Wildfires scorch Canada and choke the US

Canada's wildfire smoke worsens air quality for millions in the US; the PGA Tour forges ties with Saudi Arabia’s LIV Golf.

Tonight's Sentences was written by Jariel Arvin.

What to know about the Canada wildfires

Gary Hershorn/Getty Images

• Wednesday, millions of people across 13 states faced air quality warnings as smoke from Canadian wildfires billowed across the US. [ABC News]
• Officials urged residents to limit outdoor activity as major cities in New York, Pennsylvania, and other states saw air quality indexes at unhealthy levels. [CNN]
• Climate change is making Canadian wildfire seasons longer and more intense; if this year’s trend continues, 2023 could be Canada’s worst fire season on record in terms of area burned. [BBC / Nadine Yousif]
• The conditions are expected to last through Thursday before a change in weather patterns clears the smoke this weekend. [Weather Channel / Chris Dolce and Eric Zerkel]
• Wildfires and other sources of pollution generate tiny particles in the air that can be deadly even in small doses. To keep safe, monitor local air quality conditions and remain indoors when possible. [Vox / Rebecca Leber]

📍 If you read just one story

Vox’s Rachel DuRose explains how New York City experienced some of the world’s worst air quality amid smoke from Canada wildfires and climate change. [Vox / Rachel DuRose]

The PGA Tour-LIV Golf merger

• The PGA Tour is merging with Saudi Arabia’s LIV Golf to form a new commercial enterprise backed by a Saudi government investment fund. [CNBC / Lillian Rizzo]
• The deal comes after the PGA spent months criticizing the LIV for offering its golfers millions to sign with the Saudi tour; the merger angered PGA players who refused to play in a Saudi-backed tour. [NYT / David Leonhardt]
• Critics accuse Saudi Arabia of “sportswashing": investing in sports as a way to clean up the country's public image as a place where human rights abuses occur. [AP / Doug Ferguson]
• Former President Donald Trump, who has held several LIV Golf events at his clubs, celebrated the deal. [Guardian / Tom Lutz]
• The agreement immediately ends antitrust litigation between PGA and LIV; both sides spent millions in their legal battle, which could have lasted for years. [ESPN / Mark Schlabach]

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Chairman and CEO Chris Light is out at CNN after a year of tumultuous leadership that saw sagging ratings and a widely criticized Donald Trump town hall. [Vox/ Peter Kafka]

• Prosecutors are reportedly near the end of their investigation into Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents at his Florida estate. An indictment could come this week. [Vox / Andrew Prokop]
• California Gov. Gavin Newsom suggested Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis could face kidnapping charges for flying asylum seekers from Texas and abandoning them in Sacramento. [Politico / Jeremy B. White]
• Tuesday, an 18-year-old student and his stepfather were killed and five others were wounded in a shooting after a Virginia graduation ceremony. [BBC / Gareth Evans and Max Matza]

“It’s going to be here for a while.”

[Bryan Ramsey, a National Weather Service meteorologist on the wildfire smoke / NYT]

The kids suing their state for climate change

The case is called Held v. Montana, and the plaintiffs want to prove the state’s energy policies directly harm the Montana environment. In today’s episode of The Weeds, we’ll dig into the case with Amanda Eggert (@amandaleggert), environmental reporter at the Montana Free Press, and also hear from a plaintiff about why she decided to join the lawsuit.

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