Letters for Wednesday, August 23, 2023
• Being prepared • Controlled burning
Obituaries for Wednesday, August 23, 2023
• Patrice Andra Thronas • Benjamin Antonio Salud • Flora Elizabeth Leialoha Ornellas • Lodrigo (Larry) Ragasa
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Maui confronts the challenge of finding hundreds of missing people
LAHAINA, Hawai‘i — Two weeks after the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century swept through the Maui community of Lahaina, authorities say anywhere between 500 and 1,000 people remain unaccounted for — a staggering number for officials facing huge challenges to determine how many of those perished and how many may have made it to safety but haven’t checked in.
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The 8 candidates expected on-stage for the first GOP debate
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Donald Trump won’t be on the Republican debate stage Wednesday. But the former president is driving the conversation on and off the debate stage anyway.
Prosecutors: Witness retracted testimony in classified documents case
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A witness in the criminal case against Donald Trump over the hoarding of classified documents retracted “prior false testimony” after switching lawyers last month and provided new information that implicated the former president, the Justice Department said Tuesday.
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Mountain, desert towns dig out from tropical storm
CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. — Crews in mountain and desert towns worked to clear away mud and debris Tuesday in the aftermath of the first tropical storm to hit Southern California in 84 years.
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John Eastman surrenders on charges in Trump’s case
ATLANTA — John Eastman, the conservative attorney who pushed a plan to keep Donald Trump in power, turned himself in to authorities Tuesday on charges in the Georgia case alleging an illegal plot to overturn the former president’s 2020 election loss.
Ukraine media say Kyiv saboteurs attack Russian air bases
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian saboteurs coordinated by Kyiv’s military intelligence services carried out a pair of recent drone attacks that hit parked bomber aircraft at air bases deep inside Russia, Ukraine media claimed Tuesday.
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Putin speech aired at South Africa economic summit
JOHANNESBURG — Russian President Vladimir Putin took multiple shots at the West on the opening day of an economic summit in South Africa, using a prerecorded speech that was aired on giant screens Tuesday to rail at what he called “illegitimate sanctions” on his country and threatening to cut off Ukraine’s grain exports permanently.
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TS Franklin nears the Dominican Republic, Haiti
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Authorities in the Dominican Republic shut schools and government offices Tuesday as Tropical Storm Franklin took aim at the island of Hispaniola that it shares with Haiti and threatened to unleash landslides and heavy floods.
North Korea’s Kim lambasts premier over flooding
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un severely rebuked his premier and other senior officials over what he called their irresponsible response to recent flooding of farmlands along the country’s western coast, state media reported Tuesday.
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Canadian officials ease wildfire evacuation orders
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Canadian firefighters have begun easing evacuation orders in a scenic region of British Columbia, with the prospect of better weather raising hopes for the battle to contain wildfires, authorities said Tuesday.
Asylum-seekers set up for rejection, rights groups say
SANTA FE, N.M — A coalition of human rights groups on Tuesday leveled new criticism at a privately operated migrant detention facility in New Mexico where they say fast-track asylum screenings routinely take place without legal counsel or adequate privacy during sensitive testimony.
Kaua‘i Community Health Alliance closing clinic
KILAUEA — The head of the Kaua‘i Community Health Alliance (KCHA) has announced the North Shore medical provider will permanently close its doors in the coming weeks due to circumstances, including low insurance reimbursement rates and labor shortages.
Kapa‘a Warriors takes 63-7 win over St. Louis II
KAPA‘A — The Kapa‘a High School Warriors football team enjoyed an explosive second half on Saturday to wrap up a 63-7 victory over the Saint Louis II squad in a non-league preseason contest played at the Bryan J. Baptiste Sports Complex stadium.
Hawai‘i DOT to use federal funds for dust fence that will encircle Lahaina
LAHAINA, Hawai‘i — The U.S. Department of Transportation announced Monday its Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) would immediately make available $3 million for the recovery of West Maui infrastructure and traffic management, as state and federal officials begin the slow process of assessing and rebuilding the flame-swept region.
Na Koa Kupuna get first win in 70s Division softball
LIHU‘E — There was no other opportunity for Na Koa Kupuna to pick up a “W” as the Kaua‘i Senior Softball League’s 70s Division closed out its 2023 season on Saturday with a doubleheader at Isenberg Park.
OZone breaks the Bonjolea II win streak at the Nawiliwili Yacht Club race
NAWILIWILI HARBOR — OZone pulled off a surprise win over Bonjolea II during the Nawiliwili Yacht Club Short Series Race No. 3 at Nawiliwili Harbor on Thursday, Aug. 17.
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Biden says federal government will help Maui ‘for as long as it takes’ to recover from wildfire
LAHAINA, Hawai‘i — President Joe Biden on Monday told survivors of Hawai‘i’s wildfires that the nation “grieves with you” and promised that the federal government will help Maui “for as long as it takes” to recover after touring damage caused by the deadliest wildfire in the United States in more than a century.
Immigrant workers’ lives, livelihoods and documents in limbo after Maui fire
LAHAINA, Hawai‘i — Freddy Tomas was working in his yard in Lahaina when the fire advanced with stunning speed right up to his fence. He rushed to save valuables from a safe inside his house but realized he didn’t have time and fled, his face blackened with soot.
Experts: Water unsafe in burned areas of Maui
The language is stark: People in torched areas of Maui should not try to filter their own drinking water because there is no “way to make it safe,” Maui County posted on its Instagram account this week.
Hilary drenched deserts, flooded roadways in California
CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. — Hilary, the first tropical storm to hit Southern California in 84 years, flooded roads, toppled trees and forced a rescue by bulldozer of more than a dozen older residents trapped by mud in a care home Monday as it marched northward, prompting flood watches and warnings in half a dozen states.
Trump will surrender Thursday on Georgia charges
Former President Donald Trump says he will surrender to authorities in Georgia on Thursday to face charges in the case accusing him of illegally scheming to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state.
Texas moves floating border barrier closer to America
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas has moved a floating barrier on the U.S.-Mexico border closer to American soil as the Biden administration and Mexico protest the wrecking ball-sized buoys that Republican Gov. Greg Abbott authorized in the name of preventing migrants from entering the country.
Online search that spurred Kansas paper raid was legal
MARION, Kan. — The initial online search of a state website that led a central Kansas police chief to raid a local weekly newspaper was legal, a spokesperson for the agency that maintains the site said Monday, as newly released video showed the publisher’s 98-year-old mother protesting a search of their home.