SANTA MARIA, Calif. (AP) — Rising temperatures on Wednesday posed new challenges for firefighters who have made incremental progress against a massive wildfire in central California that has injured four people as it has become the biggest blaze in the state so far this year.

More than 870 remote homes and other structures at the northern edge of Los Padres National Forest are threatened by the Gifford Fire, which grew only slightly overnight after burning out of control for days.

The fire has scorched at least 131 square miles of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, with just 9% containment. It surpassed the 126-square mile Madre Fire, which erupted last month in southeastern San Luis Obispo County, as the state’s largest fire of 2025.

Crews working in steep, inaccessible terrain will be dealing with temperatures in the mid-90s on Wednesday and above 100 on Thursday, said Capt. Scott Safechuck with the Santa Barbara County Fire Department.

“We have hot weather, and we have low relative humidity,” Safechuck said Wednesday. “So we expect extreme fire behavior.” Luckily, winds are expected to remain relatively calm, he said.

Wildfire risk will be elevated through the weekend across much of inland California as the heat wave intensifies. The southern part of the state has seen very little rain, drying out vegetation and making it “ripe to burn,” the National Weather Service for Los Angeles warned in a statement. Triple-digit temperatures are forecast for the Sacramento Valley.

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More than 2,200 personnel are battling the Gifford Fire, which grew out of at least four smaller fires that erupted Friday along State Route 166, forcing closures in both directions east of Santa Maria, a city of about 110,000 people. The causes of the fires are under investigation.

Flames are racing through a vast, mostly unpopulated region that includes forestland, ranches, large canyon properties and agricultural parcels growing wine grapes and strawberries.

The weather service warned of health risks from spreading smoke that could affect much of southwest California.

Officials reported four injuries, including a firefighter who was treated for dehydration. Over the weekend, a motorist was hospitalized with burn injuries after getting out of his vehicle and being overrun by flames. And two contract employees assisting firefighters were also hurt when their all-terrain vehicle overturned.

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Mall-based teen accessories retailer Claire’s, known for helping to usher in millions of teens into an important rite of passage — ear piercing — but now struggling with a big debt load and changing consumer tastes, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Claire’s Holdings LLC and certain of its U.S. and Gibraltar-based subsidiaries — collectively Claire’s U.S., the operator of Claire’s and Icing stores across the United States, made the filing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware on Wednesday. That marked the second time since 2018 and for a similar reason: high debt load and the shift among teens heading online away from physical stores.

Claire’s Chapter 11 filing follows the bankruptcies of other teen retailers including Forever 21, which filed in March for bankruptcy protection for a second time and eventually closed down its U.S. business as traffic in U.S. shopping malls fades and competition from online retailers like Amazon, Temu and Shein intensifies.

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Claire’s, based in Hoffman Estates, Illinois and founded in 1974, said that its stores in North America will remain open and will continue to serve customers, while it explores all strategic alternatives. Claire’s operates more than 2,750 Claire’s stores in 17 countries throughout North America and Europe and 190 Icing stores in North America.

In a court filing, Claire’s said its assets and liabilities range between $1 billion and $10 billion.

“This decision is difficult, but a necessary one,” Chris Cramer, CEO of Claire’s, said in a press release issued Wednesday. “Increased competition, consumer spending trends and the ongoing shift away from brick-and-mortar retail, in combination with our current debt obligations and macroeconomic factors, necessitate this course of action for Claire’s and its stakeholders.”

Like many retailers, Claire’s was also struggling with higher costs tied to President Donald Trump’s tariff plans, analysts said.

Cramer said that the company remains in “active discussions” with potential strategic and financial partners. He noted that the company remains committed to serving its customers and partnering with its suppliers and landlords in other regions. Claire’s also intends to continue paying employees’ wages and benefits, and it will seek approval to use cash collateral to support its operations.

Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, a research firm, noted in a note published Wednesday Claire’s bankruptcy filing comes as “no real surprise.”

“The chain has been swamped by a cocktail of problems, both internal and external, that made it impossible to stay afloat,” he wrote.

Saunders noted that internally, Claire’s struggled with high debt levels that made its operations unstable and said the cash crunch left it with little choice but to reorganize through bankruptcy.

He also noted that tariffs have pushed costs higher, and he believed that Claire’s is not in a position to manage this latest challenge effectively.

Competition has also become sharper and more intense over recent years, with retailers like jewelry chain Lovisa offering younger shoppers a more sophisticated assortment at low prices. He also cited the growing competition with online players like Amazon.

“Reinventing will be a tall order in the present environment,” he added.

The Big Ten Hockey Tournament, which determines the conference’s automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament, will shift to a two-week, single-elimination format with all games played on campus starting this season, the league announced Wednesday.

All seven conference teams will qualify for the Big Ten Tournament, with quarterfinals being held on Wednesday, March 11. Teams seeded No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 will be the host schools of the No. 5, No. 6 and No. 7 seeds, respectively. The No. 1 seed will get a bye into the semifinals.

Semifinals will take place on Saturday, March 14, hosted by the No. 1 seed and the highest advancing seed from the quarterfinals. The championship game will be held the weekend of March 20-21 at the rink of the highest remaining seed.

Previously, the tournament lasted three weeks and started with three-game series.

Michigan State defended its tournament title in 2025, recording a 4-3 double overtime victory over Ohio State in Munn Ice Arena. The Gophers have won six regular-season Big Ten championships and won the conference tournament in 2015 and 2021.

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By JESSE BEDAYN, Associated Press

A push by Texas Republicans to redraw congressional maps to secure five more GOP seats in the U.S. House has kicked off a no-holds-barred battle between blue and red states, each threatening to redraw their own House seats.

The process of changing congressional maps in a bid to ensure one party’s victory over another — called gerrymandering — has typically been done more furtively, with parties fearing a backlash from voters wary of a rigged system.

But President Donald Trump’s call for Texas to blatantly redraw the maps to better ensure that Republicans retain control of the House in the 2026 elections has blown the lid off of the practice: gerrymandering, once a feared accusation, has now become a battle cry.

Here are the states now considering early redistricting.

Texas kicked it off, but Democrats left the state

Dozens of Democrats left Texas in a Hail Mary to halt a vote on redistricting, leaving the legislature without enough lawmakers present — called a quorum — to proceed.

Democrats, who didn’t show up for a second day Tuesday, wouldn’t have the votes to stop the bill otherwise.

In response, Gov. Gregg Abbott and fellow Republicans are threatening the Democrats who left with arrests, fines and removal from office.

The state Attorney General Ken Paxton warned he could ask the courts to vacate their seats if they don’t show up when the House convenes on Friday. Trump and Texas Sen. John Cornyn also asked the FBI to get involved.

Still, past efforts by Democrats to abscond and deny Republicans a quorum only delayed the passage of bills, but didn’t quash them.

Through it all, Abbott has been adamant that redrawing districts with political bias is legal.

California Democrats propose retaliation

Responding to developments in Texas, Democrats in California are considering a draft proposal to reshape their own district maps and cut away five Republican seats while securing more vulnerable seats already held by Democrats.

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has been outspoken about wanting partisan redistricting if Texas moves ahead with its plans.

Unlike Texas, however, California has an independent commission that handles redistricting after the census each decade, which is typically when districts are reshaped to account for population shifts.

Any changes would first need the approval of state lawmakers and voters. Newsom said he’d call a special election in November for California residents to do just that.

Missouri’s governor under pressure from Trump

The Trump administration wants Gov. Mike Kehoe to call a special legislative session for congressional redistricting that favors Republicans.

Kehoe has expressed interest and discussed it with Republican legislative leaders, but has made no decision.

Republicans now hold six of the state’s eight U.S. House seats, and the GOP could pick up another by reshaping a Kansas City area district held by a Democrat.

New York Democrats try to change state law

New York, similar to California, has an independent commission that redistricts only after every census. Last week, state Democrats introduced legislation to allow mid-decade redistricting.

Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul said if Texas proceeds, “we must do the same.”

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The proposal, however, would require an amendment to the state constitution, a change that would have to pass the legislature twice and be approved by voters.

That means the soonest new maps could be in place would be for the 2028 elections.

Wisconsin Democrats take a different tact

While Republicans control the legislature in the battleground state, Democrats turned to the courts to try to force a redrawing of congressional district boundary lines before the 2026 midterms.

Two lawsuits were filed in July after the liberal-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court — without explanation — previously declined to hear challenges directly.

Maryland Democrats promise a response to Texas

The House Majority leader, David Moon, a Democrat, says he will sponsor legislation to trigger redistricting in Maryland if Texas or any other state holds redistricting ahead of the census.

Florida’s governor hints at support for redistricting

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has said he is considering early redistricting and “working through what that would look like.”

Ohio must redraw its maps before the 2026 midterms

That’s because a law in the Republican-led state requires it before the 2026 midterm elections. The GOP holds 10 of its 15 House seats already, and could try to expand that edge.

Indiana’s governor will speak with the Vice President J.D. Vance

Republican Gov. Mike Braun told reporters Tuesday that Vance will visit Indiana to discuss matters including redistricting in the solidly GOP state.

Braun, who would have to call a special session to draw new maps, said he expects a “broad conversation” with legislative leaders on the move’s constitutionality and said no commitments have yet been made.

“It looks like it’s going to happen across many Republican states,” Braun said in a video by WRTV in Indianapolis.

Associated Press writers Anthony Izaguirre in Albany, New York, Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, David Lieb in Jefferson City, Missouri, Isabella Volmert in Lansing, Michigan, and Brian Witte in Annapolis, Maryland, contributed to this report.