With just hours to go before the Olympics opening ceremony, arson attacks disrupted traffic on France’s high-speed train lines. And following a Supreme Court ruling banning sleeping in public spaces, California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order to remove homeless encampments. These stories and more highlight The Morning Rundown for Friday, July 26, 2024.

Arson attacks disrupt train travel ahead of Paris Olympics opening ceremony

Authorities are investigating what’s being called “a malicious attack” on France’s high-speed rail network. According to authorities, arsonists set a series of coordinated fires to disrupt travel just ahead of the Paris Olympics opening ceremony.

It’s already causing delays and is expected to “severely impact” commuters until at least the end of Sunday, July 28. The railway operator said the fires were deliberately set to damage its installations.

🔴 France’s high-speed national rail network has been “paralysed” by “malicious acts” including arson attacks in an apparent bid to cause chaos before this evening’s opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics.

Follow the disruption here 👇https://t.co/q5zoxXnH5l pic.twitter.com/6RmWfzAOjr

— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) July 26, 2024

This incident is likely to add some apprehension ahead of the much-anticipated Paris Olympic Games. 

France has beefed up its security surrounding the world event in unprecedented levels. There will be more than 45,000 police, 10,000 soldiers and 2,000 security agents deployed, as well as several snipers and drones keeping watch from above as the games officially get underway.

Officials: Man pushing burning car into gully started California wildfire

Wildfires are raging in the west and the impact of the wildfire smoke is being felt as far as the East Coast. It’s California’s largest wildfire of the year, dubbed “The Park Fire,” burning north of Sacramento near the city Chico. 

Authorities said they know how it started and have a suspect in custody. They said 48-year-old Ronnie Dean Stout II of Chico, California, pushed a burning car into a dry gully just before 3 p.m. local time on Wednesday, July 24. He has been arrested on suspicion of arson.

In several hours, the #ParkFire exploded from a 400-acre fire to a more than 71,000-acre inferno consuming everything in its path. Freelance videographer Tim Walton shared footage of the firefight.

This incident should serve as a reminder to prepare in advance by preparing a go… pic.twitter.com/JXkNyGgso2

— CAL FIRE (@CAL_FIRE) July 25, 2024

The Park Fire is larger than the size of the city of Atlanta and is only 3% contained. 

It’s also not the only fire consuming the time and energy of firefighters and officials. Hundreds of wildfires are spreading throughout California, Oregon and Canada, forcing thousands of evacuations. 

In Oregon, fires have been ablaze for days, burning nearly 1 million acres. 

The impact of wildfire smoke across the nation is expected to worsen throughout the weekend.

California governor issues executive order to remove homeless encampments

Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., has issued an executive order calling on state agencies to remove homeless encampments. It comes a month after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of allowing cities to enforce bans on sleeping outside in public places.

Breaking News: Gov. Gavin Newsom will order California officials on Thursday to start removing homeless encampments after a recent Supreme Court ruling. https://t.co/4QazN6VkJI

— The New York Times (@nytimes) July 25, 2024

The order offers guidance on how to remove the encampments in a humane way. It also makes it clear the decision to remove encampments is up to individual cities. 

California has the largest unhoused population in the country, with more than 180,000 people experiencing homelessness.

U.S. arrests Mexican drug cartel leaders “El Mayo” and “El Chapo’s” son

U.S. authorities said they’ve arrested a Mexican drug kingpin who’s evaded capture for decades. Federal agents lured Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada across the border into Texas, where they took him into custody. 

“El Mayo” is described as the leader of the powerful Sinaloa cartel, which authorities said has been flooding the U.S. with deadly fentanyl. 

Joaquin Guzman Lopez, the son of the cartel’s infamous co-founder and former boss Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, was also arrested. “El Chapo” is currently serving a life sentence in a U.S. prison.

Harvey Weinstein hospitalized with COVID-19 and double pneumonia

Former Hollywood movie mogul Harvey Weinstein — who’s been sentenced to 16 years in prison after being found guilty of rape — has been hospitalized. His representative said Weinstein is facing a “myriad of health conditions,” including COVID-19 and double pneumonia. 

The 72 year old is currently awaiting retrial in Manhattan on sex crime charges after his conviction was overturned on appeal in April. He is tentatively set to be retried in November. 

His rape sentence comes out of a conviction in Los Angeles, but he’s being held in a New York prison while waiting for retrial.

Ohio court rules ‘boneless’ chicken wings can have bones

According to the Ohio State Supreme court, customers who order boneless wings should not expect them to be boneless. The ruling stems from a case brought on by a man who said he developed medical problems after a tiny bone fragment became lodged in his throat after he ate boneless wings at a restaurant in 2016.

Restaurant patrons who order chicken wings marketed as "boneless" can't expect them to actually be boneless, according to a 4-3 ruling from the Ohio Supreme Court. https://t.co/KZTJv7U444 pic.twitter.com/S4f5e0WIK9

— CBS News (@CBSNews) July 26, 2024

He sued the restaurant for negligence and breach of warranty. However, the Ohio justices ruled that the term “boneless wings” actually refers to the cooking style and said in its ruling that it’s “common knowledge that chickens have bones.”

American canoeist Casey Eichfeld looks for gold at historic 4th Olympics

This is the fifth installment in our weeklong series taking a closer look at Team USA members and their sports as the Paris Olympics get underway. 

Casey Eichfeld is many things: a husband, father, Olympian and a self-described Disney fanatic.  

“We got married at Disney World in Epcot,” he told Straight Arrow News, confirming he and his wife’s Disney devotion.

Eichfeld is hoping for a little Disney magic as he enters his fourth Olympics, competing in canoe slalom for Team USA.

Straight Arrow News asked him to explain the rules of the sport. He gave a concise explanation:

“Canoe slalom is a series of gates hanging over a whitewater river. Athletes have to navigate those gates and there will be 18 to 25 of them. Fastest time wins. If we touch a gate we incur a 2-second penalty. If we miss a gate, go through it upside down or the wrong direction, we get a 50-second penalty. And that’s really about it.”

But that’s far from it when we’re talking about Eichfeld who will be making history in his sport for most Olympic appearances. He was, in a way, born for canoeing. 

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A post shared by Casey Eichfeld (@themadkanuer)

“My parents had a boat waiting for me before I was born so I don’t know if I was really given that much choice,” Eichfeld said with a laugh.

So once he started he said everything clicked — a perfect fit like Cinderella’s glass slipper — and he fell in love with the sport.

In 2008, he qualified for his first Olympics in Beijing at 18 years old. It was an experience he called “super surreal,” especially being part of the opening ceremony.

“That’s one of the memories that will stay with me all of my life, particularly my first opening ceremonies,” Eichfeld said. “There’s 550 of us, we’re walking through the tunnel into the bird’s nest and everyone’s chanting ‘USA!’ ‘USA!’ It gives me chills every time I think about it.”

Eichfeld said it’s not just the memories on the water that stick with him. He said he has plenty of other stories to share.

“I have a memory of hanging out at our athlete’s lounge in our village building, chilling out, watching other sports — Michael Phelps walks in,” Eichfeld recalled. “He’s like, ‘Hey are there any Uncrustables left?’ I said, ‘Dude, I got you.’ I took him right to the fridge that had them, had a coffee together, chatted a little bit. “‘It’s cool to see you. I’m not at all starstruck.’”

After placing 7th at the Rio Games in 2016, his highest placement yet, but then not qualifying for Tokyo 2021, Eichfeld contemplated retirement. He was starting a family and wondering if it was time to turn the page on his Olympic quest, but, like Moana, the water called to him.

“I had to make the decision: if I’m going to do this, I’m going to do this,” Eichfeld said. “There’s no messing around with this. If I’m going to take the time to be away from my family, as much as I need to be, then I really need to put the effort in and it paid off.”

At 34 years old, Eichfeld is now the veteran among his Team USA crew. He’s already thinking ahead, not just about his Olympics dreams, but the ones coming true at home, too.

“I’m really happy with my decision [to compete], now I get to make that decision again,” Eichfeld said. “We got a home Olympics coming and we have a baby boy coming at the end of October. So big, big year for me.”

“I like to add big things to my Olympic years. In 2016, my wife and I got married in December and this time, we’re having a baby two months after the Olympics. So why not make it a big year, a really memorable year?”

With his family in Paris motivating him, Eichfeld is looking to bring home the gold this time around and then celebrate in style. 

“I want to prove that I belong here and even in my advanced age that I can still throw it down,” Eichfeld said. “So I’m fighting for the podium. I want to be up there. And then when I get home I want to go Disney.”