Like a Heat Wave: Wildfires pushed by high winds have ripped through resort areas outside Athens, burning hotels and cars and sending residents and tourists fleeing. At least 49 people are reported to have been killed. Authorities found 26 bodies huddled together on a beach, some of them hugging each other.

Japan is suffering a heat wave that authorities say has killed at least 44 people. It hit 99 degrees in Tokyo and a record 105.98 in nearby Kumagaya yesterday.

It’s hotter than hell across the US West and Southwest as well. Forecasts say it will hit 96 in Portland, Ore. today; Death Valley, 123; Tucson, 112.

In the East, flash flood warnings stretch all the way from Binghamton in New York’s southern tier to Fayetteville, NC. Floodwaters have been rushing through streets in several Pennsylvania towns.

The Trumpster Fire: President Trump is considering revoking the security clearances of six former national security officials who have criticized him, The White House announced. The six are former CIA Director John Brennan, former Director of National Security James Clapper, and former Director of the National Security Agency Michael Hayden. Also, former FBI Director James Comey and his deputy Andrew McCabe, as well as President Obama’s National Security Adviser, Susan Rice.

Brennan and Clapper have been particularly critical of Trump. Brennan called Trump’s behavior and remarks with Vladimir Putin in Helsinki “treasonous.” Comey and McCabe don’t even have clearances anymore. Susan Rice is on the board of Netflix.

Former officials in these critical positions commonly keep their security clearances so current officials can consult with them about long-running problems. But Clapper tweeted, “I dont go back for classified briefings. Won’t have any effect on what I say or write”

Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the reason for yanking their tickets is “Because they politicized and in some cases monetized their public service and security clearances. Making baseless accusations of improper contact with Russia or being influenced by Russia against the President is extremely inappropriate and the fact that people with security clearances are making these baseless charges provides inappropriate legitimacy to accusations with zero evidence.”

This is news. Trump doesn’t like what he thinks are baseless accusations.

Image Buffing: Speaking of baseless accusations, the President trashed The Washington Post on Twitter yesterday. He said, “In my opinion the Washington Post is nothing more than an expensive (the paper loses a fortune) lobbyist for Amazon. Is it used as protection against antitrust claims which many feel should be brought?”

Actually, the Post doesn’t lose money. And who are the “many” people?

He also claimed he gave up “NOTHING” in his private meeting with Vladimir Putin and that he’s delighted with the progress over North Korea. “A Rocket has not been launched by North Korea in 9 months. Likewise, no Nuclear Tests. Japan is happy, all of Asia is happy.”

Justice Delayed: A federal judge granted immunity to five witnesses and a one-week delay in the start of trial that was set to begin tomorrow for former Trump campaign officer Paul Manafort. The defense said they have new documents they need to examine.

This Call May be Recorded: Federal prosecutors now have possession of 12 audio recordings made by former Trump lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen. What’s on 11 of them isn’t publicly known, but Cohen had a reputation for making recordings to protect himself.

Your Cheatin’ Heart: The husband of porn actress stormy Daniels, who claims she had an affair with Donald Trump back in 2006, has filed for divorce. Glendon Crain, a rock drummer and porn actor himself, claims she cheated on him. Now, let’s talk about this. When you’re both porn actors, what qualifies as cheating?

Lochted Out: Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte was handed his second one-year suspension from the sport, this time for taking an infusion of vitamins in an excessive dose.

The Obit Page: Japanese screenwriter Shinobu Hashimoto, whose first produced screenplay was the classic “Rashomon” and who had a long collaboration with its director, Akira Kurosawa, died in Tokyo at 100.

“Rashoman” was a philosophical treatment of the slippery nature of truth in a story about the murder of a samurai and the rape of his wife. It was told from the perspective of the killer, the dead samurai, his wife, and a woodcutter. Ever since the 1950 movie, “Roshoman” has been a word to describe conflicting accounts of the same event.

Hashimoto and Kurosawa also made “Seven Samurai” about a village that hires swordsmen to defend them against bandits. That was re-made in the US as the cowboy epic, “The Magnificent Seven.”

Inside Edition: The media company Tronc, which originally was the Chicago Tribune, yesterday laid off half the staff of the entertaining tabloid, The New York Daily News. Half.

The newsroom of the nearly 100-year-old paper is reduced to 50 people to cover New York. The sports staff in a sports crazy city, cut from 35 to 9.

Albert Burneko writes an explainer for Deadspin: “This past spring, Michael Ferro resigned as chairman of publicly traded media-looting hell-company Tronc, Inc., just ahead of the publication of sexual harassment allegations against him. As a parting gift, Tronc paid him $15 million, voluntarily bundling up the total value of a three-year consulting contract into one lump payment expensed against the company’s earnings and putting itself $14.8 million in the red for the first quarter.”

Burneko says it’s amazing that what Tronc did is legal but, “The journalists who lost their livelihoods today in effect had their salaries and benefits re-routed to Michael Ferro’s bank accounts.” He concludes, “Anyway, I just wanted to point out that it doesn’t have to be like this, while I still can, before this company’s eventual buyer eliminates my job and deletes this post from the internet.”

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