At least 55 people died on Maui. Residents had little warning before wildfires overtook a town
LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Maui residents who made desperate escapes from flames, some on foot, asked why Hawaii’s famous emergency warning system didn’t alert them as fires raced toward their homes, in interviews at evacuation centers Thursday. Officials confirmed that emergency management records show no indication that the warning sirens were triggered before a devastating wildfire wiped out the town of Lahaina. Maui County says 55 people were killed in the devastating Maui wildfires, and the death toll will likely continue to rise. Gov. Josh Green says search and rescue operations are continuing, and officials expect it will become the state’s deadliest natural disaster since a 1961 tsunami killed 61 people on the Big Island.
Judge Chutkan will hear arguments in protective order fight in Trump’s 2020 election conspiracy case
WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal judge overseeing the 2020 election conspiracy case against Donald Trump will hear arguments over a request by prosecutors for a protective order seeking to bar the former president from publicly disclosing evidence shared by the government. Prosecutors have raised concerns Trump may reveal sensitive case information they’re legally obligated to hand over to the defense. The protective order sought by special counsel Jack Smith’s team has become an early flashpoint in the case accusing the Republican of illegally scheming to cling to power after he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. Friday’s hearing will be the first time the lawyers appear before U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan.
With hundreds lost in the migrant shipwreck near Greece, identifying the dead is painfully slow
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Nearly two months after a dilapidated fishing trawler crammed with people heading from north Africa to Italy sank in the central Mediterranean, killing hundreds, relatives are still frantically searching for loved ones among the missing and dead. As many as 750 people are believed to have been on board. Only 104 survived and 82 bodies were recovered. By early August, around half the recovered bodies had been identified through a painstaking process combining DNA analysis, fingerprints and interviews with survivors and relatives. For some still searching for lost relatives, the lack of a body to bury means they still hold out hope, however improbable, that their loved one is alive.
Two years after fall of Kabul, tens of thousands of Afghans languish in limbo waiting for US visas
ISLAMABAD (AP) — When the U.S. pulled out of Afghanistan in August 2021 it airlifted tens of thousands of Afghans to safety. But two years later, tens of thousands of others are still waiting to be resettled. They are Afghans who helped the war effort by working with the U.S. government and military, or as journalists and aid workers now at risk under the Taliban. Processing of U.S resettlement programs for Afghans has moved painfully slowly. In the meantime, many of the applicants who have fled Afghanistan are swiftly running through savings, living in limbo in exile.
Ecuador arrests 6 Colombians in slaying of presidential candidate as violence weighs on nation
QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Ecuador’s transformation into a major drug trafficking hub and the ensuing three-year surge of violence is weighing on the nation following the killing of a presidential candidate whose life’s work was to fight crime and corruption. Six Colombian men were arrested Thursday in connection with the fatal shooting of Fernando Villavicencio on Wednesday in the capital, Quito. He was not a front-runner in the race, but his assassination in broad daylight less than two weeks before the special presidential election underscored the challenge Ecuador’s next leader will face in any attempt to curb gangs and cartels whose activities have claimed thousands of lives.
Two rival robotaxi services win approval to operate throughout San Francisco despite safety concerns
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — California regulators have approved an expansion that will allow two rival robotaxi service to operate throughout San Francisco at all hours. The vote by the state’s Public Utilities Commission came despite reservations from city officials and residents spurred by erratic behavior that resulted in unmanned vehicles blocking traffic, including the path of emergency vehicles. The regulators voted to approve rival services from Cruise and Waymo to operate the around-the-clock service. It will make San Francisco first major U.S. city with two fleets of driverless vehicles competing for passengers against ride-hailing and taxi services dependent on humans to operate the cars.
Millions of kids are missing weeks of school as attendance tanks across the US
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) — Nationwide, students have been absent at record rates since schools reopened after COVID-forced closures. More than a quarter of students missed at least 10% of the 2021-22 school year. Before the pandemic, only 15% of students missed that much school. All told, an estimated 6.5 million additional students were chronically absent. That’s according to data compiled by Stanford University education professor Thomas Dee in partnership with The Associated Press. The analysis is based on the most recent data available, from 40 states and Washington, D.C. It provides the most comprehensive accounting of absenteeism nationwide. The absences come on top of time missed during school closures. They cost crucial time in classrooms as schools work to recover from massive learning setbacks.
More evacuations considered in Norway where the level in swollen rivers continues to rise
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Authorities are on standby to evacuate more people in southeastern Norway, where huge amounts of water, littered with broken trees, debris and trash, are thundering down the usually serene rivers after days of torrential rain. The level of water in swollen rivers and lakes continued to grow Friday despite two days of dry but overcast weather, flooding abandoned houses, coating cars in mud and swamping camping sites. In one of the most affected places where a river running through a town had gone over its banks, authorities were thinking about moving more people downstream out of fear of landslides. Norway’s prime minister and king were planning to visit affected sites.
A rocket with a lunar landing craft blasts off on Russia’s first moon mission in nearly 50 years
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A rocket carrying a lunar landing craft has blasted off on Russia’s first moon mission in nearly 50 years, racing to land on Earth’s satellite ahead of an Indian spacecraft. The launch from Russia’s Vostochny spaceport in the Far East of the Luna-25 craft to the moon is Russia’s first since 1976 when it was part of the Soviet Union. The Russian lunar lander is expected to reach the moon on Aug. 23, about the same day as an Indian craft. The Russian spacecraft will take about 5.5 days to travel to the moon’s vicinity, then spend three to seven days orbiting before heading for the surface.
EPA weighs formal review of vinyl chloride, the toxic chemical that burned in Ohio train derailment
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration says it could soon launch a formal evaluation of risks posed by vinyl chloride, the cancer-causing chemical that burned in a towering plume of toxic smoke following the fiery train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. The Environmental Protection Agency this year is set to review risks posed by a handful of chemicals and is considering those used for plastic production as a key benchmark. Vinyl chloride is used to make PVC plastic pipes and toys and is among chemicals eligible for review. The EPA says a risk evaluation would take at least three years. Environmental and public health groups have long pushed to ban the chemical.
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