• Gary Redman, sheriff of Amador County, Calif., said the Electra fire, which temporarily trapped dozens of Fourth of July tourists as it chewed through a mountainous region, may have been sparked by fireworks or a barbecue.
• A.J. Miller, beach safety captain in Volusia County, Fla., said a 28-year-old surfer was bitten on the foot, "presumably by a shark," off New Smyrna Beach, but his injuries weren't life-threatening and a friend took him to the hospital.
• Rebecca Houck, spokeswoman for MorseLife Health System in West Palm Beach, Fla., said the luxury nursing home denies the allegations but to avoid litigation has agreed to pay $1.75 million over claims that early in the pandemic it directed scarce covid-19 shots to wealthy donors and board members.
• Keith Ellison, attorney general of Minnesota, contracted covid for a second time, but he's "feeling fine and grateful to be fully vaccinated and boosted," as well as reassured that his first bout involved "nothing worse than a mild cold."
• William Galvin, Massachusetts secretary of state, said a letter written by Alexander Hamilton on exhibit at Boston's Commonwealth Museum, detailing an imminent British threat to French forces in Rhode Island, "illustrates, in a documentary fashion, how fragile the whole Revolutionary War effort was."
• David Proudfoot of Kissimmee, Fla., who sought a job at Walt Disney World and said he wanted to impress the company by highlighting security weaknesses, dressed as an employee and made off with an R2-D2 "Star Wars" droid, only to be charged with grand theft and obstruction by false information.
• Dan Sider, San Francisco planning chief, said he sympathizes, but an old city code to preserve neighborhood aesthetics prohibits a couple from parking on a paved portion of their property even though they've been doing so for 36 years, levying a $1,542 fine for starters.
• Cassandra Hatton of Sotheby's said she's handled "many exceptional and unique objects, but few have the capacity to inspire wonder and capture imaginations quite like this," as the fossilized skeleton of a Gorgosaurus dinosaur goes up for auction.
• Ian Anthony Medina of Miami Lakes, Fla., was arrested and charged with practicing law without a license, an organized scheme to defraud, grand theft and faking false statements, but he posted bond and says he'll represent himself.