LOS ANGELES
Director Tony Scott loved fast cars, riding fast motorcycles and creating some of the most memorable action sequences of the past quarter century. He was even planning a sequel to his hit “Top Gun.”
Yet on Sunday, police removed the director’s body from Los Angeles Harbor hours after they say he stopped his car on the towering Vincent Thomas Bridge and jumped.
His death stunned friends and fans and left Hollywood buzzing about what could have prompted one of the industry’s more successful filmmakers to take an 18-story leap to his death.
MANTON, Calif.
A huge wildfire sparked by lightning in Northern California burned to the edge of three small towns on Monday, threatening thousands of homes as fearful residents sought safety miles away at an emergency shelter.
The fast-moving Ponderosa Fire was one of many burning across the West, where lightning, dry temperatures and gusting winds have brought an early start to fire season.
More than 1,400 firefighters were battling the Ponderosa Fire in rugged, densely forested terrain as it threatened 3,500 homes in the towns of Manton, Shingletown and Viola, about 170 miles north of Sacramento.
BRIEFLY ...
● KEY WEST, Fla. — Diana Nyad slogged across the Straits of Florida for a third straight day Monday, hopeful she could fend off hypothermia, jellyfish and stormy weather as she inched toward a swimming record. Nyad, who turns 63 on Wednesday, is making her third attempt since last summer to become the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage.
● MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Nearly 100 boats and barges were waiting for passage Monday along an 11-mile stretch of the Mississippi River that has been closed due to low water levels, the U.S. Coast Guard said.
● NEW YORK — A New York court has concluded three men owe $54.9 million in restitution to the South African government for stealing lobsters off its coast.
● ORLANDO, Fla. — Casey Anthony’s year of probation is ending this week, but when she will be released from state supervision is being kept secret because officials are concerned about her security.
● NEW YORK — The producers of “Live! With Kelly” say a new co-host will be revealed on the show Sept. 4. Disney-ABC Domestic Television said Monday that Kelly Ripa will officially announce her new partner as he or she joins her on stage that morning.
Compiled from wire reports
