California firefighters keep an eye on flames from the Butte Lightning Complex Fire as they approach a firebreak near Concow, Calif.. Authorities ordered thousands of residents in Butte County to evacuate after the fire destroyed dozens of homes in Concow.

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OROVILLE — Firefighting reinforcements began to flood into Butte County on Wednesday to battle a 49,000-acre blaze that officials say is now the state's top priority among the more than 300 burning across California.

An additional 500 firefighting personnel arrived Wednesday, bringing to 2,773 the number on hand to battle the blazes, which already have destroyed 40 to 50 homes and threaten countless others in Paradise, Magalia and other, smaller communities.

Fire officials ordered the evacuation of another 1,000 homes Wednesday afternoon over fears that flames could reach them, bringing to 4,800 the number of homes evacuated since fires erupted out of control near here Tuesday.

The latest evacuations were ordered between the town of Deadwood and across Highway 70 to the shores of Lake Oroville.

By Wednesday afternoon, firefighters were evacuating much of Yankee Hill and surrounding areas near Deadwood Road. Those communities sit just south of Concow, where the most homes burned Tuesday.

SACRAMENTO — A California state senator hopes to pump up the lottery's coffers by expanding prize offerings to include free gas.

Democrat Dean Florez says in a letter Wednesday to the California Lottery that such an offer would entice more people to buy lottery tickets. He argues that would raise more money for schools because they are funded partially by the lottery.

But Lottery Director Joan Borucki says California can't afford to award free gasoline. That's because state law restricts how much lottery money can go toward prizes.

Gas prices are nearing $5 a gallon throughout California.

MIAMI — Forecasters say Hurricane Bertha has strengthened back to a Category 2 as it heads toward Bermuda.

It's unknown if or when the hurricane will make landfall. Forecasters have been urging people on the island to monitor the storm's progress.

As of about 5 p.m. EDT Wednesday, the center of the storm was about 560 miles northeast of the northern Leeward Islands and about 660 miles southeast of Bermuda.

Maximum sustained winds are about 105 mph. National Hurricane Center forecasters expect Bertha to strengthen in the next 24 hours and it could again become a major hurricane. It had weakened to a Category 1 storm before picking up strength.

NEW YORK — A self-proclaimed expert on al-Qaida climbed partway up the New York Times' 52-story building early Wednesday to publicize his activism against the terrorist organization, citing two previous climbers as inspiration.

David Malone, 29, reached the 11th floor of the Manhattan building before descending to a ledge, where he spent hours making cell-phone calls and talking to police. He was arrested about 5:20 a.m.

At one point, Malone hung a small white and red banner, which covered part of the letter "T" in "The" on the Times' sign. His banner referenced al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, police said.

Malone said news reports of two other climbers on the building in the past five weeks inspired him to seek publicity for his own activism, and those stories helped him figure out how to do it, police said.

NEW YORK — Dozens of sightseers were stranded in cable cars over Bronx Zoo animal habitats Wednesday afternoon until the gondola system was repaired more than four hours later.

The system abruptly halted about 5:30 p.m. when one of the cars became misaligned. Firefighters and police used a crane to rescue three people in that car, but 34 other people were stranded in the other cars halted by the breakdown.

Once the misaligned gondola was back on track, the Skyfari system was restarted and the once-stranded passengers could complete their rides at the regular exits.

Zoo officials and rescuers said they didn't know why a car had become misaligned.

NEW YORK — Weeks after giving birth to daughter Maddie Briann, Jamie Lynn Spears is showing off the newborn, sharing memories of a "perfect" delivery and longing to be a Southern soccer mom.

Spears and fiance Casey Aldridge welcomed Maddie at a hospital in McComb, Miss., on June 19. The younger sister of Britney Spears poses with her on the cover of OK! magazine — as expected, given the fact that Spears announced her pregnancy through an article in OK! and reportedly was to receive a large payday for exclusive pictures of the baby.

The photos were taken at the pair's Mississippi home. The magazine does not comment on the terms of its deals with celebrities.

In an interview with the magazine, the 17-year-old Jamie Lynn said she had been nervous about giving birth "but it all fell into place. I was right on schedule. I had a perfect pregnancy and a perfect delivery. I was very blessed."

DENVER — A man accused of checking out hundreds of books and DVDs from libraries around the Denver area and then trying to sell them will be doing all his library borrowing from now on behind bars.

Denver prosecutors say 34-year-old Thomas Pilaar was sentenced to 10 years in prison and ordered Tuesday to pay $53,549 in restitution. He pleaded guilty in May.

Of an estimated 1,400 books and DVDs that were taken, about 500 have been recovered.

Denver Public Library estimated it had lost $35,000, while Douglas County said it had $11,000 worth of overdue items.

Authorities were tipped off by a woman who recently bought books on Craigslist and noticed the library identification stamps.

OMAHA — A 91-year-old Nebraska veteran on a one-day trip to the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., died on the flight home just hours after the visit.

Donald Dragoo, a World War II Army vet, traveled to Washington as part of the Heartland Honor Flight, which transports veterans free of charge to the memorial and other sights.

He slumped over and became unresponsive about 20 minutes before the return flight carrying more than 100 veterans landed in Lincoln on Tuesday night, flight organizer Bill Williams said. Two doctors onboard were unable to revive him, Williams said.

Dragoo, who served with the 3rd Armored Division in Europe, had been ailing from numerous conditions, Williams said.