CBS News
Multiple firefighters injured as huge “human caused” brush fire burns in Riverside County
Firefighters are battling a large brush fire that broke out in San Jacinto on Sunday.
The blaze, being called the Record Fire, was first reported at 2:15 p.m. near Soboba Road and Gilman Springs Road, according tot the Riverside County Fire Department.
It was first reported as a five-acre fire but by 7:30 p.m. firefighters said that it had been mapped at 650 acres and was 0% contained. By Monday morning, the fire was 15% contained.
As a result, evacuation warnings were issued for RVC Poppet Flats 1, 2, 3 and 4. That area includes the Silent Valley Club RV Resrot, which is North of Wolf Road, West of Partridge Street and Hungry Hollow Road, South of Old Idyllwild Road and East of Gubner, firefighters said. More information on evacuations can be found here.
A care and reception center has been opened at the Nicolet Middle School in Banning. It can be found on 101 E. Nicolet Street.
Both ground units and water-dropping aircraft were assisting in the battle.
No structures are reported to be threatened.
“Out of an abundance of caution, six firefighters have been transported to area hospitals with minor medical symptoms,” firefighters said.
Late Sunday, Cal Fire Peace Officers reported that the fire was believed to be human-caused, but did not provide any further information.
CBS News
House Ethics Committee planned to vote Friday on whether to release report on Matt Gaetz
The House Ethics Committee, which has been conducting an investigation into sexual misconduct and obstruction allegations against Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, scheduled a vote for Friday on whether to release its report, according to three sources with knowledge of the committee’s work.
Hours after President-elect Donald Trump said he planned to nominate Gaetz to be attorney general, Gaetz resigned his congressional seat, effective immediately.
“I do not intend to take the oath of office for the same office in the 119th Congress, to pursue the position of Attorney General in the Trump Administration,” Gaetz said in his resignation letter obtained by CBS News
House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters that there was about an eight-week period during which Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis could fill his seat by setting the date for a special election.
Now that Gaetz has resigned, it is unclear whether the panel will vote on releasing the report, since Gaetz is no longer in Congress.
There is precedent in Congress on the Senate side for an ethics committee report to become public after a member resigns from Congress, however. In 2011, this happened when Sen. John Ensign of Nevada resigned amid allegations that he tried to hide an extramarital affair.
But it’s not clear that that would apply to the House, leaving open the possibility that the report on Gaetz would not be released.
In June, the House Ethics Committee released a statement saying it was investigating a range of allegations against Gaetz, including sexual misconduct, illicit drug use, and bribery.
Multiple sources at the time told CBS News that four women had informed the House Ethics Committee that they had been paid to go to parties that included sex and drugs, and that Gaetz had also attended. The committee has Gaetz’s Venmo transactions that allegedly show payments for the women.
Gaetz has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and has called the committee’s investigation a “frivolous” smear campaign.
Some of the allegations of sexual misconduct under review by the committee were also the subject of a previous Department of Justice probe into Gaetz. Federal investigators sought to determine if Gaetz violated sex trafficking and obstruction of justice laws, but no charges were filed.
The House Ethics Committee resumed its investigation into Gaetz in 2023, following the Justice Department’s decision not to pursue charges against him.
Gaetz has long blamed then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, also a Republican, for the probe. And Gaetz later led the movement to sack McCarthy as speaker.
CBS News
Democratic Congressman on the party’s messaging, focus
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
CBS News
11/13: The Daily Report – CBS News
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.