The Nation in Brief

California wildfire burns 3,800 acres

PLYMOUTH, Calif. -- Firefighters in Northern California on Sunday battled a wildfire that has destroyed 10 homes and forced hundreds of evacuations in the Sierra Nevada foothills, while a fire near Yosemite National Park destroyed one home and grew significantly overnight.

East of Sacramento, the Sand Fire has burned about 3,800 acres, roughly 6 square miles, of steep, rugged terrain near wine-growing regions in Amador and El Dorado counties since Friday, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The fire, which has also destroyed seven outbuildings, was 35 percent contained Sunday morning but threatens hundreds of homes, CalFire spokesman Lynne Tolmachoff said. It could grow again Sunday as firefighters brace for high winds and triple-digit temperatures in the drought-stricken region.

West of Yosemite National Park, a wildfire that began Saturday afternoon quadrupled in size overnight to 2,100 acres, or more than 3 square miles, and was burning out of control Sunday. It destroyed one home in the small community of Foresta, adjacent to the park, Ranger Scott Gediman said. The park itself remained open.

Judge backs guns outside D.C. homes

WASHINGTON -- A federal judge struck down the District of Columbia's ban on carrying guns outside of a person's home, concluding it violates Second Amendment rights.

The ruling from U.S. District Judge Frederick Scullin, who was appointed by President George H.W. Bush and is a retired Army colonel, is the latest in a protracted fight over gun laws in Washington.

In a decision made public Saturday, Scullin concluded that the Second Amendment gives people the right to carry a gun outside the home for self-defense. He cited two U.S. Supreme Court cases as important to his ruling -- the 2008 opinion striking down the District of Columbia's ban and a 2010 ruling involving Chicago's handgun ban.

A city official said Sunday that officials would ask for a stay and were weighing an appeal.

The city rewrote its rules after a 2008 Supreme Court decision struck down the city's 32-year-old ban on handguns. Residents were required to register their guns and keep them in their homes. Gun owners also have to take a safety class, be photographed and fingerprinted, and re-register their weapons every three years. Those requirements were challenged in court but upheld by a federal judge in May.

VA health care fixes part of compromise

WASHINGTON -- The chairmen of the House and Senate Veterans Affairs committees have reached a tentative agreement on a plan to improve veterans' health care.

Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., scheduled a news conference for today to talk about a compromise plan to fix a veterans' health program scandalized by long patient wait times and falsified records covering up delays.

Miller is chairman of the House veterans panel while Sanders is chairman of the Senate panel.

A spokesman for Sanders said Sunday that the men have reached a tentative agreement. The deal requires a vote by a conference committee of House and Senate negotiators and votes in the full House and Senate.

Miller and Sanders said in a joint statement that they "made significant progress" over the weekend toward agreement on legislation to overhaul the Veterans Affairs Department.

The plan is intended to "make VA more accountable and to help the department recruit more doctors, nurses and other health care professionals," Miller and Sanders said.

A Section on 07/28/2014

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