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Startling images from Oregon this week show otherworldly red-orange skies hanging over parts of the state, where devastating wildfires have destroyed hundreds of homes and driven thousands of people from their communities. The state is now under a state of emergency and fires are burning over 1,300 square kilometres amid extremely hot and windy weather that is only making the problem worse. Gov. Kate Brown says at least five towns have been destroyed, none of the fires are contained and there is no weather relief in the forecast. “This could be the greatest loss of human lives and property due to wildfire in our state’s history,” she said Wednesday. https://globalnews.ca/news/7326148/wildfire-photos-2020-oregon-red-sky/

A US academic whose work focuses on Africa and the African diaspora has said she lied about being black. Jessica Krug, an associate professor at George Washington University (GWU), admitted that she was in fact a white Jewish woman from Kansas City. "I have built my life on a violent anti-Black lie," a blog post written under Ms Krug's name read. The university said it was investigating the blog post but would not comment further. Ms Krug's case, which has drawn surprise and condemnation from those who know her, bears strong parallels to Rachel Dolezal, a white race activist who claimed to be black. Ms Dolezal first made headlines in 2015 when her parents outed her as white. The former civil rights activist and African studies instructor had kept up the pretence of being African American for years, but said she "identified as black". Source

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) - A Neenah man had a flamethrower, smoke grenades and fireworks during a demonstration in Green Bay Saturday night, according to police and prosecutors. Matthew Banta, 23, is charged with obstructing an officer and two counts of felony bail jumping. The criminal complaint says Banta “is known to be a violent Antifa member who incites violence in otherwise relatively peaceful protests.” Police say he’s known as “Commander Red.” Green Bay police say they were called for “a whole bunch of white people with sticks, baseball bats and helmets headed... towards the police” on Walnut St. near Webster Ave. ADVERTISEMENT “I don’t know who comes to a protest with a baseball bat for anything other than criminal or illegal activity,” said Green Bay Police Chief Andrew Smith. A responding officer says he saw four individuals walking towards a protest with baseball bats. One man was wearing a metal helmet with goggles and military-style gear with multiple pouches, and...

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Chadwick Boseman, star of “Black Panther,” died on Friday after a four year battle with colon cancer, his rep confirmed to Variety. He was 43. Before he was cast as the Marvel Studios superhero, Boseman’s career first exploded with his portrayals of Black American icons Jackie Robinson (in 2013’s “42”) and James Brown (in 2014’s “Get on Up”). “It is with immeasurable grief that we confirm the passing of Chadwick Boseman,” said a statement posted to his Twitter feed. “It was the honor of his life to bring King T’Challa to life in Black Panther.” Although Boseman never spoke publicly about his diagnosis, according the statement, he worked through his treatment for much of his career, starting when he played another Black American icon, NAACP lawyer and future Supreme Court justice Thurgood Marshall, in 2017’s “Marshall” — a year before the premiere of “Black Panther.” Boseman most recently appeared in the Spike Lee’s Vietnam War drama “Da 5 Bloods,” and this year he’s due to...

More than 100 demonstrators gathered outside Jeff Bezos' Washington, DC, mansion on Thursday and constructed a guillotine outside his front door to protest Amazon workers' wages. The protest came the day after Bezos' net worth surpassed $200 billion, making him the richest person in history, according to Forbes. His wealth has grown by about $85 billion since January, boosted by Amazon's soaring revenue amid the COVID-19 pandemic. A video posted to Twitter by a Washington Examiner reporter shows former Amazon warehouse worker Christian Smalls, an outspoken Amazon critic, calling on the company to raise its minimum wage from $15 per hour to $30 per hour in light of Bezos' surging wealth. The protest was led by the Congress of Essential Workers, a group founded by Smalls. "Give a good reason why we don't deserve a $30 minimum wage when this man makes $4,000 a second," Smalls said. It's not clear whether the protesters' guillotine had a real blade or was functional. The Congress...