Yosemite Park, US Catholics, Trans students: Domestic round-up

A massive and deadly California wildfire that sent choking smoke into Yosemite National Park.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

A fire that prompted the closure of parts of Yosemite Park is contained

A massive and deadly California wildfire that sent choking smoke into Yosemite National Park, causing a temporary closure of large parts of the tourist destination, is completely contained, fire officials said on Sunday. More than 3,000 personnel have battled the Ferguson Fire, which ignited on July 13 and has burned through nearly 97,000 acres (39,250 hectares) of steep slopes and bone-dry terrain southwest of the park, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, said.

U.S. Catholics 'sickened' by sex abuse report, stand by their faith

Many churchgoers said they were sickened and saddened by a grand jury report detailing widespread sexual abuse by hundreds of priests in Pennsylvania but they would not let the Roman Catholic Church's cover-up dissuade them from their faith. Nearly 200 parishioners filled almost all the pews for Saturday's Mass at St. Patrick's Church in York, Pennsylvania, where six priests who at one time worked in that parish are accused in the report https://bit.ly/2vTa9oY of sexually abusing children.

Vigil held in Colorado town for slain pregnant woman and daughters

Mourners gathered on Friday in a small Colorado town where the remains of a pregnant woman and her two young daughters were reportedly discovered in oil storage tanks the day after police took the father into custody for their murders. Shanann Watts, 34, and her daughters Bella, 4, and Celeste, 3, were reported missing from their home in Frederick, 25 miles north of Denver, by a family friend on Monday afternoon, touching off an exhaustive search by law enforcement agencies.

Trans students: A test of identity for U.S. girls schools

Secondary schools for girls across the United States are grappling with a difficult and increasingly common question: what is the best approach when a student or applicant no longer identifies as female or is going through a gender transition? As students who are openly transgender or non-binary - those who identify as neither male nor female - have become more visible at girls schools in recent years, educators are re-defining policies on admission, retention and other issues.

U.S. senators demand answers from Army after Reuters report on lead poisoning

Four U.S. senators on Friday urged the Army to detail the steps it is taking to safeguard children from lead poisoning, citing a Reuters investigation into hazards on military bases. "We write to you today concerned about recent reports of lead poisoning at a number of Army installations," the senators wrote. "The health and safety of our servicemembers and their families are of the utmost importance."

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