and Peltola, in that order, were the top vote-getters in last week’s special primary. They will compete in a special election set for Aug. 16 that will feature ranked choice voting.

Matteo Berrettini was unfazed by a rain delay in beating Botic van de Zandschulp to reach the Queen’s Club final for a second straight year and deftly handled a marriage proposal. The defending champion beat Van de Zandschulp 6-4, 6-3 to extend his winning streak to eight games. During his on-court interview, the second-seeded Italian was propositioned from someone in the crowd. He responded, “Let me think about it." Berrettini has won 19 of his last 20 grass-court matches with the only loss coming to Novak Djokovic in last year’s Wimbledon final. He will play Filip Krajinovic of Serbia or Marin Cilic, the two-time champion from Croatia, in Sunday’s final.

WFO ALBUQUERQUE Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Saturday, June 18, 2022

Yellowstone National Park is celebrating its 150th anniversary as it faces its biggest challenge in decades. Floodwaters that tore through the park this week destroyed potentially hundreds of bridges, washed out miles of roads and drove out more than 10,000 visitors. The scope of the damage is still being tallied by Yellowstone officials, but based on other national park disasters, it could take years and cost upwards of $1 billion to rebuild in an environmentally sensitive landscape. Park officials hope to reopen the southern half of the park next week but the northern half likely won't reopen this year.

Joel Whitburn, who turned his fascination with the Billboard charts into a career cataloging the history of charted music that kept gatekeepers honest about the performance of hits, has died. He was 82. Whitburn published more than 100 total entries of series like “Top Pop Singles,” “Top 40 Hits,” “Top 40 Albums” and “Top 40 Country Hits,” helping the whole industry with reliable chart stats and records. His books were crucial to DJs, publicists and chart nerds. Whitburn also was a collector and kept 150,000 singles, albums and CDs, including every record ever listed in the Billboard Hot 100.

One of the owners of a nuclear power plant being expanded in Georgia says it’s shifting costs to Georgia Power Co. in exchange for giving up a sliver of its ownership. Oglethorpe Power Corp said Saturday that it had exercised a contractual option to freeze its costs for Plant Vogtle at $8.1 billion. Oglethorpe provides power to 38 Georgia electric cooperatives. Oglethorpe says the move will save members at least $400 million. In exchange, Oglethorpe's share of the two new reactors east of Augusta would fall from 30% to 28%. Georgia Power officials have said they don’t expect regulators to approve customers paying further costs. That meaning shareholders of Georgia Power's parent Southern Co. would pay.

Thousands of people have marched through central London in a protest over the soaring cost of living in Britain. Huge crowds flooded into the British capital for the rally on Saturday to demand that the government do more to help people faced with bills and other expenses that are rising more quickly than their wages. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been criticized for being slow to respond to the cost-of-living crisis. Demonstrators carried banners with messages such as “Cut war not welfare.” They booed when they passed by the prime minister’s residence at No. 10 Downing Street according to videos posted on social media.

Title IX compliance is such an omnipresent part of running a college sports program that its significance can often be overlooked. That wasn't the case during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic it impacted which sports might be cut to save money. It was an example of how the law that prohibits sex-based discrimination affects every decision a college athletic director makes, from facilities to which sports programs to offer. Vanderbilt AD Candice Storey Lee hopes ensuring Title IX compliance is “part of our DNA” that is seen in how administrators make daily decisions. The law to ensure equity between men and women in education marks its 50th anniversary on Thursday.

Brazil’s federal police said Saturday that a third suspect in the deaths of British journalist Dom Phillips and Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira has been arrested. The pair went missing almost two weeks ago; Phillips’ killing was confirmed after forensic exams; other remains are believed to belong to Pereira. Police said in a statement that Jefferson da Silva Lima, known as Pelado da Dinha, turned himself at the police station in Atalaia do Norte in the Amazon. Police said the suspect will be referred to a custody hearing. Two other men are already in prison for alleged involvement in the killings.

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