What in the World: Nadine Gordimer, Pot-Farming Arsonists, Mayoral Recall, Treehuggers, and Malala

R.I.P.: Nadine Gordimer, the Nobel Prize-winning novelist who wrote about South Africa’s apartheid, has died. Her books, banned during the apartheid era, explored the complicated world she lived in without being politically heavy-handed. (NY Times)

ARSON: Human-caused fires are notoriously difficult to solve. But authorities believe they have the culprit behind a northern California fire They’ve arrested a man believed to have started the blaze when the exhaust from his truck create a spark en route to an illegal marijuana farm. The suspect’s name? Freddie Alexander Smoke III. (Associated Press)

POLITICS: A recall campaign is mounting in Portland, where citizens opposing a street tax on businesses to pay for transportation improvements have launched petition drives to oust Mayor Charlie Hales and City Commissioner Steve Novick. Each petition will need 34,921 signatures—15 percent of the voters who turned out in the last election—to make it to the ballot. (KOIN)

TREES: Portlanders tried and failed to break the world record for tree hugging. Currently in the lead at more than 2,000 participants (to Portland’s meager 599) is Nepal. It’s a sad day for American hippies. (Oregon Live)

MALALA: Malala Yousafzai, the Afghan teenage activist who was shot by Pakistani militants for supporting girls’ right to an education, met with Nigerian president Godluck Jonathan today. He assured her he would secure the release of the girls kidnapped by militant group Boko Haram. (LA Times)

This article appears in Jul 9-16, 2014.