Midday Roundup: California blaze incinerates 400 homes

Sudden inferno. A fast-moving wildfire destroyed 400 homes and killed at least one person this weekend in Northern California. Gov. Jerry Brown has declared a state of emergency in Napa and Lake counties, where crews are working to contain the fire. Residents fled their homes along highways where buildings, cars, and guardrails have burned. The fire started Saturday afternoon and quickly grew to cover 78 square miles.

Migrant surge. As many as 40,000 refugees fleeing violence in the Middle East poured into Germany over the weekend, by some estimates. In the United States, members of Congress reacted to President Barack Obama’s call to take in 10,000 Syrian refugees in the next fiscal year. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said the number should be 50,000. But Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., chairman the Homeland Security Committee, said the United States must fully vet the individuals it allows into the country: “It’s not fanciful to think that ISIS may be salting some of those refugees with some of their operatives and we need to be first concerned about our own national security.” Murphy said not bringing in substantial numbers of Syrians is also a risk to national security because refugees who don’t receive help from the West could turn to ISIS and al-Qaeda for assistance. Many of the Syrian refugees who are fleeing persecution from ISIS are Christians.

Strange company. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is courting conservative Christian college students with an appearance at Liberty University today. The self-proclaimed socialist senator appealed to students’ sense of social justice as he tried to win their support for his presidential candidacy. In prepared remarks, Sanders urged those with different views to find common ground. He noted he disagrees with conservatives on abortion and gay marriage and said there’s “no justice” when the wealthy take a disproportionate share of the nation’s income.

Killed in action. Police have shot and killed a man suspected of shooting to death a Kentucky state policeman Sunday night. Trooper Joseph Cameron Ponder, 31, died after a driver he was chasing stopped abruptly and fired into the trooper’s vehicle. The suspect, 25-year-old Joseph Thomas Johnson-Shanks of Missouri, fled on foot and was found hours later in a rural, wooded area, said Trooper Jay Thomas, a state police spokesman. Johnson-Shanks refused to drop his weapon and was shot by officers. He later died at a hospital, Thomas said.

Conquering the hardcourt. Novak Djokovic defeated Roger Federer to win the U.S. Open, finishing another chapter in their tennis rivalry of global proportions. The younger Djokovic hasn’t won as many major tennis championships as Federer, but he’s officially on a winning streak after besting Federer at Wimbledon this summer. On Friday, Roberta Vinci upset Serena Williams in the semifinals, shocking spectators who expected to see Williams complete a calendar year Grand Slam of the four major tennis tournaments with this U.S. Open. Vinci lost in the finals to fellow Italian Flavia Pennetta.

WORLD Radio’s Jim Henry and The Associated Press contributed to this report.