Saturday,  August 4, 2012 • Vol. 13--No. 021 • 23 of 29 •  Other Editions

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Wind-whipped wildfires destroy dozens of homes in Oklahoma as temperatures hit 113 degrees

• NOBLE, Okla. (AP) -- The gusty, southerly winds that whipped wildfires through rural woodlands north and south of Oklahoma City started to die down early Saturday, but not before burning dozens of homes.
• Hundreds of people were told Friday to leave their homes in at least four counties, while smoke and flames prompted authorities to close parts of Interstate 44, the

main roadway between Oklahoma City and Tulsa, and two state highways. I-44 reopened late Friday night.
• "A man refused to leave. From what I know, he wanted to protect his property, but your life has to be more valuable than property," Oklahoma County Sheriff John Whetsel said late Friday night.
• The sheriff said at least 25 homes, a daycare center and numerous outbuildings had burned in a fire that may have been deliberately set near Luther, a town about 20 miles northeast of Oklahoma City.
• Deputies were looking into reports about someone in a pickup truck who was seen throwing out newspapers that had been set on fire. By Friday night, the blaze had spread across 80 square miles, but officials said it had calmed some due to lighter winds and higher humidity.
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Vertical skydiving record broken as 138 skydivers hit speeds of 220 mph in snowflake formation

• OTTAWA, Ill. (AP) -- Falling at speeds of up to 220 mph, nearly 140 skydivers shattered the vertical skydiving world record as they flew heads-down in a massive snowflake formation in northern Illinois.
• Three judges representing the Federation Aeronautique Internationale, the international air sports agency, certified that 138 skydivers created the formation Friday evening over Ottawa, about 80 miles southwest of Chicago. It took 15 attempts over three days for the team to break the previous record of 108 skydivers, which was set in 2009.
• "I feel amazing," Rook Nelson, an organizer and the owner of Skydive Chicago

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